Excitement brewing..

ElMagoStrikeZone

It certainly doesn't require a high level of sophistication to anticipate the value of cards rising. The discussion began with a simple acknowledgement of such anticipation. It was a good prediction.

HOMETOWNSPORTS

Some Philosophical thoughts,

Don't put all your eggs in one basket
is profound advice for those with more
than one egg or one basket.

those people are my friends if you do not
like them show me your's

a client without a dime in
his pocket today may have
a dollar in his wallet tomorrow

Business was sailing,
smiles were abounding
the future looked great,
then a qualified expert
began to expound
the sound philosophy
of prudent frugality,

"Why buy the best--
when you can get by for less?
Why hire the finest
when "next to" will do?"

We admired his credentials
so we sharpened our pencils
made this last longer,
cut that corner short:
and saved what was left for bankruptcy court!

Life is a pencil that death sharpens!

olb31

you are the riddler!!!

HOMETOWNSPORTS

@olb31 said:
you are the riddler!!!

OOOKKAAAYYY

1948_Swell_Robinson

@bgr said:

@1948_Swell_Robinson said:

@bgr said:

@1948_Swell_Robinson said:

@bgr said:

@olb31 said:

@bgr said:

@ElMagoStrikeZone said:
I must admit that making fun of the OP's posting style is a kick, but reality of 18 months is indisputable where the value of cards has gone beyond comprehension. He's been right all along. Keep up the good work olb31, you've got a solid groove goin' on.

I don’t disagree with that. What I don’t like is the casual association between collectibles and economics during a time when many people are not as lucky. It’s a callousness that ignorance doesn’t excuse.

when exactly does it get better for the ones you are talking about? when the nolan ryan rookie psa 8 hits $100,000, $200,000, $500,000? Or when the nasdaq hits 30,000, 40,000, 50,000? You just said above the stock market is on fire just like the cards, so I assume it needs to get hotter than this for the other folks to start making money? How hot does it need to get?

I have a friend who didn't graduate HS and started mowing grass. He makes around $200,000 a year. His wife is a manager at a day care and makes about $100,000. $300k in SWVA is decent money, very nice money. And all they did was go to work and raise their kids. Nothing magical.

I would suggest this same path for the ones you are concerned about.

I don't know what point you're trying to make. Do you know how CPI works? A lot of the people impacted are those on fixed incomes. That's beside the point I was making. I was trying to explain that we're still in a very K-shaped economy - this means good for those of us who are fortunate and bad for those of us who are not. The widening divide between asset-owners and wage-earners remains the defining feature of our economy. Trading cards have become an alternative asset class and lots of money is flowing in and prices are rising and markets have also been riding high but that only looks at a tiny fraction of what's going on in the US and World economies. I'm sure you're right though now that I think about it.

He was exactly right with his prediction. One cannot discount it any way you try. If you didn't enter the market or buy cards at his prediction time, then an opportunity was missed.

You are right about what is important is the next six months and not the last six. What are your thoughts on how to play the next six months to a year in the market or the cards?

A lot of people are truly in a bad spot and there is no arguing that, , but there are also a vast amount of people in a tight spot because they didn't make the right plays. Hindsight is 20/20 so can't worry about what one did or didn't do in the past, but the good thing is there is still time to change the course.

I could live on the following meals:

Protein shake for breakfast is $1 a serving. 30 grams of protein.

Can of tuna fish for lunch for .79 cents. If you want some flavor and live a little, I get cans of Pringles for $1.50-$2 a can. So eat 1/4 of a can with your tuna fish and you have a 20 grams of protein and a feel good side for $1.30.

Four egg cheese omelette for dinner and a frozen hash brown patty. I get eggs for $1.50 a dozen or less. Hash brown patty is .35 cents. Slice of cheese .25 cents . Appx 26 grams of protein.

So that simple meal plan with the most minimal prep time yields you 76 grams of protein for the day(plus sides) for less than $5. Less than $5!

Potatoes and Rice are extremely cheap for any side or main dish. Pork chops are routinely $2.49 a pound, and chicken thighs and legs the same. So I can mix and match those for dirt cheap meals of protein and complete carbs. There are several viable options.

Maybe those prices are higher in california or Hawaii, so that might change a bit.

Imagine the excess waste anyone has spent on extra drinks for lunch, breakfast, or at a bar, and ineffcient meal choices. Now imagine if for the last two years only they put that $20 a day into QQQI and turned on the DRIP,

That $20 a day investment into QQQI right now would be worth $15,195
You would be getting $177 a month in dividends right now from that to do with as you please.

That is assuming you saved the weekend money and invested on trading days.

All just for altering a simple meal plan. Of course,, people want to live a little, but if you are in a bind, that is a choice.

Obviously there are ETF's or stocks that out generated QQQI, but that is a reliable yield maker and works well in a sideways market that has some volatility. People have to make their own choices on where to put their money.

