This is why cards are different than stocks, the sentimental value and attachments s.

[jzx1103]

So earlier tonight I posted some of my Kobe autos in my collection on Ebay. I don't really have a strong desire to sell them, but with the current market if someone offers up a really high offer then yea ill consider it. Well immediately after I posted the card I get this message. It was from the same person I originally bought the card from last July 2020. He said he only put it up for sale last July due to a family emergency and needed the money. Well tonight he just bought the exact card back from me for almost 5x the price because this specific card with this specific serial number has a special meaning to him. You do not see this with any other forms of investments, there are no such strong attachments to a specific stock or a bitcoin, its only about the money and profit. I don't see sportscards crashing easily due to this very reason. Even many of the newcomers will get attached to the cards they own. Sure there are some that sees the cards as just an object to make money. But there's enough people in this Hobby that feels like the cards are more than that. Many will never let go no matter what the price. And that's what will keep this hobby strong in my opinion.

[drobfan8]

Well said.

I've made comments in the past that I like Gary Vee, but if he and all the newbs left the Hobby it would be just fine. I'm not sure I'll ever leave. And some cards would really have to be worth a lot of money to sell.

[The_Reverend]

My Luka Phoenix Blue is like that. Delayed on the card and finally sold off stuff that had no sentimental value, but got the money needed to add to my collection. It will be the last of my Luka Blue collection to exit stage left.

[kefskala]

wow you gave me goose bumps, very well said...i have bought a number of cards back that i sold..but im sure obviously serial number really meant something..

[bloodwings19]

Originally Posted by jzx1103

So earlier tonight I posted some of my Kobe autos in my collection on Ebay. I don't really have a strong desire to sell them,

Some people wonder why some sell for outlandish, ridiculous price it is because we want to keep it and at the same time, if you pay for it you deserve it. The only way cards will crash, or have no value in the future if all the professional leagues abandon licensing to card companies. And for athletes, this is the easiest way to make money, sit home and use some hours to sign cards. And for some, they don't sign redemption, they don't get paid. And for some, Stephen Curry and Ken Griffey Jr (his autograph) are so popular because they still contribute to the hobby even though they don't need the money.

[hauntedcomputer]

well, that, and cards don't pay dividends and don't perform a service (besides nostalgia) or make commercial goods or products or represent an actual ownership share in a public company that does such things.

So they're not the same but both are good.

[JWBlue]

I believe cards will be an alternative investment.

People will be taking funds out of their investment brokerages to invest in them.

[gomiamigo]

I feel like the reverse will happen if prices continue to rise. People will cash out and invest in real businesses, or a house they can live in/rent out.

[goodole13]

Precious metals collecting is similar. Numismatic Value, sentimental value, and the product can actually be used in industry.

[Jay9Suited]

There are a few cards I would love to be able to find and buy back due to sentimental purposes. Need the exact serial # or BGS # and would pay a crazy premium.. finding them has been tough, however.

[nera20]

Originally Posted by gomiamigo

I feel like the reverse will happen if prices continue to rise. People will cash out and invest in real businesses, or a house they can live in/rent out.

right here if stuff keeps it up for another year or two I will have enough to purchase a house with cash and have no mortage and have a ton of money still in the bank. Once that is complete I will just proceed like I always have with cards and just buy cards on a dip and just keep enjoying the hobby. Will it suck to sell everything yes, will I be able to replace everything nope, but there will always be opportunities out there to repurchase most cards if I want but being able to buy a house and not have a mortage and money in the bank is life altering

[spurs50fan]

I think the why now has to be asked when it comes to the spike we’re seeing. With stocks there is something to analyze. Easily explained. Even with something as wild as gme. This current card market? It could be anything and everyone is right in their own minds. I sense manipulating but not as brazen or regulated *cough*criminal*cough* as you would see in the market

[Gridiron Bob]

Or this spike could be an aberration. I mean, the past 30 years or so there has been a steady rise with the cream of the crop. But why spike just now? Could it be bored money (celebrities) looking to spend during this time of a pandemic? It could be coincidence because there had never been such a meteoric rise experienced before in this hobby. I'm 50/50 on this spike. It gives value to what I already have, but on the flip side, I got priced out on what i was planning to get later.

[cashby]

Originally Posted by Gridiron Bob

Or this spike could be an aberration. I mean, the past 30 years or so there has been a steady rise with the cream of the crop. But why spike just now? Could it be bored money (celebrities) looking to spend during this time of a pandemic? It could be coincidence because there had never been such a meteoric rise experienced before in this hobby. I'm 50/50 on this spike. It gives value to what I already have, but on the flip side, I got priced out on what i was planning to get later.

if there was no pandemic and if the government wasn't giving trillions back to us, i believe we would not be here. alot of key factors played into why and how sports cards became so big in the past year. people are looking for that next "get rich quick" in this hobby because they are out of a job that corona virus took from them

[stalemonkey30]

My $0.02... If people believe that they are forever priced out of the market from finishing their sets or collecting their particular niche do you think they will keep buying or just say screw it and cash out?

