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[SAllen2556]

Originally Posted by Wannabeoldschool

Has the hobby lost value in the past and if so when?

I can think of 2 instances right off the top: the strike in 1994, and the little crash we had in 2008. 1994-95 was especially brutal.

And I think if you were to take 95% of the cards in "collector" condition as far back as 1991, I don't think you'd see the sort of return to justify baseball cards as an investment. I could show you old price guides and hobby magazines from then to prove it. It's only been the absolute hobby superstars (Ruth, Cobb, Rose, Mantle, and a few others) that if you had purchased back then in lower condition you'd at least be doing ok.

It's the high-end graded cards of practically anyone that have gone nuts since graded cards came to be. PSA 9, PSA 10's - The happiest collectors who are in the hobby for the investment (I am not by the way but I find the topic fascinating) are the people who purchased these ultra high-end graded cards. The invention of graded cards, especially from PSA, will always be seen as the watershed moment in the hobby, as far as prices go. If I could go back to 1996 and purchase three or four PSA 10's, or even 9's, I could retire this afternoon!

The debate, even as far back as the 80's, has always been how much higher can these high-end cards actually go? Are their enough collectors entering the hobby to maintain these prices? Will all the corruption in the hobby finally take its toll on prices? Hasn't happened yet. And if people were asking these questions 20 or 30 years ago, wouldn't the logical answer in 2016 be no? High-end graded cards of superstars have been a great investment; they are currently a great investment, and they probably always will be a great investment.

[1952boyntoncollector]

Originally Posted by SAllen2556

I can think of 2 instances right off the top: the strike in 1994, and the little crash we had in 2008. 1994-95 was especially brutal.

And I think if you were to take 95% of the cards in "collector" condition as far back as 1991, I don't think you'd see the sort of return to justify baseball cards as an investment. I could show you old price guides and hobby magazines from then to prove it. It's only been the absolute hobby superstars (Ruth, Cobb, Rose, Mantle, and a few others) that if you had purchased back then in lower condition you'd at least be doing ok.

It's the high-end graded cards of practically anyone that have gone nuts since graded cards came to be. PSA 9, PSA 10's - The happiest collectors who are in the hobby for the investment (I am not by the way but I find the topic fascinating) are the people who purchased these ultra high-end graded cards. The invention of graded cards, especially from PSA, will always be seen as the watershed moment in the hobby, as far as prices go. If I could go back to 1996 and purchase three or four PSA 10's, or even 9's, I could retire this afternoon!

The debate, even as far back as the 80's, has always been how much higher can these high-end cards actually go? Are their enough collectors entering the hobby to maintain these prices? Will all the corruption in the hobby finally take its toll on prices? Hasn't happened yet. And if people were asking these questions 20 or 30 years ago, wouldn't the logical answer in 2016 be no? High-end graded cards of superstars have been a great investment; they are currently a great investment, and they probably always will be a great investment.

i always thought it would be scary to pay 10k for a card in psa 10 when a card that is beat up is literally worth a dollar or less like some 1980s topps cards.

I tend to like cards that even if you rip them in half and tape them together they are worth hundreds of dollars. You can do that to a 1951 mantle for a 1914 jackson cracker jack for example. Knowing a card can be ripped up and still be worth money in comforting to me