theory11 — Magic Tricks & the World's Finest Playing Cards
Collectible decks?
- Thread starter Papi
- Start date
Use them. Cards are meant to be used and the chances of them being worth a huge amount of money is pretty slim.
I agree that you should use them, but wait for a special performance. I received a bicycle Allure deck, and, while I plan to use them, I am waiting for the perfect night/ performance. It is always a tough decision to peel off the cellophane, so, like a bottle of fine wine, wait for the perfect occasion. 
I don't entirely agree with that. I do generally buy at least one of every deck which I don't open. Eventually I will put them into displays. But I also try to get at least one that I will open and use.
Here's my perspective. I own several rare decks of cards that I'm never going to open. Why? For the same reason that I'm leaving my signed first editions of the Inner Card Trilogy in as pristine condition as I can and doing my day-to-day page-turning in cheaper, modern editions. Some things have value as beautiful and historically interesting objects, above and beyond their value as practical items. It's entirely down to you whether you care about that or not. I suppose a similar question to the one you posed is this: Would you make notes in the margin of a first edition Erdnase?
Also, I'm not sure I quite agree that rare decks of cards won't be worth a lot of money. If you had the foresight to invest about $100 in Jerry's Nuggets in the 80s then right now you could sell them and buy a very nice car.
But betting on that is ridiculously stupid. There's no way to have any idea what cards will be worth anything significant in the future. I mean, Jerry's Nuggets, from what I've seen, are crap cards. They can't even be bent without just snapping. Who would have thought they would be worth anything? The only reason they are is because certain people talked them up and then certain other people had to have what those first people thought was 'good'.
For all we know, the decks to hoard could be Mickey Mouse themed, not D&D. Chances are not really worth betting on when it comes to this sort of thing.
We might have guessed from them being favoured cards of Vernon, Marlo, et al., but you're absolutely right, you don't know for definite and if you want to take up investment in collectibles as a hobby, the gamble is part of the game of it. Maybe you don't like gambling, but that doesn't mean other people are "ridiculously stupid" for holding a different opinion.
Let me clarify. There are three circumstances under which you'd want to buy rare decks of cards (or any apparently "collectible" object), and all three are equally valid:
1. You want it for it's utility.
2. You're betting on it becoming more valuable in the future.
3. You appreciate it as a beautiful or valuable object in a way other than monetarily.
Some people may consider only one of these to be a sensible reason for buying something expensive, but others may disagree. Personally, I've never spent a lot of money on a painting to hang on my wall, but I know that people do and I don't consider them stupid for doing so, even though there might not be any practical utility to owning the original painting as opposed to a print or reproduction. If you don't understand the mentality of someone who wants to own a rare object for it's own sake or for it's potential future resale value then that's fine, but it doesn't make others wrong.
You're misinterpreting what I'm saying. I believe that purchasing something like a deck of cards purely for the chance of it becoming worth a lot of money is ridiculous. Unless that object is already likely to be valuable (Like one of the pure-silver decks of cards from a few hundred years ago), the chances of it becoming valuable in your lifetime are so slim it's just not a smart bet. If you're going to invest in something purely for the chance of it becoming valuable, make sure it's something that has a good chance of becoming valuable.
Now, if you want to collect just because you want to collect then by all means, go for it. I collect cards in a slightly-more-than-minor way and I assume that my collection will never be extremely valuable. If I sold the lot of it I could probably pay a reasonable month's rent, but beyond that I am not going to get my hopes up. I collect because I like cards. I like looking at them, I like using them.
What I'm trying to say is it's a matter of understand your own motivations and expectations. If you're collecting because you want to collect and nothing else, then cool. But if you're collecting in order to some day cash in and make bank, you're probably betting on the wrong horse in this race. Don't let that be your plan.
Now, if you want to collect just because you want to collect then by all means, go for it. I collect cards in a slightly-more-than-minor way and I assume that my collection will never be extremely valuable. If I sold the lot of it I could probably pay a reasonable month's rent, but beyond that I am not going to get my hopes up. I collect because I like cards. I like looking at them, I like using them.
What I'm trying to say is it's a matter of understand your own motivations and expectations. If you're collecting because you want to collect and nothing else, then cool. But if you're collecting in order to some day cash in and make bank, you're probably betting on the wrong horse in this race. Don't let that be your plan.
You're correct, I think I was! If I'm understanding you correctly now then I think we're pretty much in agreement.
ChristopherT, I totally agree with your thoughts there. It reminds me of the comic book collection mentality of the late 80s and early 90s where everyone thought their new first issue reboot of whatever series would be worth a ton of money giving a few years. The value is always supply and demand, which is hard to predict for the future. Collect and enjoy your collection.
I would like to clarify my earlier post. I have some decks I never use for different reasons. Some are over 100 years old. Some have an emotional attachment the deck my mentor gave me. Some I picked up for a one off gig, like a special party for a guy who played for a certain NFL team. I picked up a few decks from the team shop to use. I'll never use them again but they are in the collection. I have one deck where each card has a different autograph from celebrities I have perform for.
I do not buy new decks with the though of setting them back hoping they end up worth money. I'm a working magician. My cards are tools I use to make a living. Same with my coins, rubber bands safety pins ect ect.
I do not buy new decks with the though of setting them back hoping they end up worth money. I'm a working magician. My cards are tools I use to make a living. Same with my coins, rubber bands safety pins ect ect.
I don't think there's anything wrong with picking up cards in the hope that they will become valuable in the future, however, with the amount of custom decks on the market now that only generally do a single run, it's difficult to find which will hold value and which will not.
Then again, the card's Theory11 has released in limited quantities have already sold to collectors for large sums. It's a blind investment that could go either way.
My advice, collect cards if you like collecting cards ( maybe buy a couple of each deck like Christopher mentions above) and if they do happen to become wildly valuable in the future, it's a bonus!
Then again, the card's Theory11 has released in limited quantities have already sold to collectors for large sums. It's a blind investment that could go either way.
My advice, collect cards if you like collecting cards ( maybe buy a couple of each deck like Christopher mentions above) and if they do happen to become wildly valuable in the future, it's a bonus!