The sideburns were worth the price of admission all by themselves! [emoji1787]

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My ratio of sales to listings on eBay remains absurdly high; last week I had one card not sell out of all the auction listings I posted. Not high end cards either, the most expensive one was under $150. It is a great time to take profits on the bulk slabbed stuff if you want to get rid of it. PSA 6 through 9 postwar cards are just flying. Bring on the next $1400.

For shits and giggles, I just looked up my 2011 Bowman Chrome Mike Trout #175. It's ungraded, as I don't feel like sending it in the mail, waiting months for a grade, and risking it getting lost in the mail, even with insurance, which wouldn't cover any appreciation in value, meaning I might not be able to replace it without using out of pocket funds.

The last two that have sold went for $880 by bids, and a BIN with a $995.

That's....absurd. Just a regular card that I pulled from a pack 7 years ago is going for almost a grand.

I don't even want to look and see what my 2009 Chrome auto is going for. If I hadn't cracked my tooth, and needed a dental implant, I'd still have it.

It puts us in an odd position as collectors I think. A part of me says "well it's impossible for the market to keep going, there has to be a top" and no sooner is that said, prices go up more, and the cards that we could've bought six months ago, become unaffordable.

I passed up the opportunity to own a 51 Bowman Mantle sometime ago on the board. Could I have swung the purchase, had I really tried and gotten everything together? probably. But I had a really hard time justifying spending that much money on something, that I know for a fact, I would never sell. Since then they've gone through the roof, and I kick myself every day for it.

I was up in Cooperstown two summers back, was in Yastrzemski's and there was a 53 Topps set for sale, for 4 Grand I believe. The key cards were probaly in the 1-2 Range. Still respectable though, presented nicely. The older gentleman took it out of the case for me and allowed me to thumb through some of the cards to see the Jackie, Satchel and Mantle. I can only imagine what that would go for now.

Prices keep going up, I always say "well it's a bubble" but I think that's more wishful thinking on my part, because I want to be able to buy some more cardboard again.

It’s such a strange feeling. I look at the cards I have and I’m ecstatic because they are going for so much more than I paid for them, but I’m not sure it really matters because I don’t think I’ll ever sell them.

Then, I think about the cards I don’t have and really want and come to the realization that I’ll now most likely never be able to afford them.

Such is life I guess.

A PSA graded 1956 Topps Ted Williams I was looking at just before the pandemic started, which if my memory serves me was going for about $400, is now double that.

I want this pandemic to end. I don't want any more people to lose their loved ones. I don't want people to have to live in fear anymore. I don't live in fear, but I can't really leave the house, either, and won't unless a doctor's visit requires it. So, I've been out of the house maybe 5 times since this all started.

And yes, on some level, I want it to end so some semblance of normalcy returns. I want to be able to return to my hobby. I miss being able to buy cards I love, from time to time.

Bill,

I'm sorry to hear about all the trouble you're going through with this pandemic. I've heard similar stories from many people, I have fortunately been vaccinated, and now am feeling a little more comfortable with leaving the house and going to do things, but it is still a little worrisome for me. It's difficult, Humans are social creatures, not being able to socialize really goes against our nature.

I think we all want normalcy to return and I look forward to the day when I'll be able to go to a show, or a concert, or a restaurant, and not have to worry about wearing a mask, or social distancing. It's the small things you miss, talking to strangers at a bar, getting together with long time friends or family, catching a ball game, things of that nature.

One day we'll get there, I'm positive of it, but Damn, I'm pretty tired of all of this. I think we all are.

This is exactly it. If I was unwilling to pull the trigger at $100 a year ago, it’s sure as shit not worth $1k to me today. I’m using this time to upgrade some mid-grade raw 60’s commons. If/when prices come down I will resume with bigger buys. If it doesn’t come down it’s going to leave a lot of passionate collectors in the dust, which will be a shame.

No one knows what the future holds for cards. I do believe, as many have hypothesized, that many of us are bored and spending way too much time in front of the computer. I guess the equivalent of some of my wife's friends buying expensive shoes over and over and over. When life returns to more normalcy presumably many of us would rather be on a beach or lake and not eBay. I don't think a $1200 or $1400 government check has much to do with this. Chump change compared to what's going on here.

Rare art has been seen as an investment vehicle for many hundreds of years. While prices go up and down, it always seems Christies and Sotherbys have plenty of pieces to sell. I think the card market is getting stretched mighty thin on the edges, but don't see any kind of grand collapse in the offing. For many of us there are our art pieces and we love collecting them. The returns on some of these highly desired cards have been breath taking, and that lottery ticket aspect will keep a steady inflow of new collectors.

Hi pete lol

I fully understand. My wife and I have pre-existing conditions which means we pretty much live under a self-imposed house arrest. My wife and daughters live with great fear that I'll come down with the Coronavirus so I pretty much live in front of my computer trolling for baseball cards. As much I enjoy collecting, it gets boring after a while.

At the same time, I'm extremely fortunate to have been able to work from home as a 6th-grade teacher. Folks, distance learning does not work, particularly when a number of the students are already few years behind. Our school opens once again after Spring break, but I will continue to work through the computer. Hopefully, I'll have more of a "live audience" when the new academic year begins in August.

How is everyone keeping up with their supplies, sheets and penny sleeves in particular?

My on-line audience awaits, have a great day all!

Phil aka Tere1071
Upgrading a 53 Bowman color set
Beginning a 71 Topps Baseball set from scratch

I have never been happier that I am a misanthrope than over the last year. I used to get shit for sitting at home watching tv and sorting cards; for the last year that same anti-social behavior made me a paragon of virtue.

Got my first shot of Pfizer today. Next one in three weeks. Two weeks after that I am officially inoculated. My status will then change from socially virtuous sitting on my ass watching tv and sorting cards to being a miserable misanthrope sitting on my ass watching tv and sorting cards. But I will be able to get tacos again without fearing for my life, so that's nice.

Now as far as cards go, there are some things worth taking profits on and others not so much. Ruth, Robinson, Paige, T206 HOFers, those are keepers. Moderner stuff not so much. Slabbed cards readily replaced with nice raw cards at a fraction of the price, sold.

Oh, don't get me wrong, I like my alone time as well, I'm certainly more introverted by nature. It's more of being robbed of the opportunity to socialize is what I was talking about. I do love my fair share of throwing on a documentary and sorting through my collection!