Somewhat OT: Is print media becoming a thing of the past?

I was thinking about this for a little while and was wondering what people thought.

Is print media becoming a thing of the past?

When relating this specifically to baseball cards, is there a chance that a baseball card related magazine could exist and thrive in the current market? Personally I've never been a fan of reading on the computer, and use it more for looking up information than really studying something, but it's clear that newspapers, magazines and other print media have taken a hit.

I guess what I'm really asking is (and it's completely hypothetical,) if there was a baseball card magazine that offered intriguing articles about baseball cards, and a "workable" price guide (I know in the current internet era the concept of a monthly price guide might seem outdated, but I do think that it's possible for there to be some sort of guide that is useful, just not in Beckett's current format.)

I know that I'd love to read interesting articles analyzing players, sets and different thoughts on investing; am I alone?

I prefer print media, mainly because I don't like the idea of carrying the laptop while I drop the kids off for a swim.

I think the future of price guides is on the internet. Information changes too quickly. Although, I do think there could be a magazine that had articles about the hobby, news, and upcoming product previews could still do ok. I'm a fan of magazines in general, but I think the future of price guides are on the internet where they can be more reactive and fluid.

nborton said:

I think the future of price guides is on the internet. Information changes too quickly. Although, I do think there could be a magazine that had articles about the hobby, news, and upcoming product previews could still do ok. I'm a fan of magazines in general, but I think the future of price guides are on the internet where they can be more reactive and fluid.

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It's ironic, but I think that in today's market, the concept of a price guide that attempts to price every card in the current fashion is useless. eBay has created a very unique market dynamic (the idea that an auction site with an almost infinite number of variables affecting ending prices becoming the biggest indicator of prices makes it very difficult yo set prices, ) and I think the idea of an online price guide that has to constantly react sometimes lends itself to overreaction. I think that a different format for a price guide would be entirely more useful, and a print price guide that makes it clear that in cases of market volatility it is not the "bottom line" is far better than an online price guide that raises its price 50% based on a couple of sales which wind up being flukes.

Topnotchsy said:

nborton said:

I think the future of price guides is on the internet. Information changes too quickly. Although, I do think there could be a magazine that had articles about the hobby, news, and upcoming product previews could still do ok. I'm a fan of magazines in general, but I think the future of price guides are on the internet where they can be more reactive and fluid.

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It's ironic, but I think that in today's market, the concept of a price guide that attempts to price every card in the current fashion is useless. eBay has created a very unique market dynamic (the idea that an auction site with an almost infinite number of variables affecting ending prices becoming the biggest indicator of prices makes it very difficult yo set prices, ) and I think the idea of an online price guide that has to constantly react sometimes lends itself to overreaction. I think that a different format for a price guide would be entirely more useful, and a print price guide that makes it clear that in cases of market volatility it is not the "bottom line" is far better than an online price guide that raises its price 50% based on a couple of sales which wind up being flukes.

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Isn't that why you have a scale of pricing though? Also, unless it's a very low numbered card, I would imagine a person compiling an online price guide would wait for enough data to make an informed pricing. Anything that's really hot and moving will have quite a few sales to go by.

I think it would be interesting to see an online market tracker much like the stock market or something. I guess thepit.com does this, but I would be cool to see it in a large scale. That way you could see the trends, and prices too with the peaks and valleys.

It would take some solid statistics behind it, but it could be done accurately. Obviously outliers on either side would be thrown out if you were to post an average or a high/low price guide as well.

nborton said:

I think the future of price guides is on the internet. Information changes too quickly. Although, I do think there could be a magazine that had articles about the hobby, news, and upcoming product previews could still do ok.

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yes, I would like to see a printed magazine with good articles, feedback/email responses, and hobby trends/market report.

The magazine could publish a link to their website for free access to price guides for subscribers, since price guides would be more useful on the net than wasting half the pages of a magazine.

