Economic Effects...

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Posted By: David Poses

I'd say there are other components which need to be taken into consideration besides pure dollars- scarcity and popularity.

The more obscure sets, which serious collectors seem to migrate to, but are on the whole, unpopular, I suspect, will not lose value, as there is always someone who has been waiting forever for a Red Sun or e100 to show up on eBay and will thus pull the trigger with little hesitation.

Another category, which I'll call popular-ish, I think, is more likely to decrease in value. By this I mean a series/set which is relatively easy to come by, that the common collector or newbie tend to venture into after getting sick of the Monster. I'm thinking e90s, T207s, etc. I've picked up a bunch of cards with little competition lately, the prices of which were considerably less than the exact same cards several months ago.

Something I have noticed fairly consistently is a phenomenon where a relatively easy to find card goes for a low price on eBay. The following week, the same card in similar condition is listed, and everybody who did NOT win the card in the previous week flocks to it, hoping to pick it up cheap, but laying down a big snipe just to be safe. This happened with an e90 Hal Chase a few months ago- I think it was a PSA 2 and it sold for $665. The week before, the same card went for around $200. In January, I picked up a PSA2 e90 chase for $125. The next week, a PSA 2 e90 Chase went on eBay and sold for $175.

This is a wacky hobby.