Collecting and buying habit changed post covid?

[losangelesfan]

Technically, we are still in covid, but controlled somewhat. Anyway, are you buying and collecting differently than before? I'm going local shows than ever before and buying stuff there. I used to just buy singles online and now I do both. I'm also purchasing stuff that I couldn't afford as a 90s kid or had access to at the time. But I'm still doing low end stuff.

The most joy I get from going to shows is going through bins and hearing people make deals. Interacting with dealers and collectors made my collecting experience so different than before. I used to collecting pretty much on my own for 30 years and for past year I've been going to shows with my younger bro. I get so much joy from it like you wouldn't believe. I feel like a kid in a candy store when I buy in person.

[Lone Wulf]

Having the Dallas Card Show locally is pretty great, it is fun going there with a friend for a day, browsing and looking around, and taking advantage of the in-person deals. It is largely positive and fun, but there are also some negatives to it as well, which I will mainly chalk up to the individual on the other side of the table - some dealers are great, some are not. I am not out to make money, I collect for the enjoyment and usually have a hard time letting go of stuff in my PC, but whenever I do have a bigger card (to me) that I want to offer as trade bait it is like pulling teeth to get dealers to accept trades and when they do then they always have to get their huge advantage and offer only partial value on your trade card while simultaneously listing their own cards generally above recent comps. I think the experience is much better if you just bring whatever funds you can in cash, don't try and trade, and just move on from out of touch dealers, there are so many tables at Dallas it is easy to find something else fun if one table isn't being reasonable. I mainly emphasize this so much because with so many people in the hobby and having cards already it would be nice if the experience to trade stuff in was not so painful and did not require value to be so far in the dealer's favor.

Having said all of that, I personally like buying online a bit more, mainly because I am looking for very specific cards of specific players that don't necessarily show up at shows. I can quickly do a search on whatever card I want and buy it instantly online, versus walking around at a huge show I may never find that one specific card I want, and if I do then I have to hope the dealer has a reasonable price on it.

So I guess I would say, shows are more fun for something to do for a day and good for very general card buying if you have cash, whereas online is better for going after rare and specific cards. Mix them together and it is a good combination!

[hermanotarjeta]

I’m simply buying wax less often and less quantity.

There are a ton more shows now, but I can’t find much to purchase. I will usually leave after selling some singles or buying a box of something to open for fun.

I guess there is much less turnover in my collection than in past years.

And I’m ok with it. I probably spent too much pre-pandemic anyways, haha.

[Kobefan]

I'm the opposite, this covid situation has changed me into a sort of germophobic person, so no more shows for me.

[asujbl]

Nope.

[ninjacookies]

Shifted my focus solely on NOS 3 inch screwdowns.

Plastic supply shortages + nostalgic 80's babies coming into financial maturity ---> my whole krew eating.


Stay 3 steps ahead of the curve.

[peterfox16]

My buying habits have changed tremendously since Covid. I collect lower end stuff, and the prices have gotten so ridiculous that I’m only buying the rare things that don’t pop up often. The rest of it I wind up leaving because I know that it’s only a matter of time before asking prices get back to a more reasonable place on the things I collect.

[jfan2024]

Not really, still buying/selling, just prices are mostly lower now. Going off my spreadsheet, I've spent 40% of what I did total in 2021 however we're about 2/3 of the way through 2022. I've done about 60% of my 2021 sales figure so about the same pace there too. Maybe slight slowdown overall as I think too many people aren't willing to eat their losses yet so everyone is just trying to trade. I have booked a depressing level of losses on some stuff bought early 2021, but that means I also made out like a bandit on what I sold in early 2021 and it all gets recycled back into new inventory at an equally cheaper price on the losses booked today. I bought/sold at peaks, bought/sold now at valleys, fixed margin and recycle back so the swings don't matter

[Chris P]

Hobby wax buying is non existant and with retail getting a msrp hike buying wax in general has been non existant. The only 2021-22 wax I've ripped is the 9 blasters of prizm i got from target and that was two weeks ago. The last hobby box I broke was 2020-21 elite

[threefromthetee]

Ripping wax is a lost cause. Over printed parallels and the ROI is nil. I'll buy packs for my kids for fun, but unless it's a 90s product I find for a good price, I've stuck with singles.

