There's multiple reasons why art sells for insane amounts compared to what it used to sell for

Tc is worth a lot less than it used to be when all the great artists were in their prime and making art at around the same time

All the good artists quit making art

Any art created by these artists is held by inactive players so the art is basically gone

So any decent art released today will be overpaid for by a ton, and way more than it would have been in 2012 due to the lowering value of TC


And for someone like me who makes TC easily, I don't care about the amount I spend, as long as the art is something I won't regret buying.