Card Interest Down? Not at the National.

[Exhibitman]

Don't forget inheritances. As we bury the Greatest Generation and the Silent Generation (and the earliest Boomers), a ton of wealth is transferring tax-free (for the most part) to Gen X and Millennials. I was at my 40th HS reunion last fall. I went to a small private prep school in L.A. where nearly all of the students were from families that were in the top 10% financially speaking and most of my classmates who showed up had inherited enough from their parents since the 30th reunion to retire or semi-retire on it. Since we are in our late fifties, very few of us were content to do nothing, but having enough to pay off a house and fund a retirement plan frees up a large part of future income for discretionary spending. I suspect a lot of 'advanced' collectors are in a similar position and aren't sweating a $5,000 card the way they would have a decade ago.

The prosperity is not limited to the National. I set up every few months at Front Row Cards' Pasadena show. Last show was one of the best ones I've had. My sales were strong across various categories and not made by one or two big cards. In fact, I did not even have a showcase of higher end cards, just picker boxes. My eBay sales are good too. There is a lot of money out there right now and it is not limited to veteran collectors and young speculators flipping shiny crap. Anecdotally speaking, after chatting with quite a few collectors at shows, inheritance is factoring into it.

[z28jd]

I have noticed that a lot of current players are collecting cards, which I think should get young collectors interested. I can't remember a time when I've read about so many players collecting. Usually you hear about random players here and there. I think the players collecting and showing off their cards is great for the health of the hobby. It's a lot of young players too who haven't made real money yet (in baseball terms). They could become higher end collectors once they start collecting big league checks

[raulus]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

Don't forget inheritances. As we bury the Greatest Generation and the Silent Generation (and the earliest Boomers), a ton of wealth is transferring tax-free (for the most part) to Gen X and Millennials.

I hear the greatest generation was a lot more chatty than the silent generation.

Although I suspect all that greatness creates pretty high expectations.

And I guess I need to find some rich old people who are otherwise childless who can adopt me to help support my collection.