Quote:
Originally Posted by Tyruscobb
What ever happened to that FL investment broker member? The one who collected wrestling cards. I can’t remember his name. He thought fractional card ownership was the best thing since sliced bread.
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That is me. I did want to invest in the 1953 Topps Mickey Mantle PSA 10. I decided not to but those who did made out great. Close to 25% net return in less than a year.
If you followed Collectable they turned over loads of cards early on at large profits to their shareholders. Selling these assets and earning transaction fees vs. ongoing fees was probably to their detriment.
The collapse from the huge run up to me is more of the issue as many piled in and as so many cards that had parabolic price moves declined the investors were left sitting on large losses and I would assume that made it harder to attract new investors to purchase future deals.
I think also the price declines have probably made it harder to attract new items being consigned.
The price run ups the industry saw were unprecedented and the price declines in many cases have been just as dramatic.
Longer term I would imagine fractional ownership is here to stay. Art, high end collector cars, sports memorabilia all make sense for smaller time players to participate on items they simply can’t afford.
I at the time said it was a game changer and it was and helped fuel the boom. I like to own cards and have them in my possession but the rational for some to simply invest in a particular item they cannot own on their own makes sense to me and why these platforms exist. High end art has been very effective using this concept and if you look at the items Collectable turned over the Wilt Chamberlain Warrior’s uniform was a huge winner.
The shakeout in the industry is obviously underway with this news and the news about PWCC today but the amount of activity you see at shows and on social media is very strong and I think the hobby will adjust and move forward.