EBay Seller of the Month

If I pick up a slabbed card/autograph that I want for a good price, I bust them out of their cases. I find them superfluous and they prevent me from storing the card with the rest of my collection the way I want.

I understand people getting rare items graded and slabbed, but a lot of what we are seeing now is the unwelcome entry of speculators into a hobby that has historically never really been about the size of your wallet. I really can't see any upside to the new trend of cricket commons going through hyper-inflation etc. "It's just not cricket."

League is such a small collecting community that a lot of what I am seeing happen doesn't seem sustainable. Too many rare cards, too few long-term collectors. People pouring ever-increasing volumes of money away to maintain their collections, which show very little diversity. In a small market, less is more I reckon. The chase to complete your collection is what people are striving for, and if that becomes onerous, and a life-altering expense then more and more of the long-term collectors will keep turning away. When 'lifers' decided they didn't want every card in a set it did damage, but if team-collecting 'lifers' start doing the same it will be a slippery slope. Once your sets are not complete you just don't care as much anymore. Spending the money from my collection on our home and experiences for my children has been far more enriching. If Select-sized products were still being released, I'd still be an bi-annual master set collector as well as busting my own product.

That went on a bit of a weird tangent, but I think the point is that a few of us have found ourselves dipping into what feels like investment, when all many of us really want is to be able to be hobbyists and for that to be achievable. I've moved onto a new collecting hobby that is exactly that, and I am having a blast again.
100% agree with this . While I haven’t been collecting anywhere near as long as some of the guys on here I’ve found myself already doing what you’ve mentioned.It sort of takes the fun away as well.
I started out chasing master sets but when you see the drop in prices and huge amount of cards , combined with knowing you’ll never recoup that cost , especially in this current financial environment, it becomes hard to justify.
I agree with spending more time and money in the family .Can’t take these collections with us
 
The last few sets i have just been buying random packets and really treating it like gambling. Will i hit a big card for only $20-$30?? Disappointed when i don't as you do when you lose at gambling but a nice rush when you do!! Completing sets is irrelevant unless I am chasing a certain part of the Master Set and this has been in the form of identical numbers.
 
The landscape of the hobby had changed so much in the last few years. The thrill of the chase, being able to trade to get what you wanted while helping another collector get what they wanted. It seems all the guys I once traded with are now out or have slowed down to the point where there is nothing to trade. It is such a shame, my focus is back putting old sets together, that is what keeps me going.
 
I'm pretty much with Ross. I started 2022 Elite the same way I do every year, got a heap of stuff together quickly, a lot of low numbered cards, quite a few 01's amongst them. Then I took a step back and realised how much I still had to get, Black Diamonds going for $300 each, the Kalyn Ponga tax attached to all of his cards...and it was a real holy crap moment. And just like that I lost all interest in going any further. I've now sold ALL of my 2022 Elites, even the 01's. Right now I have zero Knights cards from 2022 Elite apart from a common set. It's just too much.

There are so many new people in the hobby at the moment who are just chasing $$$ which just makes it so much harder to get what you need. There are still some really good people in the hobby who look out for others, trade cards to help others to complete their PC's etc etc, but there doesn't seem to be enough of them to counter the money hungry people I see regularly on Ebay, Facebook pages and the like. It's a shame, but I guess that's the way it goes.

So, just like Ross, a former Master Set collector who regressed to a team collector and is now someone having to make a decision on where to go from here.......
 
It's sad to see so many long-term collectors, reassessing their hobby. I had that moment
many times as life changes and you realise you don't have the money, time , passion to
go on. I've adjusted what I collect over the years in a view of long-term sustainability.
But as prices go up and more to collect per team it's just getting harder.
People came and go in the hobby but when you see core collectors selling up in
numbers, you have to worry.
And to boat with The Dolphins in next year it's going to muck up all the Warriors numbering
in subsets year on year (15, 29 & 30s and so on).
 
I'm pretty much with Ross. I started 2022 Elite the same way I do every year, got a heap of stuff together quickly, a lot of low numbered cards, quite a few 01's amongst them. Then I took a step back and realised how much I still had to get, Black Diamonds going for $300 each, the Kalyn Ponga tax attached to all of his cards...and it was a real holy crap moment. And just like that I lost all interest in going any further. I've now sold ALL of my 2022 Elites, even the 01's. Right now I have zero Knights cards from 2022 Elite apart from a common set. It's just too much.

There are so many new people in the hobby at the moment who are just chasing $$$ which just makes it so much harder to get what you need. There are still some really good people in the hobby who look out for others, trade cards to help others to complete their PC's etc etc, but there doesn't seem to be enough of them to counter the money hungry people I see regularly on Ebay, Facebook pages and the like. It's a shame, but I guess that's the way it goes.

So, just like Ross, a former Master Set collector who regressed to a team collector and is now someone having to make a decision on where to go from here.......
That seems to be fairly common place amongst some of the bigger set collectors this year. The volume of hits coupled with TLAs poor QC and little variety in parallels (ruby 1/1s looking the same, cmon TLA) has been the straw that broke the camels back.

I just stick to my niche now, autos and patches for my Eels. Jersey numbered where I can.
 
I’m going to advertise my sets of 2017 YGs and LS which include the Ponga that was going for stupid $$. Be interested to know what the 2 sets of 16 cards will go for ? Or if they were all actually shill and dodgy bids . I’m sure I seen a few go for $700 plus . Which seems insane to me
The Ponga YG Blacks certainly went for $700+. No shill bidding there I don't think, it happened far too often with different sellers/buyers. I wouldn't be expecting those prices now, although Ponga cards seem to do ridiculous things, even in the latest 2022 Elite release
 
The Ponga YG Blacks certainly went for $700+. No shill bidding there I don't think, it happened far too often with different sellers/buyers. I wouldn't be expecting those prices now, although Ponga cards seem to do ridiculous things, even in the latest 2022 Elite release
F8A39D56-3183-4DB3-B308-D3A8EF0E4C29.png

Was more talking about this card . Can’t believe the prices I’ve seen it allegedly sell for. Be happy to sell mine for that money or close to it 🤣
 
F8A39D56-3183-4DB3-B308-D3A8EF0E4C29.png

Was more talking about this card . Can’t believe the prices I’ve seen it allegedly sell for. Be happy to sell mine for that money or close to it 🤣

Keep in mind that this is the same person trying to sell the Ponga parallel card for $150....

The last 2017 Ponga YG that was actually SOLD went for $150

People can put whatever price they like on their Ebay items, doesn't mean they're worth that
 
Keep in mind that this is the same person trying to sell the Ponga parallel card for $150....

The last 2017 Ponga YG that was actually SOLD went for $150

People can put whatever price they like on their Ebay items, doesn't mean they're worth that
🤣🤣👌I’m sure I’ve seen this card go for $700 + . Pretty sure it was on this thread a while back .Wasn’t really basing off this seller but was the first one that popped up on eBay
 
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