Pace of price increase frustrations

[bks14sr]

I know this has been mentioned multiple times, but man, this has been getting frustrating with the amount certain cards have increased in price. I’m missing cards by multiples of what I could’ve gotten them for pre covid, which seems counter intuitive. Of course, these increases have benefited on my cards worth, but it’s killing progress on my other pursuits.

I’m roughly 80% into my 52T set, with the Mantle, Robinson and most of the highs to go. This hill looks much steeper than a year ago. Hoping the bubble bursts sooner than later, selfishly.

[JollyElm]

It's definitely a good time to be a seller...and a horrible time to just be an actual collector.

How much does it suck that we who have loved and been involved in this hobby for so long are basically getting screwed over during the pandemic as most things continue to surge upwards in price? So infuriating!!!

[irv]

It is crazy!

I took a swing away a while ago from collecting 52 Topps cards, mainly due to the price of our CDN dollar, and started collecting hockey cards from mainly CDN sellers, and even those have gone up like crazy for the most part.

Not sure when I'll get back to collecting 52 Topps cards, (other than affordable upgrades) but it's highly unlikely, more than ever now, that I'll ever finish this set.

[Seven]

It's defintely upsetting. I got back into the Hobby last summer, couldn't really make any major purchases though because I was between jobs. New Job comes around, I start being able to buy things, and prices start surging. I'd settle for January of 2020 prices for some of the pieces I want.

And it 100% hurts the section of the hobby, that treats it as just the hobby, and not a card flipping extravaganza. Or as if it was commodity trading. The worst part about this, is while I think the bubble will burst to an extent, the Big Names will probably retain their value for the most part

1933 Goudey Ruth #53, in a PSA 3, had 8 consecutive sales typically in the 4K range, from 2017-2018. That Same Card sold for $7800 in this August, and then 9K in a recent PWCC auction. It's insanity. 1952 Topps Mantle #311, in a PSA 1 spent a good chunk of 2018 in the 9-10K Range. A lot of Money, for sure, but not completely unrealistic, assuming you can afford to save a bit of money and work a good paying Job. The past 4 auctions one was involved in went as follows 14,6000, 16,800, 21,600 and 28,000. What is actually going on?

It's disheartening. I think it comes down eventually, but even if it levels off, I don't think we see pre-covid prices, at least for a long time.

[mortimer brewster]

My go to Ebay seller is Greg Morris. Since they restarted back up They seem to be selling more cards in the vg-ex range rather than EXMT-NM. The prices for these cards are bordering on the ridiculous. Even the commons from the 1960s.

[jchcollins]

Will agree the bubble can be frustrating if you are a collector looking to buy, but other than a national pandemic, I don't see much different in terms of historical bubbles. They come and go. Sustained recessions (despite COVID, we're not really in one right now, or at least not one that affects the upper middle class...) generally drive card prices down. It may happen yet with the mess we are in.