How do you mentally adjust on pricing?

[Casey2296]

There's a Buddhist saying; the past is regret, the present is now, the future is worry.

I've only been back in for a little over a year and started with maybe 50 cards from my kid collection, including about 8 key cards. For me, when I attempt something I have to have a plan that keeps me from losing my focus so I established very specific goals and built a list of 300 cards I wanted for my PC. Here are a couple of goals I started with;

1. Buy back the cards I sold when I was broke AF and couldn't pay rent.
2. Buy specific cards that I wanted as a kid but couldn't afford.
3. Build a well curated collection that would satisfy me emotionally and I'm not sure how to put it into words but make my kids proud of what I built after I'm gone.

Lessons learned along the way.

1. If you're going to commit to collecting today you have to commit financially and make sacrifices in other areas. I sacrificed a 52 Jackie so I could buy a 14CJ Cobb. I would do that everyday because that Cobb was more important than that Jackie.
2. In a rapidly increasing market you can't have it all so you better know what you want. Stay away from the squirrels unless you can make money on them.
3. Recognize what's accelerating fast and if it's on your list buy it as soon as you can. I remember the 1st time I paid >5K for a card (4.5 Wilson Franks Williams) it was a pivitol moment for me because that is a lot of money. In for a penny, in for a pound and all that.
4. You're going to overpay for what you want.
5. There is an incredible group of collectors out there that live on an elevated level of trust and integrity, not money.

I also found this place and was sucked in by Leon and his pre-war henchmen to really get serious about my collection (still considering a class action lawsuit on that one).

To your point about dollar cost averaging, if you were willing to pay 700 for a card that sold for 1k and you lost, put that 700 into an account, do that every time you lose an auction and you'll be surprised how much money you put away. At that point you can afford any card that is important to you. I've lost lots of auctions only to be relieved at the opportunity of time to earn more money for a better opportunity.

And finally, cuz I'm getting ranty, if you didn't buy it at 1K, that time has passed or that card wasn't meant for you, is it worth 1500 to you now? If not let it go. That's the past, stop looking backward and look forward, that's the fun part of building a collection.

Good luck and happy collecting!

[ngrow9]

I've found that psychologically it can sometimes be easier to upgrade a lower grade card, rather than buy a higher grade in the first place. I know it logically doesn't make sense, but if I bought a poor condition T205 for, say, $20 a few years ago, and can resell it for $25 or so now, then I don't mind shelling out another $20-$25 on top of the resale for a fair to good copy now. Even if I would have objected to paying $45-50 originally.

So one strategy might be to buy a lower grade copy now, with the intent to upgrade down the road, and thereby swallow the price increases a bit more incrementally.

[hcv123]

I've been at this for 30+ years. Rewind (insert # of years) and I can relate to the sentiment many times over. In general prices of all goods go up over time. Do you stop buying your favorite food which has increased in price ( I understand food is a necessity, but not any specific food)? I collect/buy/sell what I enjoy. Hindsight has proven 1 thing - it is the cards I didn't buy at any point in time over the past 30 years that "hurt" a lot more than any that I did.

[bbcard1]

Over the last year I have bought very little as I have not been able to get my head around the pricing. I even flirted with selling my collection, but it really is my retirement job to liquidate it. I did pick up a 1952 Bowman near set that I thought was priced well and I had a mantle already so I finished that up. I have bought a couple of Oh rookies which I think are still nicely priced, but I'm mostly sitting on the sidelines. I have peceived a weakening in the market to an extent, but I don't think it will settle back where it was a couple of years ago.

[obcbobd]

Nice post. I've been struggling with the same thing.

Regarding the comparison with the S&P 500, I treat that as an investment, the price rises over time and that is fine as the value of my portfolio is also rising and eventually I will start selling at what I hope is at a the higher price.

