Pace of price increase frustrations

[bks14sr]

I know this has been mentioned multiple times, but man, this has been getting frustrating with the amount certain cards have increased in price. I’m missing cards by multiples of what I could’ve gotten them for pre covid, which seems counter intuitive. Of course, these increases have benefited on my cards worth, but it’s killing progress on my other pursuits.

I’m roughly 80% into my 52T set, with the Mantle, Robinson and most of the highs to go. This hill looks much steeper than a year ago. Hoping the bubble bursts sooner than later, selfishly.

[JollyElm]

It's definitely a good time to be a seller...and a horrible time to just be an actual collector.

How much does it suck that we who have loved and been involved in this hobby for so long are basically getting screwed over during the pandemic as most things continue to surge upwards in price? So infuriating!!!

[irv]

It is crazy!

I took a swing away a while ago from collecting 52 Topps cards, mainly due to the price of our CDN dollar, and started collecting hockey cards from mainly CDN sellers, and even those have gone up like crazy for the most part.

Not sure when I'll get back to collecting 52 Topps cards, (other than affordable upgrades) but it's highly unlikely, more than ever now, that I'll ever finish this set.

[Seven]

It's defintely upsetting. I got back into the Hobby last summer, couldn't really make any major purchases though because I was between jobs. New Job comes around, I start being able to buy things, and prices start surging. I'd settle for January of 2020 prices for some of the pieces I want.

And it 100% hurts the section of the hobby, that treats it as just the hobby, and not a card flipping extravaganza. Or as if it was commodity trading. The worst part about this, is while I think the bubble will burst to an extent, the Big Names will probably retain their value for the most part

1933 Goudey Ruth #53, in a PSA 3, had 8 consecutive sales typically in the 4K range, from 2017-2018. That Same Card sold for $7800 in this August, and then 9K in a recent PWCC auction. It's insanity. 1952 Topps Mantle #311, in a PSA 1 spent a good chunk of 2018 in the 9-10K Range. A lot of Money, for sure, but not completely unrealistic, assuming you can afford to save a bit of money and work a good paying Job. The past 4 auctions one was involved in went as follows 14,6000, 16,800, 21,600 and 28,000. What is actually going on?

It's disheartening. I think it comes down eventually, but even if it levels off, I don't think we see pre-covid prices, at least for a long time.

[mortimer brewster]

My go to Ebay seller is Greg Morris. Since they restarted back up They seem to be selling more cards in the vg-ex range rather than EXMT-NM. The prices for these cards are bordering on the ridiculous. Even the commons from the 1960s.

[jchcollins]

Will agree the bubble can be frustrating if you are a collector looking to buy, but other than a national pandemic, I don't see much different in terms of historical bubbles. They come and go. Sustained recessions (despite COVID, we're not really in one right now, or at least not one that affects the upper middle class...) generally drive card prices down. It may happen yet with the mess we are in.

[Exhibitman]

It's frustrating but cyclical. I've collected through every recession since Reagan, every bubble since the early 1980s. That said, there are certain cards that are not likely to go back to the prices of a year ago, like the 1952 Topps superstars. On those I am just waiting for a reasonable dip before I go after them.

A bright fellow (well, Leon anyway) once told me not to sweat a few hundred bucks on a card I really wanted, and he was right. In the long run, good cards tend to appreciate. Several years ago I sold off some of my 'never sell' cards because I got a ridiculous offer--at the time. Today, they are worth even more that what I received, but so are the cards I purchased with the proceeds, so I am good with it. If you want a $2500 1952 Robinson, keep hunting and you will find one you can tolerate; they aren't rare. That's how I got my T206 Cobb red portrait: waited and waited and waited and eventually found a fair condition card that presented better and was for sale a a fair price. Today it would be a steal at that price. Good cards tend to appreciate.

On the bright side, many of the cards I already have are through the roof. My wife said "sell" and I said "Why TF would I do that with highly appreciated and appreciating assets that I cannot replace?"

