Observations on collectibles

Being involved in collectibles markets, I am of course interested in the fluctuations of values in those markets and the drivers behind them. Very generally speaking, that's 'supply and demand'. The interesting part is that one is not necessarily driven by the other, although that can more often be the case in financial markets. Another, perhaps even more interesting, part of this equation is that supply and demand, whether real or perceived, are often controlled and manipulated to influence price. The major price driver in collectibles markets is nearly always perceived value which may have little or no correlation with utilitarian or 'true' value. This is what leads to the totally bizarre price levels attained by certain pieces. "A fool and his money are soon parted." (There are a lot of people out there with more dollars than sense.) More to follow...