Anyone watching the insane basketball card prices?
 

All the big rookies seem to be on fire. I’ve watched the Dr. J in PSA 8 jump from $800 to $4600 in a couple of years. It is getting to the point where I am tempted to take some money off the table.

LeBron and Kobe Topps Chrome rookies are going for mind-boggling money.

Even the Magic/Bird RC exploded, and the bird and magic second years. insane.

the panini prizm silver craze is insane.

My only basketball card, which I picked up for a song years ago, but certainly wish I had of purchased more.

Not sure how true this is but its been said this craze with BB cards is due to the game being so international and is mainly driven by Asian's?

Irv. I have about 135 of those in psa 9. Picked them up for dirt cheap. Couldn’t give them away at the National last year. Now they are on fire.
The Jordan stuff is hot because of last dance I think.

I haven't followed them for a while now but I did see one a couple months ago or more sell for $140 U.S., IIRC?
I heard the Last Dance was a major reason for his cards rising exponentially but it looks like everything is going through the stratosphere.

Just did a quick search and found this one. 10's are selling much higher of course.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1992-1993-T...p2047675.l2557

The golds sell at a premium. I love this card because the image is great and 84 Topps was my first set I collected. This is also technically his first Topps card.

Didn't see that was the gold card. :o

I didn't know this was his first topps card.

The 9 I have I purchased it 7-8 yrs ago at the Toronto card Expo for $5.00 dollars CDN. It was on a Sunday with a snow storm coming so the seller was in a hurry to pack up and offered it to me. I thought what the heck and grabbed it.

What's also insane is people are buying 1989-90 and 1990-91 Fleer Basketball cards. I might actually have to pull mine out of the basement.

Not too mention Skybox and Hoops. Its crazy

Its so crazy because the first half of the 90s was really the junk wax era. the second half have some of the rarest and most iconic insert cards of all time. in baseball, basketball, football and hockey. really great artwork and design. Skybox in the late 90s was churning out masterpieces.

Basketball Rookies
 

All basketball RC's of anyone in the HOF or HOF bound are on fire.

The only set that still has not gone crazy is the 1948 Bowman set with the exception of Mikan of course.

Last couple of Dr. J RCs closing in an 8 have been $5200 and $5677. BINs have also sold at $4500 and $4800 in recent days.

A PSA 1 Russell RC should be about a $2,000 card now judging from the "A" that closed for nearly $1500.

The Chamberlain IA RC has gone from $400 or so to $1375 in a few months.

1961 Russell from $400 to $1400.

On paper at least my collection is doing great!

OTHER THAN JORDAN, are the early 1990's basketball cards worth anything. Like Stockton, Ewing, Bird, Magic, etc,... ????????

Thx.

This is my one and only Basketball card got this from one of those Halloween fun bags that had packs of assorted cards back in 1981 or 1982 Donruss was included too

Shaq UD rookie prices are strong.

So, before only the MODERN basketball cards were exploding in prices, but now VINTAGE basketball has gone up too? What the hell is going on here? lol

I dunno but I sold my PSA 8 Dr. J RC over the weekend and bought a low grade replacement at less than 10% of the price. In these trying times I am not going to try and time a bubble, just set a price and when it hits, sell and replace with 'collector grade' cards. I enjoy the lower grade ones even more, frankly, since I can put them in my albums instead of dealing with those friggin' slabs. Nothing like looking through an album...Waiting on the bubbles forming on other older basketball cards so I can sell them too.

Now, if they can just inflate a bubble on postwar vintage hockey...

I did the same thing and moved a Dr. J. rookie just over a week ago. Numbers are just too good to pass so I figured I would take the profits and invest in multiple other cards. Crazy time for basketball. I just wonder where the ceiling is on all of this. I cannot imagine it gaining much more steam but who knows.

It is starting to spill into lesser HOFers too. Take a look at some of the 1969 Topps prices: yikes! Frazier's RC has doubled in an 8.

Even the lower graded big boys are moving. My low grade Alcindor is worth a multiple of what I invested in the entire set. A year ago it was a $200 card, now more like $550-$600

I noticed other Alcindor/Jabbar cards getting crazy prices. His 70, 71 and 72 card is rocketing in the lower grades as well. It is not just the rookie card with Jabbar. Much more fun following this market than the stock market that is for sure.

1968 Mira Alcindor
 

Agreed--1000 times more fun than following the stock market. Anyone see any recent sales of this one? I see a guy on Ebay with a BIN price of $250k. I have one in a 7 and would take less than half that :D:)

2009
 

Is the Steph Curry rookie card going crazy in PSA 8 or higher? Is that also the last year Topps produced basketball?

thanks.
John

Oh God, please don't say that! We Canadians are already struggling with the weak Canadian dollar - what do you think will happen if those Gary V. maniacs start jumping all over hockey? :eek::eek::eek:

The Bird/Magic rookie had settled in at around $1400 in PSA 7 and $2500 in an 8 for a few months recently (after the spring basketball boom). Then in the last two weeks, those have doubled again.

