Sticker Shock
 

I'm beginning to turn my attention to vintage again after a number of years concentrating post-81. I was collecting a lot of vintage (64-71) up to about 6 or 7 years ago.

In just the 6 or 7 years since I left, the prices I'm seeing on eBay for vintage seem to be miles above what I was paying. I see where a PSA 3 Ryan rookie sold for more than $400. I think I bought my raw EX+/NM for that. Similar on Seaver Rookie. And again, I didn't think I was buying that long ago.

So my question is - I'm not imaging this am I? Is this only going to worsen (from a buyers/collectors perspective)?

Prices are up... but...
 

Lots of talk that we are in a "COVID Bubble" meaning you have a lot of folks who are stuck at home with not a lot to do. Lots of different cards (esp. HOF's and modern) have rocketed in value over the past 8 months. Also, you have the death of Tom Seaver bumping up the value of his cards.

The big question, will the value keep on going up?

My thought is the answer is no. While the hobby will pick up some new long-term collectors, by mid-June when COVID has settled down and folks get back to their normal lives, you will see a decline in prices.

For the specific cards that you outlines (64-71) there is a lot of inventory out there which I think will catch-up with the demand at some point.

Just my $.02. Of course if I really believed that I would sell my entire collection now and look to buy it back in 8-10 months...

Prices are definitely up. I kind of chuckle now at some cards I didn't buy "because they were too expensive" 15 or 20 years ago. A lot of those prices certainly seem tame now.

Heck with “15-20 years ago”...even a year ago!

I was looking at some PSA 7 cards of 1964 Topps Hall of Famers. Stuff I should have bought last year at $50-$80 are now selling for roughly $100 more now!

There's been a lot of talk ("maybe too much talk" for you U2 fans) about the rising prices, and how crazy it's gotten (and how much it sucks) for us true collectors, but even if the bubble bursts when the COVID nightmare disappears, I don't think it's truly going to 'end' anytime soon. The cards you mentioned, especially things like Ryan and Seaver rookie cards, have skyrocketed to a (I f*cking hate this term) new normal, and I believe they are going to pretty much stay up there (forever or for a long while). Once people can get out of their houses and spend money on other means of entertainment and such, card prices will surely take a hit, but it doesn't seem like it will happen quickly and as drastically as we are hoping for. The cards we're suddenly being forced (I know, we're not actually being forced) to pay a lot more for are probably going to remain up there in the ether.

Exactly. As I was saying, I think they may level off eventually, but cards like that typically don't go down. The Ryan RC did from it's absurd levels in the early 90's, when even EX-ish O/C copies were going for like $1200 or more, but that was a different story.

Surprisingly, I got your U2 reference. :)