To be honest, when I was subscribed to Beckett baseball, those first 15-20 pages of articles, features, and such were the things I read the most, not the price guides. It was like having a baseball magazine but with the ties to collecting, value, rarity, etc. It was always a disappointment to me how short those 15-20 pages were and how quickly it was to read through it. I don't think print will go away, too many still prefer to sit down away from the computer and just read a magazine. I like the idea of a more article-rich magazine. A new format to a price guide would be nice too.

I honestly am a webguy, If sites can offer something as good as Beckett writing wise, why would someone want to spend the money on a magazine when they can read on the computer or a better alternative like an iphone or something (The read on the toilet factor)

beefycheddar said:

I honestly am a webguy, If sites can offer something as good as Beckett writing wise, why would someone want to spend the money on a magazine when they can read on the computer or a better alternative like an iphone or something (The read on the toilet factor)

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Maybe I'm old school, but I like the idea of a magazine you can read anywhere. Where you can mark things down, cut things out, and read and reread. I think that there is definitely still a market for this.

wideright said:

To be honest, when I was subscribed to Beckett baseball, those first 15-20 pages of articles, features, and such were the things I read the most, not the price guides. It was like having a baseball magazine but with the ties to collecting, value, rarity, etc. It was always a disappointment to me how short those 15-20 pages were and how quickly it was to read through it. I don't think print will go away, too many still prefer to sit down away from the computer and just read a magazine. I like the idea of a more article-rich magazine. A new format to a price guide would be nice too.

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I agree with this 100%.

Old Kentucky Shark said:

wideright said:

To be honest, when I was subscribed to Beckett baseball, those first 15-20 pages of articles, features, and such were the things I read the most, not the price guides. It was like having a baseball magazine but with the ties to collecting, value, rarity, etc. It was always a disappointment to me how short those 15-20 pages were and how quickly it was to read through it. I don't think print will go away, too many still prefer to sit down away from the computer and just read a magazine. I like the idea of a more article-rich magazine. A new format to a price guide would be nice too.

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I agree with this 100%.

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Likewise!

I actually would prefer the mag without the price guide at all.I'd buy that before I would buy one with pricing in it.


As for the whole ebay thing and actually being able to price cards...that will always be tricky.Some people are willing to pay way over book while others are willing to only pay book or less.Coming up with a set in stone price for anything is very hard these days.And on some stuff...even coming up with an average can be tricky because while the average can be had...it may not truly represent what the card can or would sell for.I mean...if you have 3 of the same card sell for outrageously different prices...could you honestly pinpoint what something is worth?

I have said so before but I really do not feel ebay is a valid method of pricing cards because your pricing things based on really odd variables.Bagwell and Biggio cards will always be worth more here in Texas and especially in Houston.But for the rest of the country...they may not mean much or be highly valued.That said...most of your internet sales of those players would be to local fans.Not all but a good amount.So if you had a Bagwell auto sell on ebay for lets just say $50...it may not sell for $15 if you took it to a show or sold it by any other means than ebay.

Add to that the fact that the person who may have won it really needed it...it may not ever sell that high again.You would also have the added distraction of auctions versus BIN where a bidder may have been willing to pay more and time just ran out.And you have people paying big bucks on BIN items but there may only be one person in the world willing to pay that money for that card.If one card sells for $100 to just one person or maybe even a few...does that mean it is worth what it sold for?Not necessarily.I do not believe their is currently a decent method to determine the actual value of a card.A lot of things lead me to believe this but I think the major one is when your dealing with ebay, a shop, or even a show...things can sell at way different amounts in some places while it can sell for more in others.Thats why I think location of collectors according to what they are buying ruins ebay's chances for correctly even averaging out what a card is worth.If you did not have the luxury of selling to a collector across the country...you may not be able to expect the kind of money you could when you were able to sell to a collector who actually is located in an area where the cards your selling are popular.Though this is probably ebay's key selling point.I am sure even after they won the world series my Phillies stuff would not have sold any better locally or maybe even anywhere around the south for that matter.Ebay fixes that problem for you.Thats why it is so valuable to sellers and collectors.And also why it can never be taken seriously for trying to determine pricing.