Didn't see anything from Gary V about it. Just glad I got my '80-81 set when I did

Oh Shoot... Now I can't even afford a Lew Alcindor rookie in poor. :eek:

1980-81 Bird Magic
 

I remember walking into a card shop in Southern Cal summer of 1990. I saw a stack of Bird/Magics (probably 10+). Pack fresh--He had them priced at $15. I was poor as could be but managed to get 5 of them. He had unopened packs and boxes as well. Pretty much as many as you could buy. If i remember right the packs were $2 a pack and i was able to assemble an entire set--never got the Bird/Magic but got both Bird and Magic alone. That set was one of the most challenging to put together in terms of navigating through the 3 player per card phenomenon. Fun and satisfying though and i still have the set as a reminder of a really cool time to collect.

I had forgotten about this card that I heard about on my local radio station. My wife recently asked about it as I was telling her so I decided to look it up. :eek:

With the recent exposure this card and others have gotten, is it any wonder why things are so hot currently? (one of many articles on it)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sport...rd-18-million/

The nuttiness continues. I recently wondered if I could get $2500 for my Bill Russell RC in a 1.5 holder, only to discover that one sold for $3,199!

Been away for a while guys, felt the need to chime in on this. Prices are insane on Hoops cards, been out of the loop for a while and started checking ebay sold prices tonight. I only have a fraction left of the Hoops collection I once had but I kept some nice ones. Except for my SP authentic Vince RC's that is, sold two PSA 10's last year or so for around $250, you can put another zero after that now! Here's what I got left that's HOT!!!!!!!

After the recent doubling of Bird/Magic PSA 7 rookies to around 3000 in the last couple weeks, one went for 3450 last night and another for 3950 tonight.

Bizarre.

HOLY _HIT Jeff. If you sold all those shown, you would be a very wealthy man!!!

Bought most of mine in the last 1-2 years, and some very much more recently. Have really enjoyed the diversion of Vintage Basketball, but glad I got what I did, when I did. It's prohibitive now.

Sold a centered Kareem PSA 6.5 in the initial phase of this bubble at $3300, and boy does that look foolish now. I love the cards too much to sell out, but it's tempting.......


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You're in a tough spot now. You're currently sitting on $100,000 or $200,000 USD worth of basketball cards. Do you HOLD or SELL? How much will they all be worth next year? These cards are being bought and sold at inflated prices, and it's not going to last.

I started collecting Kobe Bryant rookie cards a few years before he retired. It wasn't very expensive at that time, and he was my favorite player. I decided to get only PSA10's and do a registry set. Since then the prices have exploded for all of these rookie cards so now I'm not sure if I should sell or hold on to what I have. Can these prices be sustained?

For sure, when things escalate 500-800% in the span of 3 months, it's clearly not sustainable or real. I'd expect anyone who has these cards and doesn't want to hold them indefinitely should sell off now. I'm definitely considering selling one of the Magic/Bird cards, as there is no reason for a non-speculator to hold both.

I'm probably in only 10-20% of the current value of these cards, though, and have searched them out with care. They were all bought pre-runup in prices, and a few early in the runup at pre-prices. I'd like them to be part of my long-term collection, so as long as I don't have higher collecting priorities they'll probably stay.

When you start looking at the POP's of these key cards compared to their Baseball counterparts, it's shocking. I don't know that I'd ever find another '61F PSA 7 Wilt with comparable eye appeal, for example.
.

Your Wilt is mouth-watering, for sure! But is this card, or any basketball card, ever going to reach the same level as the 52' Topps Mantle or the Leaf Jackie? Right now, if you make the right moves, you can turn your $20,000 USD into a million dollars, and I'm being serious here. When those Gary V. BARBARIANS make an exit and the prices plummet, will you be happy you kept them? Again, you're in a tough spot. I say this because none of us know how much higher these cards will go. Maybe the PSA 7 Wilt will be worth MORE by Christmas! Whatever you decide, I wish you nothing but the best. You have awesome cards and thanks for sharing them!

HOLY DOUBLE _HIT Jason. You will get 300K or 400K by this time next year I predict.

Not sure I agree with a total hold. I don't think this market will keep running over the next year. Pick a price point where you will feel good and sell the ones you don't really value for your collection when they hit it. Remember, bulls make money but pigs get slaughtered.

I am in the same boat on a smaller scale. So far Ive dumped my Jordans and my Erving RC (and replaced the latter with a raw copy in vg-ex for less than 10% of the price because there was a hole in my album). Still holding the 1957 Russell and the 1961 Fleer Russells and Wilt and Elgin because I think they have room to go, but when they hit a price point I have in mind, they go too. I will not sell my 1969 Topps though, because I got some of those cards when i was a little kid. My Alcindor and Wilt may be worth some money but I remember the day I got those cards so vividly that I doubt I will ever sell them. I just love that set.

