What is happening with baseball card prices?

[Seven]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

If we don't have people taking a week off work and traveling to CHI for the National this summer I think it will drive prices still higher. It costs me about $1500-$2000 to attend a National, give or take, and I curtail my purchases during the lead-up to the show to build my bankroll for the show. If the show is called off, I have no travel expenses, my show bankroll is unnecessary, and the frustration of not going will generate some 'consolation' purchases too.

I've been saying something akin to this for a while. And it's something that until you crunch the numbers you don't realize. Now while I can't speak for the overwhelming majority of America, I can speak for myself. Since the Pandemic started I have not:

Purchased Any New Clothes: No point If I'm not really going anywhere
Booked any Vacations
attended any Games/Concerts
Gone to a Casino

I'd say in total, from all of that I have probably saved, conservatively, $5000. Where did that money go? Cards. In the past calendar year I added 4 more Mantle's to my collection that I wouldn't normally have been able to add. Some went into the bank as well. My point being, People that were/are making a hell of a lot more than me are and continue to be in the same predicament. Our Hobby does not rely on traveling, It doesn't require us to going to an exotic destination, or to an arena/venue. We can all sit in the comfort of our homes, in our Pajamas, look at the cards we want, at anytime, and spend money on them because quite simply we have nothing else to do.

Normalcy will return, people will leave the Hobby, some will stay for sure, and prices will lower. Will we see Pre-Pandemic Prices? Probably Not. But we won't have to worry about a card that we lost at auction last week being listed for 4x its price this week.