Gone from the Blue-Collar Guy

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by deadballera

All of my purchases are funded by sales of cards - so no new money going into the collection.

Been that way with me for a decade or so. Anything I want I have to sell into or save for from sales proceeds.

[nolemmings]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

Been that way with me for a decade or so. Anything I want I have to sell into or save for from sales proceeds.

Is this the post you leave up for the wife to see, Adam? Kind of reminds me of someone who bought some cards from me a few years ago and asked if he could pay half by check and the other half by money order. Curious, I asked him why, and learned that his wife already had access to the checkbook and could see what he bought, so 100% money order wouldn't work when there was no corresponding check and card, and this way he would only catch half as much hell.

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by nolemmings

Is this the post you leave up for the wife to see, Adam? Kind of reminds me of someone who bought some cards from me a few years ago and asked if he could pay half by check and the other half by money order. Curious, I asked him why, and learned that his wife already had access to the checkbook and could see what he bought, so 100% money order wouldn't work when there was no corresponding check and card, and this way he would only catch half as much hell.

Nope, scout's honor on that one, Todd. My daughter wanted to go to medical school and when that seemed serious I had to not only stop all new money into cards, I had to sell a bunch of stuff to get a jump on covering that cost. Med school is f*****g expensive. When she decided on a different advanced degree at less than half the cost, I kept it that way since it imposes a good brake on my impulsive card spending.

I often feel as others do, that the hobby has gotten beyond me financially. I don't sell it all in frustration, though. I selectively cut back on my collection instead. For example, I stopped collecting boxing sets and focused on types instead. I have only one complete set of vintage boxing cards and that is only because I got it in a collection I bought.

[Orioles1954]

I work in the hobby but no longer collect and have sold everything. I am finding so much satisfaction in new hobbies though. I have gotten into genealogy which is incredibly satisfying and I also collect records which is so much less expensive than sports memorabilia. Plus you get to listen to cool music.

[japhi]

We are at the peak of a once in a lifetime asset bubble. Don't like these prices, give it some time. Air is coming out of all asset classes I follow and with QE being wound down, no stimulus in sight, and money about to get a lot more expensive, there will be a day relatively soon when all the things we can't afford today will become slightly more affordable.

Thing is, will you or I, in that environment, be willing to part with cash to buy this stuff. If you stock portfolio is down 20 points, your HELOC up 2% and your RE down 15%, you may have a hard time pulling the trigger on a 10K card that used to be 18K. I'm not sure what's coming will be good for the retail investor / blue collar collector.

[slightlyrounded]

Originally Posted by japhi

We are at the peak of a once in a lifetime asset bubble. Don't like these prices, give it some time. Air is coming out of all asset classes I follow and with QE being wound down, no stimulus in sight, and money about to get a lot more expensive, there will be a day relatively soon when all the things we can't afford today will become slightly more affordable.

Thing is, will you or I, in that environment, be willing to part with cash to buy this stuff. If you stock portfolio is down 20 points, your HELOC up 2% and your RE down 15%, you may have a hard time pulling the trigger on a 10K card that used to be 18K. I'm not sure what's coming will be good for the retail investor / blue collar collector.

Agree 100%. An economic environment that necessitates lower hobby prices isn’t exactly something to pine for.

[philo98]

Originally Posted by japhi

We are at the peak of a once in a lifetime asset bubble. Don't like these prices, give it some time. Air is coming out of all asset classes I follow and with QE being wound down, no stimulus in sight, and money about to get a lot more expensive, there will be a day relatively soon when all the things we can't afford today will become slightly more affordable.

Thing is, will you or I, in that environment, be willing to part with cash to buy this stuff. If you stock portfolio is down 20 points, your HELOC up 2% and your RE down 15%, you may have a hard time pulling the trigger on a 10K card that used to be 18K. I'm not sure what's coming will be good for the retail investor / blue collar collector.

Completely onboard with this. I thought this would occur in the 2018/2019 timeframe and the pandemic just further exasperated this. 2022-2025 is going to be a very interesting time period.

[Touch'EmAll]

Traditionally, the next few months often see an uptick in demand and prices. Many auctions houses have spring time events, the weather starts to turn better, spring training baseball starts .. do we see a hobby pop this year ?

[Johnny630]

Originally Posted by japhi

We are at the peak of a once in a lifetime asset bubble. Don't like these prices, give it some time. Air is coming out of all asset classes I follow and with QE being wound down, no stimulus in sight, and money about to get a lot more expensive, there will be a day relatively soon when all the things we can't afford today will become slightly more affordable.

Thing is, will you or I, in that environment, be willing to part with cash to buy this stuff. If you stock portfolio is down 20 points, your HELOC up 2% and your RE down 15%, you may have a hard time pulling the trigger on a 10K card that used to be 18K. I'm not sure what's coming will be good for the retail investor / blue collar collector.

Brilliant totally agree this is coming, time will tell.

[Dead-Ball-Hitter]

Originally Posted by japhi

We are at the peak of a once in a lifetime asset bubble. Don't like these prices, give it some time. Air is coming out of all asset classes I follow and with QE being wound down, no stimulus in sight, and money about to get a lot more expensive, there will be a day relatively soon when all the things we can't afford today will become slightly more affordable.

Thing is, will you or I, in that environment, be willing to part with cash to buy this stuff. If you stock portfolio is down 20 points, your HELOC up 2% and your RE down 15%, you may have a hard time pulling the trigger on a 10K card that used to be 18K. I'm not sure what's coming will be good for the retail investor / blue collar collector.

Is this Matt or Tyler Durden from ZeroHedge? (Sorry, Finance joke). Agree with you that every bubble bursts. A big question we probably all struggle with is, "Do I sell now, reap the rewards, suffer for a couple years, and buy it back cheaper? Or do I continue to do what I enjoy and say the heck with it!?"

I think about this every day....

[Johnny630]

Originally Posted by Dead-Ball-Hitter

Is this Matt or Tyler Durden from ZeroHedge? (Sorry, Finance joke). Agree with you that every bubble bursts. A big question we probably all struggle with is, "Do I sell now, reap the rewards, suffer for a couple years, and buy it back cheaper? Or do I continue to do what I enjoy and say the heck with it!?"

I think about this every day....

I'm just holding walking away for now waiting for a better time to buy.

I think in graded HOF Super Stars we are entering, not there yet but a long period of Stagflation in Prices. How long will it last Idk...it's my belief that
Prices will remain high because people paid too much and wont let them go for 20% lower and or cheaper. Auction Houses may dry up people won't come off their prices unless we have a recession which I don't see happening anytime soon. People have a lot of money because the economy is super strong they won't give in easy on lowering their prices or take a big loss. Just me I could be dead wrong.

[Exhibitman]

"The time to buy is when there's blood in the streets."--Baron Rothschild

If you believe we are at peak then it is time to sell, bank the cash, and wait for the downturn to get back in.

[japhi]

Originally Posted by Dead-Ball-Hitter

Is this Matt or Tyler Durden from ZeroHedge? (Sorry, Finance joke). Agree with you that every bubble bursts. A big question we probably all struggle with is, "Do I sell now, reap the rewards, suffer for a couple years, and buy it back cheaper? Or do I continue to do what I enjoy and say the heck with it!?"

I think about this every day....

Can't stand ZeroHedge! For what it's worth, I'm not calling for a global economic meltdown or any sort of doomsday scenario. While the GFC and the dotcom bubble were tough stretches, most came out fine. My strategy is to increase my cash position but keep most of my chips in. You simply can't time markets. Those looking for the bottom never find it because, like FOMO, greed sets in and you end up wanting more.

Some big companies missed earnings this week, lots of value evaporating from equity markets past couple days. Crypto been melting down since Oct. Have to believe that card prices will follow.