A future value question of today's cards

[kyle1707]

Just curious to know what everyone else thinks about this...

In the llate 80s i paid 40 dollars for a 1984 topps mattingly..
100 dollars for a canseco rated rc
130 dollars for a strawberry traded rc
believe or not 20 years ago nolan ryan rcs were 1000 dollars


in the late 90's i paid 100 dollars for inserts # to 100
50-100 dollars for refractors...

Does anyone else believe in the near future autos and patch cards might have the same fate?

10 years ago ripken and griffey autos were 250 dollars and now they are 50-60 dollars....

I have been holding myself back from selling all my high end autos and patches and just buy a 1956 topps baseball set or something...

You have to collect what you like... but i dont want to end up with a worthless collection....

Only thing that seems to hold value or even go up is pre 1973 stuff...

[rudyjustinfarrell]

But who is going to be the judges of value in 20 years? You are smart to at least collect who you like. I try to do the same so that if I'm stuck w/ a card? I can laugh it off.

[kyle1707]

Originally Posted by rudyjustinfarrell

But who is going to be the judges of value in 20 years? You are smart to at least collect who you like. I try to do the same so that if I'm stuck w/ a card? I can laugh it off.

Thats a good way to look at it....

But i can't laugh it off... I have to much crap

If i sold all my new stuff i could go buy a 1952 mantle psa 5

So that is my problem...

Can't laugh that off

[carygrant]

Collect what you want - sell everything else ASAP -

[rudyjustinfarrell]

Originally Posted by carygrant

Collect what you want - sell everything else ASAP -

Exactly. Sounds like speculating is not your thing. Get your Mantle and be happy.

[dizzydolse]

Originally Posted by kyle1707

Just curious to know what everyone else thinks about this...

In the llate 80s i paid 40 dollars for a 1984 topps mattingly..
100 dollars for a canseco rated rc
130 dollars for a strawberry traded rc
believe or not 20 years ago nolan ryan rcs were 1000 dollars


in the late 90's i paid 100 dollars for inserts # to 100
50-100 dollars for refractors...

That's because in the 80's and early 90's, half of the United States collected baseball cards and those were the hottest and most popular players in the game. There was a huge market and demand for those cards. Most only had a couple RC's from a few brands. Now there isn't nearly as big a demand but still a large supply. Also, players now have about 47 different RC's each. Topps realized how popular refractors became and started producing a ton of them in a lot of different variations and continues it every year. The earliest refractors still go for a lot of money.

Originally Posted by kyle1707

10 years ago ripken and griffey autos were 250 dollars and now they are 50-60 dollars....

10 years ago there weren't nearly as many certified autos of Ripken and Griffey.

[dizzydolse]

Forgot to add my opinion about future value. I feel like this is the lowest autos of the major players will go. If you think about it, the economy is horrible, and not that many people collect cards anymore compared to the old days. If the economy picks up and the hobby picks up, then the value of everyone's cards will go up. Add that to the fact that as long as Topps has exclusive rights to produce cards with MLB players and team logos, there won't be a bunch of other companies producing a ton of autos and patches. It seemed like Upper Deck was the most notorious company for flooding the market with GU and AU.

[dhcollecting]

Your right on those big name autographs won't go much lower but the price won't go up much either because they will continue to sign and unless half the US starts collecting again the price jump won't be much.

[tehchamp]

10 years ago, it was extremely rare to find a lot of star's auto's and star auto's sold for a premium due to that fact.
Remember, 10 years ago when boxes advertised guaranteed "hits", they were for regular jersey cards and an auto was really rare.
Now, the market is flooded with superstar auto's. I think what will happen is the market will stabilize for a certain player's autographs. 20 years from now, are you going to care you have a regular Topps auto/jersey of Pujols compared to a Topps Tribute auto/jersey from 2011? I don't think I would.

[natbornkiller]

sorry the time machines is in the shop - something is wrong with the flux-compiciter

[illadelf]

Originally Posted by natbornkiller

sorry the time machines is in the shop - something is wrong with the flux-capacitor

Come on man !

[DaveTaplin]

I think tooth brushes are likely to be worth more than cards in the future. Only reason old stuff is worth anything is because no one though it was worth saving (like toothbrushes).

On a serious note I worry that sticker autographs won't hold up to time. Who knows if chrome cards can even hold up after 30 -40 years. Paper & cardboard were some pretty time tested material to print on. I doubt Topps & Panini have done any research to see if modern day cards will hold up for 50 -100 years.

I think the hobby is for fun or short term investment only.

[BloHockeyNut]

Great Thread, I remember 1990 DonRuss you could sell Jerome Walton rc for $5.00 ok not much but you all know what that card is worth now. Back in the 80's and 90's a PC was a nice selection of Rookies. There was no such thing as super collecting a player. 1 to 3 rookies was not to hard to do. Topps had 1 set back then and now I'm not even sure, then you have base, #d, non #d inserts and so on. People will always prospect but there is usually only a hand full in a decade that will pan out. In 10 to 20 years not to many of the cards now with be worth much. Players will get forgotten about and not to many will care. You will always have the people that are huge sports history buffs and I can see the pre 1975 cards always being strong (history shows that they always have been). Ditch what you can for a premium now keep what you really like and ditch the rest. Build your 1956 set (one of my favs. of all time) then either start building 55, 54, 53 etc... or 57, 58,59 etc..... It will still be fun and you are building a great portfolio. I don't know many BLUE CHIPS cards of now. Just my opinion..........

[kyle1707]

Lot of great points...

Sometimes you forget to have fun.. and enjoy them and not worry about the value..

but i have decided

All my autos are being sold... just dont like how they make them over and over every year...

buying a high end 1953 topps mantle... probably my favorite... going in the safe and to my son some day... Then the rest is going to rip my deck out and put down a fancy patio good summer time project

thanks for all the comments
kyle

[tehchamp]

Originally Posted by DaveTaplin

I think tooth brushes are likely to be worth more than cards in the future. Only reason old stuff is worth anything is because no one though it was worth saving (like toothbrushes).

On a serious note I worry that sticker autographs won't hold up to time. Who knows if chrome cards can even hold up after 30 -40 years. Paper & cardboard were some pretty time tested material to print on. I doubt Topps & Panini have done any research to see if modern day cards will hold up for 50 -100 years.

I think the hobby is for fun or short term investment only.

I highly, highly worry how well autographs will hold up over time. I mean some stuff from the mid to late '90's is fading already.
I do know Staedler markers are made to be permanent and hold up, but we'll see.

[enginedown]

The big difference between markets of 10 or 20 years ago and today is that now, everyone has access to the Internet. 10 years ago, a lot of people used ebay, but now you are literally reaching the entire card collecting world when you make a listing. That's not to say that a Strasburg auto will be worth the same thing 20 years from now (it won't), but there will always be collectors out there who will buy your rare cards, and you will always be able to find them. And who knows, maybe the hobby will pick back up someday, and kids will be clamoring for their favorite veteran's rookie cards once again.