Buy it. But it now.
ReggieCleveland
Posts: 3,818 ✭✭✭✭✭
I don't know what's going on. I think I've probably said that a few dozen times over the last calendar year. But we've definitely hit ludicrous speed and gone to plaid. An '86 Fleer Update Canseco PSA 10 got hit for $258. Is the card condition sensitive? Yeah, but so is the whole set. Then I just started looking at other cards from the era. It's absolutely effing insane.
If there was ever a card that you wanted for your collection -- and I mean, ANY card, not just some star player's rookie -- you should really buy it right now. Technically, you should have bought it 20 different times in the last year but I'm done saying "this is the top. It can't possibly get any higher" only to see a card I want double, triple, or quadruple in value.
Always kind of wanted a Matt Williams rookie? Buy it NOW.
Really like the looks of the '86 Topps Gooden? But it NOW.
This is sheer madness. I believe we're seeing an injection of such a large amount of new collectors to this era that we need to redefine what numbers now constitute "low pop." There is clearly nowhere near enough supply to satiate current demand.
Arthur
ETA: If you're reading this and you're a relatively new collector, I'd love to hear your opinion. Or even if you just want to sound off so maybe we could get an idea of how many new collectors we have. New opinions are always welcome.
Comments
Very valid comments, my good Reggie. I've had friends come to me over the past six months and all basically asked the same question, "Should I sell this now?" Anymore, I just don't know. I've been in this hobby a long, long time and haven't seen the likes of this before. It is somewhat similar to the 88-92 years in terms of popularity, but I feel that social media and the breaking culture are newer elements that have a MASSIVE affect on the hobby.
Buy now before it goes up? Sounds good. Buy later when prices come back down? Sounds good. Basically, my decades in the hobby have qualified me only to say, "Man, I have no idea what's going on here, but we're on a helluva ride."
This was my mentality back in October when I finally purchased a midgrade BGS Jordan Star 101 after toying with the idea for years. After seeing the run up on his card values during the Jordan Mania/Last Dance months it was pretty much now or never if I wanted to own one, luckily profits from my sales funded the entire purchase for me.
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
Surprised by the Canseco PSA 10 Update price. The Canseco / Plunk is condition sensitive, both in terms of borders (front and back) and centering.
86 Fleer Update sets have been selling for $2 - $3 each over the past few years. Now they are going for $20 - $30 each, and MUCH MORE if FASC.
Kiss me twice.....let's party.
I have been around the hobby for 35 years now, and it is unlike anything I have ever seen. this really does beat the late 80's-early 90's boom. it is fun to ride the wave. I just hope history doesn't repeat itself.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
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It's just insanity. All of it. Even a Black Lotus Magic the Gathering is over $300,000?
Michael Jordan 1986 Fleer PSA 9 $67,000? With a population of 2,762 and counting...?
My 86F Jordan PSA 9 is one of my favorite cards, but I'm so tempted to sell it. That's just crazy money
Great post. I've said the same.
When you see it, Buy it NOW, right now! You might not see it again for awhile; it's gonna be more next time!!
FYI, I saw that FU canseco. I almost bought it myself.
I have the '86 FU Will Clark. Got it in '18 for $75. Today would easily sell for $300-$400.
Late last year I hit the BIN on '52 Mathews PSA 4 (from a website) for $4500; I didn't hesitate, was gonna be gone by or before the next day. There is NO thinking about it!!!!
Most recent PSA 4 sold for $5500. Mine is better centered....
great post, op.
long story short...with the sheer influx of new collectors/investors, there are WAY more than 2700 worldwide that can afford and want a mint jordan rookie.
demand can not meet supply. and demand is only going up each day. we are just getting started.
The first stimulus was $1.8 Trillion. If you add all of the asset buying the Fed did as well to inject cash into the system, I have read estimates above $3 Trillion in total cash dumped into the system. The next stimulus is $1.9 Trillion.
The question is can the Fed pull this all back when the economy improves? I don't think the Fed can do it since there is so much pressure to keep the easy money going. Every other Euro govt that tried to pull it back and bring back austerity was rioted out of office. This may be the new normal with $300+ 1980's PSA 10 lower tier rookies and $800 modern boxes.
To quote my favorite movie gangster -
"The night of the fight, you may feel a slight sting. That's pride ****ing with you. **** pride. Pride only hurts, it never helps."
Hopefully that sting I am feeling is pride and not a bubble about to burst.
I get it, but IMO there are a smaller number of very wealthy people hoarding some of the iconic cards and driving the prices up. I.E people from sports, entertainment, and business with millions of excess cash to spend trying to control the market by buying it all. I'd be curious to see the number of different people that own a Jordan RC PSA 10. I bet there are a handful that are hoarding them. Just a guess though...
@AFLfan said:
"Man, I have no idea what's going on here, but we're on a helluva ride."