For cards, I am definately a collector and not an investor. I purchase a card to own it; likely forever. I would rather the card than the money. For example, about 25 years ago the $300 I spent on a raw Ruth (PSA2?) seemed reasonable. I knew I would get more joy out of the Ruth than the $300. Now that I am close to retirement and have the cash, I've thought of upgrading that card, but to pay $25k or so to upgrade doesn't make sense. $2k yes, but to be honest I'd rather the $25k. The fact that my $300 card is now worth $6000 brings me no joy as I have no plan to sell.

I've come to the realization that there are cards I will never own due to their high price. Hank Aaron rookie etc. I will adjust my collecting focus accordingly. It seems I am buying a lot less, sitting on the sideline. I am thinking of narrowing my focus, perhaps giving up some sets, selling or trading those cards to finance higher purchases on cards in sets I am working on. I'll be missing that National this year but will hit the big local show later in the year (Shriner's). Hopefully, this will reenergize me. Not sure what I will do if $1 cards are $5 and $5 cards are $20.

[Johnny630]

Mentally Prepare By Accepting it or Not Buying. Sadly I’m priced out of almost every card I want in the shape I collect. I won’t collect lesser shape just to buy something. I’m just going to give up and be happy with what I have :-), if it comes down and I can buy again great if not I’m fine too.

It’s no longer A Blue Collar Hobby For Me.

[bbcard1]

I do have to admit that my buying power has increased a lot over the last couple of years, but even before the runup I was struggling with where to go next in my collection. I have complete sets back to 1961 and have done several vintage sets.

I'll probably do a shoebox collection 1957 set next. I did the same with a 1959 a couple years ago and it was fun, not too financially taxing.

[Exhibitman]

Will I pay $3200 for a vg Aaron RC? Nope. The common stuff will come back down some from its peaks. Patience is the key. There's enough of it that it will be around. Prices are already falling from the late winter/early spring peak. The real rare stuff (not that BS condition rarity but actual numerical rarity) isn't affected one way or the other. Just grab it when you find it and be glad you could. If you are monetarily-oriented, buy what's not hot, like memorabilia.

[tonyo]

Originally Posted by Casey2296

I also found this place and was sucked in by Leon and his pre-war henchmen to really get serious about my collection

hahaha.... so true!

[Jewish-collector]

Other hobbies like photography, gardening, gaming, etc,... are more about techniques and skill rather than money. There are some expenses to them of course, but not to the degree of as this hobby has.

I'm a very low end collector, so I can't afford much. I'm finding other aspects of this great hobby that give me happiness and enjoyment.

[Ricky]

Great topic. I'm a collector, not an investor, also. What I buy, I plan to keep. The 10 or so cards that I have sold over the years, I've had regrets about because I know that I will never be able to afford buying them back now - Mayos' Kid Nichols, OJ Radbourn, E97 Young, E107 Plank...

I'm a vintage type collector with an eye towards HOFers and stars. Which makes it difficult because as I see cards from sets that I don't have, I now typically buy commons because HOFers are through the roof. If it's a rare enough set that I need a card from, I'll sometimes now buy lower grade pieces. I operate within a modest monthly budget and it definitely has gotten more difficult. I'm very thankful for the high value cards that I have in my collection that I bought 20-35 years ago, because I'd never be able to afford them today.

[rats60]

Buy on the dip. Right now prices have dropped considerably off their highs. As prices stabilize, it is a buying opportunity to get in near the new floor. Prices will eventually rise again on rare or key cards. I sold off a few things when the market was hot and have some money to put back in to take away the sting of these new higher prices.

[commishbob]

I really try to look forward and not back in order to avoid regrets in life but I can't help wishing I'd pursued this '67 Topps set with more diligence back when I first got into it a four or five years ago. I made a priority of other sets and areas of the hobby and now I'm looking at the cost of the last 18 high number SPs and cringing. Part of the problem is knowing that I had the complete set back in '67 and just gave the whole thing away piecemeal to a few friends when my family moved.

I figure I have two choices... I can sell some stuff to get the money for the last 18, or I can just wait it out. I'm not a seller and I don't relish the idea of doing so know. But I have a couple of cards that would probably cover the cost of the '67s I need easily. Luckily my fantasy football winning last fall got me a nice Seaver rookie.