[Spacemanspif]

Not really, still buying/selling, just prices are mostly lower now. Going off my spreadsheet, I've spent 40% of what I did total in 2021 however we're about 2/3 of the way through 2022. I've done about 60% of my 2021 sales figure so about the same pace there too. Maybe slight slowdown overall as I think too many people aren't willing to eat their losses yet so everyone is just trying to trade. I have booked a depressing level of losses on some stuff bought early 2021, but that means I also made out like a bandit on what I sold in early 2021 and it all gets recycled back into new inventory at an equally cheaper price on the losses booked today. I bought/sold at peaks, bought/sold now at valleys, fixed margin and recycle back so the swings don't matter

I agree 100% with the general sentiment of what you're saying. Yeah it sucks taking a loss, but if I also want to buy stuff that I wasn't able to when prices were to the moon, I have to come up with that cash somehow. I've actually adjusted my buying habits downward (currently on pace for 71% of 2021), as I am being a lot more selective in what I buy, plus I have less free time and am trying to slowly exit out of this as a full-time side business. My sales are actually right in line with last year, which means I should actually beat last year's numbers since September through November are my biggest sales months. I've eaten losses on so many of my bad buys already it's insane how much of a loss I'm currently reflecting. Should probably talk to my Accountant about how that gets handled in case I have to make a strategic adjustment...

[losangelesfan]

I'm the opposite, this covid situation has changed me into a sort of germophobic person, so no more shows for me.


I totally understand that, but I ask myself. I just gotta start living and not live in fear. Do what I can to minimize contact risk. I carry hand sanitizer everywhere. Shows are just so awesome

[losangelesfan]

Ripping wax is a lost cause. Over printed parallels and the ROI is nil. I'll buy packs for my kids for fun, but unless it's a 90s product I find for a good price, I've stuck with singles.

I agree, I can no longer afford Hobby boxes but will buy retail blasters or megas , time to time. Mostly, I've stayed with buying singles.

[Kobefan]

I totally understand that, but I ask myself. I just gotta start living and not live in fear. Do what I can to minimize contact risk. I carry hand sanitizer everywhere. Shows are just so awesome

I would probably act that way as well if I live by myself. Take proper precaution and go out and starting living like before. But I can't do that cause I'm worrying about exposing it to my wife, my kids, and my parent.

[losangelesfan]

Having the Dallas Card Show locally is pretty great, it is fun going there with a friend for a day, browsing and looking around, and taking advantage of the in-person deals. It is largely positive and fun, but there are also some negatives to it as well, which I will mainly chalk up to the individual on the other side of the table - some dealers are great, some are not. I am not out to make money, I collect for the enjoyment and usually have a hard time letting go of stuff in my PC, but whenever I do have a bigger card (to me) that I want to offer as trade bait it is like pulling teeth to get dealers to accept trades and when they do then they always have to get their huge advantage and offer only partial value on your trade card while simultaneously listing their own cards generally above recent comps. I think the experience is much better if you just bring whatever funds you can in cash, don't try and trade, and just move on from out of touch dealers, there are so many tables at Dallas it is easy to find something else fun if one table isn't being reasonable. I mainly emphasize this so much because with so many people in the hobby and having cards already it would be nice if the experience to trade stuff in was not so painful and did not require value to be so far in the dealer's favor.

Having said all of that, I personally like buying online a bit more, mainly because I am looking for very specific cards of specific players that don't necessarily show up at shows. I can quickly do a search on whatever card I want and buy it instantly online, versus walking around at a huge show I may never find that one specific card I want, and if I do then I have to hope the dealer has a reasonable price on it.

So I guess I would say, shows are more fun for something to do for a day and good for very general card buying if you have cash, whereas online is better for going after rare and specific cards. Mix them together and it is a good combination!

I feel like right now, its kind of a strange period where dealers and buyers sometimes hard to find a middle ground. Negotiating sometimes dont turn out too well. I've seen positive things for the most part. I hope to go to that Dallas show one day like Ive been reading about.

[Mahomie]

Anyway, are you buying and collecting differently than before?

Still clecting all day err day. Finding some great deals here and there from people looking to unload stuff they don't want. There is a ton of cardboard out there.

Started a new relationship recently, and while she is cool with my card collecting, I have way less time to post on the forum.

[asujbl]

I would probably act that way as well if I live by myself. Take proper precaution and go out and starting living like before. But I can't do that cause I'm worrying about exposing it to my wife, my kids, and my parent.

How long will you keep it up?

[Kobefan]

How long will you keep it up?

I don't know. I know that the world has changed and I need to adapt to it cause practically everybody has already done so, but I'm taking it one step at a time. It's not like my family's a total hermit, we do go out for essential shopping and mostly outdoor activities, but I'm still trying to avoid crowded indoor locations and activities. Back on the topic, aside from what I have mentioned, my other biggest changes include shifting from opening sealed products to exclusively buying singles, and from buying high grade cards to lower grade cards (higher graded cards for my PC are no longer within my budget and I only buy rare nostalgic cards, not common cards in high graded slabs).

[Beavers98]

I haven't bought a Hobby box in years now. Quite sad actually when it used to be a big part of my collecting. Oh well, I won't pay these prices, so I'll just pick up some singles when I can, but I do miss the fun of opening.

