Quote:
Originally Posted by raulus
I'm skeptical that there's a lot of hedge funds, venture capital, and alternative investment pools with millions or billions dedicated to buying cardboard running around out there and buying up a significant number of vintage pieces. Maaaaaaybe a few here and there, but not enough to move the market on their own. Obviously the fractional ownership promoters are losing their shirts and liquidating their pieces, but even for them when they were in acquisition phase prior to their ultimate fall, it's not like they were buying more than a handful of high-end pieces here and there. For those of us with the cash to swim in the semi-deep waters, I'm guessing that no small number of us here fit the profile of successful professionals or business owners. I'm inclined to suspect that some of our peers who left the hobby in our youth have come back to it during the pandemic, and are willing to spend a fair amount to get back into the game. I suspect that this is the biggest source of support for all of the cash running around and buying up 5 and 6 figure pieces. I would guess that you're right that some part of the cash is recycled from collectors selling pieces and then rolling it over into new pieces. While some gets recycled, there are certainly some collectors who have decided that they're ready to sell and move on to other adventures. Or death or divorce resulting in liquidation of some collections, with the proceeds not coming back. In the end, every little bit helps to support these prices.
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Yes, it is no doubt a mix of investors and collectors of different goals and resources that is driving the current trends. I never included large Wall Street types in my question, by the way, and only mentioned venture capitalists as an example of relatively new and lucrative professions providing the disposable income to enable those with the collector gene to satisfy their cravings. But surely there are some individuals and investor groups out there who have heard and seen verified the age-old advice of speculative wisdom succeed generation after generation: "buy the best cards in the best condition of the best players you can find," and have and are investing heavily in this market accordingly. Put this mix together, and, as the OP laments, the days of the guy or gal making a nice six-figure salary, or even multiples of that, who used to be able to indulge in the hobby with relish, actively and successfully, is pressed harder and harder now to finish their sets, upgrade their sets, expand their type cards, etc., as they could just a few years ago. That was the point of the original and succeeding posts, and it is quite amazing to ponder a situation where many of those populating this board, sporting wonderful financial profiles at the very top percentiles in the country, are being frustrated at virtually every turn now on their attempts to keep up. Things have changed, that's for sure.