Buying Vintage Cards – Buy Now or Buy In 12 Months

[parkplace33]

Over the past year, I have seen a softening in some areas of the vintage card market. I have my eye on a few vintage cards and have a simple question… Do I buy now or wait 12 months and buy then?

Since I know this question will be asked….the cards I want are prewar (and a few postwar) HOFers, mid grade. None are particularly rare and are available at cards shows, auctions, eBay etc.

I have asked a few collectors this question and it’s about a 50/50 split. Some have said the time to buy is now, while others believe the card market will continue to decrease (one said 20 percent on certain cards). What say you?

[uniship]

I say now. Staggering amount of money coming out of modern will make it’s way to vintage. Rare, big name vintage moving upward imo.

[skelly423]

If I had a crystal ball, I'd have a real answer for you. Like all markets, the baseball card market is cyclical and will go up, and will go down. Which direction it's going next is anyone's guess. I have a simple philosophy; if I like a card, and the price is right, I buy it.

[MR RAREBACK]

Wait 12 months,
and ask again

[Snapolit1]

Magic 8 ball says Future Cloudy. Try Again.

[Smarti5051]

My experience is anything I buy will drop in value over the next 12 months, while anything I hold off on buying will be much more expensive in 12 months.

[jingram058]

Originally Posted by parkplace33

Over the past year, I have seen a softening in some areas of the vintage card market. I have my eye on a few vintage cards and have a simple question… Do I buy now or wait 12 months and buy then?

Since I know this question will be asked….the cards I want are prewar (and a few postwar) HOFers, mid grade. None are particularly rare and are available at cards shows, auctions, eBay etc.

I have asked a few collectors this question and it’s about a 50/50 split. Some have said the time to buy is now, while others believe the card market will continue to decrease (one said 20 percent on certain cards). What say you?

If the bottom falls out of the so-called economy, the cards will as well. Who's going to buy cards when you have to make ends meet. Wait a minute. Hold that thought. I forgot. This is net54.

[mrreality68]

I say watch how the particular card is trending and buy when you feel is appropriate.
Some maybe trending up now and some down now.
Like stocks you cannot always try and predict the value at any moment in time.
Buying as you go both high and low will give you a cost average of your net investment if you are investing.
If you are collecting as a Collector then buying vintage anytime is good because over time it will go up and over longer time it will go even more.
Regardless of what anyone of us says the reality is

If you see a card you like and it is in your budget then buy it and enjoy it

[DeanH3]

A card may not be particularly rare, but it might be tough to find with nice eye appeal qualities like centering, color or registration. If you find one with nice eye appeal, I say buy it. You never know when another will come along.

[theshowandme]

Never try to time the market

Keep buying

[bmattioli]

Originally Posted by theshowandme

Never try to time the market

Keep buying

Good advise..

[bcbgcbrcb]

I think over the next 12 months, you will do a little better buying now in some cases and a little worse in others, probably evens out in the long run. Either way, you won’t see anything like the difference between buying in early 2021 and today.

[raulus]

Not sure it has to be either/or. Maybe think about buying stuff over time, so you get the benefit of some dollar cost averaging. If the market moves down, then you can capitalize on it because you kept some dry powder. And if prices move up, then you still have the cheaper pieces that you purchased earlier.

[Fred]

If you're buying because you enjoy the hobby and want to complete a set or some other hobby goal, then it shouldn't matter unless you're spending money that was supposed to be for your retirement.

If you're an investor, then shake the Magic 8-Ball or call Ms. Cleo and you'll get no sympathy from a lot of real collectors (that try to enjoy the hobby for the right reasons) if you happen to lose your butt on the "investment".