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How low can we go? Card collecting in the 2010s...what will the 2020s have left for us?

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mrmopar

Member
Jan 19, 2010
6,169
4,058
Maybe I am just getting tired of it all personally, but it seems the card collecting market as a whole is rushing downhill very, very fast. I somehow survived the broder period, box set mania, the crazy 90s insert phase, the glut of GU/AU cards, ACEOs/Sketch cards, Signacuts (has to mention that crap) and sticker only cards (no player photos) and now people are taking it to an all time low (for now): cheaply made custom cards and hacked up "certified" autograph issues.

The sad part is that people are gobbling it up! I guess that is what the market wants?

Did I forget any other garbage issues?
 

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mouschi

Featured Contributor, Bridging the Gap, Senior Mem
May 18, 2012
3,105
170
I personally like the diversity, because out of this creativity comes better ideas. That isn't to say I am going to collect the stuff you mentioned (I don't personally collect sketch cards, cut autos w/no image, cheap customs, etc.) but I view these as cars on the road. It is fun seeing a neon green honda with a 30 foot spoiler on the road because it is out of the norm. Would I want to own it? Nah, but sometimes ... sometimes it is cool enough to look at for a minute. 99% of the stuff you mention is not very pleasant to look at in my opinion, but then again, products like this year's Gypsy Queen and Inception are truly beautiful.

I would probably care or be upset if these were items that were necessary to collect, if that makes any sense at all. Since I can freely pass them up and focus on what I want, it doesn't bother me a bit.
[MENTION=4047]mrmopar[/MENTION], let's say the year is 2020 ... I would imagine you hope there will be no redemptions, no sticker autos, and only licensed cards ... what else? What does your ideal hobby landscape look like?
 

gt2590

Super Moderator
Aug 17, 2008
38,617
3,198
Near Philly
There are always folks saying "It's dying out" and maybe for them it is, but the Hobby always kept going. It changes, sure, but it keeps going.

My only concern is that like most print media, the actual, hold in your hand, New cards will go away. Or the decrease in the actual number of collectors, duee to age, will shrink it too much...
 

fordman

Well-known member
Feb 22, 2013
3,190
32
Ohio
I've had several custom card pics taken from several sites I've posted to and seen them on eBay for sale. I've even considered ordering a few to see my work in actual card form. No one is mass producing anything and really they're not making any money, pennies at best once you consider time, materials & assembly.

Does it bother me? No. Good chance I used or copied an existing card design so I'm basically doing the same thing but just not printing them.

Fordman
 

mrmopar

Member
Jan 19, 2010
6,169
4,058
My point here is that home made cards and products are starting to become a regular thing. Broder type cards were prolific in the late 80s to early 90s, but most of the time people were selling them for 50 cents or less. They were a curiosity in a market with massive amounts of different items to choose from. Still, I imagine uninformed buyers bought these thinking they were something else.

I see this happening now, with all of these homemade issues flooding eBay. 1/1 sketch cards, customs (both good and bad quality), etc. Some are made just well enough to lead people to believe that these are legitimate issues. I can't help but think that if there was some sort of enforcement of trademarks, most of these items would disappear quickly. It makes me think of all of the knockoff brand items that you could find in markets across the Pacific Rim when I was in the Navy. Starter Jackets, Nike, Gucci, Rolex, etc...all fake, all garbage quality. It also doesn't help that manufacturers are sometimes vague at best with checklists, description of inserts and parallels and such so that you don't even know what you have when you pull one from a pack.

As always, we are free to collect what we want and pass up on what we don't want. Yes, that is a very safe and PC answer and good for the collectors who know what they are doing. Probably why folks selling this garbage are thriving...
 

psj

Active member
Jul 24, 2015
2,058
0
Long Island
I've bought a few of the cards like that Stargell avove, from the same seller. I only bought them, as they're the only "card" that shows the player as a Yankee. 1 of the cards was of horrible quality, like a sheet of printing paper lol. But it was only like $2. The other custom from the same seller, was great. Quality like ud expect from a major company. I wouldn't have bought them if a major company made the same card' but I also have no problem with any custom, sketch card/ACEO, whatever. If I dont like it, I won't buy it
 

Brewer Andy

Active member
Aug 10, 2008
9,634
21
I do enjoy the "cards that never were" customs for players who never appeared on a certain team's card kind of thing. Sketches can be cool if done well not just for sketches sake


Sent from my iPhone using Freedom Card Board
 

u2me57

Well-known member
Mar 21, 2014
3,234
63
Hendersonville, Tn.
Good question, but I don't really think about it much. My main concern is that young kids aren't getting into cards like we did when we were young. There's gotta be somebody to replace all us baby boomers, and the generations right before and after the boomers.

None of my grandsons has got into collecting cards yet. My son used to collect baseball cards but no more. Of all the guys my daughter dated only 1 of them collected cards and he lost interest and gave them to me.

Personally, I don't collect the Sketch, AECO, custom made, broder? cards, or non-licensed cards. Of course, the guy I collect has almost 10,000 cards without them.
But, to each his own and good luck.

