[Fred]

$5K to burn....

Lets look at the recent history of card price escalation. In about 20 years the value of the cardboard has increased dramatically. The past ten years alone saw huge increases in valuations. IMO to think that prices are going to increase at the same rate would be a bit overly optimistic. But then again, who knows what the future holds. Maybe the number of people that held in an interest in the sport will start to dwindle and thus the number of people intersted in buying these pieces of cardboard will decrease. Basic economics - supply and demand. We all see what happened in the 80's and 90's - the frenzy for rookie cards killed the affordability of cards for the foundation of the hobby - KIDS. With less kids interested there will be less of a demand as these KIDS grow into their adulthood. With so many people getting burned in the "rookie card craze" there will be less people interested in throwing their dollars at this hobby.

Ok, maybe that's a doom and gloom theory but I hope it holds true because if this stuff hits bottom I want to buy every piece that I've always wanted. Why? Because I don't look at this stuff as an investment - I actually enjoy it.

I'm now stepping down from my soap box...