I am getting to the point where I want to trade some of the highly appreciated cards for others I would enjoy more, like a UD certified signed MJ card or another signed Wilt card.

Good points all around.
 

Good stuff here. I think we're all in agreement that this run-up in prices is artificial, and being driven by forces that aren't well-meaning or sustainable. It's also really clear that vintage basketball was severely undervalued until recently, given considerations of collectability and relatively low volumes out there. I still don't believe that justifies the aggressive rise lately.

I'm certainly going to sell off pieces I don't want to hold permanently. One of the Magic/Bird cards will go, I'm sure, and I have a spare Kareem RC with PSA in the 5-6 range due to be done grading in the next few weeks which may go if prices hold strong. In fact they have probably 120+ raw 1960's/70's basketball cards of mine now in various stages of (endless) grading.

Personally, I caught the vintage basketball bug late last year and have been adding since. Rounded out the Jordan Star run as well, which I've really enjoyed. Not to sound foolish, but for the cards I decide to hold, I really am ok with them losing significant value in future. I won't kick myself for not selling at the peak. If there were a burning need to raise funds for a higher priority, I'd move them. But basketball has been enjoyable in itself. I'd also feel differently if I were in deep in terms of investment in them.

And like you said, Adam, some of the cards have emotional attachment as well. Several came from someone who has become a good collecting friend, and it'd be tough to let them go.

But for anyone's particular situation, if selling cardboard would make a fundamental difference in your own financial independence, I'd hope anyone would do it.
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Jason, I have the exact same trio of 1961 Fleer Russells and Wilt IA in the same condition. Kinda wish i'd splurged on the 8s now.

I had a 6 Russell I sold last year---tooo sooon!

I have been in the market for a Kareem rookie and Bob Cousy rookie since the end of last year. I was trying to be picky for a low grade nicely centered version of both of those. I kept putting it off because the prices had been relatively stable for a long time. Guess I missed the boat on those two. Especially Kareem. His prices are insane.

By the way who is Gary V?

That's what I don't understand: who is that guy and why does anyone care what he thinks?

I just did some research… For what it’s worth. Seems like he is a pump and dump guy. Just like people do with penny stocks in the stock market. This guy talks stuff up and people jump on and ride the wave and try to jump out before things crash. Kinda sad that this is what has had happened to the hobby over the past 4-5 months. I guess I’ll hope that prices come down and I can buy a few things for my collection.

I can now only afford a reprint Alcindor rookie. :(

Excellent post! Yeah, I think that's what Gary Vaynerchuk did. He probably spent like half a million on basketball cards, and now he is going to turn it into ten million. Again, I am not sure about the numbers here. He might have spent a million or more, but based on the way he is behaving, it's OBVIOUS that he has invested quite a bit into it. Go look at his Twitter account!

Just looking at GV's Twitter account I really don't see anything nefarious or ill advised regarding any sports card?
What I do see is a guy, who is obviously passionate about cards, advising people of the pro's and con's of sports card collecting and the pitfalls/pluses of getting into it, especially if you are a newbie.

His Twitter account has links to stories he has written and the 2 I looked at, I honestly didn't see anything about pumping cards/prices up nor anything else of that nature. Maybe there is more to this story that I don't know about but to me, at least, he just seems like a passionate collector who is not afraid to share some advice.

https://twitter.com/garyvee?ref_src=...Ctwgr%5Eauthor
https://www.one37pm.com/strength/spo...-value-grading
https://www.one37pm.com/culture/news...g-sports-cards

You are a simple chap, Dale. ;)

You can't see what's going on, but I can. There are lots of "PUMP POSTS" on his Twitter account:

I can't stop buying ... oh my God ... can't stop ... I love these basketball cards so much ... they are so ADDICTING ... I love these 86' and 61' Fleer cards ... collecting them is so much FUN! YAYYY!!!

Those are all PUMP POSTS, my friend. And you know how I can see this? Because I'm guilty of doing it myself, but not to that extent.

Probably the GREATEST PUMPER of ALL-TIME lurks on this forum. He has purchased cards that were at one time worthless, and when he retires, he will probably make a few million. And I don't envy him or anything like that. I have actually praised him many times. PUMPING takes a lot of hard work and dedication, and if done well, you can score big.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ec1u6MRW...pg&name=medium

Nice cards...

Gary V
 

I think Gary V is a multi-millionaire who also fell back into the hobby, he doesn't need to pump and dump this stuff--he might actually just be having fun.

One of my regrets is selling my Magic/Bird PSA 7 in January for $400. It's now 4K :( There was no way to predict that spike at that time so I don't feel too crappy about it. I usually don't dip into my PC but I kinda needed to to make down deposit on a vintage baseball set. Oh well, lesson learned I guess.

PSA 2 Alcindor $989 BIN...for a two...maybe we are in FOMO sucker time?

Do you want to know what is more addicting than alcohol, tobacco and heroin? Money! All the rich folks out there are always trying to find ways to grow their net worth. No matter how much they have, they are never satisfied!

