Posted By:
David VarghaI didn't look at the bidding patterns on those cards, so all I can offer is a gross generalization. In the past few months, I have noticed that pre-war "rookie" cards (as stated in their title) on eBay have two sets of serious bidders. There tends to be a group who have put in decent bids for an appreciating market and similar in price to what other "non-rookie" HOF cards from that set are selling for in similar condition. Then there are 2-3 bidders substantially higher than that group on their bids. These bids appear not to be based upon perceived condition scarcity or populations but instead appear to be related entirely to the "rookie" label attached to the card.
As an HOF collector, I'm not bothered by this kind of bidding as I don't have to have a particular card to fill a hole in my collection in the overwhelming majority of cases. So I offer this more as an observation rather than sour grapes about how "none of the cards I could once buy are reasonably priced anymore!"
DavidVargha@hotmail.com