State of the hobby? Hold/Sell? Grading?

Just a couple of questions. I was heavy into buying 96-99 (Before the
wife stopped me), and have a ton of stuff buried in teh collectibles
closet.

I'm curious if this is a good or bad time to sell, given the economy?

What are the hot items from 97-99 RC-wise? (BB BkB & FB) I see
Kobe's gazillion dollar cards have tanked.

Also, what's THE grading service that's actually respected now days?
When I was in regularly, PSA was the one, BGS was new, and the rest
were idiots looking to make a quick buck.

thanks for any info. I've just been away a while and am debating.

Tom

Tom,

Beckett.com has some boards that are well worth reading. Unfortunately uesenet
has tanked right along with the hobby.

Kobe's cards tanked but they were way to high to begin with, just like when
Vince Carter SP rookies were selling over 1000.00. Right now if you have an
itching to lose a lot of money, I advise investing heavily into Lebron James.

Anyway, head over to beckett.com and also just browse current ebay listings.
Try going to a local show as well to see what sells and what doesnt.

Mike

Bad time to sell but it probably won't get any better. The hobby has fallen
short of adding DNA on cards, which I'm sure UpperDeck will follow through with
Shaq's big-toenail and Kobe's sperm sample from the court case on upcoming
cards. Truthfully, I think the hobby has been over-gimmicked (is that a word?)
and flooded. Well enough of my cheery whining. Wish they could get back to
the basics!