QuackerSmacker

For the record, I feel the same way toward Georgia's mandated training for new drivers, also. So Dawgdoc, just to clarify, do you really believe that when a kid turns 16 they should be able to get a drivers license and then zoom down the highway, when they may have never been behind the wheel before? Really? Am I missing something?

Wow, Henry 347, thanks for that. I will definitely check it out!

Yes, please do keep us informed and very best wishes to shake this bug.

AC, all above the above possibilities sound great to me! Let's see what we can do.

ACfixer, if you find something and need a partner, let me know, I might be interested, and I will do likewise. Can you specify what you're looking for? We're relatively new here too (2 yrs) and don't know any rural landowners. I'd be interested in deer, ducks, and hogs. Also squirrels and rabbits. All this at a reasonable price.

Agreed, about Blue Book, and I would say they are consistently 10-15% below real values in most cases, way off in others, and have been for years. I've never seen a Blue Book value on the high side, and rarely "on target."

Hey Garufa, I like your new hat!

But sometimes those auctions are very inefficient, and you can "steal" a gun occasionally, especially if you have specialized knowledge about particular firearms. I haven't seen any buyer's premiums at 18%. Highest I've ever seen is 13%, and I would say the most common I've seen is 10%. So you factor that in as you bid, and it either makes sense, or it doesn't, but I would not rule those auctions out as a source of good stuff, because sometimes you can be the high bidder at a great price. Just depends on who else is playing the game. The real deal is discipline, and not getting caught up in the bidding frenzy. Set a number and stick to it.

In the "normal" sales tax scenario, you have the buyer and the seller. Buyer pays tax, seller sends it in. Here you have buyer, intermediary, seller, and intermediary again, sending it in. What happens if the seller doesn't send the tax back? It's Gunbroker who's the big player and will get the scrutiny. These differences are important, and I do believe it's probable that the tax collectors will impose a stronger audit system where the "market facilitator" is the party that is supposed to send in the taxes.

Yeah, that's the real scary part. I can't believe the state would not insist on full information about the parties and the item sold, for audit purposes. They're not gonna just take the check blindly from Gunbroker without an audit trail being available.

So the buyer pays the tax included in his payment to Gunbroker, GB sends all the $ to the seller, and then the seller sends the tax back to Gunbroker. I think I've got that right, per info above. Brilliant, absolutely brilliant. NOT

Just bot some SPXU. That's an ETF that goes 3X short on the daily downward movement of the S&P500. Not for the feint of heart, and It has some goofy nuances. Obviously I'm looking for a very near term drop. That said, now you bulls can go long even more and with confidence! ETA: Dow up 120

You don't want to overthink these things. Do the right thing, be smart with the next steps, and hope for the best. I think your odds of getting in a mess in Tennessee for doing the right thing are pretty slim. Other places, maybe not so much. I love Tennessee!

Decades ago Peter Lynch did an all-day interview with a client company of mine in Chicago, for possible inclusion in Fidelity's Magellan Fund. I will never forget my big takeaway from that meeting. Lynch said he was much more excited about diversification as THE way to maximize the probability of having a few super-winners, than his concerns about mitigating risk. My clients were amazed at the quality level of Lynch and the team he brought with him, the questions they asked, and their analytical reasoning. The results speak for themselves of course.

I agree with both of you about ARK. There is something about "ETFs focused on disruptive innovation" that seems particularly interesting.

Here are a couple of ETFs that specialize in alternative energy stocks: FAN and TAN. Guess what they own? Might want to take a look.....

You'd be amazed at how many people screw that up! They buy, make a little and get itchy, so they sell, then watch it go up, buy again, rinse and repeat several times, and then really load up the truck at the top and get on the heavy equipment non-stop down elevator. I've seen hundreds of people do that in my 40 years on Wall Street. Those folks are great --- after all, the rest of us do need liquidity!

Sure sounds like a great guy. Though his death is certainly a sad event, I have enjoyed reading all these posts and really wish I'd met him. Prayers and blessings for his family.

Ah, yes! For technical analysis (charting stuff) the tools, ease of use, and speed that we have now are fantastic compared to the days of old.

I found your comment that "It used to be much harder to beat the market because information was so hard to come by, but now it's at your fingertips" to be very interesting. I have a totally different take on it. In the old days (70s, 80s, early 90s) when humans made trading decisions, I thought it was much easier to read the ebb and flow of fear and greed around individual stocks as well as the market as a whole. Today most of the trading is computer driven, and everyone can get the same information you're talking about. So not understanding algorithms, and not wanting to bash my brain with information, I sure miss the old days! That said, for investing (not day trading) I've always said that the big success formula requires anticipating the perception of reality. The ultimate reality doesn't matter unless it's perceived the way you needed it to be, and you needed to get in ahead of the money that raised the value of your investment. So it's a 3 step process, and relatively few folks can actually do that, and the ones that can really do it are rich and famous. Hi Warren! I have accts at TD Ameritrade and eTrade. I like almost everything about TD better, so will consolidate there soon. I hope the merger with Schwab does not mess them up.

If you're referring to my comments, with all due respect, I did not say or imply that it is easy to outperform the market, indeed, my comment said it required extraordinary qualities to do that. And luck sometimes plays a factor, but I believe that luck usually only gets activated when someone puts himself in a position to recognize it and take action, FWIW.

Wow this is a conservative group. I was a stockbroker for 40 years. Yes, for the average investor, index funds area absolutely the way to go. For those with more knowledge, talent, resources, and risk tolerance, there can be magnificent opportunities. (And neither way has any guarantees.) But the notion that "no one can beat the market" is just not rational. It's a bell shaped curve. And I have seen, and helped, some investors to achieve great success, usually through low diversification and holding a few great stocks very long term. And I will freely admit that the best ideas were usually theirs!

My best shots this year, EXPI and RIOT, got em both in July. Now 4X and 3X . They're just getting started. IMHO, of course.

Hey Doug, so glad you're back with us! Happy ThanksGiving and best wishes for the holidays ahead! Q

.357 with 6 seems preferable to .45 with 5.