April 24, 2021

 I don't know where to start in talking about everything that has been happing in the card market. One thing for sure,  this will be talked about for decades in the future. There are so many variables. It's debatable how important each factor is.. but they all are in play. 

 Obviously the pandemic is the 1st and probably major factor. So many Americans got the extra 600$ per week in benefits. There were two rounds of stimulus checks that most people got. There are many people not paying rent, and can't be evicted till after the pandemic. Therefore that creates even more disposable cash.  Then with all of the closures and shut downs, and lack of travel that creates even more available cash. 

 There is also the psychological effects lockdown and fear, and dread about the future. This creates a perfect storm of comfort buying on a scale never seen before.  And that's just the start of it.

 With all the extra cash chasing goods, this creates a hyper inflation in the collectables market.  Even though there's less inflation elsewhere.

 How this is possible... is that on line ordering was so dominant even before the pandemic. So the system was in place. Yes there were slowdowns especially overseas.. The workers had to stay 6 feet apart, the mail was moving slower... but it was moving. 

 So there's the existing collectors who can navigate and find deals. But there's a massive influx of new collectors and cross collecting that set this all off.

 I'm a good example. I started from scratch on DVD/BD collecting and in a year I collected over 200 DVD's and about 45 BD's from all over the world. And I built two entire websites for these collections.  I had no knowledge of the market. I know I overpaid. I also didn't have knowledge on the particulars of DVD/BD's hobby. I have learned so much. I'm extremely proud of the collection. And in the big picture I'm glad I have what I have, because I have learned that these things can dry up do to the popularity of the actresses very quickly. 

So I would be a cross collector, because I'm already a Card/CD/Stamp collector.

  I posted a youtube video in the blog post about the impact of sports card collectors jumping into the comics market. It's an excellent analysis that can be applied to any cross collecting. And for certain sports card collectors crossed over to non-sports. Their use of the term  "Rookie" for the 1st Luke Skywalker card gives it away. And their persistence in using it even after they learn we don't use it, just shows that's their understanding. 

 Also within the sport card collectors there's a lot of flippers who either use it to make money or fund purchases.

 There is also the specter of investment in the higher end celebrity autographs. 

 It's not just sports card collectors buying non-sports causing prices to go up, collectors from other areas are getting into cards, all cards including  gaming cards like Pokémon. 

I've seen book collectors, action figure collectors, comic collectors and video game collectors get into cards.  Also sports cards has been infused with a lot of new collectors, that never collected anything before. 

 And that has led to mainstream media writing about record card prices and it's surge in popularity, which in turn made it even more popular.

 Also there has been volumes of cards summited that have crashed PSA. That's a whole story unto itself.. and the entire grading market has a been effected.  The consensus is that it's flippers that sent the most cards in. 

 The reasons are of course varied, but once people find out how cheap some cards are.. some cards are pennies. They don't take up that much space compared to other collections, and it's fun. People get into cards.

 Cards can be kept in binders and read like a book. Or kept in boxes in toploaders or one touches.  While some people could fill a basement with cards. Most people will fill a bookcase or two.. and that's a pretty big collection.  

 And of course many are here just for the money.

 I want to share a photo of a collection of GPK sticker's a collector is selling on eBay. I'm posting it because it really tells a story. A collecting story. Two bookcases of stickers from 1985 to the present and complete master sets and ephemera in two bookcases.  

If you tried to collect all of the Star Wars action figures from the mid 80s to now,, you would need more that two bookcases. Same with just all of the Star Wars books. 35 years of any mass produced collectable licensed merch will take a whole room. 

 Also if you look at the two shelfs, if you got rid of the boxes.. you could use even less space... And it looks amazing. Well organized and neat.  It's a beautiful thing. 

 All of these factors, all mixed up and a little different for each person, leads to the non-sport market inflating and blowing up in price. As well as many cards being difficult to find.