People who had direct deposit set up with the IRS should have already received their checks. Everyone else is most likely still waiting for their checks. This means there will be another wave of purchases coming very soon.
Definitely more is coming. Probably wise to list your cards at the higher end of the market with ābest offerā listed because people cleared out my shop of PSA cards in a matter of a few hours after these stimulus checks hit. I had these cards listed pretty high as well. Buyer psychology is changing during this time. People view the stimulus money as āfreeā money so they donāt care if they overpay for stuff. Iām thinking prices will spike up in the short-term and then decline to a more realistic level once the stimulus money starts to run out.
This stimulus package driving market prices argument is invalid IMO. Sure, it might be an influence, but the market here (Europe) is also experiencing a very large growth in demand & prices, and nobody received any stimulus around here. At least not in my country.
I received my stimulus check late last week but I did not use it to make my biggest purchase yet in the hobby. It seems that more people are willing to sell portions of their collections in hopes to get a higher end card. Thatās what I did.
Iām not sure why people are pinning an increase in demand on a one-time stimulus and not the basic reality that there are far fewer avenues for disposable income than a month ago. If you are still employed and usually have $XXX discretionary income per month, you can no longer use that on restaurants, bars, night clubs, shopping, travelling/vacations, movies, the list goes on. I enjoy Pokemon collecting but Iāll still spend money per month on the aforementioned items. Whereas now if I wanted to āpurchase entertainmentā it would be buying more cards.
Then add in that many Pokemon collectors are in their 20s and childless so have more free time than most who are quarantined. I am fortunate to have a job I can do fully remotely which means I am saving on commuting costs, dry cleaning dress clothes, office lunches, it adds up.
It is a combination of factors but I also think your comment is true as well. I post on a bunch of other places but I know in one forum I was hearing that board games, playing cards, video game sets and similar āat homeā stuff is flying off the shelves now. Even stuff like mass produced nintendo switch game consoles are selling at inflated prices on ebay because the demand spiked so quickly.
Could be a net long-term growth sign for the hobby overall since young collectors today learning about the hobby could become long-term collectors over time.
Literally my only long-term pokemon card investment at this point is my PSA crystal set I was planning to hold onto for years. Seeing some of the cards like Lugia almost double in price has made it really hard for me to not cash in at this point. Personally I donāt feel comfortable buying into this market, but again I only buy 1-2 cards a year I need to right now since most of my needs donāt come up very often I buy them regardless of what the overall market is like.
I have to say, the $1200 stimulus angle was not one I was expecting to hear in this conversation. I am sure there are some people out there simply blowing their money on pokemon cards, among other things, but I would consider this to be statistically insignificant. Besides, many people have yet to even receive their money and my observation was that this increase in market prices started back in February when stocks went to hell and MTG was experiencing a very large downturn in vintage cards, which I equated to WOTC pokemon. I am sure a pullback will happen, but I donāt see it eating the gains made this year, simply taking a bite out of it, if at all. Certainly those that have $1200 Typhlosion Neo PSA 9 holos and charizard 1st edition Base set holos wonāt move them in a downturn unless these individuals are strapped for cash, but purchasing cards at those prices means that they likely are stable during this economic downturn and will just sit it out.
I know my brother in Australia is getting 1600 every two weeks for the next 6 months and deferred mortgage payment. But you know, we got one check, so all good.
I think it is mimicking the actual market. People are/were in a buying frenzy for the past month or so. There has been a noticeable increase in Pokemon prices, but people do have: stimulus money, more free time to get into hobbies, etc. I think this jump will be temporary, and when things are āback to normalā you will see card prices go āback to normal.ā But then again, I could be completely wrongā¦and the new prices now will be the new floor prices going forward.
I feel like the buying frenzy in the stock market is because most stocks took a huge hit and you could get great companies on sale.
Idk why the pokemarket is like this right now but Iām seeing new record prices every. Single. Day!
One check is not enough for the average American. Think about all the people that worked at simple low paying jobs and lived check to check. People are about to be homeless because they donāt exactly send out rent vouchers too. Not to mention anywhere on the east coast is $1200-$2000 plus a month just for rest before bills