Gary is a businessman! He made millions by making the right decisions in life. Do you think he will still have that Wilt and Russell (see post #48 for picture) after they drop three-hundred percent? I doubt it.

Agreed.

He assumed day-to-day control of his father's Springfield, New Jersey store, Shopper's Discount Liquors. Gary renamed the store to Wine Library, launched sales online. Through e-commerce and pricing strategies, Vaynerchuk grew the business from $3 million a year to $60 million a year by 2003. The key was that he created the online version. I guess the same idea that Netflix did from the retail store to mail.

Adam, I am glad you brought this up. I bid on an Erving PSA 8 less than a month ago - lost at $1600...now $8000+.

So I did some research of 60s and 70s HOFs. There are primarily two buyers over the past month driving this insane increase. One has bid 704 times in one month - the other 632 times. If you look at PSA 8s, 9s, 10s...these are the buyers.

Eventually this bubble has to stop. The problem is that it makes its own market. People will start to believe that these cards are actually worth this kind of money. They shouldn't be. There is a big difference in rarity between a PSA 8 and a PSA 9 for older cards (usually).

It may continue, but it shouldn't. There is no logical explanation. There are a handful of people affecting this market.

That's really interesting, Pat. I bailed out at $5500.

One thing is for sure, this is lifting other issues including ones you would not normally think of.

Query for the gang: is the extreme wait period at PSA and Beckett affecting prices too? Used to be easy to find a nice raw card, send it in, and get a graded card in a relatively short time. Not now.

Even the 1981-82 Topps Bird and Magic cards are doing well.

I agree...many issues are up. I think this might be a good time to get rid of common cards.

Absolutely. I am listing what I have in TPG holders for sale.

If you don't hate Gary Vee yet, watch the video of him on Vintage Breaks opening up three 1915 era tobacco packs looking for T206 cards which couldn't have even been in them based on the tax stamps.... just straight up threw thousands of dollars in the trash.

This is an example. This is the main bidder. You take a card worth $350-$550 and people try to chase the auction. He has bid on almost every Russell, Chamberlain, plus other HOFs. Others get sucked into the auction. It hurts the hobby imo.

LMAO...i came here to start a thread about this.....

low and behold...

https://huntauctions.com/phone/image...=178&lot_num=1

this is nutty

Big Gary V fan. He has done wonders for the hobby.

The guy is worth like 200 million dollars. He won't be able to advance his net worth much buying trading cards.

He just sold his wine company I saw on CNBC to Constellation Brands after a year. He is a serial entrepreneur.

Why can't a guy with so much money at his disposal have fun buying cards? People forget these uber wealthy people are just human too.

Basketball cards are cheap compared to baseball. With the sneaker heads moving in to cards it was only a matter of time until they blew up in price.

When you see images of people wiping out big box retailers like Wal Mart and Target the second product hits shelves it doesn't take a genius to figure out the older good stuff is going to go up in value.

We are seeing an avalanche of new money come into cards. Long time collectors must realize that for a time this is different. This trend isn't going to die overnight. It is accelerating and at some point perhaps it runs its course but it isn't next week.

I just sold a card to someone who the mailing address was the PWCC vault. Investors are flocking to cards and they don't care that they missed the first wave and are in the buy higher category because the momentum is undeniable.

Picking a top in the card market is going to be impossible because there are no derivatives to slow it down or artificial supply like short selling and so as long as people are wanting the stuff there is no where to go but up in price. You can't have thousands upon thousands of new collectors dying to put money to work and have prices go down on the marquee athletes cards.

I think the hardest part is being a buyer near the bottom because your cost basis is low and so once a card starts moving you feel like wow this is awesome maybe I should sell but in reality you are in the midst of a super cycle and you were just early and need to ride the wave.

Bro ... bro ... people were saying the same thing about Vegas Dave, remember?

Ohhh, that guy has so much cash! Look at his stuff! Look at his properties, look at his cars, look at his hot girl, etc. He is just having fun with his cards and he doesn't really care ... blah, blah, blah ...

And then one of his ex-friends posted on social media that Dave wanted to make fake comps, so that he could sell his Trouts for big bucks! Money makes people do crazy things.

And regarding the sneaker heads, well, do these guys like to bid twenty-plus times on a single listing? A lot of people are complaining about that, bro. It's not only on this forum or the Blowout Forum, but all over the Internet people are pointing this out. And I don't know about "new money," but it does look like a lot of these cards are attracting "new shillers!" :D

Anyways, you should really consider parting with one of your PSA 9 All-star Hogans now. And with the money, you should go after a Goudey Ruth or a T206 Cobb or a Leaf Jackie or a Topps Mantle. One thing I learned about 2016 is that it is always good to diversify. And what's happening now only reminded me to take another good look at my collection and to make sure that I'm not putting too much money into one sport.

