What I’m reading a lot in here, especially pertaining to eBay, is the lack of “finding a steal”. Many of us collectors get the serotonin high of adding something rare or never before seen for a fraction of the perceived value, myself very much included.
If it’s something very specific that you’re on the hunt for and don’t mind paying almost anything in your budget at an auction house etc, that’s one thing. You’ll still be able to cherish that item. But it seems the burnout comes from getting less and less of the “thrill of the hunt” and going longer and longer without the high. And it doesn’t help when we see covered items snatched for that “good price” and FOMO sets in.
Especially true for collectors who collect items more than several generations old. There are always going to be unfound items out there in the world, but unless they’ve been held as family heirlooms/storage for generations, there’s not going to be an abundance of rare old stuff unpicked/flipped by at least one person in this day and age.
Once in awhile I still find what I consider a rare steal, but it has definitely slowed down post-pandemic. I think the pandemic era turned many more people into pickers and flippers in many areas of collectibles.
Sometimes when it all seems too much I just take a break. Usually finding something cool when I least expect it lassoes me back in and starts the cycle of obsession all over again.
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