Market Manipulation Techniques For Traveling Museum Exhibits

It’s important for collectors to understand some of the various market manipulation techniques in existence, not necessarily so collectors can use them, but more importantly to make sure they’re not used on the collector.

Harry Rinker tells how traveling museum exhibitions can be manipulated in his (should be award-winning) book, How to Make the Most of Your Investments in Antiques and Collectibles.

Harry talks about many of the pertinent techniques in the section on “Museum Exhibits,” which is listed in two chapters: “Market Triggers: Spotting the Trends” and “Market Manipulation.” 

Before listing some of the techniques necessary to manipulate prices by using a traveling museum exhibit, let’s delve into why it’s done.

Why do traveling museum exhibits manipulate prices?

The people who benefit the most from this type of manipulation are professionals and investors. The people who commonly lose are the collectors and uninformed public. They lose money because they don’t understand the master manipulation plan devised by the “pros.” They are naively under the impression that everything is happening naturally. 

This is why this type of manipulation is so successful and profitable. The idea behind this type of manipulation is so the public and collectors will buy at the high prices that the investors and professionals have successfully run-up. The material the naïve will be buying comes from the manipulators who dump at the top.

So basically, the goal of the manipulators is to raise prices as high as possible by creating a collecting frenzy, and then dump their holdings on the unsuspecting at the top. 

How are the prices manipulated?

Now, on to some of the techniques used by the manipulators to accomplish their goals:

  1. Above all else, publicity and credibility is the key to a successful traveling museum exhibition. Credibility is attained in this type of manipulation by using major museums in large cities as places for the exhibit to stop and be admired by the public. It’s very important to try to get the traveling show launched as a major event. The exhibition must get immediate recognition in national publications.
  2. It’s important to keep the exhibit moving. The more it travels and the more publicity it gets in each location, the more people are attracted. The show must attract media attention for at least several months in each city it visits.

As Harry writes, “As the exhibition travels, each appearance will generate new publicity opportunities. A successful exhibit will attract new collectors over a period of a year or more.“

A traveling show lasting a year or more is important since it gives prices a good amount of time to run-up. About three to six months after the show has started, it’s important for the manipulators to test the market for strength. Selling some material at auction will test the market’s strength. At the same time, it gives the manipulators an opportunity to get back some of their initial investment capital.

Remember, selling into the market through auctions and testing the price performance for strength is important to manipulators since they want to dump their material as near to the top as possible for maximum profits.

These are just some of the extreme basics to manipulating traveling museum exhibitions for profit. For a complete understanding of the procedures, read How to Make the Most of Your Investments in Antiques and Collectibles by Harry Rinker.

All Credit Card Collector readers should buy Harry’s book, study it and then send him a thank you letter. Also, tell all your collecting friends to buy a copy. Better yet, buy them copies as gifts. Harry’s book is the best investment a collector can make!

Copyright Greg Tunks, 1990

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Frequently asked questions

You can find out the value of old credit cards by checking how much similar cards sell for. There are several ways to do this.

The simplest way to determine the value of old credit cards is to ask an experienced collector. If you submit an inquiry via our contact form, we can connect you with an expert who can assist you and point out if there is anything rare or unusual in your collection.

Alternatively, you can become a member of the American Credit Card Collectors Society. Membership in our credit card collecting club provides access to resources and knowledgeable members who can help. Benefits of membership include access to a gallery containing thousands of cards with historical pricing information, and access to our entire collection of newsletters, from 1994 through the present day.

You can look at recent sales on auction sites, however, there are some considerations to keep in mind when doing this. Firstly, it’s important to look at selling prices, rather than asking prices. Selling prices are the prices people actually paid, while asking prices can be very different. Secondly, historical sales on some sites are only saved for 3 months, so you may not find something that exactly matches what you have. Thirdly, it is sometimes possible to see rare or unusual cards sell for lower prices than they should have because people do not understand their worth, the ads don't do justice to the card, they're listed in the wrong category, or any combination thereof.

There are always people in our club who are actively buying cards. Collectors tend to focus on a niche, like gas cards or retail cards, or they might focus on a slightly broader area, like bank cards or travel and entertainment cards. Many of the rarest or most unusual cards will exchange hands in private sales. Please contact us if you are thinking of selling your collection.

You can also sell your old credit cards on online marketplaces. You will get the highest price if you sell each of your cards individually, although this approach requires the most effort. At the opposite end of the effort scale would be selling all cards as a job lot, an approach which typically results in the lowest price on a per-card basis. Halfway between these two approaches would be to group cards into different categories and to sell these individual groups, e.g., BankAmericard, Master Charge, oil and gas, retail, and so on.

To join the club, visit the membership section and complete the registration form. You can pay by check or PayPal. We offer annual or lifetime memberships. If you have any questions please contact us via the form on our website.

Credit cards are more worthwhile collecting if they are rare, in good condition, have historical significance, or are associated with famous personalities or events. Valuable modern cards might include those that are difficult to obtain, such as American Express Centurion (a.k.a. ‘black’) cards, while older credit cards might include early independent bank cards, American Express, Diners Club, or BankAmericard (Visa) cards from the 50s/early 60s, or Master Charge (MasterCard) cards from the late 60s. Rare or unusual cards can also be sought after, such as those issued in small numbers, like small independent department stores or gas stations, or cards with appealing aesthetics.

Consulting with other collectors or experts in the club can provide valuable insights. Contact us for more information via the form on our website.

We do not offer an appraisal service in a traditional sense (such services are normally a paid service) but we can connect you with an expert who should be able to assist for free and point out anything rare or unusual in your collection. The simplest way to do this is to submit an inquiry via our contact form.

The American Credit Card Collectors Society accepts donations and is most grateful for any we receive. When donations happen, we strive to find good homes for cards where they will be looked after, matching cards with collectors who will appreciate them. The club may charge members a nominal fee for donated cards, and the proceeds are offset against the running costs of our club. We are a non-profit organization. Running costs include expenses like our convention and website hosting. Donations are most popular for people getting out of the hobby, or when someone has inherited a collection and doesn’t know what to do with it.

If you wish to donate your collection, please contact us via the contact form above.

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