I am mostly a vintage set builder, so I have been living this. It is my observation that the run up in prices started about three years ago and accelerated during the pandemic. I have been saying for a while that this has all the signs of a bubble, and I expected a drawback this year as the vaccine rolled out and life returned to normal. But that doesn't seem to have happened. I still expect prices to moderate, but I also think we may have seen a permanent shift upwards in the market.
That said, it isn't all bad news. I am still making progress on sets. I mainly get cards from trusted sellers at local shows and Greg Morris Cards on eBay. I set specific rules as to what I will pay for a card, and don't exceed that. I lose more auctions than I win and I often get completely shut out of the set breaks, but I am not working on a schedule. It will generally take me 2-3 years to finish a pre-1973 vintage set. If you're okay with that long of an effort, it is possible.
As for 1968, I have been sitting at 2 cards to go for at least two years. One of which is the Nolan Ryan rookie card. That card will probably never come back down in price, so you may just need to suck it up and take the pain on that one. The other I lack is Lou Brock and I probably could have knocked it off a while ago, but without the Ryan there hasn't been any urgency.
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