Collectibles Market 2022: End of the Year Report

Well, friends, we did it. We have survived, and what a year it has been. It’s the end of another year filled with pandemic concerns, economic uncertainty, inflation hitting all-time modern records, and the price collapse in the collectibles market for many sectors. Let’s touch upon all these topics with a brief overview and see what we can do to improve ourselves for 2023. I wish the “Collectibles Market 2022: End of the Year Report” would paint a brighter future, but we are facing challenges.

The COVID-19 pandemic, the virus that refuses to go away, seems to be clear that it will always be with us as we enter the fourth year since the world discovered the virus. It’s now the new reality, and all we can do is be reasonably safe while living our lives as normal as possible. Life goes on, and we now have a mutated virus that wants to live among us. Every one of us has been impacted by it, and we can only hope that medical advancements will continue to evolve and make it less of a threat.

The economic uncertainty is real. The teeter-tottering of the world economies shows it is a serious concern. Printing money to spend our way through this period in time will not help but only make it worse. It’s strange how those in government failed to understand this basic economics. What do we know? We are only humble purveyors of items in the collectible trade.

Inflation is real and a much larger percentage than the governments tell us. Here in the United States, we are constantly being lied to by news journalists (who refuse to be journalists) stating that the current rate is about 8%. You can easily add a 2- or 3-times multiplier to this fictitious number. At the current state the world is in, I would be happy to pay an 8% increase because we would all have more money in our bank accounts. All governments excel at one thing when it comes to their citizens they govern; they love to lie to us. Sadly, it is our fault because we keep voting these 20 to 30+ year career politicians back into office. If you want change, we need to change who we put in power.

The price collapse within the collectibles market was witnessed by those paying attention. This has been a brutal year after 3+ years of record-setting prices with the “to the moon” being the mantra. Reality finally came calling as many sectors (stocks, collectibles, crypto, etc.) saw a price retracement erase massive price gains. Some sectors were hit like Mike Tyson in his prime. The high-end graded sports cards and video games got decimated. All-time high sold prices cratered up to 80% loss. It’s a staggering hit if you were holding these kinds of investments. Imagine buying an item at $100,000 and a year later it sells for $20,000. That hurts.

Normally, all is not bad as these types of downturns create incredible buying opportunities for those of us on the sidelines. However, with the current high rate of inflation, many do not have the extra income to take advantage by adding these assets to their portfolio. Discretionary funds for many have evaporated because basic household goods cost so much more.

The big question most economists and ordinary citizens are asking is, “Will 2023 be a better year?” The short answer from where we see the economic landscape is a resounding “No.” This dark period will probably continue for another two years. It is not going to be a lot of fun for those who are already living paycheck to paycheck. Let’s also not forget about the new tax requirement by the US government for anyone who sells over $600 of goods via eBay, PayPal, and other sites, as this financial information will be transmitted, and the IRS will be collecting taxes on these transactions. While everyone should pay their fair share of taxes, selling items at a garage sale or on eBay does not mean the government should be there with an open hand collecting part of those proceeds.

What should the average person do? For many, the solution is to continue reducing spending habits, try being creative in cutting expenses, and stretching budgets. Unfortunately, options are limited, and it does not feel particularly good from where we stand. Dealers in the collectible world also need to be aware that this will reduce the number of sales. This reckoning will cause some local game & hobby stores to not survive. We have gone from a boom in the collectibles trade to a rapidly approaching bust scenario.

I wish the “Collectibles Market 2022: End of the Year Report” was a bit rosier, but we want to be honest with our assessments.

TL;DR

If you have a stockpile of cash, you will get through the next couple of years fine. The rest of us are going to be riding the struggle bus together. It will be hard and difficult, but no matter what, always be kind to each other.

In closing, to quote Bette Davis, “Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy night.”