I didn't read threads about Vegas Dave. I will say he was very smart so anyone hating on him can say all they want but he is laughing all the way to the bank. I personally don't see the comparison as he is betting guy vs. someone who gets paid $150,000 an hour to speak and runs legit business's and is on CNBC frequently. Last year I sold him an 82 Hogan at a very fair price with the sole intent that he would put it on Twitter and if so it would be good for the rest of my cards. At a work happy hour some co workers mentioned they looked into having him as a guest speaker for clients but his cost was $150,000+ and opted not to. I said you guys will love this I sold him a wrestling card. They were like you can't be serious. I said here check it out. His overall profile in the business world is radically different than Vegas Dave.

I have sold a handful of cards to Gary since and one was $53. He is buying what he likes where in the case of Vegas Dave he went after marquee stuff only. I have recently sold another wrestling card to someone I looked up online and is very close to Gary and clearly a major mover and shaker and it was only $150. There are buyers coming in who simply want to participate.

I can't speak to the sneaker heads bidding styles. I do some funky bidding sometimes to try and throw people off. Maybe it works and maybe it doesn't. I tried this recently and got sniped at the end. The only thing I care about with bidding is you don't retract bids and you pay when you win. Everything else is just noise.

I am on Twitter and active and I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt that the number of collectors in the card hobby has exploded. All one must do is read tweets from the top social media "stars" like Gary V and Phil Hughes and you will see what is taking place. Bid lists for so many cards are getting longer and if you go to Watchcount.com you will see the number of watchers is up dramatically too. This is so easy to see if you venture outside of traditional card message boards.

In terms of a Hogan 9. I have no interest in selling any. I have sold two copies in the past twelve months but acquired many more and I am up to 30 in total. I believe in picking big winners and buying a lot of them and seeing how it plays out. If they collapse one day I won't be excited but life won't change and I am not willing to give up on what I believe is happening. I have stayed bullish on cards for ten years and bought lots along the way and I think we are in a massive uptrend and I am going to play my hand that way. I self grade lots of my cards so this is one of the rare places in life where you can be an insider and have a real shot to win. Long gone are the days of bringing your best cards to a shop and getting offers of 20 to 50% of active retail. The internet has given the collector power and so we all have a shot to win.

You can look at almost any genre and see massive momentum and I don't think it is going to stop anytime soon. Cards are like drugs and once people get hooked it is hard to stop.

Well, decided to jump back in with my 2nd ever basketball purchase last night.
I was just browsing/watching/looking at current auctions and following some closings when Kawhi Leonard came to mind, who undeniably, played a huge part, if not the pivotal part, in the Raptors championship last year. Their first.

I noticed this card, a rookie, and decided to go for it. Needless to say I didn't realize he had so many RC's, but I assume that is the norm when it comes to modern?

I'm not trying to double or triple my money in a few months or anything like that. I just wanted a card that would take me back/remind me of the time when the Toronto Raptors won their first NBA Championship. :)

I decided to sell my 1985 Jewel Prism Magic Johnson card. I am shocked at the price. Beckett 8 is sitting at $511 with a day to go...

I know this seller and he sold this copy for right at 24k and another with an All Star for 28k.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1972-topps-...4AAOSwaM9fRTWR


Here sits a PSA 9 Bird and Magic rookie 9 at over 22k


https://www.ebay.com/itm/1980-Topps-...MAAOSwYRJfQEt2


People can pretend this isn't happening but it is. Demand for cards from all genres is exploding. Time will tell how this plays out but the force is up at the moment in a major way.

As seldom as we agree on anything, D :) we agree on that! I am emptying out my boxes of stuff I really don't much like and selling it off. Last several years I bought a lot of basketball from my childhood, in part because it was so cheap. At lowest ebb I was picking up PSA 8 1970s HOFers at less than the cost of grading. That's been over for a while. The prices I am checking, though, wow, and not just on big rookies. The average big star in 6 or better from Topps is up anywhere from 200%-500%. Take the 72 Maravich in a PSA 7. Third year of Pistol Pete, good shape for a 72 but not spectacular. Used to be about a $25-$30 card. Now $150.

Oh, and my Magic card is up to $811, closing tomorrow. That used to be the MJ price. Sure wish I'd picked one up...

If everyone had the same opinions at all times the world would be a boring place. Haha

It is really a fascinating situation because for years I have read posts by some who post basketball cards and make reference to the fact that the spread between them and baseball was incredibly wide and they had room to move up significantly. If you asked them to be honest did they think the market would price in such a huge change in six months I would imagine the answer would be no but the reality is there has been so much new money come into cards and people are dying to get it put to work. As I have said many times on various boards because you can't short cards or build derivative trades around them to slow the momentum it is a one way trade.

The guy I referenced above got the Dr. J sold in ten minutes. Pretty wild.

Let's stop and think here for a second.

New money ... cards from all genres have taken off ...

Is this true?

First, let me ask you this: if we were to select fifty different collectors from this forum and you were to ask them to name you their top three sports cards, then you'd probably get fifty different lists, right?

