Anyone Else Feeling Marooned on Vintage Collector Island??

[raulus]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

I'd really love to get a breakdown of where all this money is coming from. Auction honchos could tell me, if they wanted, but I'm not sure I've ever asked. It's not us here on Net54, that's for sure, unless we're cashing in something we bought years ago when things were more affordable to buy something today. I'm guessing some pure investor and investor groups have noticed the dependable 50-year track record and ROI of this asset class and come in with guns blazing. And how about these tech billionaires and wealthy boomer lawyers, doctors, and other professionals who basically have the wherewithal to pull the trigger on anything they see in auction catalogs as often as they feel like it. And they can do it with the reassurance of the above mentioned track record. There is so much money sloshing around out there now, so many fortunes that would have been unimaginable in my youth when there were a few old-line fortunes known by name and that was about it. Venture capital? What the heck is that? Don't get me wrong, I have no complaints. I'm very happy with my little house in my beautiful little town and my fabulous old Highlander and Martin D-35, etc., and I have some cool stuff grabbed in the old days in niches that not many others cared about, but I can easily understand how frustrating it must be for ordinary schmucks who just love old cards to now be faced with choices like replacing the beater second car or moving forward with their collection. Frankly, the financial profile of the average Net54 collector must be in the top 99% of the country to even be able to play in this sandbox at all. For that group, who has gotten used to having pretty much whatever they set their sights on, this must be a very tough time to be in the "hobby."

I'm skeptical that there's a lot of hedge funds, venture capital, and alternative investment pools with millions or billions dedicated to buying cardboard running around out there and buying up a significant number of vintage pieces. Maaaaaaybe a few here and there, but not enough to move the market on their own. Obviously the fractional ownership promoters are losing their shirts and liquidating their pieces, but even for them when they were in acquisition phase prior to their ultimate fall, it's not like they were buying more than a handful of high-end pieces here and there.

For those of us with the cash to swim in the semi-deep waters, I'm guessing that no small number of us here fit the profile of successful professionals or business owners. I'm inclined to suspect that some of our peers who left the hobby in our youth have come back to it during the pandemic, and are willing to spend a fair amount to get back into the game. I suspect that this is the biggest source of support for all of the cash running around and buying up 5 and 6 figure pieces.

I would guess that you're right that some part of the cash is recycled from collectors selling pieces and then rolling it over into new pieces. While some gets recycled, there are certainly some collectors who have decided that they're ready to sell and move on to other adventures. Or death or divorce resulting in liquidation of some collections, with the proceeds not coming back.

In the end, every little bit helps to support these prices.