@Mannyrock posted:I came into this a year ago, and was frankly shocked at the high asking prices then, and now I am double shocked at how much they have risen in the past year. I rarely buy NIB stuff, but even the used, VG+, lightly run quality stuff in the $180 range last year all seems to be in the $280 range now.
It would seem to me that if anyone has accumulated a large collection of quality items in the past, and put them away with a specific view to selling them at a profit, . . . now is the time.
From this point onward, I believe that with inflation and shortages, disposable income is going to fall for the foreseeable future. (Mine certainly has). At the same time, the total number of people in the O gauge hobby seems to be falling.
The price of O gauge stuff is elastic, and it will hit the top and stall at some point in the next couple of years, and begin to fall.
(I notice that a number of people going to York this week have specifically said that they are not going to buy anything, because the prices are too high.)
All investments have a maturity point, and it is amazing how many investors simply "fall in love" with their investments and hold them way too long.
Year 2032:
Mom: "Well, it was a beautiful funeral, and your father is finally at rest."
Daughter: "Yes, . . . but Mom, what are we going to do with those hundreds of train cars in the basement?"
Mom: "1-800-Got-Junk"
Mannyrock
Very well said.
Mike
