Posted By:
Bruce Dorskind
Over the course of the past two years, a plethora of distinguished collections
have been sold at public auction and privately.
For many years there has been a group of a dozen or so "major collectors"
whose energy, connections and financial resources drove the prices
of high profile, high grade pre-WWII baseball cards.
Whilst there are still a handful of Board Members who are major spenders
($250,000+) a year on cards, and we are all too familiar with our friends
the Three Whales, we wonder who the 'new players" are.
And more importantly where they are focusing their buying efforts?
We have noted a dearth of ultra high grade pre-war cards on E Bay.
We note that the truly rare cards continue to obtain record prices.
Last week we met with a major auction house owner who told us about
three new customers who had each spent in excess of $2.5 million
this year (all on pre-war cards)
Who are the new players? How are they shaping the future of the hobby?
Will the rare high grade card market, like the market for yachts and impressionist
paintings (hardly in the same ballpark) manage to avoid the impact of the
bear market and economic downturn?
Where are all the new "players" coming from?
Bruce Dorskind
America's Toughest Want List