State Of The Hobby

Jewish-collector · #1 04-17-2019, 06:59 PM

Other hobbies are based on skill and/or technique (where money is not a huge issue) such as gardening, cooking, computer gaming, playing sports, music, etc,...

The thing with this hobby is a lot of it is based on money (cost, prices, market values, investment, etc,...)

Sometimes you gotta say WTF and accept it.

AGuinness · #2 04-19-2019, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jewish-collector

Other hobbies are based on skill and/or technique (where money is not a huge issue) such as gardening, cooking, computer gaming, playing sports, music, etc,...

The thing with this hobby is a lot of it is based on money (cost, prices, market values, investment, etc,...)

Sometimes you gotta say WTF and accept it.

I think it can be easy to undersell the skills in cards, most notably developing a keen eye for condition and the "people" skills (including negotiating). Both of these are also translatable into other areas of life.
Those other hobbies that you note have their skill components, but there are certainly financial considerations, too. Many plants are very expensive and require maintenance, while musical instruments and sports equipment price out a decent number of people, for instance.

Johnny630 · #3 04-20-2019, 10:22 PM

I believe that most of the smart money invested in vintage baseball cards are sellers. Except for a few very specific names in higher grades. I�ve sold off a lot this year.. it�s been great.

If you have Trouts sell them all, they�re ridiculous right now.

Leon · #4 04-25-2019, 06:22 PM

IF we could time the stock market or the card market we would all be millionaires.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnny630

I believe that most of the smart money invested in vintage baseball cards are sellers. Except for a few very specific names in higher grades. I�ve sold off a lot this year.. it�s been great.

If you have Trouts sell them all, they�re ridiculous right now.

Dpeck100 · #5 04-25-2019, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leon

IF we could time the stock market or the card market we would all be millionaires.

There are times when cards reach prices that feel unsustainable or hard to believe and in theory would be a good time to sell.

But if you actually like owning the card that is a tough call because so many can't easily be replaced.

I don't know how one times super low pop cards because unless a new one surfaces you probably will have to try and buy it back from the person you sold it to.

When it comes to cards in my view market timing is better with modern where so much is speculation. I went to high school with a guy that I know has done well playing the prospects and he puts in the time to study the players and make calculated bets.

One of the best barometers for the card market is the 1986 Jordan. PSA 9's are pressing back above 5k again so the market is definitely strong right now

LincolnVT · #6 04-25-2019, 07:31 PM

So many people have $1,000,000...only so many people can have the best / scarcest cards. Many cards just aren't for sale / available. Must just kill those that are with resources and able to pay.

jchcollins · #7 04-25-2019, 07:42 PM

Ignoring mostly the investment aspect, my curiosity is around how many generations of true collectors can continue to be spawned if kids never get back into the hobby on the ground level (I don't believe they will). Folks my age (I'm 42) that collected in the 80's and early 90's have that nostalgia impulse to get back into it because of what we remember as kids. But what about increasing generations of kids who don't have that experience? Does it mean that the hobby continues to exist for those that latently find it as adults but that is just becomes smaller and more segmented? Everyone today who considers themselves a "collector", even those that spend investment type bucks on their collections - has a past rooted in the hobby at least to an extent before it became totally self-aware and pretty much ceased to exist for kids as it does today. That's just what I wonder - what happens to the cards a century from now when they are ONLY expensive things that you bought because of later interest, and not something people first remembered at the corner store for cents on the dollar?

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