Mat Latos is suddenly getting too expensive for me to collect

[enginedown]

I'm pretty new to the hobby so I'm not familiar with how the market works at different times of the year, but within the last few months I've noticed that all of his cards have basically doubled in price on ebay.

At the end of last season, I was able to get his 2010 Tribute Auto /25 for less than $20, and just today an auction ended for the /50 auto for almost $30. Also his 08 Bowman Chrome auto has doubled in price. On one hand it's cool because all the cards I have are worth more, but on the other hand I still have a bunch of cards I want to get and I'm now competing with a lot more bidders.

What causes the sudden spike in demand, especially at this time of the year? People spending tax return money? People reading "underrated players" lists? I'm just curious as to everyone's thoughts on why the market can change like this during the offseason.

[coltsfan23]

Yeah, Mat Latos' prices have been increasing at a steady rate lately. Generally, Spring Training, and baseball hype in general, starts picking up in a few weeks and prices spike then, but this year it has started earlier than many years in the past.

[YanksBillsFan]

Yep, that's a reason why I've backed off his stuff. Baseball excitement is starting to ramp up with the season fast approaching. Plus he had a great season last year so people are expecting him to continue what he started.