Poll - The Stock Market and Vintage Sales

[Johnny630]

Originally Posted by Yoda

Just a thought, but if the ultra wealthy are unloading their tech stocks, they are cash rich but immediately wish to put that cash into attractive investments. Why not collectibles, and in particular pre-War and post-War 40's and 50's vintage?

I think the rich have already sold many of their cards are maybe now are keeping their powder dry for the drop in real estate...Seems Smart to me.

[oldjudge]

Leon-I think your biggest problem isn’t cards but rather the lack of diversification in your portfolio. For most people, especially younger ones, retirement account dollars are not available for card purchases anyway so the two should not be directly related. If one keeps saving regularly these down periods just allow for better long term buys.

[Brent G.]

I was out of collecting for 30 years. What changes did you all see during the tech bubble bust of '01 and the housing crash/Great Recession of '07-'12?ish Did spending dry up, did those least affected use it as an opportunity to buy low from those who needed quick cash? There weren't many brick-and-mortar card shops by then, but did it shutter those hanging on?

[Lorewalker]

Voted no because a stock market loss is only a loss if you sell your position. Not the greatest feeling seeing consistent dips but the endless new market highs are also not that comforting.

All markets adjust which gives an opportunity to either buy or sell. I do a lot in real estate and have never made a mistake unless I sell in a panic (which I did once) and can be avoided when you are diversified and have sufficient capital.

I apply this same concept to cards.

[Rich Klein]

One thing to consider is that if you are comfortable with your financial situation, then a major stock market dip may well be a time to buy. The old axiom of sell into an up market and buy into a down market has worked very well over the years and probably will work one more time.

And the best cards will remain just fine, it's the upper middle class to the middle class will have issues.

Oh, and low end will be fine if not even better as people want cards and if traditionally it's been lower end cards at lower prices doing well, well that will continue as well. Remember the low end is perceived to be affordable

Rich

[BioCRN]

I have 2 investment avenues. One is stocks/metals(mostly ETF) which I favor over a stocks/bonds mix. This is "retirement" (not 401K) and I mostly leave it untouched.

My active trading account was -much- more active during COVID with specific strategies that took advantage of trends during the global pandemic. It's purpose wasn't to help fund cards, but it did make some purchases no-brainers since the money leaving didn't matter as much as it might have. I know a good amount of collectors that bought into cards beyond what they thought they would because of help from the COVID-juiced stock market, even with rising prices on cards.

My plays in the market rely heavily on normal or easily predictable conditions. Even in non-normal times I've managed to find predictable investments, but what's going on right now for the past month...maybe some people have a predictable/safe path...not me, not even a clue.

My spare investment money has been sitting in a savings account paying 4%-ish for most of 2025 (currently 3.9%).

[brunswickreeves]

To me, given years to retirement and current asset allocations, a downturn in the stock market and steady state card buying (or upgrading) are not mutually exclusive. Card acquisition comes from ‘fun’ or excess money (e.g. bonus, unplanned consulting work, etc.) that is not required for living expenses. It doesn’t come from stock market gains or dividends, thus can still occur uninterrupted and not limited by a market’s paper loss. In fact, staying the collecting/buying course can result in achieving a seldom available white whale card.

[B O'Brien]

The market has a big impact on my spend on cards, especially the big ones.

I’m a pretty heavy trader, and it’s financed a significant portion of my pickups the last few years. Not an algo trader, but generally in the neighborhood of 75-100 manual trades a week. Up markets are nice, but I really bring in the cash on flat weeks. I sell weekly covered strangles and straddles against my core holdings to bring in cash when things are hopefully nice and slow with a slight uptrend. I’ve been wearily the last couple weeks (which has paid off) and have only been selling covered calls against my positions and bringing in cash on the drops. Not enough to cover the position losses the last couple weeks, but they will bounce back in time and they are generating cash on the drops. Even active trading is an exercise is maintaining discipline and strategy, if you are doing it right.

I probably spend 20-25 hours a week doing the research and active trading. It isn’t my main job, but hopefully it will be in the next two years!

When there’s blood in the streets, it’s time to buy!

Bob

[raulus]

Seems like most luxury goods see a decline in purchases during economic downturns.

I guess we can debate whether cardboard is a luxury good, but at a minimum it sure seems like a discretionary one. And when plenty of pieces cost 4 or 5 figures or more, it can feel an awful lot like a luxury at those price points.

For anyone with a big position in the market that takes a hit, it's hard to imagine it has precisely zero impact on their approach to spending.