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This article originally appeared on Business Insider.
While 2023 was a great year for stocks and cryptocurrencies, with gains that defied the gloomy outlook of market gurus, it was an even tougher year for collectibles.
Post-pandemic, the popularity of collectibles has skyrocketed, with luxury watches and fine wine easily outperforming stocks. In September 2022, Swiss bank Credit Suisse even said that Chanel handbags, Rolex and traditional Chinese art are better inflation-fighters than so-called safe-haven assets such as gold and long-term bonds.
But the index, which tracks prices for non-traditional assets such as whiskey, trading cards and luxury watches, fell in 2023 as consumers cut back on spending on big-ticket items in response to high inflation and rising interest rates.
Meanwhile, a boom in AI investing has pushed the benchmark S&P 500 stock index up 24%, and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have shrugged off a disastrous 2022 to post triple-digit returns. As these assets perform better, investors have less incentive to accumulate collectibles and diversify their portfolios.
In a recent research report, Altan Insights, a provider of data and analysis on the collectibles market, said, “While the traditional market experienced a significant recovery in 2023, the collectibles market will spread across nearly every sector. “We have seen continued declines,” he said.
“Yes, the bubble has burst. The frothy market of 2020-2022 is no more.”
Here are four collectibles markets that slumped in 2023.
1. Sports cards and trading cards
Instagram/Logan Paul via BI
Trading cards have now been in a two-year slump, according to data from Altan Insights.
CardLadder’s CL50 index, which tracks the prices of 49 sports star rookie cards and Pokemon Charizard first edition cards, soared 337% between 2019 and March 2021, but fell 23% in 2022. Last year, it fell another 9%.
To add insult to injury, the non-fungible token (NFT) market has also slumped over the past two years, with 95% of digital collectibles now trading at near-worthless valuations.
2. Whiskey
Taylor Raines/Insider
Prices for bottles of rare whiskey have also fallen sharply over the past year and a half, after peaking in May 2022.
The Rare Whiskey Icon 100 Index, which tracks the prices of 100 famous bottles of Scotch, has fallen 22% between then and November 2023.
Low-end brands are also struggling, with Jack Daniel’s maker Brown-Forman reporting disappointing sales in December and its stock dropping 10% in one trading session.
3. Fine wine
Bob Edmee/AP (via BI)
Other alcohol-related collectibles also struggled last year. Liv-ex’s Fine Wine 1000 Index fell 14%, and Champagne 50 Gauge fell 18% after doubling from the beginning of 2020 to the end of 2022.
Trendy regions have not been spared the fallout, with the LiveEx Burgundy 150 index down 18% last year. This is what Wine Market Chairman and CEO James Miles described as a “fix.”long time no see”.
4. Luxury watches
Provided by Tourneau Bucherer, via BI
The Fed’s aggressive interest rate hikes have caused a major recession for Rolex, and watches have not been able to avoid the decline.
WatchChart’s composite market index, which tracks the prices of 60 luxury watches, has fallen 13% over the past year, with prices for each of the big three models – Rolex, Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet – falling.
According to Altan Insights, this is a far cry from the market situation 20 months ago, when used Rolex Daytonas sold for $30,000 and waiting times were measured in years rather than months.
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