Quote:
Originally Posted by Exhibitman
I suspect a lot of it is coincidental or generational.
There are a lot of us old fart collectors who bought their collections decades ago for a pittance and have huge paper profits. Some are cashing in. Since we all travel in the same relatively small collector circles (I interact with maybe a thousand collectors between boards and in person dealings), a relatively small number of collectors from that core selling out looks like a stampede.
There is also the timing. The early and middle Boomers are at retirement age, and the late Boomers and early Gen X'ers are entering (if we are lucky) the wind-down phases of our careers and the downsizing of our lifestyles and needs. We are moving out of the big empty nests and into smaller spaces more suitable for couples. Part of that is the collection: either sell it off or pay to move it.
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Great point(s) Adam. The Baby Boomer generation pretty much coincides exactly with the rise in card collecting brought on by the start of the continuing Topps and Bowman sets. Took the hobby from a more niche fascination with some to something generational that pretty much every kid growing up in the 50s, 60s, and into the 70s, remembers very well. Even though the majority of Baby Boomers never became big-time card collectors, pretty much every single one remembers the cards and opening packs at some point in their childhood. And as you said, as we're all getting near that point of retirement (if not already there), possibly along with seeing the somewhat ridiculous increases in prices during the pandemic, thinking about other things than one's cards may start to come to the fore.