What I Don't Understand about Baseball Card Economics

[barrysloate]

Originally Posted by benjulmag

Now isn't that a thought! Alteration becomes essentially impossible to detect causing the supply of high grade vintage cards to soar, and their prices to fall. Or....technology comes to the rescue and such alteration becomes detectable. Under that scenario two things happen, provided that in order to hold value such cards need to be re slabbed under the newer method: 1. The supply of unaltered high grade vintage cards plummet and the true unaltered ones hold or rise in value. 2. The prices of altered ones (the majority) plummet in value.

So I am back to my original premise: why isn't any of this information built into the price of Mint cards? If I'm a buyer and I know anything about what is going on with high grade cards, I'm moving forward with caution. But the current market plows ahead like a freight train.

[benjulmag]

Originally Posted by barrysloate

So I am back to my original premise: why isn't any of this information built into the price of Mint cards? If I'm a buyer and I know anything about what is going on with high grade cards, I'm moving forward with caution. But the current market plows ahead like a freight train.

How much of this is understood outside this Board? And even within this Board, there is disagreement how widespread the problem is. I've expressed my opinion. I've never said it reflects the majority view.

[barrysloate]

Originally Posted by benjulmag

How much of this is understood outside this Board? And even within this Board, there is disagreement how widespread the problem is. I've expressed my opinion. I've never said it reflects the majority view.

I think it's known beyond just this board. And collectors generally interact and talk about the hobby. Probably not everyone knows, but in no way is this some Net54 secret.

[drcy]

Originally Posted by barrysloate

So I am back to my original premise: why isn't any of this information built into the price of Mint cards? If I'm a buyer and I know anything about what is going on with high grade cards, I'm moving forward with caution. But the current market plows ahead like a freight train.

Just concerning the margins of error and subjectivity and flip of the coin of grades, I never understood it.

[Rhotchkiss]

Originally Posted by barrysloate

So I am back to my original premise: why isn't any of this information built into the price of Mint cards? If I'm a buyer and I know anything about what is going on with high grade cards, I'm moving forward with caution. But the current market plows ahead like a freight train.

Barry, I am not sure the market is plowing ahead. Last night, a very pretty PSA 8, t206 Wajo pitching closed for under $19k - by recent comps, that should have been a $30k+ card. The e98 cobb psa 9 went “cheap” in my opinion, as did the t206 O’Hara polar bear PSA 5, the e105 Wagner PSA 5, the higher grades Lajoies (portrait and throwing), among other cards I was watching with interest. It seems the two cards that did not go cheap that I was watching, were the only two I bid on - the t206 brown Lenox and the t215-1. I think some prices from last night’s auction reflected the fear. Is that short lived? Probably. But I think many cards, especially mid-high grades that I was watching, went a bit cheap

[barrysloate]

That's interesting Ryan, but of course you need a larger sample to see if this is having any impact. I would have to think some collectors are being cautious, but agree that it might be short lived.

[oldjudge]

I’m not a graded card guy, so I’m not talking my book, but I see this having no long term negative impact on PSA. I think they will make some improvements and come out of the current situation stronger than they were. I also don’t think there will be a new grading company entering the field. Unless a new company could compete registry wise, it would be foolish to start. The registry drives everything.

[pokerplyr80]

Originally Posted by Rhotchkiss

Barry, I am not sure the market is plowing ahead. Last night, a very pretty PSA 8, t206 Wajo pitching closed for under $19k - by recent comps, that should have been a $30k+ card. The e98 cobb psa 9 went “cheap” in my opinion, as did the t206 O’Hara polar bear PSA 5, the e105 Wagner PSA 5, the higher grades Lajoies (portrait and throwing), among other cards I was watching with interest. It seems the two cards that did not go cheap that I was watching, were the only two I bid on - the t206 brown Lenox and the t215-1. I think some prices from last night’s auction reflected the fear. Is that short lived? Probably. But I think many cards, especially mid-high grades that I was watching, went a bit cheap

Everything I was watching, either because I'm thinking about buying, selling, or just curious, has been plowing ahead. Jackson, Ruth, Cobb, Gehrig, and Mantle all seem strong. 93 Jeter and Trout rookies seem to have gone up by 3-4x in the last couple of years. 48 Robinsons have also been strong.