Took the words right out of my mouth. Sure is awesome having a great moderator and BTW love reading your articles.... the passion flows through your pen.
IMO, many of the '80's cards were just not worth grading....Williams, Gooden, Strawberry, Grace, Palmeiro, Sheffield, etc...
Well, guess that may have been wrong. But then again a '90 Fleer basketball box is still a $5 box with 3-4 off center $2 Jordans to me. Hanging 10 and riding the same wave with ya'll............
with all due respect...yep. and so! 😉
if i had the money to buy every wagner that came to market, i would as well.
Thank you for the kind words. Moderating is an interesting gig. I figure I hit some and miss others in this role, but I try my best to be fair. And I am glad you like the articles. Having been in this hobby a long time, I really do love it and appreciate learning about great collections, whether they are something I also collect or not. I hope that my excitement for the subject comes through because it is genuine.
I’m one of the newbies. Collected as a kid from 86-92 and just now got back in around last October. I didn’t intentionally dive back into collecting but just started reading an article here and there about collecting and managed to get hooked. I’ve been somewhat oblivious to the fact that we’re in the midst of another boom just because I’m part of the boom.
But I have been absolutely stunned by how much cards on eBay appreciate almost daily. I started looking at PSA 10s on the 2011 Trout (US175) about a month ago and had pegged the price at roughly $2,500. Fast forward one month, and they’re now going for $4,000! I realize that card is iconic and in high demand but 60% appreciation in one month??! WOW
I can say for me, a drawing factor of collecting that didn’t even exist when I last collected is the grading industry and the associated commoditization of graded cards. Without that aspect, I don’t think I’d have been drawn back in. I would guess many other newbies feel the same way.
Good to see Dave Spiwak on the boards!!
just loaded up on jay johnstone rcs!
just loaded up on jay johnstone rcs!
Shhh, quiet. One tweet and they might explode. Hoarding Divac, Kemp and Hardaway from that explosive 90 Fleer....
I'm the same way. Revisited my vintage football collection (that I had stopped acquiring in the early 90s) about 18 months ago. Decided I wanted to focus on quality, not quantity. Still in the process of selling stuff off on Ebay, but about 85% is gone.
Luckily, as I sold stuff, I'd use the proceeds to buy high-grade HOF rookies. I figured the high-grades will always be in more demand. So I'd sell two $200 sets from the 80s, and I'd buy a single $400 card. I'm glad I didn't wait. So many cards would now be out of reach. Instead, I bought the big guys early and now have the #13 Pro Football Hall of Fame Players/Coaches/Admin set on PSA and the #30 Pro Football Hall of Fame Rookie Players set.
I haven't put in a dime more than I can sell my current cards for. So even if prices drop, I'll have a great (condensed) collection for the price of all those 25-cent packs and $3 stars I bought back in the mid-80s.
I'm selling 90% of what I own. Prices are astonishing. So far I've sold cards I paid a total of ~20K in the last 3-8 years for ~200K. If I can payoff my mortgage and fully fund my kids college accounts I'll take that deal every time. I feel like an early bitcoin miner.
I don't think these prices are sustainable, and even if they continue to rise, I'll be happy with my big house, new car, kids college and remaining 10% of my collection.
I bought a 2000 Brady Bowman Chrome psa 10 4-5 months ago in the 5-6k range.... and thought I was LATE TO THE PARADE......lol ........ When Wall Street hedge funds and private equity get involved ~ and then you have these same investors fighting to buy Collectors Universe...... its some damn GOOD TIMES baby!
I surmise a correction comes after the Covid cure runs its course and America wakes up to the inevitable gutting of small and intermediate businesses across this country .... I think this shut down might see an opposite affect on the way out of lockdown..... I hope not but cheap money is so awfully uncomfortable when it comes to creating bubbles. Everything on ebay is "High end and Holy Grail" and PWCC is hiding bidders identities.....Venture on Youtube and you find vloggers popping up left and right discussing the hobby like they found the spare key to the playboy mansion.. if that doesn't make you feel uneasy nothing will.
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BO accepted: $5700
Listed and GONE!
The good vintage is disappearing into PCs or into investment funds
These aren't card flippers
Great reading all of your comments. I'm 50 and collected from early '80's to early/mid '90's and have a bunch of ungraded cards that have been sitting in sleeves or album pages for 25-30 years... included in that are all of the 86 fleer basketball and even some of the Star cards from back then... I got back into collecting in August of last year and didn't realize how much it had exploded until a month or so later... at this point...i'm not even sure where to start. I've submitted a small order of FB cards from '70's and '80s to PSA for grading during their last quarterly grading special but that hasn't even been started yet.
Can you all give me any advice on how I should handle some of my cards? That 86 Jordan and all of those RC's from that set...