So, if new money is coming in from different people, then shouldn't all cards or most cards be going up? Think about it ... a Leaf Jackie has quadrupled in value, whereas the Bowman Mays hasn't gone up a dime. Are there more Jackie fans than Mays? I don't think so. Mays was the greatest. By the way, I own both cards, and so I'm not trying to pump one and shit on the other.

The Clemente hasn't gone up and nor has the Koufax or the Aaron. Vintage baseball is meh.

The OPC Gretzky is on fire, but the rest of hockey is not.

Boxing is flat too (except for maybe a few Ali cards).

There are loads of cards going up in value. Perhaps some are going up more which I think is natural but all one must do is look online and it is pretty easy to see.

I focus on wrestling, a few boxers, and cards of wrestlers from other sports and this list has been scorching hot. In wrestling Hogan, Andre, Flair, The Rock, Steve Austin, Undertaker, and some others have gone up the most. I think you are seeing a lot of collectors focus on the biggest stars. A few nights ago a 1982 Wrestling All Stars Dick The Bruiser PSA 8 went for $62. Is that up from a year ago? Yes. This was a $40 card so up over 50%. I think that is great. In the same auction a PSA 7 82 Hogan went for $2,025. This is up over 600%. Obviously a huge divergence but still both are up.

A BGS 8 1986 Panini Tyson went for $7,300. This is up over 1,700% in the past year. In the same auction a PSA 9 1991 Ringlords went for $270 and that is up 800% and so you are also seeing lots of variance within the same athlete by card. Even PSA 6's of Tyson are in high demand. A board member here just sold a UK back for over 2k and he had offers even higher after the auction closed so you are seeing high demand for star cards even in more modest grades.

The 1994 Miami Hurricanes Dwayne Johnson has exploded. A PSA 10 went for over 6k the other night and this was a $725 card. There are plenty of Rock cards from older wrestling sets that have probably barely moved in valued because of lack of demand. Collectors are focusing on athletes best cards or their rookie card.

Taking this back to basketball.Check out the price on this Hakeem PSA 10. $8,600 with three days to go.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1986-Fleer-...QAAOSwAnJfRcBk

There is a PSA 8 at over $300.

I honestly don't see how anyone could be watching card listings and not see prices going up.

Yes, I know the AS Hogans and Panini Tysons are on fire (you don't have to keep pointing that out, David! lol).

I have been watching eBay sales, and I think that certain cards are being targeted here. I could write you a list of about twenty or thirty cards that have exploded, and at the same time, I could name you about a hundred popular cards that have not gone up a dime. Why is that? Isn't new money pouring in from all over America? It makes no sense to me that a 1957 Topps Bill Russell can go from $3,000 to 30,000 USD in just a few weeks, and yet, the 1955 Topps Sandy Koufax stays flat. It just doesn't.

Looks like Cousy is next up...

Insane prices for Cousy currently.

I haven't paid attention to hockey cards lately. What's hot there? Anything?

Vintage hockey has gone up a little bit, but nothing worthy of discussion.

Now, let's get back to basketball cards because there is something I want to point out to all of you on here:

1972 Topps J. Erving PSA 8 eBay sales in US dollars:

Aug 23 - $9,600
Aug 24 - $7,600
Aug 31 - $7,001
Aug 31 - $7,400
Aug 31 - $8,100
Sept 7 - $3,850
Sept 7 - $3,700
Sept 7 - $3,550.71
Sept 7 - $5,100
Sept 10 - $3,935

Whoa!!! :eek::eek: What the hell suddenly happened? How the hell does a card lose thousands of dollars in just a couple of weeks? What happened to all the NEW MONEY now, huh?

Your table is selective. This PSA data run is a more complete one (qualified card sales removed):

