This period of time is simply hilarious.

I would think it will remain strong thru the next round of $1400 stimilus checks, then watch out.

I think a lot of the big money that came into it has taken those cards out of circulation for the longterm. There are warehouses full of art no one will ever see. I actually think people began seeing baseball cards like art.

While I think things will level off, I don't think there's going to be a bubble pop unless there is a baseball work stoppage. People don't care what basketball and football players do...the fan base is enthusiastic but their view of history is short term. Baseball fans take every labor issue and new record contract as a personal affront and start whining about how they will never be able to afford to go to a game again. Fact of the matter is that during the 2020 season you could get often get tickets for less than the price of a movie in many markets so long as you were not wanting weekend tickets or to see one of the super popular teams (Yankees, Red Sox, etc.).

Personally I never worry about the business side of baseball. For those who gave up on it in 95 or 96, I'm sorry you felt that way but you missed some amazing players.

Hi steve lol your funny

I sold a board member a Jackie Leaf SGC 60 for I think $9000.

I need to let it go as the song goes. . . .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0-j-EJOzRA

I think the stimulus checks are barely making any difference with the way the card market is going.

It mostly has to do with people who don't qualify for stimulus checks having nothing to spend their disposable money on.

I think it depends on the card. The ones that get most of the headlines here, you're right, they aren't being driven by the checks, but a lot of the cards that used to be in the $100 range and are now high hundreds or more, I could see the checks moving the needle on those. There was a thread here the other day about the 1954 Topps Jackie Robinson in PSA 3? 4? going from $75 a year ago to ~$400 today, and it wouldn't surprise me if the checks had something to do with that.

I think Checks certainly contribute to the lower end cards going up. I would agree in that regard, also raising the prices of lower grades that are normally cheaper.

Another round of stimulus and tax refunds are coming too

I think it is mostly a FOMO and downward adjustment effect. If I see prices soar on nm-mt 1954 Robinsons I am now paying attention, and I may decide to get one I can afford just in case. That's exactly what I did with early Mantle cards in 2015.
Paying off nicely now. Meantime the collectors who were serious about owing one before--doing a player run, doing a 1954 set, etc.--are now going to move on it. Can't afford the 8? Buy a nice 6. The sellers, meantime, are thinking "Hey if the PSA 8 is worth $6,000, why shouldn't a PSA 3 sell for $400?" I'd even think that you could argue the three should sell for $600 or more--why not 10% of the 8 price, if that card stabilizes in that price range?

Stuff is already coming down. Factored in By money Being Spent on Travel, leisure, and entertainment from the reopening, along with higher taxes and increase in gas price it’s going to stabilized the last 3-4 months was mostly IMO emotional buying.

It isn't coming down for anything I want to buy LOL.:eek:

Mine either, lol. It’s cause we have such good taste in cards !!

A lot will be the modern, it won’t make sense for them to send in modern for 10’s
The price increase that should stop a lot of that over inflated stuff.

I think one factor that bears consideration is the huge cards that are sitting with the TPGers, many that have been there since the dawn of time. As these cards slowly make their way to the marketplace, particularly the marquee players, the supply/demand equation will begin to change. If a dozen or so Jordon 9's and a couple of 10's hit the market, I don't know what the demand will be if most of the high rollers already have one tucked into their portfolios. Price decline or more bidders who want to join the party? Still, I doubt that there are too many #53 Goudey Ruths 6 or 7's waiting in the pipeline.

If and when Jordan 10s come down I think it much more likely will be because the lunatic maximum prices were manipulated/deliberately pushed rather than that supply will outpace demand.

?
 