Welcome.
Slowly put the MJ into a card saver and out of album. Repeat: slowly.
Post some scans and folks can give you advice.
Re read #1
Steve
I'll post those this evening...thanks Steve
People who got burned in 90-92 timeframe are just coming back around to the hobby in time to get burned again.
Like has been said about real estate and the stock market. When your barber starts talking about an asset class as an investment, it’s time to hit the exits.
HOF SIGNED FOOTBALL RCS
I'm really happy about the number of new people that have posted in this thread. Welcome to the board, everyone!
None of us actually know anything, we just say stuff with enough conviction to make people believe we know what we're talking about.
Arthur
So very true. Many of us amateurs are bound to get burned again. Oh well, when it happens we’ll toss all our cards back in the closet/attic like we did 30 years ago our kids can go through them in another 30 years!
I'm new to the boards and have found a lot of great info! Makes me excited again like I was when I was collecting as a teenager... back then you had to search for your cards...now you can find them with a click of he mouse...takes a lot of the fun away but I still enjoy it!
It might happen for sure. Like Arthur said above none of us actually know. But as someone who needed to sell cards to take care of family/expenses a few years back and has been slowly rebuilding my collection, I will say I have a lot more regret about selling a card I really enjoyed, and seeing it triple in price and not being able to afford to buy it back, then I would if I bought the card I loved and it dropped in value.
So, my advice to new guys or guys getting back into collecting is this. Just like the stock market, only spend what you can afford to lose. And just like in the 80's, don't buy 150 McGwire 87 topps (fill in today's hot rookie) because it's going to be your retirement. Buy what makes you happy and hope it goes up in value. If it doesn't who cares, display it for you/your family and friends and enjoy it. Also, welcome to the boards and don't be a stranger. It's great to have more people to share the love of collecting with.
PS - I spent what I considered waaaayy too much on a 1976 set last year. I don't regret that purchase one iota, as that is my birth year, and favorite set. If it becomes more valuable great, if not, I have one hell of a set as a conversation piece with my loved ones.
Jeff
Collecting:
post world war II HOF rookie
76 topps gem mint 10 commons 9 stars
Arenado purple refractors(Rockies) Red (Cardinals)
successful deals with Keevan, Grote15, 1954, mbogoman
All I know is that I've made more money than I ever have in the hobby this year and was finally able to acquire my white whale - a game used Michael Jordan photo matched autographed jersey.
Unreal times we live in.
IG: goatcollectibles23
The biggest lesson I've learned in this hobby, and in life, is that if you have a strong conviction, you owe it to yourself to see it through. Don't sell yourself, or your investments, short. Unless the facts change. Then sell it all.
Ive paid too much money for an overpriced card plenty of times since 2009.
I still got them
Wait til the card shows come back. That's good stuff!
Glad you're enjoying it. Set a budget, do your research, and it takes patience to achieve your goals.
Welcome, don't be a stranger!
!> @emar said:
overpaying today is a steal tomorrow. whether it's a high end psa 2 or gem mint 10, the top tier stuff always commands more. you HAVE to overpay. no one gives away the best for cheap.
now those that are flipping & day trading, then best of luck. they'll need it.
Ok... here’s the 86 Jordan.., it has been in this case since 87 or so.
Appreciate any comments!
Would want to see it out of the holder, however appears 7-8. Nice!!!!!!
That’s a gorgeous MJ rookie!
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
Beautiful centering!
Get that subbed to psa asap!
So if I send it in to PSA, how do you send an item like this? And which level of grading? Super express?
Yep...that is the real deal. Should be a solid PSA 8. Carefully place it into a Card Saver 1 semi-rigid holder. Be sure to open the mouth of the holder while sliding the card in so you don’t knick a corner or the bottom edge. This holder keeps it moving during shipping. Then place between two pieces of cut cardboard and tape each side with painters tape. Place in a sturdy shipping box and send via FedEx or UPS to PSA. since you are looking at a $15-20k card, I would send for express service. Congrats!
Nice centering I’d expect a 6 on it and we’ll worth it to grade as soon as you can.
Join the Rookie stars on top PSA registry today:
1980-1989 Cello Packs - Rookies
Do you put it in a penny sleeve and then card saver 1 or just into the card saver?
Don’t mess with a penny sleeve only bad things can happen.
HOF SIGNED FOOTBALL RCS
Anyone going to the card show in Allen, TX this weekend?
You know prices are high when you find yourself clicking on something from Dean's Cards on ebay
Bosox1976
I was thinking 7 on the Jordan. Congrats and good luck.
Very nice Jordan rookie, but it's hard to give a grading opinion without a better look at that lower right corner. That being said, no mater what the bottom corner looks like it needs to be graded.
I absolutely agree. That's why I am selling everything. Now seems a pretty good time.
>
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