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Post Posted: Fri Jun 12, 2020 3:50 pm 
 

shadeun wrote in Recession & Collecting:In this vein, how are the people with stores managing inventories? Are you drawing lower to manage the risks you perceive?


Not drawing lower on purpose, but the stimulus check buying spree has slammed my inventory levels. That sugar rush does seem to be wearing off though.

I remember from the last one: Recessions are a great time to stock up on inventory. Everything's cheaper and more available.



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Post Posted: Fri Jun 12, 2020 6:44 pm 
 

shadeun wrote in Recession & Collecting:w.r.t. the commenter who said that only the 1st ed stuff has really moved, this is pretty standard fare for any collectible though whether they be MTG Cards, early ferraris or (with some exceptions) Art. Only the oldest and rarest stuff really gets going.

I was referring to the suddenness that this happened. As you say, this would be normal fare for collectibles, but that would usually happen over time. I noted how quickly  books that I had difficulty selling for $5 a pop not too long ago soaring to $20 or more overnight, like someone turned on a light switch. Even stuff that is very common jumped, like B2.

OD&D, AD&D, B/X, BECMI lines all went bonkers. I'm sure there is more than one reason, but Stranger Things and the popularity of 5E likely had a hand in the renewed interest.

Waynes_Books wrote in Recession & Collecting:I remember from the last one: Recessions are a great time to stock up on inventory. Everything's cheaper and more available.

I wish I could find the cheap stuff now. I haven't come across any real bargains in quite a while. Not a bad thing, really. I do need to clear out some space in the house.  :D


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Post Posted: Fri Jun 12, 2020 7:08 pm 
 

shadeun wrote in Recession & Collecting:finally, as an financial economist/analyst/trader who does this economics stuff for a living i wanted to make a point on present values and interest rate changes. I wont comment on fair values or whether i think rates are correct or inflation or whatever - just the maths. With 15 year yields moving from c.a. 2.5% to 0%. If you had (say) an expectation of $300 in 15 years time, that is worth ~$207 (=300 / (1.025^15)). today you can pay $300 for something worth $300 in 15 year because there is no discounting money over time.

The "financial" interest rate is not accurately measuring the natural rate of interest, people's actual rate of time preference or diminishing marginal utility. We still discount the future heavily. Low interest won't inflate prices because we don't discount, but because we have artificial access to cheap money we won't have to pay back until much later (or ever), which increases the demand for assets.

  


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Post Posted: Fri Jun 12, 2020 10:02 pm 
 

shadeun wrote in Recession & Collecting:w.r.t. the commenter who said that only the 1st ed stuff has really moved, this is pretty standard fare for any collectible


Tyrants of the Nine Hells, and all 3.5 hardbacks, are way up from what I can tell. Unearthed Arcana doesnt have any decent copies to be found. Endelss quest books even appear to have jumped.

shadeun wrote in Recession & Collecting: Something similar happens as you move rates to 0% with respect to stock market valuations (until the coronavirus move, the USA had stubbornly high interest rates vs the rest of the developed world, so not surprising there has been an ameliorating impact via lower rates).


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Post Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2020 3:05 pm 
 

Sea-to-sky-games wrote in Recession & Collecting: We still discount the future heavily. Low interest won't inflate prices because we don't discount, but because we have artificial access to cheap money we won't have to pay back until much later (or ever), which increases the demand for assets.

this is the same thing. what you say is just expressing the phenomena in another way. if you valued money in any other way there would be arbitrage. Cheap money means a dollar today is closer in value to a dollar tomorrow than previously.

tbh, as someone who is borrowing 100's of thousands of GBP currently to purchase a home, clearly rates are having an impact, houses are going in 2-3 days where i'm at. (where they would clear in a week/two before). The mortgage value i have to play (and can lock in for 10 years) is around 60% of what i was offered 3 months ago (and i have normal credit risk). In the UK its had an impact - though the clear winning impact in the USA seems to be the $1200 gov't cheque.

Obviously heaps of other risk in D&D collectibles (including degradation, fraud). But the biggest one (sadly!) being that something WoTC does completely trashes D&D and there is no 'Greater Fool' to believe/love our hobby like we do in 20 years time. note: I dont belive we are fools just using the epitet for effect!

  

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Post Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2020 3:52 pm 
 

Regrettably, I'm not buying much. That's normally the case anyway, but any stimulus funds I get are being spent on tools, not toys (outfitting a proper electronics bench is kind of costly).

Well, that, and auto repairs. The truck (itself an essential if you live up here and heat with wood) needs a new transmission. Oof.


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