Yes, I agree with your three possibilities which is why I ultimately pulled the trigger. I bought the card to keep and enjoy, not to flip for a profit. So even if it decreases in value, it will still be the cornerstone of my humble collection.

Thanks a lot John. Now my 1952 Mantle is sure to drop in value! :D

Haha, yes. I truly apologize. :)

I have been hearing this for a long time. Heard it about Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Derek Jeter, Lebron, Mike Trout and many others. Facts are all
Of them are way up over there crazy rookie prices. If Zion performs the cards will go even higher. We may not think it’s logical or agree with it but that’s how the history of that market is. Same with the complaints about buying something rare in high grade vs just rare. Not everyone feels the same way we do and the market can go up and down on either. Of course there will be corrections along the way. Almost nothing always goes up every sale. But pretending the market is how we think it should be instead of how it is doesn’t lend itself to a credible discussion.

That's true, Glyn. Only thing I'd add to that is not to forget the enjoyment component of this hobby. I can't believe I am saying this, but money isn't everything. Some stuff you buy because it is a good deal, and on those things I strive to be as bloodless and coldly calculating as I can. But some things you buy because you want them, and depriving yourself of them because they aren't immediately profitable is not a good place to be. A smart guy (think his name was Leon :) ) told me years ago, when I was pondering spending 10% more than I wanted on a tough card, that it wasn't worth sweating that spending increment on something that I wanted, and he was right. I've never regretted spending a bit more than a 'deal' price on something I really wanted and could afford. Ironically, in nearly every case where I've done that the cards have gone up in value way more than the rate of inflation or interest or whatever, so they were good investments by and large too.

Lots of factors that are pushing the market higher, agree with DPeck that there seems to be money coming in from all directions and it's coming at all kinds of different items.

I've definitely noticed "lower" feedback scores on many of my eBay sales, which is where I sell most of my cards.

One thing to keep in mind - while I appreciate the discussion of the "good investment" cards have been, I think it's important to just remember that it's not "realized" until it's cash in the bank. Until then, it's "paper gains" and those don't spend too easily.

Personally, I've been trying very hard to "trade up" into more stable quality cards for my collection, using the funds from the "rocket ships" people have mentioned - Lebron, Kobe, Trout, Brady, others, etc.

I have bought some various modern cards, too, but again I've tried to be pretty picky about those. At least for me, the higher prices have been great because it's encouraged me to pare down the number of cards I own, but it's also affording me some opportunities on some things I'd normally otherwise pass on.

Plus, I'm having fun! At least for me, that's got to be a big component. It's still a hobby for me, not a job.

The question kind of answers itself: if the soaring value of your collection is giving you nosebleeds, it is probably time to take the profit.

The Lebron that has been heavily touted as the record breaking modern card is already at 900k.


https://goldinauctions.com/2003_04_U...-LOT60435.aspx


There was a Tik Tok video of Giannis showcasing quite the collection of his own cards.

Justin Beiber has been seen on Instagram showing off his high grade Pokemon collection.

Steve Wozniak was showing off a signed Gem Mint 10 Black Lotus.

Cards are becoming big time and when you get people with serious cash move into markets they make waves and it becomes real.

Years ago Evan Mathis decided he wanted to own a 1982 Wrestling All Stars Series A Hulk Hogan PSA 9. Overnight the market went up significantly on the card because someone with a lot of resources wanted to own it and now the market had to compete with their buying power. Now the prices that Evan drove the market to for that card are cheap.

I use Watchcount.com constantly to monitor activity and there are so many different ID's winning cards and as I stated before the number of watchers has exploded. Watchers don't always mean buyers but when there is a flurry of activity quick on auctions they usually build into a strong finish and this seems to be happening over and over all over the place.

I sold a card today to a buyer with 16 feedback and I checked them out and they have 25 purchases in the past month and a new account. A great offer came in on my Tyson second year Italian Gritti back and I sold it for $225. This was a $40 card a year or so ago in a PSA 5 grade. This is basically the market.

The issue right now is interest rates on cash are zero and all cards are up so if one wants to cash in and sit on the sidelines there is nothing to be made on the safety of cash and unless you find mispriced listings there are no deals to be had so you will be on the outside looking in.

I think also there are a lot of people out there that realize you can win so easily if you buy raw cards and sub them and this keeps money pouring in. I just bought a set of the 1982 Wrestling All Stars Series A and thought the Hogan would grade higher than it did and paid a $200 super express grading fee. Even with that much higher than normal grading fee I could easily make three times my money on the buy and probably more like four and so these kinds of opportunities keep people hunting and buying. I can't buy a stock and say well I know with a little more money pumped in it will go up significantly.

With all the negativity in the world right now it sure has been fun to watch and it is giving many of us something positive to focus on and for that I am grateful.

You forgot to mention that Giannis stole all those cards from Panini by not sending them back to be inserted into packs. Pretty easy to amass a legendary collection of yourself if you sign all your 1/1s and then keep them.

He wanted to own them. When a guy with his reach pimps cards it only makes them go up.

The social media element to the card market is huge and all of the people referenced have taken to it and just made them more desirable.

Did you even read my post? Nobody on Blowout had ever seen those cards before his TikTok video. People bought boxes and cases of cards trying to hit those cards, and that guy had them in his house the whole time. You can even see cards in the video that were supposed to be sent to other players to be signed, and they only have his autograph on them...
I realize it sets off a feeding frenzy; that doesn't mean that he's doing the right thing by STEALING HIS OWN CARDS FROM THE COMPANY. Panini should sue him. That would bring even more publicity to this raucous card market! And now the video has been taken down.

https://www.blowoutforums.com/showthread.php?t=1386217

I read your post.

Honestly I don't know the backstory on the situation and saw the video the other day and it just reinforced that cards were going to keep going crazy.

If he stole the cards that is between him and Panini. I don't collect them but there are some wrestling autographs from the late 90's from WCW where the guys didn't return them and some have found their way into the market and they just keep going up.

Not sure how Panini wouldn't know what cards they put in the packs. Sounds like some bad quality control if they released the product that has limited print run auto's that are numbered and didn't realize they failed to include one of the top stars.

Whatever the case may be when someone like him is creating content around cards it is just throwing gas on a fire.

We forgot a reason:

https://photos.imageevent.com/exhibi...us%20cards.jpg

Most valuable card
 

.

For those of you who have been collecting for a while do you find the higher prices are bringing nicer vintage cards to market, or do you find the available cards to be fairly comparable to what is normally on offer?

Mainstream cards with higher populations that are currently hot have been offered up more than usual. A lot of vintage stuff is just so low pop that most of it is in collectors' hands already and it isn't going anywhere easily. Unless they need the money or think the market will fall apart, collectors don't sell their core collections, though in my case an extreme enough offer will get me to do it.