Cars, phones, streaming service, etc...all can be managed(or eliminated) for costs not much different than the last eight years. Don't need a new phone every year for one. Use your Iphone until Apple sends you a message that it will no longer support their software updates. Also lower ones expectations on what car to drive. Use it simply as a tool to get from A to B.

A million scenarios, but the meal plan is simple and doable. Please check with your doctor on the health of the food and your body to make your own decisions of course.

Here is another one from AI:

"If you had taken the exact amount of money required to buy one pack of cigarettes every day for the last 30 years and instead invested it directly into a major tobacco company like Altria Group (MO) with the dividends reinvested (DRIP), you would be a millionaire today, with an estimated total between $1.1 Million and $1.4 Million. [1] (https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/MO/altria/stock-price-history)."

Now of course if everyone did that, then that company wouldn't make money lol....but if someone is willing to make a sacrifice and buck a trend, hey, why not.

I wish I took many of these thoughts to heed myself, lol....its hard to resist choices...but when in a bind makes it a different story.

Predicting that trading cards are going to go up when there is a lot of money flowing in to trading cards while prices are going up already might not be the most difficult prediction.

I’m only commenting on the faux-correlations presented as evidence.

As far as where the NASDAQ will be in the next 6 months… I don’t think anyone knows. Everyone is waiting on the Fed this month. We’re probably not going to see a rate hike because it adds a headwind to valuations. The interest is already priced in for a hike because equity debt is based off the e 10 year and that’s already at 4.7%. The direct is less than like $15B total per year. Thats nothing vs DDR. The problem is the multiple and the jobs numbers came in a little hot. The other main issue is the concentration. The markets we follow are based on a handful of companies moving the needle. There’s a growing rift in technology as supply chain is in turmoil now. It’s not my domain so I can only tell you what I’m told. Most people say up through 2026 and then we look to rotate.

So he was right.

You brought up CPI. Wasn't the CPI from Jan 2021 to Jan 2025 4.9% annually? Then from Jan 25 to now it is 3% average annually? How does that factor into cards since you brought it up? Like I said above, I can still eat plenty of protein and taste for $5 a day for three meals in todays world. I can even make a 1/4 juicy tasty cheeseburger for less than $2 at home and it taste better than most restaurants.

Food prices(and all prices) are always going to go up. That has been a complaint for decades and decades, so lets not sensationalize it now. The reality is what I pointed out with the meals...its not as bad as you are trying to make it out compared to just a few years ago especially....and is prolly one of the reasons why people still have money to buy cards and card shows are packed with all sorts of people on different points of the K curve .

He can be right about it and everyone can decide what that means. When the rain starts falling is always the best time to predict rain. I said that a prediction that follows a trend is NOT evidence of insight. Being right and having a valid reason are different questions and you’re giving credit for predicting an outcome which wasn’t even over the horizon and pretending like it represents a process of understanding. You ignore my line point - the faux correlation and substitute in a new claim. the rain continues to fall and anytime it gets heavier I’m going to post about my amazing feat of prediction.

Inflation is running higher now since the April print. The deflationary story was 24-25 and then maybe you’ve seen the news.

But that’s a miss in basic math. The big miss is talking about rate of change when inflation has been here for a while instead of level and THAT misses the point. If you know that good, but I don’t think so because no one intentionally walks into a door in a debate.

The reason people have money to buy cards is because of the K itself. Those of us at the top are flush and those at the bottom not so much. When people make the choices to eat cheap because they can that’s also a big problem. Choosing to eat that cheeseburger at home vs a restaurant is a canary - we see food prices away from home also rising faster than food prices at the grocery store. Does that tell you anything important?

You want to defend olb fine but do some homework please. Plus he’s 64 crayons short of a good time.

Where are your predictions? It's easy to play arm chair QB. Scoff at the wrong ones like you did about Jake Bauers, and then say "anyone could have said that" about the right ones. That way you are always right. You made one about the stock market prediction but you qualified it by saying "based on what others have said" to give yourself cover when you are wrong.

Like I said, it was worse four years ago, so why sensationalize it now? Yeh, I get it it keeps adding up. It kept adding up four ears ago too but why weren't you sensationalizing it then? The point about the food was that it isn't as bad as you are saying because the actual prices to eat normally are there. There are plenty of people along all spots on the K line that are packing card shows, except for people at the very bottom, but that would be the case in any time. So your version isn't really accurate.

Also eating home vs eating out is a choice if one is worried about money...but Chili's has the three for deal with a big cheeseburger for $11. Burger/Fries/Soup/drink....the burger isn't as good as mine, but hey, live a little I guess. They have other options too.

All those foods I listed are basic staple foods that I eat regardless of money...Eggs, Fish, Chicken, Rice, potatoes. So I would assume most do. So if you can eat 76 grams of protein for $5, the problem sits in your choices not the current environment that is being sensationalized. On fourth of July weekend I bought T-bones for $5 a pounds. Sure, it was a sale, but they are there...which leads to the overall point, that more people could have been involved in this current market boom, and still could be, if different choices are made.

