??

I was more worried 2 years ago than now. I think what kporter was talking about was the markers of bubbles that are sometimes evident. With pins it would clearly be folks buying to speculate vs play. Games sitting in boxes or maybe opened but almost untouched in hopes of making thousands. There will always be some but if we see a trend that looks like its a huge part of the sales, that is a sign.
Sadly while I think that drove prices up a while back I do think its not the norm anymore.
My worthless guess is as it has been, the hobby will chug along with good games still being sold back and forth and new cool titles continuing to roll out.
As always with pins the best advice is just go play them : )

You do realize the hobby has not only survived but taken off to new heights through the last epic down turn. Clearly the two have not shown a history of being linked.