Exactly, they don’t gamble (unless they are a VC, which is rare). Doesn’t matter how much for either.
It’s why I think the proposition that it’s “just rich people who don’t know better” that are buying cards for 100% of last sales doesn’t fly.
Vintage prices are still no where close to being too high or unsustainable - modern is a different world all together. One gold star PSA 10 is equivalent to 2/3 modern alt art 10s despite the population being 1000x in some cases.
PSA 9 vintage is still affordable in most sets (some exceptions). Modern is in an insane bubble to me.
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As opposed to the lovely folks of E4
- Buy a single for dopamine hit
- Shove into binder or box of 10000 other cards never to be seen again.
- Shove said box into closet.
(from here it moves into three exit strategies:)
4A. Trade in on a whim at 80% when they can’t afford the next “grail” they want.
4B. Send to PSA for grading where it gets lost or damaged.
4C. Sell on ebay for 87% and wind up in a post here about how they got scammed.
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There are wealthy people who gamble every day. It’s why the term “high roller” exists. Hell someone just paid 87k for a cheetoh!
Rich people aren’t one type of person. Also “overpaying” isn’t limited to one perspective. For example, I know the values of Pokémon cards, but when I buy video games, mtg, or other collectibles, I’m not as experienced, and also just want the item, so I tend to “overpay”. In fact this is how I bought most of my trophy cards. Just wanting the item is typically more relevant than if someone is rich or not. That’s what’s we are experiencing right now, people just wanting an item. Within that could be a variety of factors.
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Wrong target. Mission failed
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What was I supposed to respond to? 
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A lot of times this is true for me when I buy things, I will do a little market research but honestly if an item pops up that I have wanted for the past year, I just keep bidding until I win because I want the card. Sometimes the sale price can’t be characterized solely by market mechanics.
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Lol just pokenoob being a poke noob
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Kind of like what Scott was saying, I know I overpay sometimes, but a lot of times it’s because it’s a card I’ve been looking for for a long time and don’t want it to slip away over x amount of money, or simply for convenience.
I probably keep many of y’all here on the forum in business quite frankly out of laziness. Yes I could try to get on yahoo Japan or whatever and buy the card raw, wait for weeks for it to get to me, then hope I don’t get scammed, then send it to PSA, then wait for months currently to see if I get a 10, then maybe not even get a 10 and have to start over… or… just “overpay” a little and buy the 10 from one of you fine folks.
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They do but I’m just curious as to how that’s all.
Most of the rest of the franchise (the MSG, anime, toys, Go etc) seems to me to be easier to develop a connection with than cards, which, when you break it down for a newbie, is basically art of a character you have no connection with/to.
I suppose if the Pokemon featured are part of your decks perhaps? Not sure what else.
buy high, sell low
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I will also sometimes pay a decent chunk for convenience, I’ll pay more for a card in the US that will get to me faster than ones overseas…
Also as for making a connection with cards, people have collected art for much longer than pokemon cards have been around. pretty things make the mind happy. I enjoy flipping through my binders and seeing my little ferret brain light up with “yess my shinies my pretties”
And then on top of that finding a good deal for a card you still need or FINALLY finding that one super rare card to fill in that blank slot is just magical (to me at least)
Vs I buy a plushie and I put it up in my closet so the dogs can’t eat it and then I forget it exists 
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What you just described is market mechanics, you are the demand in this case regardless of how much market research you conducted. I’d argue that the majority of people make purchases without engaging in a lot of market research. It is slightly different for investments, but even there tons of people buy stuff without having done a reasonable amount of due diligence.
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Honestly, if i were a betting man (i’m not)…it probably will.
It just doesn’t have the 1) Z&G publicity/exposure, 2) it’s a BIN and not an auction and 3) it’s not a new cert (the cert doesn’t matter to me personally, but I know it does to some people and we all know people WILL ‘overpay’ for a new-er/ish cert for certain cards).
The seller also only has a single PSA 9 base zard as an eBay sale over a year ago but other than that…no other seller history to go off of.
All of those things work against that seller’s listing but someone will undoubtedly come along and best offer this card for ~$1.5-2k less and it wouldn’t be at all surprising if it’s immediately accepted.
Thanks for articulating this better than I could.
As a sidebar I think that active duty military is an often overlooked highroller demographic.
- Stable career paths, pensions, disability pay upon discharge, subsidized housing and above average salaries combine to create individuals with disposable income
- Military culture creates strong cohorts with shared group hobbies
- US bases are considered to be within the US so shipping to a base in Japan costs the same as shipping within the US
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Firstly, I 100% support all service members in every way shape and form.
Secondly, 
this is the most crafty recruitment tactic I’ve ever seen .
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True, maybe the military should start going to tcg conventions for recruitment instead of high schools
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They are quite crafty, going so far as to sponsor esport events to recruit young men