Well done, Walter.

Why not? Here are some shots of Styx who was our most cooperative model:

https://hosting.photobucket.com/85c5...bee6097125.jpg

https://hosting.photobucket.com/85c5...f5b52bad66.jpg

https://hosting.photobucket.com/85c5...a5e049e23e.jpg

https://hosting.photobucket.com/85c5...d92554f719.jpg

https://hosting.photobucket.com/85c5...a19f9ffc86.jpg

https://hosting.photobucket.com/85c5...a60c92d15a.jpg

https://hosting.photobucket.com/85c5...7df9624e0e.jpg

https://hosting.photobucket.com/85c5...cf5efcf2ea.jpg

When it comes to markets, sometimes they go up, sometimes they go down. Any (honest) stockbroker will tell you that.

;)

If we're discussing tarifs, the stock market, etc., then how do we avoid politics ? That's like saying "you can discuss sports cards, but not grading." :rolleyes:

I'm fine with discussing sports cards and not PSA/SGC grading.

;)

How have you been, Mr. Fox ??

Generally, if you think you are making a political post, you are. :eek:
You will get a PM if it goes too far. :)

If everyone is somewhat cool, it will be ok. I am part of the economy, just like eveyrone else, and getting my ass kicked back and forth in the market too. I can't imagine either side of the aisle likes a roller coaster ride with our savings. Let's just leave it at that.

My daily living monies are probably too close to my stock market monies. Not a huge issue... Fortunately, I have baseball cards as one of my asset classes (as do many of us).

And has been said, countless times, the market will come back, we just don't know when!

The question remains, do you spend more, less, or the same when the market goes down quite a bit? I tend to spend less but that is just me.


ps.. I like Styx the cat.

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The prices of the stuff we want has gone up tremendously since covid. So much so, that I have bought practically zero pre-war that fits with my pre war collection standards ... until now. Actually, my yearly collecting theme has been to just not sell anything, am doing very well with that. Anyways, I just bought a 1926-29 Lou Gehrig Exhibit, it was SGC 3.5 which is a bit below my standards, but heck appears to be a nice card. Its the most I have spent in a long, long time.

Still collecting, still posting and in general staying both physically and mentally active (and acerbic) all around.

And when it comes to politics, I'll be working for Elections Canada as a Central Poll Supervisor on April 28th. Elections Canada needs my learning skills and ability to project authority. I need the money to finance my basic needs, e.g. rookie cards of Jackie Parker, Sam Etcheverry, Bobby Hull, Rocky Colavito, Roger Maris, Phil Niekro, Frank Robinson, etc. The negative though is that I'm facing a grueling sixteen hour work day.

;)

Havent logged on in awhile but as usual im sure a lot of posts here did not age well..

i wonder how my advice of just buying the S and P index fund like SPY would have gone...?

You would be back to where you were before the temporary downturn, or slightly higher.... I have recouped all of my losses just by staying pat. Actually, up a bit, from prior high.

My 401k is at a record high. For all those that say things are bad now, they are simply gaslighting, or HOPING that things are bad.

I don't think anyone is HOPING things are bad economically. Prices on everything still suck -- and like cards, they ain't coming down. I was at a car dealership this week -- the same model I bought 8 years ago is now 50% more expensive. Just brutal. I suppose that's a better markup than groceries over that time.

None of this seems to've hurt spending on cards of any era. I think the percentage of people who alter spending on anything due to the market is very small.

Is anyone buying right now because of the market(s)?

Yes, have been buying BTC on the dips.

Is that a Topps set?

I have never used my 401 k to buy cards or anything else.

Vanguard recently released their “How America Saves” report for 2025

It can be broken down by 401k plans for various sectors

It’s a rabbit hole if you like this stuff

How great would it be if they tracked 401k loans for baseball card purchases?

https://institutional.vanguard.com/i...aves-2025.html

Would love to know how much stimulus and PPP was spent on cards. I guess enough to change prices forever. They’re still busting PPP fraud clusters in Chicago.

I did use $1,000 in stimulus to buy a nice bicycle. I wasn’t into cards at the time. It really had to be crazy days in the card trade.

2024 Panini Rookie Royalty WNBA Trading Card Box Dutch Auction
 

This box goes live in a couple days, 2024 Panini Rookie Royalty WNBA Trading Card Box--starting bid $30,000--guess this might be a fair indicator on peoples spending habits on collectibles==good luck to the all bidders out there!

I'm flying out to Chicago tomorrow to take a guilty plea in a federal PPP fraud case!

Awesome -- keep doing the Lord's work, Jeffrey! It truly was an Equal Opportunity crime.

Pretty hard to justify investing in either at this point.

Im Still selling cards and buying energy and dividend stocks

Ok, I'm buying again!

I'll bet there are a lot of younger collectors out there who have been longing for one of these for a long time!

They ended up selling for 2kish via the Dutch auction.

Ha! My post was actually a joke, but I guess the joke was on whoever started this thing at 30K. These days, though, who the heck knows?

It is certainly not the lane I play in, but it is a place in the hobby some do. I prefer my players dead.

I received this in some email blast that was relevant for that particular box, sale method and ultimately where these boxes go:

The other thing I couldn’t stop thinking about was how mispriced Panini’s Rookie Royalty set was, dropping all the way from a $30,000 starting price to around $3,000. As a huge Caitlin Clark fan and WNBA collector, I’d love to buy in, but I can’t even afford a break, let alone a full box. Break pricing for Rookie Royalty spots is popping up on various apps, and it looks like some shops are splitting two-card boxes into up to 58 spots, perhaps the worst odds to hit of all time. Still, with multiple Caitlin Clark cards selling for six figures in the last few weeks alone, a few people are going to have their lives changed by this product in the next few weeks (if not already).

Attachment 665723

That's surprisingly little given how enthusiastically the Government has been debasing the currency over the last eight (actually 80+) years.

:(

I don't even know what that is, nor do I care. I am glad youngsters are gambling with cards so much. I am sure it's exhilirating for them. Me, I take a hundred bucks to the casino for the day, and I am done. That's the extent of my gambling.

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