Comments on: Bubbles Burst When People Invest in Symbols http://www.bargaineering.com/articles/bubbles-burst-when-people-invest-in-symbols.html personal finance blog with anecdotes, advice and commentary. Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:47:06 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 hourly 1 By: steve http://www.bargaineering.com/articles/bubbles-burst-when-people-invest-in-symbols.html/comment-page-1#comment-275484 steve Fri, 15 Aug 2008 01:23:41 +0000 http://www.bargaineering.com/articles/?p=2614#comment-275484 remember Beanie Babies... the tulip of the 90s. now collecting dust in suburban attics across America. :) remember Beanie Babies… the tulip of the 90s. now collecting dust in suburban attics across America.
:)

]]> By: Scott Horman http://www.bargaineering.com/articles/bubbles-burst-when-people-invest-in-symbols.html/comment-page-1#comment-275313 Scott Horman Wed, 13 Aug 2008 21:44:25 +0000 http://www.bargaineering.com/articles/?p=2614#comment-275313 Another issue to consider is the "follow-the-herd" mentality that occurs among the populace. I don't know about the Tulip Bulb craze, but in the dot-com boom, people who had no business investing in the market were suddenly in the thick of things. Same thing with the housing boom: anyone who could get financing was investing in real estate. A former supervisor once told me a story surrounding his profit on a real estate venture that has stuck with me. It was the 1970's, and he owned an apartment complex in a desirable part of town. He sold shortly before a major crash in the Seattle housing market. His indicator it was time to sell? He overheard the engineers at work discussing how they had to get a piece of the real estate market. When the herd moves, the symbol followers are typically the last to arrive before it crumbles. Keep this in mind when investing. If people who have no knowledge of a subject begin buying, it's a good time to sell. (In no way am I implying that engineers know nothing about the subject of real estate. It's just an illustration.) Another issue to consider is the “follow-the-herd” mentality that occurs among the populace. I don’t know about the Tulip Bulb craze, but in the dot-com boom, people who had no business investing in the market were suddenly in the thick of things. Same thing with the housing boom: anyone who could get financing was investing in real estate.
A former supervisor once told me a story surrounding his profit on a real estate venture that has stuck with me. It was the 1970’s, and he owned an apartment complex in a desirable part of town. He sold shortly before a major crash in the Seattle housing market. His indicator it was time to sell? He overheard the engineers at work discussing how they had to get a piece of the real estate market.
When the herd moves, the symbol followers are typically the last to arrive before it crumbles. Keep this in mind when investing. If people who have no knowledge of a subject begin buying, it’s a good time to sell.

(In no way am I implying that engineers know nothing about the subject of real estate. It’s just an illustration.)

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