Questions about the hobby

[Exhibitman]

The question of whether it is a bubble kind of answers itself: if you have to ask if there is a bubble, there's probably a bubble. Of course a 20% or more a year increase is unsustainable. The more interesting question is whether recent pricing is stable or will a historically $2000 card that sells for $4000 now revert to $2000 when the economy slows, the newbies lose interest, etc. Depending on how you answer that decides whether you buy, hold or sell. Of if you just like your cards and don't need the money, you can take a purely academic interest in it and enjoy your collection.

As for foreign money, you're looking in the wrong place w/r/t vintage American baseball. Look to basketball cards from Jordan forward, Pokemon and other gaming stuff. That is where the real overseas collectors go. There have been some insane prices on LeBron and MJ cards from recent shiny sets driven by heavy interest from Asia. PSA opened an Asian office to handle interest from that part of the world and their clientele aren't submitting E98s.