[Deadshot]

This was great - thank you. Our hobby needs more storytelling.

[JoeAdam]

Originally Posted by spurs50fan

I think the why now has to be asked when it comes to the spike we’re seeing. With stocks there is something to analyze. Easily explained. Even with something as wild as gme. This current card market? It could be anything and everyone is right in their own minds. I sense manipulating but not as brazen or regulated *cough*criminal*cough* as you would see in the market

Much easier to manipulate cards than stocks.

[JoeAdam]

Originally Posted by stalemonkey30

My $0.02... If people believe that they are forever priced out of the market from finishing their sets or collecting their particular niche do you think they will keep buying or just say screw it and cash out?

Hard to say. I'm working on the Zion rookie PSA registry set and I know full well that I most likely will never complete it since it includes the National Treasures auto.

[theleica]

Originally Posted by nera20

right here if stuff keeps it up for another year or two I will have enough to purchase a house with cash and have no mortage and have a ton of money still in the bank. Once that is complete I will just proceed like I always have with cards and just buy cards on a dip and just keep enjoying the hobby. Will it suck to sell everything yes, will I be able to replace everything nope, but there will always be opportunities out there to repurchase most cards if I want but being able to buy a house and not have a mortage and money in the bank is life altering

I could have done this to some degree. Bought a house with card sales and if I didn't get a fantastic rate (2.5%) I would have put ~ 50% down. Instead I took the money, and did a ton of work on it over the past 6 months. It's nice living in a brand new home. I'm in the process of moving more cards now to do more big projects outside the house (deck, basketball court, etc.)

It is nice to not have to take my wife's salary or mine for this stuff. In the coming years, I could pay off the mortgage with card sales or start buying rental properties.

[BlownOut]

Originally Posted by JoeAdam

Much easier to manipulate cards than stocks.

I think we are witnessing the beginning of a market being formed by people with institutional type money. Once PSA gets their @*&% together and starts to get cards back to people in a timely manner, the market will take an initial dump due to the influx of inventory. But the average collector is not going to be the ones buying. It will be the big institutional money snapping things up at rock bottom prices as people lower prices for the fomo on this price bump. I think that the current prices are being pumped so that the cards that have not yet been graded and sitting in peoples' attics get flushed out so that there would be a static inventory count, give or take a few, on most popular and valuable cards. Once the true number of PSA graded cards are relatively known, I think we will see another huge bump up and then it will be to the moon for graded cards. Just a thought ...

[JoeAdam]

Originally Posted by BlownOut

I think we are witnessing the beginning of a market being formed by people with institutional type money. Once PSA gets their @*&% together and starts to get cards back to people in a timely manner, the market will take an initial dump due to the influx of inventory. But the average collector is not going to be the ones buying. It will be the big institutional money snapping things up at rock bottom prices as people lower prices for the fomo on this price bump. I think that the current prices are being pumped so that the cards that have not yet been graded and sitting in peoples' attics get flushed out so that there would be a static inventory count, give or take a few, on most popular and valuable cards. Once the true number of PSA graded cards are relatively known, I think we will see another huge bump up and then it will be to the moon for graded cards. Just a thought ...

It's simpler than that. Here is my personal example:

I listed this Luka awhile ago for $7,500 obo to see what kind of interest there was. Someone in China with no feedback bought it but obviously never paid. So now it shows as a $7,500 completed sale. I still have the card, but I could use this comp to say "the last one sold for $7,500" (not saying I would, but I could).

In theory I could list the card again right now and have my friend buy it for $9,000...etc. This is how these top cards are getting manipulated. You have some unsuspecting person come along and see the $7,500 and $9,000 and then feel that $10,000 is a reasonable buy.

[BlownOut]

I just don't think that ordinary people are just throwing $10k around as easily as you may think, that's all.

[JoeAdam]

Originally Posted by BlownOut

I just don't think that ordinary people are just throwing $10k around as easily as you may think, that's all.

Completely disagree. Cards are going for crazy prices compared to where they were just 2 years ago. If you're not bringing thousands to a card show, you are really limited on what you can buy.

Another personal example. I bought everything in this picture in March 2019 (so 2 years ago) for $130. You'd need at least $4k to buy this now.

[ballhawkdawk]

Originally Posted by stalemonkey30

My $0.02... If people believe that they are forever priced out of the market from finishing their sets or collecting their particular niche do you think they will keep buying or just say screw it and cash out?

Having this dilemma at the moment myself. I wouldn’t sell everything, but there’s a lot I’m comfortable letting go of at these prices. Might just narrow my focus and consolidate, though.

[BlownOut]

I'm not talking about cards of players with only a couple of years of stats under their belt. I am talking about cards of players who have had accomplished careers and are enshrined in the HOF already. They aren't printing any more of those cards, as you know.