Posted By:
daviddbreadmanI am going to put a thesis that is going to be disagreed with, but here it is.
Its my opinion that the market for sportscards, especially high grade ones... perhaps PSA 6 and above for a T206 for example, is becoming more effecient. In the stock market an efficient market is basically defined as a market that is priced such that all available information is taken into account and prices accurately reflect all available public information.
To that end, I beleive that high grade cards are undervalued and will continue to increase until the market reaches an equilibrium point on supply and demand. This 'hobby' has expanded to include more and more of us who beleive that cards are not only beautiful but have inherent value as investments. I beleive this growth in demand has outstripped supply by a huge margin that is largely unrecognized by those who have been in the hobby so long they are biased to want 'things as they were'. On the supply side, Population reports are invaluable and a must to gain proper market information. I also beleive that as the market becomes more efficient there will be less and less high grade raw cards as owners look to 'legitimize' their cards by getting them graded. It will become a must if you want to sell your card for its full value. This will increase the accuracy and quality of information gained in population reports.
I can go on and on with my argument but will stop here and state lastly that contrary to what I read on this board I beleive that those paying so called exorbinant prices for high grade cards are indeed the 'smart money'.
Times are changing and those of us participating in this hobby must constantly evolve our thoughts to survive.