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Posted By: barrysloate

Everything still boils down to supply and demand. Good material does extremely well in any context, particularly when a couple of very aggressive collectors are working on a registry set. Then the price of a card will go nuts no matter where it is listed. The very best material that is in short supply will do great on ebay and anywhere else. The major difference, however, between ebay and the large auction houses is that ebay lots are typically single cards, whereas auction houses offer huge lots. So many collectors buy the large lots from the big auction houses and sell them as singles on ebay, and while the mark-up may be only slightly above cost on most lots, a few of them will go crazy, and that will justify the whole expense.
Here's a corollary question to pose, one that Leon and I discussed the other day: How many collectors feel that prices for vintage material will continue to rise indefinitely, and how many collectors feel the market is a bubble that will one day undoubtedly burst? I have to say even as a veteran I am astonished by the amount of money that is being funnelled into vintage material, but I have also seen the market fall many times before. What about this market? At what point do cards get so expensive that only the very rich can afford them? At what point do prices get so high that the average collector say 'I've had enough, I just can't do this anymore?' At what point do the zillionaires burn out and just get out of the hobby altogether (rich people have short attention spans when it comes to lavishing themselves with luxuries). Just food for thought.