Because every hobby rookie and every hobby veteran have had at least one bad experience in the hobby, we've decided to share our worst "Hobby Horrors" with our fellow collectors in hopes of saving some of our fellow collectors a few headaches and maybe even a few dollars as well.

They say misery loves company and nobody feels worse than being the only guy to get burned, so we felt sharing our "Hobby Horrors" would help ease the pain. Besides, we've all been down that road before so perhaps sharing our stories will not only prove to be therapeutic but they might end up saving one of our collecting brothers some future trouble as well.

So think back to all the hobby-related transactions you've made since you started collecting and let us know about your worst experience ever. It could be the time your mom sold your collection filled with early-70s star rookies at the rummage sale or the time your conniving "buddy" traded you his marked-up Andrew Toney card for that mint Jordan rookie card just because he knew you were a 76ers fan and you'd take the bait.

No matter what the circumstances of your "Hobby Horrors" were, we'd like to hear about them. Please type them up and send them to Tuff Stuff's Sports Collectors Monthly editor Scott Fragale at [email protected]. Keep them to around 4-5 paragraphs, type "Hobby Horrors" in the subject line and send along any photos you might have that will help describe your "Hobby Horror" story. The stories that makes us cringe the most will be used in a future issue of SCM and could also be featured on www.TuffStuff.com.