I don't get it...

The card market just makes no sense to me.

Before Desmond Jennings made it to the Majors, his blue refractors were going for $40-$50 while his gold refractors were going for $150-$170 (most around $150.)

4 days have passed since his promotion to the Majors and his blue refractors have been going for $55-$90 (besides for a few copies with lower BIN's than that) with 9 copies selling.

Meanwhile a single gold refractor sold. Keep in mind that the gold refractor's are 5x rarer than the blue refractors from that set and there are no orange refractors in the set. Ending price of the auction: $128.

I don't get it...

(edit: yes I'm venting a little.)

Me neither, which is why I have no clue what to buy/trade/sell/hold/throw away.

Was the gold in gradable condition?

Prospecting is junk anyway :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

Jennings is no longer a prospect.

ThoseBackPages said:

Jennings is no longer a prospect.

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This.

thefatguy said:

Was the gold in gradable condition?

Prospecting is junk anyway :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

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Centering looked great. Never really looked it over for grading. Certainly possible

scotty21690 said:

ThoseBackPages said:

Jennings is no longer a prospect.

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This.

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How does that explain the prices on the Blue Refractors then?

I don't get it...

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Its reassuring that the hobby's actually not nearly as predictable as some would like it to be... as that would make the hobby really boring.

It will be easiest to put this all into context twenty years from now...but a lot of people are impatient

uniquebaseballcards said:

I don't get it...

Click to expand...

Its reassuring that the hobby's actually not nearly as predictable as some would like it to be... as that would make the hobby really boring.

It will be easiest to put this all into context twenty years from now...but a lot of people are impatient

Click to expand...

I know the hobby is inherently unpredictable as it is based on the collecting whims and quirks of people we've never met and certainly never studied (I actually find that the investors in the hobby tend to "smooth out" prices by buying when prices go too low and selling when they spike, which may actually be a good thing in general) but some things just seem hard to fathom.

Obviously this is just a single sale and the post stems from being a little disappointed, but I still don't really understand the rationale.

I'm 0 for 8 selling my Blue's... I bought each for ~$50 thinking it would be an easy flip when he got called up. I don't get it anymore either!

The fad has come and gone.

Jaypers said:

The fad has come and gone.

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Sarcasm?

If not, then I'm seriously laughing.

Gold is the new pewter

Topnotchsy said:

uniquebaseballcards said:

I don't get it...

Click to expand...

Its reassuring that the hobby's actually not nearly as predictable as some would like it to be... as that would make the hobby really boring.

It will be easiest to put this all into context twenty years from now...but a lot of people are impatient

Click to expand...

I know the hobby is inherently unpredictable as it is based on the collecting whims and quirks of people we've never met and certainly never studied (I actually find that the investors in the hobby tend to "smooth out" prices by buying when prices go too low and selling when they spike, which may actually be a good thing in general) but some things just seem hard to fathom.

Obviously this is just a single sale and the post stems from being a little disappointed, but I still don't really understand the rationale.

Click to expand...

Easy to say now, but it seems as though investors are/were inflating/propping up the value of gold refractors beyond what collectors were willing to pay in the short term here.

Perhaps collectors are starting to figuring out the extent gold ref values are inflated in this manner? They'd figure it out sooner or later

JEA2880 said:

I'm 0 for 8 selling my Blue's... I bought each for ~$50 thinking it would be an easy flip when he got called up. I don't get it anymore either!

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I honestly think the method of listing (BIN/BO with a ton of copies) is unappealing to buyers. It certainly does not give off the impression of scarcity. Don't know for sure, but based on the fact that so many others sold, I think it may have played a role. I could be totally wrong though.

uniquebaseballcards said:

Topnotchsy said:

uniquebaseballcards said:

I don't get it...

Click to expand...

Its reassuring that the hobby's actually not nearly as predictable as some would like it to be... as that would make the hobby really boring.

It will be easiest to put this all into context twenty years from now...but a lot of people are impatient

Click to expand...

I know the hobby is inherently unpredictable as it is based on the collecting whims and quirks of people we've never met and certainly never studied (I actually find that the investors in the hobby tend to "smooth out" prices by buying when prices go too low and selling when they spike, which may actually be a good thing in general) but some things just seem hard to fathom.

Obviously this is just a single sale and the post stems from being a little disappointed, but I still don't really understand the rationale.

Click to expand...

Easy to say now, but it seems as though investors are/were inflating/propping up the value of gold refractors beyond what collectors were willing to pay in the short term here.

Perhaps collectors are starting to figuring out the extent gold ref values are inflated in this manner? They'd figure it out sooner or later

Click to expand...

I don't see how that would add up here. Surely if collectors are "figuring it out" they'd realize that the gold is a far better value (if we assume that there is value in cards based on scarcity) than the blues. Honestly I think recently the golds have been undervalued.

Whip your balls out and put them on auction. You have my personal guarantee that they'll sell.

Topnotchsy said:

I don't see how that would add up here. Surely if collectors are "figuring it out" they'd realize that the gold is a far better value (if we assume that there is value in cards based on scarcity) than the blues. Honestly I think recently the golds have been undervalued.

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Does twenty percent of the Jennings 2007 BC Gold Refs being available now indicate that the card's value is inflated by 20%? I don't know for sure, but it almost seems that way because 20% of a print run is an awful lot to be available for a supposedly rare and hard-to-find card. To me this means its not necessary to pay a premium for them now.

I'd think if so many gold refs weren't readily available, especially at predictable times, that they'd become more highly sought after. IMO for gold refs to become more highly sought after, investors may have to stop shooting for short-term profits all the time and assume additional risk.

But for what its worth collecting 1/1s has shown me tons of times 1/1s sell for less than other less-scarce parallels from the same set. It seems collectors don't always care about scarcity or value and sometimes simply just want a card of their player from a particular set and particular year.