Mutualism in the hobby

 

I'm afraid some collectors have forgotten the symbiotic relationship that has long been a part of the card collecting world.

 

While flippers and sellers operate in card collecting purely to get what's "theirs," the card blogging world is still an example of the mutualism that has allowed the hobby to thrive for more than 100 years.

 

Trading is a well-known card collecting standby, even "civilians" can identify it. The opportunity to gain what you want while also giving someone else what they want is one of the beautiful parts of this hobby.

 

I especially like it when a trade benefits someone who isn't even aware of the trade.

 

Take a recent envelope received from The Diamond King.

 

 

Three of the four cards benefited my collection. The fourth card is already on its way to another collector to benefit his collection. He doesn't even know it's arriving. That's mutualism at its finest.

 

 

 

Here is a card that I received from Jay at Cardboard Hemorrhage (took me only three tries to spell this time). It was part of a giveaway, not a trade.

But the card came with a buddy and now that buddy is gone, sent to another collector who could use it more than I (I think). Card collecting isn't anything when you're not helping a buddy.

 

These are cards from Brewers diehard, Matt. Just for the hell of it, he was willing to give away cards if people named their favorite Brewer.

It didn't take me long to think of Gorman Thomas. This blog is full of odes to Stormin'. I love the St. Michael's Hospital reprint of Thomas' 1981 Topps card.

Inevitably, this giveaway will lead me to sending Matt something. It's just the way this hobby goes, for people who know how the hobby goes.

One last item, this is from Dodgers fan, Craig.

He's one of the collectors who received a bunch of surplus Dodgers I was giving away a few months ago. I sent those out with no strings attached, I just wanted to get them out of my house (I still have too many).

Yet, the pull of mutualism in this hobby is too strong. The other day I found an envelope that contained my No. 1 want among Dodgers Police sets, the 1988 set, recognizing the World Series champions.

 

 

How do I know it's from that year?

 

Well, those Police sets don't make it easy. There are no dates on them. Often the quickest way is to find the coaching staff and pinpoint the year from that.

 

Even that doesn't quite help in this case. All of those guys hung around with the Dodgers for more than one year.

 

But here's a card that confirms it: Don Sutton's return to the Dodgers (note that prematurely gray 'do) came in 1988!

 

You don't have to trade to enjoy this hobby. But I'd hate to think where it would be if trading suddenly stopped.

 

As usual, thinking about someone other than yourself will always make a situation better.