Kinda hard to answer this question, but here I go:

(1) We will never go back to a normal of pre-2020 when many cards were underpriced--now that the investor class has sunk their fangs into our hobby

(2) The 10M backlog at PSA if and when it ever gets resolved will significantly whack many overproduced junk era or modern base popular rookies (think 90 OPC Jagr--I currently have 15 at PSA)

(3) Vintage classics/iconic cards (like Gretzky RC, Clemente RC, etc.) might cool/come down a bit but won't ever return to a pre-2020 price level due to their (relative) scarcity

(4) True collectors will buy mostly raw (yes I understand there are exceptions, buying high dollar graded cards is ok) and the investor/flipper class will rely (and overpay) on TPG's since they don't know anything about cards and can't grade for themselves due to their incompetence/ignorance

JMO, Who the hell really knows ? LOL!!! Enjoy the hobby!!

I agree, but I am "The Cooler" on this forum. Anytime I post a reply on most any thread, it's the kiss of death...no more replies.

For my money, I think the cream of the crop superstars/HOF'ers/etc. will continue to rise (or stay put in their already elevated state) and sorta stay in the ionosphere going forward. But the bubble is going to have to burst regarding the 'lesser' cards which were thrown aboard the quick-moving baseball card market escalator. I mean, seeing the asking prices of some vintage higher grade commons is just crazy.

Be prepared for another rise. With the new set of stimulus checks hitting bank accounts, I won't be surprised if some of the lower end of vintage gets affected more.

$1400 Is one of an early Jackie, Mantle, DiMaggio or Williams in lower grades.

agreed! i've been hoarding high grade brady anderson rookies...I think they're ripe to take off!

The sideburns were worth the price of admission all by themselves! [emoji1787]

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

My ratio of sales to listings on eBay remains absurdly high; last week I had one card not sell out of all the auction listings I posted. Not high end cards either, the most expensive one was under $150. It is a great time to take profits on the bulk slabbed stuff if you want to get rid of it. PSA 6 through 9 postwar cards are just flying. Bring on the next $1400.

For shits and giggles, I just looked up my 2011 Bowman Chrome Mike Trout #175. It's ungraded, as I don't feel like sending it in the mail, waiting months for a grade, and risking it getting lost in the mail, even with insurance, which wouldn't cover any appreciation in value, meaning I might not be able to replace it without using out of pocket funds.

The last two that have sold went for $880 by bids, and a BIN with a $995.

That's....absurd. Just a regular card that I pulled from a pack 7 years ago is going for almost a grand.

I don't even want to look and see what my 2009 Chrome auto is going for. If I hadn't cracked my tooth, and needed a dental implant, I'd still have it.

It puts us in an odd position as collectors I think. A part of me says "well it's impossible for the market to keep going, there has to be a top" and no sooner is that said, prices go up more, and the cards that we could've bought six months ago, become unaffordable.

I passed up the opportunity to own a 51 Bowman Mantle sometime ago on the board. Could I have swung the purchase, had I really tried and gotten everything together? probably. But I had a really hard time justifying spending that much money on something, that I know for a fact, I would never sell. Since then they've gone through the roof, and I kick myself every day for it.

I was up in Cooperstown two summers back, was in Yastrzemski's and there was a 53 Topps set for sale, for 4 Grand I believe. The key cards were probaly in the 1-2 Range. Still respectable though, presented nicely. The older gentleman took it out of the case for me and allowed me to thumb through some of the cards to see the Jackie, Satchel and Mantle. I can only imagine what that would go for now.

Prices keep going up, I always say "well it's a bubble" but I think that's more wishful thinking on my part, because I want to be able to buy some more cardboard again.

It’s such a strange feeling. I look at the cards I have and I’m ecstatic because they are going for so much more than I paid for them, but I’m not sure it really matters because I don’t think I’ll ever sell them.

Then, I think about the cards I don’t have and really want and come to the realization that I’ll now most likely never be able to afford them.

Such is life I guess.

A PSA graded 1956 Topps Ted Williams I was looking at just before the pandemic started, which if my memory serves me was going for about $400, is now double that.