[Easycards]

I spend way more on the cards I want and comparatively very little on wax, because it feels like a really expensive gamble now.

[brothertona]

I've stayed pretty close to how I was collecting before, I only really care for Hawks cards so that's really all I buy - I buy singles primarily now.

[asujbl]

I don't know. I know that the world has changed and I need to adapt to it cause practically everybody has already done so, but I'm taking it one step at a time. It's not like my family's a total hermit, we do go out for essential shopping and mostly outdoor activities, but I'm still trying to avoid crowded indoor locations and activities. Back on the topic, aside from what I have mentioned, my other biggest changes include shifting from opening sealed products to exclusively buying singles, and from buying high grade cards to lower grade cards (higher graded cards for my PC are no longer within my budget and I only buy rare nostalgic cards, not common cards in high graded slabs).

You do you. Not for anyone else to decide

[Chrominator]

I'm right at about 50/50 with buying singles and overpriced wax (mostly retail).

It's become my ying-yang of collecting...

Back in the day, well, it was more like 95% hobby wax :rolleyes:

[losangelesfan]

I'm right at about 50/50 with buying singles and overpriced wax (mostly retail).

It's become my ying-yang of collecting...

Back in the day, well, it was more like 95% hobby wax :rolleyes:


Yeah, I do miss those days of ripping hobby wax and it was pretty cheap. I would buy 3-5 hobby boxes per trip and now I cant even afford one. What can you do? I just have to adjust, so I just buy mostly singles or lots now.

[PKIPP]

I haven’t even bought a card since like early January or something, but that’s mainly due to my interests shifting to other things for the time being. Once nba season hits I know I’ll be right back.

That being said, I’m not sure I’ll ever buy as much as I did pre-covid and in the months following the onset of the pandemic. Once summer time 2021 hit I had already slowed down tremendously. Prices just got out of hand. It’s not that I can’t afford to buy the way I used to. I just can’t for instance, stomach paying $50 for a card that used to be $20 and nothing changed with the player, only the market. Once January 2022 hit I basically lost all interest. Again, a lot of that had to do with other hobbies taking up more of my time, but the hobby itself just wasn’t very high on my list of interests.

It does seem as though right now prices are way down on things (singles at least). So that’s nice to see. But my interest level at the moment just isn’t there still. I’m sure soon I’ll get the itch again.


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[Stackfan]

The biggest change for me is the wax pricing, grading, and tax laws. I used to be able to rip a lot more wax for the price; and with the price hike; I rip probably less than 25% of what i would before. It's very hard to justify wax hobby box prices for basketball. Especially when looking at the singles market. The singles market corrected, while the wax prices haven't.

To be honest, that has hurt a lot of the fun of the hobby , from a collector stand point. I love cards, and enjoy buying sought after singles; but like when nearly no new products are worth the risk; it's a lot harder to enjoy the hobby, in my opinion. (plus increased print runs)

Grading seems almost mandatory now on any decent cards. From my of a collecting stand point, it doesn't make sense to pay hundreds of dollars to grade a card, to sit in your collection. Dealing with increased prices and turn around times have not been fun, but at least it seems to be turning a corner. Not to mention quality control has fallen of a cliff for panini products.

The tax laws, now also make more work/time consuming to buy/sell cards for a low-mid level seller.

[PLB9eight]

The biggest change for me is the wax pricing, grading, and tax laws. I used to be able to rip a lot more wax for the price; and with the price hike; I rip probably less than 25% of what i would before. It's very hard to justify wax hobby box prices for basketball. Especially when looking at the singles market. The singles market corrected, while the wax prices haven't.

To be honest, that has hurt a lot of the fun of the hobby , from a collector stand point. I love cards, and enjoy buying sought after singles; but like when nearly no new products are worth the risk; it's a lot harder to enjoy the hobby, in my opinion. (plus increased print runs)

Grading seems almost mandatory now on any decent cards. From my of a collecting stand point, it doesn't make sense to pay hundreds of dollars to grade a card, to sit in your collection. Dealing with increased prices and turn around times have not been fun, but at least it seems to be turning a corner. Not to mention quality control has fallen of a cliff for panini products.

The tax laws, now also make more work/time consuming to buy/sell cards for a low-mid level seller.


What’s changed in the tax laws in regards to reporting income?


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[Stackfan]

What’s changed in the tax laws in regards to reporting income?


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Before you basically had to sell over 20K and go over 200 transactions to get a 1099 (i believe that the form)...now starting in 2022; if you sell over 600$ you have to report it.

I'm not tax expert, but i'm saving/recording A LOT of transactions.... for like my 100 sport cards online.

