Still crazy prices

[raulus]

I know that this thread is all about modern prices still being crazy.

But are vintage prices any less crazy?

[theshowandme]

Originally Posted by raulus

I know that this thread is all about modern prices still being crazy.

But are vintage prices any less crazy?

I’m finding value all over the place!

[raulus]

Originally Posted by theshowandme

I’m finding value all over the place!

I find plenty of value in most modern cards as well. 99.999999% of modern sells for peanuts.

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by raulus

I know that this thread is all about modern prices still being crazy.

But are vintage prices any less crazy?

No, they are just as crazy from all the pumping and dumping. Many vintage cards are 5 to 10 times in price from just 6-8 years ago.

[Snapolit1]

I remember when the breakers were salivating over Zion and how he was the second coming. . . . refractors selling for over a million . . .how did that work out? Got to have a short memory to play this game.

[egri]

Originally Posted by raulus

I know that this thread is all about modern prices still being crazy.

But are vintage prices any less crazy?

Admittedly, this is only one card, but when I started my signed 1953 Topps project in 2014, Satchel Paige was a $1,000 card. Maybe as high as $1,200 if the buyer had to have it now, or as low as $800 if the seller was looking to move it quickly. And it stayed at that level for about 5-6 years. They were readily available too; there was always at least 1 or 2 (or more) on eBay, and a few others would pop up from time to time at the auction houses.

Then around 2020, I started seeing it sell in the $2-3,000 range. I figured some sellers were taking profits, some new buyers were impatient, and soon it would return to normal. Instead, over the next few years that became a $4-6,000 card. Now, Probstein sold one last month for over $8,000, and there's another on eBay right now for $12,000. The buyers are holding on to them as well; before those two, it had been a while since I saw one on eBay. As a buyer, it's the worst of both worlds; not only does he not come up as often, but the prices are much higher when he does. There's one in REA right now in a PSA holder that sold for $3,500 two years ago in a Beckett slab; I'm keeping an eye on it but am fully prepared for it to go out of my range.

[packs]

It was the same with the Satchel Paige signed business cards. They were a $100 item and the last of them were signed more than 40 years ago.

Today, despite no change in supply, you'll have to shell out $400 or more.

[Seven]

Originally Posted by packs

It was the same with the Satchel Paige signed business cards. They were a $100 item and the last of them were signed more than 40 years ago.

Today, despite no change in supply, you'll have to shell out $400 or more.

I can at least justify the price of that though. It's Satchel Paige. He's one of the greatest pitchers to ever play. Why anyone would spend 1000+ on a card of Anthony Volpe is beyond me.

[packs]

I don’t disagree. It does seem like prices are crazy for everything these days was what I was trying to say. It’s a new normal even in the vintage world. Stuff I liked used to be in my budget even if it meant selling something or saving up for a while. But now I find myself collecting more of what I can still afford whereas in the past I was able to collect more of what I liked. And I've had to accept that I've likely missed my shot at some things.

[JeremyW]

Originally Posted by Seven

I can at least justify the price of that though. It's Satchel Paige. He's one of the greatest pitchers to ever play. Why anyone would spend 1000+ on a card of Anthony Volpe is beyond me.

I agree. Paige is much better than Volpe in many ways.

[Gorditadogg]

Originally Posted by Seven

I can at least justify the price of that though. It's Satchel Paige. He's one of the greatest pitchers to ever play. Why anyone would spend 1000+ on a card of Anthony Volpe is beyond me.

Why would anyone pay $660,000 for a card of Sheree Magee? (I'm sorry, I hope I didn't spell it wrong.)

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[Casey2296]

Originally Posted by Gorditadogg

Why would anyone pay $660,000 for a card of Sheree Magee? (I'm sorry, I hope I didn't spell it wrong.)

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Is that a thing?

[Gorditadogg]

Originally Posted by Casey2296

Is that a thing?

Yeah, but it's a 1-of-1, haha. (PSA 8 T206 "Magie" sold for $660k @HA, 9/20/18.)

You could buy 660 Volpes, if you could find that many.

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[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by packs

It was the same with the Satchel Paige signed business cards. They were a $100 item and the last of them were signed more than 40 years ago. Today, despite no change in supply, you'll have to shell out $400 or more.

There is a change in supply, though, as such things get "collected up." So, no surprise in their appreciation.

[packs]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

There is a change in supply, though, as such things get "collected up." So, no surprise in their appreciation.

Whoops, I thought you were quoting my other post. They are always available so I'm not sure there is a change in supply. I think it's more that people started appreciating Paige more but I'm not sure why that wasn't the case from the start with a personality like him.

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by packs

Whoops, I thought you were quoting my other post. They are always available so I'm not sure there is a change in supply. I think it's more that people started appreciating Paige more but I'm not sure why that wasn't the case from the start with a personality like him.

+1 on that, what an icon in the game! My point was just that every time someone grabs one of those great signed business cards, the next one up for auction has one fewer bidder going for it. And of course these collections get recycled from time to time, putting a "new" one onto the market, but I think there's a lag there between those looking and those selling. In my time I've seen many pieces of memorabilia go from common at shows and other venues to practically non-existent, attributable to that phenomenon, I believe. I predict that $400 Paige signed card will seem a real bargain not long down the road.