Is this a bad time to buy?

[AnkurJ]

With Many people sitting home with not much to do it seems that prices are jumping on many items across the board. Being a collector for a while it makes me think if it’s a good time to buy or not. Thoughts?

[danx]

Was wondering the same thing - but I am still buying when I see value. Prices on some sectors seem inflated - avoiding those. Guessing it's temporary, but maybe this environment will bring more folks into the hobby, longer term?

[JollyElm]

It's kind of a double-edged sword scenario. Right now, seemingly 99% of the country (i.e. collectors) is in home isolation, and spending their days looking on ebay and buying things. Many cards I was watching (50's-60's stuff) went for pretty big, surprising prices. But if this quarantine continues to go on and the states aren't able to open up for business, the reality of job/income loss is going to hit even harder than it already has, and less and less people will be able to spend their money on non-essentials like baseball cards. Whether you're a buyer or seller, let's all hope that doesn't happen.

[Exhibitman]

There's never a bad time to buy, only a bad deal to buy.

Buy common stuff cheap, buy rare stuff when you can, sell what you don't really care about into the teeth of a rising market. Same as it ever was.

[hcv123]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

There's never a bad time to buy, only a bad deal to buy.

Buy common stuff cheap, buy rare stuff when you can, sell what you don't really care about into the teeth of a rising market. Same as it ever was.

That said, some of the auctions I have followed have seen items sell for what I would call WAY over market value - per the above quote - I bid, but didn't win anything and walked away shaking my head.

I wonder if there is some type of psychological forces at play causing some to pay such high prices.

[Exhibitman]

Yeah, they're bored.

[Phil68]

Originally Posted by hcv123

That said, some of the auctions I have followed have seen items sell for what I would call WAY over market value - per the above quote - I bid, but didn't win anything and walked away shaking my head.

I wonder if there is some type of psychological forces at play causing some to pay such high prices.

I'm sure glad to hear others are experiencing it. I cannot believe the prices.
I decided to fill in some holes in my 70's and even early 80's...9's selling where 10's were just a couple of months ago. Very impressed with the market on these items.
That said, it DOES seem like quality on eBay is scarcer than I can ever remember. I haven't won many cards in May at all...or even April. I'm bidding pretty strong but...not strong enough.

I suppose these things go in cycles? It's more of a stock market vibe than it was when I collected from 1976-2006. Feels like many cards I was too slow on have jumped away from my reality, Lol.