9/11/2020 $3,935.00 8 373188936799 eBay probstein123 1 43398000
9/8/2020 $5,100.00 8 383696317759 eBay probstein123 1 26597579
9/8/2020 $3,550.51 8 373176595500 eBay probstein123 1 28698213
9/8/2020 $3,700.00 8 363089218562 eBay probstein123 1 11244668
9/8/2020 $3,850.00 8 174417779408 eBay cardkast 1 02525478
9/7/2020 $4,938.00 8 274474367911 eBay pkrface Auction 06341751
9/5/2020 $6,500.00 8 224116457849 eBay kjam6885 3 27081984
9/1/2020 $8,100.00 8 402373764131 eBay pwcc_auctions Auction 24736345
9/1/2020 $7,400.00 8 402373763798 eBay pwcc_auctions Auction 26880780
9/1/2020 $7,001.00 8 402373763793 eBay pwcc_auctions Auction 40890222
8/27/2020 $7,500.00 8 264844802944 eBay heyticketguy 3 06040208
8/25/2020 $1,540.00 8 (OC) 373152398426 eBay probstein123 Auction 19202030
8/25/2020 $7,600.00 8 383681510477 eBay probstein123 Auction 30884321
8/24/2020 $9,000.00 8 224128905953 eBay dand52261 Best Offer 25052507
8/24/2020 $7,000.00 8 402367199324 eBay allstar-cards Auction 23767118
8/24/2020 $10,766.00 8 143682543527 eBay pwcc_auctions Auction 17134304
8/24/2020 $9,600.00 8 402361549305 eBay pwcc_auctions Auction 14761030
8/24/2020 $9,600.00 8 143682543448 eBay pwcc_auctions Auction 15717326
8/21/2020 $7,800.00 8 373148122396 eBay probstein123 Auction 40007138
8/16/2020 $9,500.00 8 224119415187 eBay dand52261 Best Offer 25052507
8/15/2020 $9,500.00 8 233680871242 eBay thecrimsonchild Best Offer 30376241
8/12/2020 $8,750.00 8 254684751727 eBay cbjoe Best Offer 25800102
8/11/2020 $8,080.00 8 Is PSADNA 363066455830 eBay probstein123 Auction 22787604
8/11/2020 $810.11 8 (OC) 154032821749 eBay flabledec Auction 47117710
8/8/2020 $6,499.99 8 133487902934 eBay lilybethtaylor37 Best Offer 09037750
8/7/2020 $5,200.00 8 303638834203 eBay eevans1552 Auction 02008685
8/6/2020 $5,995.00 8 363063453158 eBay icaancards Buy It Now 44210520
8/4/2020 $4,599.00 8 363059514181 eBay probstein123 Auction 50069088
8/2/2020 $5,555.00 8 203064842853 eBay exhibitman Buy It Now 28920782
7/30/2020 $4,799.99 8 264813410421 eBay the-eleven-club Buy It Now 26311199
7/30/2020 $5,677.88 8 353144777757 eBay pwcc_auctions Auction 18737805
7/28/2020 $4,500.00 8 303631051655 eBay dr.sportzcardzenmore-scs Auction 05016321
7/27/2020 $4,500.00 8 333667008189 eBay djoppan-66 Buy It Now 25568929
7/27/2020 $4,500.00 8 283959942576 eBay rochester9002 Buy It Now 14993384
7/27/2020 $4,300.00 8 363058844697 eBay tbh39 Best Offer 44704777
7/24/2020 $4,600.00 8 373117534771 eBay probstein123 Auction 30899904
7/23/2020 $3,383.99 8 143654274282 eBay pwcc_auctions Auction 22034630
7/23/2020 $3,410.00 8 353135923739 eBay pwcc_auctions Auction 23556592
7/22/2020 $2,995.00 8 363053869399 eBay icaancards Buy It Now 40732438
/7/2020 $2,459.99 8 254609225712 eBay graded_psa_cards Best Offer 02012346
7/6/2020 $1,425.00 8 254636781845 eBay nolacali2 Auction 02085183
6/27/2020 $1,850.00 8 133449445410 eBay jackmay Buy It Now 46894492
/22/2020 $1,925.00 8 274390399232 eBay ez01 Best Offer 60117972
6/13/2020 $1,650.00 8 333614881923 eBay selut-14 Best Offer 26566064
6/12/2020 $1,459.09 8 124215022217 eBay kencope Auction 30376241
6/7/2020 $1,850.00 8 233604685400 eBay thiel12 Buy It Now 27081984
6/3/2020 $1,818.00 8 383563060432 eBay probstein123 Auction 06318666
6/1/2020 $1,913.00 8 402270041474 eBay pwcc_auctions Auction 25325982
5/31/2020 $1,850.00 8 264735280718 eBay sportssource2 Best Offer 02147479
/26/2020 $1,620.00 8 44178 Heritage Auctions Auction 02005029
5/22/2020 $1,483.00 8 264731235157 eBay honestjackcards Auction 01084409
5/21/2020 $1,791.00 8 402257335001 eBay pwcc_auctions Auction 15606771
5/5/2020 $1,680.00 8 373034658494 eBay probstein123 Auction 43261729
5/1/2020 $1,341.00 8 143585894677 eBay pwcc_auctions Auction 01084409
4/22/2020 $1,109.00 8 143578316417 eBay pwcc_auctions Auction 27337477
4/20/2020 $1,020.00 8 2261 Robert Edward Auctions 2020 Spring Auction 06088847
4/20/2020 $1,110.00 8 2262 Robert Edward Auctions 2020 Spring Auction 27958112
3/27/2020 $1,099.00 8 254550547893 eBay wildavi-28 Buy It Now 27320761
3/25/2020 $915.76 8 114155220433 eBay goldustnrouge Auction 45816396
3/22/2020 $1,125.00 8 402157198613 eBay pwcc_auctions Auction 03693313
3/22/2020 $1,236.00 8 143553760087 eBay pwcc_auctions Auction 31636188
3/9/2020 $982.00 8 362932131281 eBay probstein123 Auction 28212796