I gave an example about the food choices and using that money for QQQI...which is a plan I gave to a loved one that instead of buying $12 craft beers, put that $12 into QQQI instead each time. IMO, that ETF will be good for him if the market does stay sideways and volatile in 2027 like you said that your buddies said would happen.

I am curious on what you are going to invest in starting at this point? Go out on a limb and put it out there.

bgr

I didn’t say the information was from my buddies and I didn’t say sideways. My money is in managed funds so I’m just giving you the headlines. Going forward I’m going to keep my money with Bernstein Private Weatlh Mgmt. it’s been 40% the past 3-4 years. So I could sit here and say. Gee. I don’t know what everyone is complaining about. Just live off your investments like a normal person. Weird. Get rich fools. But I won’t because that’s stupid.

1948_Swell_Robinson

@bgr said:
I didn’t say the information was from my buddies and I didn’t say sideways. My money is in managed funds so I’m just giving you the headlines. Going forward I’m going to keep my money with Bernstein Private Weatlh Mgmt. it’s been 40% the past 3-4 years. So I could sit here and say. Gee. I don’t know what everyone is complaining about. Just live off your investments like a normal person. Weird. Get rich fools. But I won’t because that’s stupid.

But you will play an excellent arm chair quarterback.

1982FootballWax

A fiber-less diet at 2002 prices. Why (really WHY?) and where?

Also seems at least one political agenda at play in this thread. The rules apply to everyone here!

P.S. I eat only low/no-mercury Fish, like Alaska Halibut, which ain't cheap to ship to me, 5-6 times a week. I maintain a low sodium, low fat, lean protein, high fiber diet since 2005. The once or twice a year i have a burger I grind (technically a few food processor pulses) my own.

bgr

@1948_Swell_Robinson said:

@bgr said:
I didn’t say the information was from my buddies and I didn’t say sideways. My money is in managed funds so I’m just giving you the headlines. Going forward I’m going to keep my money with Bernstein Private Weatlh Mgmt. it’s been 40% the past 3-4 years. So I could sit here and say. Gee. I don’t know what everyone is complaining about. Just live off your investments like a normal person. Weird. Get rich fools. But I won’t because that’s stupid.

But you will play an excellent arm chair quarterback.

You’ve convinced me that I was wrong. Thanks. Sorry.

1948_Swell_Robinson

@bgr said:

@1948_Swell_Robinson said:

@bgr said:
I didn’t say the information was from my buddies and I didn’t say sideways. My money is in managed funds so I’m just giving you the headlines. Going forward I’m going to keep my money with Bernstein Private Weatlh Mgmt. it’s been 40% the past 3-4 years. So I could sit here and say. Gee. I don’t know what everyone is complaining about. Just live off your investments like a normal person. Weird. Get rich fools. But I won’t because that’s stupid.

But you will play an excellent arm chair quarterback.

You’ve convinced me that I was wrong. Thanks. Sorry.

You're welcome.

bgr

@1948_Swell_Robinson said:

@bgr said:

@1948_Swell_Robinson said:

@bgr said:
I didn’t say the information was from my buddies and I didn’t say sideways. My money is in managed funds so I’m just giving you the headlines. Going forward I’m going to keep my money with Bernstein Private Weatlh Mgmt. it’s been 40% the past 3-4 years. So I could sit here and say. Gee. I don’t know what everyone is complaining about. Just live off your investments like a normal person. Weird. Get rich fools. But I won’t because that’s stupid.

But you will play an excellent arm chair quarterback.

You’ve convinced me that I was wrong. Thanks. Sorry.

You're welcome.

Yeah. I wasn't thinking about the Chilis angle and that really helped me land the pieces into place. BBQ SAUCE! You convinced me that I'm wrong to try to have a discussion with someone who thinks like you do. You are now a "toy".

1948_Swell_Robinson

@bgr said:

@1948_Swell_Robinson said:

@bgr said:

@1948_Swell_Robinson said:

@bgr said:
I didn’t say the information was from my buddies and I didn’t say sideways. My money is in managed funds so I’m just giving you the headlines. Going forward I’m going to keep my money with Bernstein Private Weatlh Mgmt. it’s been 40% the past 3-4 years. So I could sit here and say. Gee. I don’t know what everyone is complaining about. Just live off your investments like a normal person. Weird. Get rich fools. But I won’t because that’s stupid.

But you will play an excellent arm chair quarterback.

You’ve convinced me that I was wrong. Thanks. Sorry.

You're welcome.

Yeah. I wasn't thinking about the Chilis angle and that really helped me land the pieces into place. BBQ SAUCE! You convinced me that I'm wrong to try to have a discussion with someone who thinks like you do. You are now a "toy".

Chili's baby back ribs. Enjoy.

olb31

not a fan of chili's but i love burgers and steaks

DotStore

That PSA 10 Captain America looks so cool! Wish I had collected earlier non-sports back in the day. I only have 1990's non-sports left over from when my dad and I would set up at shows a few times a year.

lahmejoon

That's still a nice collection of boxes @DotStore