Anyone watching the insane basketball card prices?

[samosa4u]

Originally Posted by sportscardpete

It is unfortunate for anyone who bought in August, but other than that month I am pretty sure whoever bought basketball in any other month this year is still sitting pretty? Bert may not be so mad.

I think they're going to keep going down.

[sportscardpete]

Originally Posted by samosa4u

I think they're going to keep going down.

And I think if they get cut in half from these "reduced" levels most people will be okay. a PSA 7 Chamberlain at 7k is probably still above what most people paid. I don't buy any of the prices in August I think it was super artificial.

I wonder what happens to other hot cards, like a Jim Brown rookie. It's not really rare, but prices have basically doubled over the past month. And now it looks like Gretzky is picking up too.

Definitely a hard hobby to figure out. Maybe that's why I am so gray at an early age!!

[samosa4u]

Originally Posted by sportscardpete

And I think if they get cut in half from these "reduced" levels most people will be okay. a PSA 7 Chamberlain at 7k is probably still above what most people paid. I don't buy any of the prices in August I think it was super artificial.

There are lots of people who bought basketball cards over the summer months, Pete. The bottom line is that a lot of people got screwed.

[Exhibitman]

I thought really hard about selling my Russell RC when it soared but I figured that even if it fell by 50% off the peak it was still more than I wanted to spend on a replacement card, so I kept it. Same w/my Chamberlain IA, Alcindor, and a few others. I may replace some of the cards I sold if they fall far enough.

About the only card I never even considered selling was my 1969 Chamberlain, which I got when I was about ten and will probably have until the day I die. I also sat on my favorite Dr. J card because, well, it is my favorite Dr. J card and it wasn't worth anything like the RC.

As for Jim Brown's RC, if it skyrockets I will probably sell mine. Hard to say; the way I got it is a 'big fish' story that actually worked out for me spectacularly, so the numbers would have to be really nasty to make me part with it.

[Peter_Spaeth]

We don't really know how many of the off the charts sales actually went through. In 2016, many did not, both on ebay and auction houses.

[samosa4u]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

We don't really know how many of the off the charts sales actually went through. In 2016, many did not, both on ebay and auction houses.

Well, this definitely makes things more complicated. I think maybe some of the fake sales could have taken place earlier in order to get things started, but once things had taken off, then I don't think it was necessary. But then again, with all the craziness that happens frequently in hobby, anything is possible.

[therooster80]

To add some context, I was the buyer of the 1961 Fleer Russell IA 7 mentioned up thread. It sold for $700. I received it, didn’t care for its presentation, and sold it the next day for $800 after receiving multiple offers on it. There is still dramatically increased attention to 1961 Fleer relative to 2019 even if the prices of completed auctions have dropped over the last month or 2.

There is a lot of good information in this thread. I started my own index of 10 particular vintage cards to track. Alcindor, Erving, Gervin, Chamberlain, Bird/Magic RCs and 5 others. Every 2 weeks I pull the latest non PWCC prices. There was a massive falloff from late August to early September. Personally I started buying vintage FB in June and am now starting on vintage baseball while the wild price variances in basketball shake out.