OT:Auction sales hit record $15 billion as young, wealthy collectors enter the market

[MattyC]

I think it is a terrible thing. My opinion, what the hell do we care if our stuff is worth money to our heirs after we croak? What matters is the fun we have while we're alive. A decline in the hobby would make us have more money and more cards.

Also, the prices nowadays force many of us to have to think about our cards as investments. I just wish I didn't have to view the things I like through that prism.

[nat]

I see baseball cards as a device for turning money into fun. I want low prices, not high ones.

[parkplace33]

“Driving all the growth — from fine art masterpieces to collectible sneakers — was a new generation of collectors who had never before been clients of the big auction houses. Sotheby’s said 44% of its bidders this year were new to the auction house, while half of the buyers at Phillips were first-timers. At Christie’s, 35% of all buyers were new, with two-thirds entering through online sales. A third of their new buyers were millennials.”

This is the big piece from the article. The amount of new buyers and money coming into the hobby is tremendous. I love cards, but I am aware that big cards going for big money is part of the way forward. There is no going back.

[Lorewalker]

Originally Posted by MattyC

I think it is a terrible thing. My opinion, what the hell do we care if our stuff is worth money to our heirs after we croak? What matters is the fun we have while we're alive. A decline in the hobby would make us have more money and more cards.

Also, the prices nowadays force many of us to have to think about our cards as investments. I just wish I didn't have to view the things I like through that prism.

I am with you. I don't think all of the recent money into the business has been particularly good. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Change in the hobby is great. Just not sure, at this point, if we are headed in the right direction entirely and if not then things will adjust.

[ALBB]

Love it - Young and wealthy collectors !

[cardsagain74]

Originally Posted by MattyC

I think it is a terrible thing. My opinion, what the hell do we care if our stuff is worth money to our heirs after we croak? What matters is the fun we have while we're alive. A decline in the hobby would make us have more money and more cards.

Also, the prices nowadays force many of us to have to think about our cards as investments. I just wish I didn't have to view the things I like through that prism.

Some people actually care about the estate that they'll pass on to their heirs. And you act like a hobby crash doesn't have any negative effects. Very bad for dealers, and some implications for collectors as well.

Also....what a horrible thing when someone's cards have worth enough to be a material part of their assets. Such psychological torment is just unbearable.

[MattyC]

Originally Posted by cardsagain74

Some people actually care about the estate that they'll pass on to their heirs. And you act like a hobby crash doesn't have any negative effects. Very bad for dealers, and some implications for collectors as well.

Also....what a horrible thing when someone's cards have worth enough to be a material part of their assets. Such psychological torment is just unbearable.

I can care about my estate and my heirs, and not want or need my estate to include baseball cards. I’d also like my heirs to be self sufficient and able to provide a great life for themselves. Every dollar I’ve spent in life is a dollar I earned. I value self sufficiency and the ability to earn over inheriting money. The fact is that while higher prices mean my cards are now part of my assets, the flipside to that— which I personally find outweighs that new asset— is that higher prices mean less money in collector pockets and fewer cards in collections. As a passionate collector, I will always root for lower prices. That said, it doesn’t seem anything can slow down the competition and resultant prices; the music has stopped, so to speak, and the chairs many of us have are our collections as they now stand. New acquisitions are going to be ever pricier and thus fewer and farther between.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by MattyC

I can care about my estate and my heirs, and not want or need my estate to include baseball cards. I’d also like my heirs to be self sufficient and able to provide a great life for themselves. Every dollar I’ve spent in life is a dollar I earned. I value self sufficiency and the ability to earn over inheriting money. The fact is that while higher prices mean my cards are now part of my assets, the flipside to that— which I personally find outweighs that new asset— is that higher prices mean less money in collector pockets and fewer cards in collections. As a passionate collector, I will always root for lower prices. That said, it doesn’t seem anything can slow down the competition and resultant prices; the music has stopped, so to speak, and the chairs many of us have are our collections as they now stand. New acquisitions are going to be ever pricier and thus fewer and farther between.

Yes but when you bought your 52T Mantle if I recall the approximate price range, it was probably 10 times more than it would have been a decade before (or if not that certainly a significant multiple), and many people back then likely had the very same complaint about being priced out of the market for the elite cards. This is just how many markets behave over time.

[MattyC]

Can’t argue with that, Pete. It all stems from what prices we’ve seen in the past. Those just entering the hobby now don’t have the sting of knowing what was LOL.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by MattyC

Can’t argue with that, Pete. It all stems from what prices we’ve seen in the past. Those just entering the hobby now don’t have the sting of knowing what was LOL.

Right but the flipside is you (me too) were able to get a lot of cards back then for what now seems a relative pittance.

[here2havefun]

I only buy cards that I like. I absolutely love my collection, and look through it for fun on the regular. But, if I spend thousands on a card, I'd prefer that it retain its value. I would personally rather not dump a ton of money into something that's going to go to zero. I don't think that means I can't call myself a collector.