Percentage of Net Worth

[glchen]

Originally Posted by conor912

The former. This hobby is going the way of the 1%.

I don't think this hobby is going to the 1% or has to. There are plenty of cards that are very affordable. Certainly, if a collector is looking for any modern set, you can certainly purchase the latest one at Target or any other store for ~$40. And for vintage sets, if you are collecting lower grade, it still is not difficult to complete the basic Topps sets (except 1952).

For prewar, there are a bunch of affordable cards also even for many HOFers. Affordability only gets to be an issue if you are a set collector, and there are some hugely expensive cards in your set (e.g., T206 or 1933 Goudey). However, if you are a type collector or team collector, there are still many inexpensive cards in prewar that you can still pick up.

[conor912]

Originally Posted by glchen

I don't think this hobby is going to the 1% or has to. There are plenty of cards that are very affordable. Certainly, if a collector is looking for any modern set, you can certainly purchase the latest one at Target or any other store for ~$40. And for vintage sets, if you are collecting lower grade, it still is not difficult to complete the basic Topps sets (except 1952).

For prewar, there are a bunch of affordable cards also even for many HOFers. Affordability only gets to be an issue if you are a set collector, and there are some hugely expensive cards in your set (e.g., T206 or 1933 Goudey). However, if you are a type collector or team collector, there are still many inexpensive cards in prewar that you can still pick up.

I knew someone would reply with this, and of course there are still plenty of affordable options. I think the point was rather that a lot cards that had been affordable for decades have increased exponentially over the last 10 years. When you fundamentally have to change what you collect because you've been priced out, you drive people away. The same could be said for homes in some areas.

[MR RAREBACK]

I would say 66 percent of my net worth is baseball cards

[Usc1]

I haven't been back in the hobby to long but have never seen it as an "investment." Most definitely less than 1% for me.

[pokerplyr80]

Originally Posted by conor912

I knew someone would reply with this, and of course there are still plenty of affordable options. I think the point was rather that a lot cards that had been affordable for decades have increased exponentially over the last 10 years. When you fundamentally have to change what you collect because you've been priced out, you drive people away. The same could be said for homes in some areas.

I'd be surprised if many had to fundamentally change what they collect over the last 10 years. My guess is that most cards could be found within a grade or two at their price from 10 years ago.

[Leon]

I agree, if you go down a grade or two (technically) a lot of the expensive cards are still affordable. That said, your resources can get out of whack when collecting. Mine did until they right-sized 3 yrs ago. My percentage was exponentially higher with my first collection. .....

Originally Posted by pokerplyr80

I'd be surprised if many had to fundamentally change what they collect over the last 10 years. My guess is that most cards could be found within a grade or two at their price from 10 years ago.