Now, removing the PWCC and Probstein results because, you know, they strike some as about as genuine as a stripper's boobs:

9/8/2020 $3,850.00 8 174417779408 eBay cardkast 1 02525478
9/7/2020 $4,938.00 8 274474367911 eBay pkrface Auction 06341751
9/5/2020 $6,500.00 8 224116457849 eBay kjam6885 3 27081984
8/27/2020 $7,500.00 8 264844802944 eBay heyticketguy 3 06040208
8/24/2020 $9,000.00 8 224128905953 eBay dand52261 Best Offer 25052507
8/24/2020 $7,000.00 8 402367199324 eBay allstar-cards Auction 23767118
8/16/2020 $9,500.00 8 224119415187 eBay dand52261 Best Offer 25052507
8/15/2020 $9,500.00 8 233680871242 eBay thecrimsonchild Best Offer 30376241
8/12/2020 $8,750.00 8 254684751727 eBay cbjoe Best Offer 25800102
8/11/2020 $8,080.00 8 Is PSADNA 363066455830 eBay probstein123 Auction 22787604
8/8/2020 $6,499.99 8 133487902934 eBay lilybethtaylor37 Best Offer 09037750
8/7/2020 $5,200.00 8 303638834203 eBay eevans1552 Auction 02008685
8/6/2020 $5,995.00 8 363063453158 eBay icaancards Buy It Now 44210520
8/2/2020 $5,555.00 8 203064842853 eBay exhibitman Buy It Now 28920782
7/30/2020 $4,799.99 8 264813410421 eBay the-eleven-club Buy It Now 26311199
7/28/2020 $4,500.00 8 303631051655 eBay dr.sportzcardzenmore-scs Auction 05016321
7/27/2020 $4,500.00 8 333667008189 eBay djoppan-66 Buy It Now 25568929
7/27/2020 $4,500.00 8 283959942576 eBay rochester9002 Buy It Now 14993384
7/27/2020 $4,300.00 8 363058844697 eBay tbh39 Best Offer 44704777
7/22/2020 $2,995.00 8 363053869399 eBay icaancards Buy It Now 40732438
/7/2020 $2,459.99 8 254609225712 eBay graded_psa_cards Best Offer 02012346
7/6/2020 $1,425.00 8 254636781845 eBay nolacali2 Auction 02085183
6/27/2020 $1,850.00 8 133449445410 eBay jackmay Buy It Now 46894492
/22/2020 $1,925.00 8 274390399232 eBay ez01 Best Offer 60117972
6/13/2020 $1,650.00 8 333614881923 eBay selut-14 Best Offer 26566064
6/12/2020 $1,459.09 8 124215022217 eBay kencope Auction 30376241
6/7/2020 $1,850.00 8 233604685400 eBay thiel12 Buy It Now 27081984
5/31/2020 $1,850.00 8 264735280718 eBay sportssource2 Best Offer 02147479
/26/2020 $1,620.00 8 44178 Heritage Auctions Auction 02005029
5/22/2020 $1,483.00 8 264731235157 eBay honestjackcards Auction 01084409
4/20/2020 $1,020.00 8 2261 Robert Edward Auctions 2020 Spring Auction 06088847
4/20/2020 $1,110.00 8 2262 Robert Edward Auctions 2020 Spring Auction 27958112
3/27/2020 $1,099.00 8 254550547893 eBay wildavi-28 Buy It Now 27320761
3/25/2020 $915.76 8 114155220433 eBay goldustnrouge Auction 45816396

This presents a more complete picture of the price movements since the start of the pandemic run-up.

I generally agree that there was a bubble of prices that hit its height last month and may have started downward this month (need to see a few more sales to confirm a trend, I think). My guess as to why is the various stimulus packages running out. When the government was throwing free money at us, people spent it on cards and the fact that they were skyrocketing made it seem like a smart bet. That looks to have ended starting 7/31 with the end of extended unemployment benefits and (more important, I think) the start of the end of the spending of the 2nd wave of money from the SBA loans under the PPP program (for those who don't follow it, these were loans that you could have forgiven if you shoveled the money out the door on payroll and overhead expenses--and the initial law required you to spend it in eight weeks--so many small business owners were able to use the loans to pay themselves as employees of their entities, effectively getting a free pool of money).

What will be interesting is to see if the pattern holds for other cards that have had strong run-ups over the last six months. Even more interesting will be to see if the prices drop all at once.

FWIW, I thought the Dr. J. RC was grossly undervalued at the levels of a year ago. My thinking was that $1500-$2000 is about right for a PSA 8 caliber example.

Dr J
 

I could just picture some poor individual saying to himself before making a bid "If i could just get this PSA 8 under $11k....

:D:D:D:D Imagine buying a card for over eight grand and then a couple weeks later it starts selling for half that price - what would you do? I'm pretty sure some of these folks are going to start returning them. They can buy the card back for about four grand and then use the other half to buy something else!