Anyone still collecting with the crazy low Aussie dollar at present? I have done some research and it looks like it will get worse before it gets better. With the European massive stimulus package being announced it looks like we may be in line for some rate raises which will hopefully improve things. In the meantime I think I will just sell off my extras, save for Immaculate and hope we get back to parity soon. I can't believe that when I started collecting NBA the dollar was at $1.09 and 30 cents have now been wiped off! Guess that is nothing compared to what happened years ago but it is enough to make me cautious about importing anything at present.
It's a sign of the USD recovering from its recession more than a reflection of the AUD. Exchange rates against the euro have been pretty consistent for the last few years.
They were saying in the financial review, that they expect the AUD to stay at .75 to the USD for most of the year.
Good for our exports but lousy for we purvayors of fine cardboard
Well, you may be looking towards an even lower dollar at the end of the year. Apparently some economists are predicting the RBA will lower base rates further this year, which will mean less money coming into Australia, more going out, which will mean further drop to the AUD.
Look to maybe sell some later this year to the US, would be where you may find some benefit with the falling dollar.
I'm in the exact boat as you right now haha. Just im not going to Singapore I'm the whitsundays instead where there is no cards
But I'm buying around the same price, and really focusing on finding the "quick sales" so that I know they'll have a greater trade value down the track than what I paid
Been in the game since 1990, got more heavy into things in the mid 90's when I started importing myself from the US...can still remember my first box I got in from the US - about 3 boxes of 1994-95 Skybox, Ultra and something else.
Then about 2000 started buying individual cards from the US. Can still remember lining up to buy WU Money Orders and also exchanging for US Cash.
Many may complain about Feebay and Paypal, and they have made it harder for sellers, but as a buyer, it has provided safety for international transactions and also opened up our ability to pick up a greater variety of product.
Been in the game since 1990, got more heavy into things in the mid 90's when I started importing myself from the US...can still remember my first box I got in from the US - about 3 boxes of 1994-95 Skybox, Ultra and something else.
Then about 2000 started buying individual cards from the US. Can still remember lining up to buy WU Money Orders and also exchanging for US Cash.
Many may complain about Feebay and Paypal, and they have made it harder for sellers, but as a buyer, it has provided safety for international transactions and also opened up our ability to pick up a greater variety of product.
Well I did start back in 1993 with 1993-94 Upper Deck and Fleer and was a mad David Robinson collector then and now actually lol! But I was only about 7 at the time so base cards had a real appeal to them. When the card craze wore off I ended up collecting AFL and then stopped altogether in the teenage years as you do! Got back into Upper Deck Golf in 2008 after being bored at work waiting to finish and hit the greens. Switched to AFL from late 2008 until 2012 and collected Manly stuff as well. The first product I really got into was 2012-13 Preferred and Prizm and from there I have been hooked ever since. I used to run a sports clothing business but with the amount of stock I was importing from the States it became unfeasible as the $ dropped from $1.09 to 80 cents. Its all quality over quantity these days and I would rather buy some big cards and buy them less often and attract less COMC processing fees. Selling all my unwanted stuff on the Bay should keep me occupied for a while and heres hoping the buck gets back to parity in the near future...
Been in the game since 1990, got more heavy into things in the mid 90's when I started importing myself from the US...can still remember my first box I got in from the US - about 3 boxes of 1994-95 Skybox, Ultra and something else.
Then about 2000 started buying individual cards from the US. Can still remember lining up to buy WU Money Orders and also exchanging for US Cash.
Many may complain about Feebay and Paypal, and they have made it harder for sellers, but as a buyer, it has provided safety for international transactions and also opened up our ability to pick up a greater variety of product.
Haha yeah i remember buying from the US before paypal going to exchange to US cash and posting it off to hopefully not be scammed but never had an issue back then. I still remember buying cards when our dollar was fairly strong then our dolllar plumeted. Maybe I was stupid but I found I never slowed down on the collecting and probably overpaid a bit with the exchange rate. Eventually we became stronger and got more for our money. Now the cycle is happening again how many of us have slowed down? If its something I really like I'll probably still buy it. But Im sure eventually we may be ahead again but it will probably always be this up and down cycle