How do you mentally adjust on pricing?

[kailes2872]

I have noticed that I have bought very little in the last 18-24 months. My post war set run is full except for the 49/51 Bowman and 52 Topps and I am not sure when/if those will happen, but I have found myself in a situation where I can't seem to find a place to jump back in.

I got back in head and feet first in 2012. Pricing was pretty stable for those first 8 years, but as we all know, it has jumped in the last year+

I have no problem with the growth, my current collection is enjoying appreciation. However, I am finding it tough to buy anything because I have 2012-2015 prices in my head. I have been following certain cards for quite some time - for example, a 1960 Yaz PSA 6 used to be 160-180. I would bid on a few auctions looking for a bargain and usually get beat late as it would cross into the 160-180 range. At some point, if I wanted it bad enough, I would just pay what I needed to pay, but I would feel like the fool who bought at the top of the market, and wouldn't pull the trigger. There were a few others like that that I had raw but wanted to upgrade into a graded card. '69 Mantles were around 200 for PSA 6 YL and 1000 for WL. I would get close and lose at the end - but hey, at least I didn't "overpay".

So now, with 2021 prices firmly in place, those cards would cost me 2-3x that price I would see all of the time in the past. Prices might settle, but they won't retrench back to those older levels. But, my mind can't get over those prices that I was so used to seeing for so long and I don't think I will ever buy one now just out of principle (and I have a raw example).

When I buy into the financial markets, I dollar cost average every two weeks. It is systematic and I don't even pay attention to what the market is trading at that day, but when I look back, I see that I used to buy the S&P at 1800. Now I buy at 4300 but I don't hesitate to buy and yearn for the days of 1800. I can't seem to have that same mentality with cards and it is affecting my ability to build my collection. Whereas, I could accept that there will be continued appreciation over time and there will be a day that I will thank my 2021 self for buying a Goudey Ruth at these cheap prices compared to how much it would cost me in 2035.

Does anyone else suffer from the same challenge? For people who have been collecting much longer than my 8 years, how have you been able to continue to buy over long periods of time?

I know that we are all tired of talking about card values and the money aspect of the hobby - but it was more about the psychological aspect of anchoring prices into your head and being able to buy beyond that anchor.