Even though Topps has long been my favorite brand of cards it would be nice if MLB would re-license the other 3 brands and cap the amount of sets they can put out. It will be cool to see what baseball cards, and collecting, are like in 10 years.:p
 

mchenrycards

Featured Contributor, Vintage Corner, Senior Membe
Good question, but I don't really think about it much. My main concern is that young kids aren't getting into cards like we did when we were young. There's gotta be somebody to replace all us baby boomers, and the generations right before and after the boomers.

None of my grandsons has got into collecting cards yet. My son used to collect baseball cards but no more. Of all the guys my daughter dated only 1 of them collected cards and he lost interest and gave them to me.

Personally, I don't collect the Sketch, AECO, custom made, broder? cards, or non-licensed cards. Of course, the guy I collect has almost 10,000 cards without them.
But, to each his own and good luck.

Even though Topps has long been my favorite brand of cards it would be nice if MLB would re-license the other 3 brands and cap the amount of sets they can put out. It will be cool to see what baseball cards, and collecting, are like in 10 years.:p

I have been collecting cards for the better part of 40+ years and every so often you hear that kids are not collecting anymore and yet they still seem to do so. Collecting sports cards will rise and fall in collector interest but the base collector will remain and help keep the hobby rooted in tradition. Sure, I dont think we will ever see the collector levels that we saw in the late 80's to the 90's but there will always be sports cards to draw someone's attention. While some will not like sketch cards, autos, jersey cards or any other crazy idea these card companies can think up in the future, the beauty of it all is that someone will love each aspect of this hobby and go for what they want to collect and thus continue to support and maintain a market for cards.
 

mrmopar

Member
Jan 19, 2010
6,169
4,058
I agree that card collecting likely will never go away completely. I think back to when I was a kid and was introduced to cards, I am certain not everyone collected, not even a majority of the kids. This was 1978 and forward so still a few years before the "wonderful 80s" that so many current collectors seem to have originated from or just after.

One factor to consider is that packs were maybe 15-25 cents each in my early days, something a kid could typically afford in small quantities. Topps was the only game in town aside from a weird sticker issue from Fleer, so there was really no choices outside of the base Topps issue until the next sport rolled out or an occasional non-sport issue (if you collected everything). Now the choices are nearly overwhelming across the sports and brands and the price points are much higher. You can still point to the very basic starter issue, but I would say that if it was 1978 and that was your only choice, fine. Now who wants the base issue, despite the price, when those lottery winnings lurk inside the better products. The Collectors Choice and Topps Totals of the world are all but museum relics now.
 

u2me57

Well-known member
Mar 21, 2014
3,234
63
Hendersonville, Tn.
One thing does bother me about the current status of our hobby. I went to Wal-Mart today to buy a Predators shirt and then stopped by the card section to look at some baseball cards. It was 90% non-sports cards and 10% sports cards. Really sad. It used to be 100% sports cards here. Of course, it could be completely different in other parts of the U.S. They did have a clearance section though, so I bought a box of 2016 Topps baseball cards at a decent price. Hopefully, with some great young players like Harper, Judge, and Trout things will turn around and get better for the hobby.
 

gt2590

Super Moderator
Aug 17, 2008
38,617
3,198
Near Philly
One thing does bother me about the current status of our hobby. I went to Wal-Mart today to buy a Predators shirt and then stopped by the card section to look at some baseball cards. It was 90% non-sports cards and 10% sports cards. Really sad. It used to be 100% sports cards here. Of course, it could be completely different in other parts of the U.S. They did have a clearance section though, so I bought a box of 2016 Topps baseball cards at a decent price. Hopefully, with some great young players like Harper, Judge, and Trout things will turn around and get better for the hobby.

It's been like that for quite a while at the Retail spots, at least around here. Although Target usually has a lot more sports cards than the WMs.

It's also the case at most LCSs, and most add gaming, tourneys, etc. to keep in business...
 

mrmopar

Member
Jan 19, 2010
6,169
4,058
That is what I keep hearing from shops that are still alive in my area, the gaming and non-sports keep the doors open!

I wonder if that stuff will have the staying power of sports cards though. I can see cards for movies, shows, etc. those may have the same fan base and hold memories for collectors. Games seem to be more in a fad category though (is D&D still popular, for example?) and newer games will probably replace the old in popularity, much the same way most games have progressed since many of us were kids. I loved board games, but that just won't fly with most kids today.

It's been like that for quite a while at the Retail spots, at least around here. Although Target usually has a lot more sports cards than the WMs.

It's also the case at most LCSs, and most add gaming, tourneys, etc. to keep in business...
 

DeliciousBacon

Well-known member
Apr 23, 2011
3,444
94
Warwick, RI
I've never bought any customs, but I don't necessarily hate them. What I do hate is sellers/producers who aren't honest about what they're selling. When some guy is pretending that his customs are an actual recognized brand; deliberately dating them wrong to make them appear to be either vintage or an early card of a star (I remember seeing a ton of fake "2008" Bryce Harper cards when his legit RCs came out; or just bull****ting (the guy with all those "proof" coin cards, or the supposed early 90's cigar cards), that just makes the whole custom card field look bad.

That being said, if I saw someone whipping up some great Dick Pole customs, I'd be down no question.
 

RStadlerASU22

Active member
Jan 2, 2013
8,881
11
"That being said, if I saw someone whipping OUT some great Dick Pole customs, I'd be down no question."

Fixed...

Ryan
Will Clark / Mike Brown Collector
 

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