I don't know too many investors who buy at all time highs with no regard for prior sales, collectors however, are a different breed.

There is an inherent fear that this may be the last chance a certain collector has at a certain card and that drives the price a good bit.

It's funny how the collectors who have done just that have also done wonders from a pure investment standpoint. When VCP past sales histories were being shattered at the start of this latest run, many scoffed at the prices that were then being paid. Now, those prices seem like bargains.

Sometimes one has to look at more than prior sales data, and embrace other variables, in this case how the hobby was evolving in terms of centering and its rarity in certain cards, or the influx of younger collectors now in their early 30's who were boys in the 1980's, etc.

You have no idea in any market where the top is. I thought Google was a stupid purchase at $90 and Amazon a stupid one at $30.

This is true, but at what point does the demand truly out distance the supply. I mean prices for a top tier HOF in the mid grades will seem like quality bargains once the 8s,9s and 10s get hoarded up.

McGraw
 

Oh, the prices of rare backs. That McGraw Lenox, how high will that thing go? Holy crap. Had hoped to own that one, but can't justify where it is at. Can't imagine where it is going... Lots of healthy (or ludicrous) bids!