I want this pandemic to end. I don't want any more people to lose their loved ones. I don't want people to have to live in fear anymore. I don't live in fear, but I can't really leave the house, either, and won't unless a doctor's visit requires it. So, I've been out of the house maybe 5 times since this all started.

And yes, on some level, I want it to end so some semblance of normalcy returns. I want to be able to return to my hobby. I miss being able to buy cards I love, from time to time.

Bill,

I'm sorry to hear about all the trouble you're going through with this pandemic. I've heard similar stories from many people, I have fortunately been vaccinated, and now am feeling a little more comfortable with leaving the house and going to do things, but it is still a little worrisome for me. It's difficult, Humans are social creatures, not being able to socialize really goes against our nature.

I think we all want normalcy to return and I look forward to the day when I'll be able to go to a show, or a concert, or a restaurant, and not have to worry about wearing a mask, or social distancing. It's the small things you miss, talking to strangers at a bar, getting together with long time friends or family, catching a ball game, things of that nature.

One day we'll get there, I'm positive of it, but Damn, I'm pretty tired of all of this. I think we all are.

This is exactly it. If I was unwilling to pull the trigger at $100 a year ago, it’s sure as shit not worth $1k to me today. I’m using this time to upgrade some mid-grade raw 60’s commons. If/when prices come down I will resume with bigger buys. If it doesn’t come down it’s going to leave a lot of passionate collectors in the dust, which will be a shame.

No one knows what the future holds for cards. I do believe, as many have hypothesized, that many of us are bored and spending way too much time in front of the computer. I guess the equivalent of some of my wife's friends buying expensive shoes over and over and over. When life returns to more normalcy presumably many of us would rather be on a beach or lake and not eBay. I don't think a $1200 or $1400 government check has much to do with this. Chump change compared to what's going on here.

Rare art has been seen as an investment vehicle for many hundreds of years. While prices go up and down, it always seems Christies and Sotherbys have plenty of pieces to sell. I think the card market is getting stretched mighty thin on the edges, but don't see any kind of grand collapse in the offing. For many of us there are our art pieces and we love collecting them. The returns on some of these highly desired cards have been breath taking, and that lottery ticket aspect will keep a steady inflow of new collectors.

Hi pete lol

I fully understand. My wife and I have pre-existing conditions which means we pretty much live under a self-imposed house arrest. My wife and daughters live with great fear that I'll come down with the Coronavirus so I pretty much live in front of my computer trolling for baseball cards. As much I enjoy collecting, it gets boring after a while.

At the same time, I'm extremely fortunate to have been able to work from home as a 6th-grade teacher. Folks, distance learning does not work, particularly when a number of the students are already few years behind. Our school opens once again after Spring break, but I will continue to work through the computer. Hopefully, I'll have more of a "live audience" when the new academic year begins in August.

How is everyone keeping up with their supplies, sheets and penny sleeves in particular?

My on-line audience awaits, have a great day all!

Phil aka Tere1071
Upgrading a 53 Bowman color set
Beginning a 71 Topps Baseball set from scratch

I have never been happier that I am a misanthrope than over the last year. I used to get shit for sitting at home watching tv and sorting cards; for the last year that same anti-social behavior made me a paragon of virtue.

Got my first shot of Pfizer today. Next one in three weeks. Two weeks after that I am officially inoculated. My status will then change from socially virtuous sitting on my ass watching tv and sorting cards to being a miserable misanthrope sitting on my ass watching tv and sorting cards. But I will be able to get tacos again without fearing for my life, so that's nice.

Now as far as cards go, there are some things worth taking profits on and others not so much. Ruth, Robinson, Paige, T206 HOFers, those are keepers. Moderner stuff not so much. Slabbed cards readily replaced with nice raw cards at a fraction of the price, sold.

Oh, don't get me wrong, I like my alone time as well, I'm certainly more introverted by nature. It's more of being robbed of the opportunity to socialize is what I was talking about. I do love my fair share of throwing on a documentary and sorting through my collection!