It's officially time to start buying pre-war cards again

[Exhibitman]

Some have, Scott, some haven't. Run of the mill stuff is way down. Rarities are still breaking records.

Bob's right, though, there are some definite deals on Ebay. I was pleasantly surprised this a.m. to find I'd won an 1889 baseball currency White Sox piece for 40% of what I'd seen a comparable one for at the National two years ago.

[alanu]

It seems to be a good time to buy in comparison to the past few years, but a year from now prices could be half of what they are today. Doesn't seem possible, but when a $350K house in Las Vegas dropped to $250K, who would have thought they would be $150K a year later.

[nolemmings]

As usual, I'm behind the curve. The sets I collect are not going cheaply at all. M101s are stable if not high. An m101-5 blank back common Zinn Beck SGC 60 went for $213 last week, three times what the card is worth, with three separate bidders over $150. I have not seen prices lowered on anything mid grade or higher in these sets for some time. Also, I posted in another thread how Worch commons--minor leaguers no less (which are traditionally less highly prized)-- were going for about $200 in SGC 40 and 50.

By contrast, I dabble in T202s, and notice that they have gone down in price.
Maybe collectors have filled many of the more "popular" prewar sets and are now expanding into other areas.

[calvindog]

Originally Posted by nolemmings

By contrast, I dabble in T202s, and notice that they have gone down in price.
Maybe collectors have filled many of the more "popular" prewar sets and are now expanding into other areas.

T201s and T202s have really taken a hit the past year or two. Prices are sometimes half what they were then (except for the ones I buy).

[Rich Klein]

With Joe Jax in the middle doing

[sgbernard]

I'd happily buy T209 IIs on e-bay, but I haven't seen many recently.

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by nolemmings

Maybe collectors have filled many of the more "popular" prewar sets and are now expanding into other areas.

Could be. My suspicion also is that many collectors are leaving the mainstream cards for another time because they would prefer to spend their money on the suddenly more affordable more difficult cards. I know I haven't bought a T206 in a few years but have acquired several type cards that I'd not have bought had the prices not come down on them.

[Orioles1954]

I sold my 1933 Delong Gehrig SGC 40 in 2008 for $1500. I bought the same card in April for $900. Conversely, I'm making a ton of money in the shiny card market right now.

[Golfcollector]

Yes it is a buyers market for a lot of cards in my opinion.

Collecting vintage golf is my main interest, and prices overall have been as affordable as they have been in years. I have picked up a lot of both raw and material recently, and most of it at roughly half or slightly less than it would have cost me 6 months ago.

Good time to be a buyer, not so great of a time to be a seller.

[cmcclelland]

I totally agree that pre-war is much cheaper than it was a few years ago. I recently "bought back" an E104 Nadja Hall of Famer for less than half of what I sold the same card for a few years ago. This was not just the same player and grade, it was the exact same card with the exact same serial number on the SGC holder.

Not sure if we've hit the bottom yet (my guess is no), but the pre-war cards sure seem cheap right now. Also, I think the bargains are with the lower to mid-grade cards more so than with the higher grade stuff. My guess is the deep pockets are not feeling the pain of the economy as much as the average Joe, so the high end stuff doesn't suffer as much from desperation selling nor from the lack of a strong buyer.