[adamslogik]

you want my opinion on what's killing values for the hobby (you probably dont want it, but I'm givin it to you anyway!), the INTERNET! ...now bare with me while I explain my case...

*Back in the day prior to the internet, if there was a single that you really really wanted, how did you get it? you either bought it from your LCS at full BV or traded for it with someone you knew. Your sources for where you could find said card were limited, so you had little choice to pay close/full BV for a card you wanted.

*with the internet, now you have 1000s of people that have the same card, all of whom are willing to sell it. It's easier than ever to find any card you want! If you wanted a card of X player /50 back in the day, you had to pray you either pulled it or the LCS had it. Now 49 of the 50 can be found on an auction site! This forces sellers to have to one-up each other price wise in order to sell their card. If seller A wants 50 for a card, the only way I can guarntee I sell mine is to sell mine for 45, and so on and so on (I call it the Walmart-vs-Main St. Effect!).

*These price wars/ease of access essentially kill "book value." Tons of people we all know won't even buy at BV because "it's cheaper on ebay" (no that's not a slam at anyone, it's being smart. why should I pay full price when ebay has it for half).

Does over production/similar products play a part, of course, but at the end of the day, its simple economics...supply vs demand, and the internet has made the supply reach gargantuan proportions!

Just my 2 cents!

I totally agree, there are WAY too many people "ahem"... who are buying CASES of product that they can't afford, so they have to sell everything immediately for whatever they can get from it to pay their bills.

That DESPERATION to get their money back means they will take whatever they can get from the cards, and this drives the value down.

Ebay is like a pawn shop, you NEVER get what you should for your cards, because everyone on it is looking to get the best deal they can, more often than not, so that when they decide to RESELL, they can try to turn a profit. THAT is the number one problem with this hobby, too many people are in it to turn a profit instead of for the love of the hobby.

I only bust what I can afford to open, so I don't have to sell off my hits to recoup my losses, because when I decide to spend money on cards, it's always money I know I can afford to spend.