Maybe try to make some trades? That might be a fun way to get some new goodies. "Trade you Jackie Robinson for Ted Williams"; yeah I am just a big ten-year-old...

Oh, and my cheap 1952 Jackie Robinson that I hunted for:



So FUGLY it is beautiful...and worth 10X what it cost me.

[bks14sr]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

It's frustrating but cyclical. I've collected through every recession since Reagan, every bubble since the early 1980s. That said, there are certain cards that are not likely to go back to the prices of a year ago, like the 1952 Topps superstars. On those I am just waiting for a reasonable dip before I go after them.

A bright fellow (well, Leon anyway) once told me not to sweat a few hundred bucks on a card I really wanted, and he was right. In the long run, good cards tend to appreciate. Several years ago I sold off some of my 'never sell' cards because I got a ridiculous offer--at the time. Today, they are worth even more that what I received, but so are the cards I purchased with the proceeds, so I am good with it. If you want a $2500 1952 Robinson, keep hunting and you will find one you can tolerate; they aren't rare. That's how I got my T206 Cobb red portrait: waited and waited and waited and eventually found a fair condition card that presented better and was for sale a a fair price. Today it would be a steal at that price. Good cards tend to appreciate.

On the bright side, many of the cards I already have are through the roof. My wife said "sell" and I said "Why TF would I do that with highly appreciated and appreciating assets that I cannot replace?"

Maybe try to make some trades? That might be a fun way to get some new goodies. "Trade you Jackie Robinson for Ted Williams"; yeah I am just a big ten-year-old...

Oh, and my cheap 1952 Jackie Robinson that I hunted for:



So FUGLY it is beautiful...and worth 10X what it cost me.

You are right, just needing to exercise some patience. I need to get passed the fact that prices I dragged my feet on earlier this year are no longer the case in the short term. Passed up a really nice 52 Jackie PSA 5 for $3000 in January, so that stings. But, I do have some cards ready for the trade possibility you mentioned, so hoping a local show produces some options. I was searching for 48, 50B and 52T Jackie cards and was trying to be picky with their overall appeal, leading to some passed up options.

I was considering selling some cards a few months back, but had the same issue justifying it due to them steadily increasing and I’m attached to them.

I’m all about bargains like you found as well.

[kailes2872]

When I got back into this craziness in 2012, I collected the post war sets but I always kept my eyes open on the 33 Goudey Ruths. I left my old company to a healthy severance in 2015 and thought that I might buy at least one of the four Ruth's as a present to myself. I remember seeing a thread on this site and the prevailing guidance on price was "a grand a grade!". I'm not sure if that was only through a 4 as it really starting to go up starting at PSA 5, but I would see a PSA 2 for $2500 or a PSA 3 for $3800 and I wouldn't buy it because I didn't want to be the stooge that overpaid for the Ruth card while everyone else was getting it for a grand a grade.

On top of some 50's HOFer upgrades, my big present to myself during that time was my 53 Bowman color with a 5.5 Mantle and 10-12 of the HOFers graded 4-6 that I bought for $3100. Even before my upgrades of that set, I have appreciated well, but if I had put similar money into the Ruth during that time, I would have done much better. Now, they are getting out of reach for a 3-4 example like I would have wanted. I can pretty much forget getting all four of them - although my goal was/is to have all four Ruth's both Gehrig's from 33 & 34 and all four Cobbs. (It would also store much better than all of the sets).

I don't know how to make fractional ownership work and have an active market, but it is getting to the point where only the truly wealthy will be able to continue to invest and buy those cards going forward. It becomes an asset class of itself and I would rather have the money tucked away in mutual funds where it is protected from fire and theft with the knowledge that I could trade assets if I wanted, but I would have no desire to keep them at home and I don't want to set appointments at the safe deposit box to see them if I had them. I will just continue to enjoy the REA and Heritage catalogs and I will enjoy pictures shared here.