Economy in flames: Where's all the stuff?

[kingjammy24]

economy's going down the terlit. credit has been strangled. unemployment and inflation are up. foreclosures are way up. you'd think that this would all result in an abundance of game-used items coming to market from private collections compelled to liquidate. is anyone seeing this? i'm not and it surprises me. supply wise, it seems like ebay and auction houses are carrying the usual stuff they've been carrying for years. no great explosion of collections flooding the market.

rudy.

[zookerman182]

it actually seems like there is less and less quality stuff showing up on ebay. I dont know why this is but i havent been able to find anything worth buying on ebay in quite sometime.

[kneerat]

I agree.

[lund6771]

economy's going down the terlit. credit has been strangled. unemployment and inflation are up. foreclosures are way up. you'd think that this would all result in an abundance of game-used items coming to market from private collections compelled to liquidate. is anyone seeing this? i'm not and it surprises me. supply wise, it seems like ebay and auction houses are carrying the usual stuff they've been carrying for years. no great explosion of collections flooding the market.

rudy.

I've been waiting for a couple of items for 5-7 years...I thought for sure I'd be seeing them by now...and they're not THAT rare...

[karamaxjoe]

I would guess now's not the time to sell since everyone is wathing their budgets more and the shill bidding investigation is in full swing. Auction prices from the last Mastro auction were not very good and I don't see them getting much better soon.

On the other hand hopefully today's market disaster will force some guys to unload some good stuff.

[corsairs22]

Yes, people have been holding on to their stuff, recognizing that the market is softening. While some may have been hurt by the economy in the past few months, it looks like the worst is yet to come. So maybe some a few Holy Grails will come up for sale-- although I would regret acquiring mine under such circumstances.

[kingjammy24]

I would guess now's not the time to sell since everyone is wathing their budgets more and the shill bidding investigation is in full swing. Auction prices from the last Mastro auction were not very good and I don't see them getting much better soon.

On the other hand hopefully today's market disaster will force some guys to unload some good stuff.

hi mike

i agree that we're in a time when discretionary spending is down so it's a less-than-ideal time to sell. however, i'm not talking about folks who sell simply to capitalize on high prices; folks who have the option of not selling. i'm talking about folks being forced to sell due to resetting mortgages, diminishing credit, job loss, foreclosure, stock plunges. how have we had record numbers of foreclosures and yet i haven't seen waves of great collections come on to the market? are collectors immune to foreclosure? are we all sitting in nice 30-year fixeds with comfy payments? how many americans subsist on lines of credit? none of those folks collect? the dow plunged almost 800 pts today. a whole wack of people just lost a whole wack of money. ebay offerings aren't any different than they've been for the past 4 yrs. i'm not talking about one or two pieces. i'm expecting to see huge lifetime collections hit the market. this could turn into one of the greatest buying opportunities in the past few decades.

i'm guessing those folks seeking to liquidate asap are going to use ebay and not wait around for an auction house to start an auction in X months and then pay them in X more months. i think ebay will likely see a boon from tough economic times. yet i, and apparently others, still aren't seeing it. maybe people would rather lose their home or savings than their jorge posada gamer

rudy.

[yanks12025]

Yeah the market is alittle low right now. When ever i have some money to spend, nothing shows up on ebay.

[staindsox]

It will eventually translate. "Regular folks" aren't immediately hurt by Wall Street falling apart. Your average Joe doesn't sweat a diverse portfolio because they don't have one. If anything, they have 401k and they shouldn't be sweating that unless retirement is a few years down the road. Big business is taking the hit. Once they take a look at next quater's forecast, drastic actions like downsizing become the most viable option. That is where middle American is going to really get hit. It may take several months, but it is coming. If you're not one of the unfortunate victims, I'm sure there will be plenty of purchasing opportunities.

Chris

[Spiezio23]

I would also think that those holding such nice items are realizing the game used market is low for many reasons and don't want to sell low. They hold out until the market goes back up.