Having a lot of thoughts lately 
Beckett uses the market and it's sales prices to gauge value for their price guides, right? Then here is the problem in the depreciating value of cards these days in comparison to the cards preceeding them.
Beckett used to have card shops and the show scene only to determine the prices of autos and game-used cards (as an example).
Today, eBay has a definite influence on this process. Where an auto would fetch a premium at a show or card shop in yesteryear (for whatever reason, rarity, SP, player etc) today, you can find almost any card you are after online with much more ease regardless of rarity.
Ok, so we all know that already. But the thing is, this change is what has made Beckett go soft on their price guides for they are only more strickly following online sales trends for later released cards now than a lot of the earlier ones too. Occaisionally some of the older stuff comes down, but alot of it still seems overpriced? Right? Either that or the later stuff is under priced? Think about it.
I hope it makes sense so far.
If 04/05 Trilogy Swatches of Stardom (huge GU pieces, numbered to 50) were released in 99-00 series UD for example. You would have a much shorter printed GU set, worth a lot more. Short printed to 50 with bigger GU pieces. But, in comparison, they book for the same prices or less than some very ordinary looking and sized GU cards of their own 04/05 era. That's one example to highlight the point I'm trying to make. Game used cards (again, as an example) seem to be getting lower and lower in price, because we as collector's are looking at Beckett values from previous years products and of course, we never want to pay BV, so we always stay under it. This causes the vicious cycle of continually, seemingly, decreases in values of game used cards.
So, I think, Beckett are partly to blame for it for the most part. I think they really should evaluate the cards themselves for a value rather than relying on a fickle market. That will be the way to pull this hobby out of a slump if it were to ever occur.
Beckett uses the market and it's sales prices to gauge value for their price guides, right? Then here is the problem in the depreciating value of cards these days in comparison to the cards preceeding them.
Beckett used to have card shops and the show scene only to determine the prices of autos and game-used cards (as an example).
Today, eBay has a definite influence on this process. Where an auto would fetch a premium at a show or card shop in yesteryear (for whatever reason, rarity, SP, player etc) today, you can find almost any card you are after online with much more ease regardless of rarity.
Ok, so we all know that already. But the thing is, this change is what has made Beckett go soft on their price guides for they are only more strickly following online sales trends for later released cards now than a lot of the earlier ones too. Occaisionally some of the older stuff comes down, but alot of it still seems overpriced? Right? Either that or the later stuff is under priced? Think about it.
I hope it makes sense so far.
If 04/05 Trilogy Swatches of Stardom (huge GU pieces, numbered to 50) were released in 99-00 series UD for example. You would have a much shorter printed GU set, worth a lot more. Short printed to 50 with bigger GU pieces. But, in comparison, they book for the same prices or less than some very ordinary looking and sized GU cards of their own 04/05 era. That's one example to highlight the point I'm trying to make. Game used cards (again, as an example) seem to be getting lower and lower in price, because we as collector's are looking at Beckett values from previous years products and of course, we never want to pay BV, so we always stay under it. This causes the vicious cycle of continually, seemingly, decreases in values of game used cards.
So, I think, Beckett are partly to blame for it for the most part. I think they really should evaluate the cards themselves for a value rather than relying on a fickle market. That will be the way to pull this hobby out of a slump if it were to ever occur.
