Like many, I left Topps, the trading card company, for dead. I mean, who collects baseball cards anymore? By the way, I have about a thousand Albert Belle cards for sale if you want them.
Well, I was wrong. Incredibly wrong.
The collectibles market is as hot as I’ve ever seen it (and not just NFTs). Topps sales rose 23 percent in 2020, and now they plan to go public via a SPAC (special purpose acquisition company) valued at $1.3 billion dollars.
This morning I saw that the first comic book with Superman (born in Cleveland, Ohio btw) just sold for $3.25 million dollars. This specifically caught my eye because my friend owns one in near-mint condition. He’s made like 30x on that investment in a very short period of time.
So I’ve been thinking – Why is the collectibles market hot? And NFTs? And Bitcoin? And oil? And the stock market? And real estate? And everything else that is not a bond or money market?
Well folks, this is good ole’ asset inflation. Big time.
Governments around the world (not just the US) are pumping money into their economies. Last year, 23 percent of ALL dollars in the US were created in 2020. And that doesn’t count the massive stimulus we’ve already had this year.
More dollars in circulation and the less the dollar is worth. It’s simple math.
Because of that, investors are trying to figure out where to put their money so they don’t lose it like a melting ice cube (that’s what I call the dollar).
I feel this trend will continue. Collectibles are a good place to be right now. Oh where were you in 1986?
Random Idea – Freeze Your Credit
I received a letter the other day that someone used our business name to apply for unemployment. Of course, it was a fraudulent claim.
A lot of this is going around lately. And it seems to be getting worse.
One thing we did that makes me sleep better at night is freezing our credit. I went to the three major credit bureaus – Equifax, Experian and TransUnion – and froze my credit report from being accessed. It took about 30 minutes to complete all the forms online. Here’s a link to how you can do it.
With a frozen credit report, it’s nearly impossible for someone to get a credit card or apply for a loan in your name (it’s not perfect, but it’s something).
And it’s super easy to undo this if you actually need someone to access your credit reports.
Good luck!