[mc1]

Before you basically had to sell over 20K and go over 200 transactions to get a 1099 (i believe that the form)...now starting in 2022; if you sell over 600$ you have to report it.

I'm not tax expert, but i'm saving/recording A LOT of transactions.... for like my 100 sport cards online.

Who says you didnt have to report that, if you didnt receive the form?

[Kobefan]

I haven’t even bought a card since like early January or something, but that’s mainly due to my interests shifting to other things for the time being. Once nba season hits I know I’ll be right back.

That being said, I’m not sure I’ll ever buy as much as I did pre-covid and in the months following the onset of the pandemic. Once summer time 2021 hit I had already slowed down tremendously. Prices just got out of hand. It’s not that I can’t afford to buy the way I used to. I just can’t for instance, stomach paying $50 for a card that used to be $20 and nothing changed with the player, only the market. Once January 2022 hit I basically lost all interest. Again, a lot of that had to do with other hobbies taking up more of my time, but the hobby itself just wasn’t very high on my list of interests.

It does seem as though right now prices are way down on things (singles at least). So that’s nice to see. But my interest level at the moment just isn’t there still. I’m sure soon I’ll get the itch again.


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If you don't mind, what other hobby or interest have you shifted to? I tried shifting to my other hobbies, mainly Magic cards and Marvel cards, but Magic cards kept being reprinted and with a large portion of the community encourages fake cards, it's not viable. For Marvel cards, prices of singles and sealed products are too high, much like basketball cards.

[discodanman45]

SCI hasn't changed his buying! $500,000 more invested into GOATS. This is probably the same amount of money he lost buying his PSA 10 Jordan. Now he is using his kid to make money from YouTube. Need to cover the losses somehow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyNTr2AibiE&t=416s

[bloodwings19]

Stopped buying base, actually bulk base. 2ndly, buying cheap rookie prospects with free shipping, or less than $1.

[HoopsCoach]

I’m about 90% singles and then blasters or hangers. Just can’t see dumping all that money on unopened products.

[boxbuster7]

I think quality mid end cards ($100-$500) have become increasingly hard to find. I mainly use COMC and just can't find blue chip RC stuff I would want to sit on for a long time. Have ventured out towards ebay and myslabs, but waiting a bit longer to buy as prices still seem too high from most of the sellers I look at.

[Harper]

Just doing auctions. No BIN. A lot of people have no clue how to price their cards in this market (still way too high). I would often do a bin for 10-20% above a max auction bid if I could get the card faster. No one is listing even close to market value…. Trying to break even on their overpriced wax..

There was a Ron Harper /50 obsidian sticker auto listed at $150. A /50 auto should go under $15 at auction. People just not doing any homework at all on the market.

[HoopsCoach]

Just doing auctions. No BIN. A lot of people have no clue how to price their cards in this market (still way too high). I would often do a bin for 10-20% above a max auction bid if I could get the card faster. No one is listing even close to market value…. Trying to break even on their overpriced wax..

There was a Ron Harper /50 obsidian sticker auto listed at $150. A /50 auto should go under $15 at auction. People just not doing any homework at all on the market.

Wait, Harper is buying Ron Harper cards? 🤔 LOL

But I get it. Overpriced market due to insane prices of unopened product. Nuts.

[MavsRChamps]

It’s not tied with covid really but I kind of reentered the hobby around that time. As a lower middle class parent with kids, I can’t just carelessly spend on PC guys that are risky value wise long term. So I do collect now with somewhat and investor mindset. In case life happens or I just need some money, I can at least recoup what I spent and hopefully more if I pick the right cards. So I buy players I like but also players I think will stay valuable.

[Chrominator]

It’s not tied with covid really but I kind of reentered the hobby around that time. As a lower middle class parent with kids, I can’t just carelessly spend on PC guys that are risky value wise long term. So I do collect now with somewhat and investor mindset. In case life happens or I just need some money, I can at least recoup what I spent and hopefully more if I pick the right cards. So I buy players I like but also players I think will stay valuable.

https://i.gifer.com/7CTK.gif

[discodanman45]

There was a Ron Harper /50 obsidian sticker auto listed at $150. A /50 auto should go under $15 at auction. People just not doing any homework at all on the market.

I am in the same boat with Rik Smits. Panini keeps us PC collectors busy with sticker/on card autos with players even after the player has been retired for 20 years. The worst is when people grade these cards and want a huge premium. I would buy these cards if the price was even close to comps. Below is my favorite Smits eBay listing.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/385088087186?

So far in 2021 products Smits has an Obsidian Volcanic (/149, /35, /25, /10, /5, /1), National Treasures Logoman /1, National Treasures NBA Greats (/49, /25, /10, /5, /1), and National Treasures Signatures (/49, /25, /10, /5, /1). Can't wait what else Panini puts Smits in this year... :doh: