Auction dollars spent vis a vis ebay dollars spent

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Posted By: Bottom of the Ninth

If the "bubble" does burst, it will not be from a lack of funds but a lack of passion or interest in collecting. Many of the newcomer collectors of vintage material, like myself, feel that prices are not that high. Some of us were not smart enough, old enough and therefore fortunate enough to be buying in 1974 when Cobbs and Wagners sold for $12 and if you bought 3 the 4th was free.

ebay has brought many new people to the hobby and exposed collectors to issues they did not know existed. Most who I speak with buy out of a desire to acquire cards and little to no thought is put into what the value of the piece of cardboard will be worth 10 years from now.

From a collector's point of view, the set registry is a joke but I love it as a dealer. When I see common cards from the 50's selling for 3K each, or even $500, I know the unlucky new owner just shot himself in the foot. Prices are obviously dictated by a Population Report that is only going to grow. There will likely never be fewer copies of a card as time goes on. Not sure that losing many of these guys would have any impact on the vintage market.

Greg