Interesting thoughts from non hobby people

011873 · Aug 30, 2010

Running a card store, I get a lot of people in with little to no hobby knowledge. And former collectors who got out in the early 90's.

We take it for granted but for those people above, what the hobby is NOW is nothing what they expected.

1. Many think that todays cards are worthless because of all the bad press theyve read about over the last several years.

2. They all think "old" cards from the 80's are worth money and are shocked when I tell them they are worthless.

3. Even more shocked when I tell them cards from the 70's arent worth a ton either unless they grade very very high.

4. Most shocked when I tell them todays cards can be worth a fortune and that Pujols' WORST rookie card is worth more than Griffey's best rookie card.

5. They cant get over GU cards and that they are actually used in agame.

6. And those autos, they cant actually be signed by the player, right?

7. Are bowled over by the shineyness of the stock and foil.

8. Cant believe that a card can actually be limited to "only 100" in the world.

9. Think I can order anything at anytime from Topps for original cost.

10. Shocked that a pack of cards can cost $10, let alone $500

11. That you can actually buy a car if you land the "right" card

12. Still expect gum in the packs

schmidtfan20 · Aug 30, 2010

heck many cards from the 50's aren't worth squat unless they are high grade.

uniquebaseballcards · Aug 30, 2010

LOL, maybe this list should be laminated and placed within all LCSs.

011873 said:
Running a card store, I get a lot of people in with little to no hobby knowledge. And former collectors who
got out in the early 90's.

We take it for granted but for those people above, what the hobby is NOW is nothing what they expected.

1. Many think that todays cards are worthless because of all the bad press theyve read about over the last several years.

2. They all think "old" cards from the 80's are worth money and are shocked when I tell them they are worthless.

3. Even more shocked when I tell them cards from the 70's arent worth a ton either unless they grade very very high.

4. Most shocked when I tell them todays cards can be worth a fortune and that Pujols' WORST rookie card is worth more than Griffey's best rookie card.

5. They cant get over GU cards and that they are actually used in agame.

6. And those autos, they cant actually be signed by the player, right?

7. Are bowled over by the shineyness of the stock and foil.

8. Cant believe that a card can actually be limited to "only 100" in the world.

9. Think I can order anything at anytime from Topps for original cost.

10. Shocked that a pack of cards can cost $10, let alone $500

11. That you can actually buy a car if you land the "right" card

12. Still expect gum in the packs

gracecollector · Aug 30, 2010

13. "What, you only get 3 cards in a pack??? What a rip!"

TBTwinsFan · Aug 30, 2010

schmidtfan20 said:
heck many cards from the 50's aren't worth squat unless they are high grade.

I usually buy raw low-grade on ebay for my ttm around $5 a piece, and that seems high sometimes.

I get this a lot from my friends. I will take one to a show, and he will buy up grab bags for a buck and thinking he is going to retire on a Kirby Puckett base card because he is in the Hall of Fame. I sold some base for one friend one time and he was thinkin I was going to get like...$50 and I told him I only got $2 for everything (which was pretty good actually...).

200lbhockeyplayer · Aug 30, 2010

schmidtfan20 said:
heck many cards from the 50's aren't worth squat unless they are high grade.

This is what so many people fail to comprehend...and it's so true.

ronfromfresno · Aug 30, 2010

As a kid I thought $1 a pack for the new brand, Upper Deck, was insane. Then it was amazing in 1996 to get a pack with autographs in it, in every pack for $10-$12, it actually seemed like a steal to buy 1996 Leaf Signature Series because I didn't have to do TTM anymore and the card design was amazing to me as a 16 year old.

When I came back to the hobby about 5 years ago I was shockd that regular Topps pack were $3, but I understood the shift the hobby had taken and understood the price would follow.

Even after being back in the hobby for sometime, it is still wierd to see cards I knew I would never own, like 1986 Donruss Canseco, sell for less than a pack. I'm still tempted to buy every 1986 Donruss Rookies Will Clark I see because they are so cheap. That card I had to have as a kid and paid $9 for at a show, which was an insane amount since a box of 1987 Topps was around $15.

schmidtfan20 · Aug 30, 2010

200lbhockeyplayer said:
schmidtfan20 said:

heck many cards from the 50's aren't worth squat unless they are high grade.

Click to expand...

This is what so many people fail to comprehend...and it's so true.

but can you blame them? Is is cardboard that in many cases is over 60 years old. One small
crease can ruin the entire card! I once wanted to put a 52 topps set together. I love the
look of the cards, the photos are timeless. Many of the players look like kids. This is what
got me into heritage. It just isn't fair that cards that are that old are just kicked to the curb
because of a few "love marks" I would love to just go through a complete set of say 52 or
54 and just look at the cards, who cares about corners or edges.

Kevin

TBTwinsFan · Aug 30, 2010

schmidtfan20 said:
200lbhockeyplayer said:

schmidtfan20 said:

heck many cards from the 50's aren't worth squat unless they are high grade.

Click to expand...

This is what so many people fail to comprehend...and it's so true.

Click to expand...

but can you blame them? Is is cardboard that in many cases is over 60 years old. One small
crease can ruin the entire card! I once wanted to put a 52 topps set together. I love the
look of the cards, the photos are timeless. Many of the players look like kids. This is what
got me into heritage. It just isn't fair that cards that are that old are just kicked to the curb
because of a few "love marks" I would love to just go through a complete set of say 52 or
54 and just look at the cards, who cares about corners or edges.

Kevin

+1

I buy some low grade of the higher players for my PC. I was at a show and found a Bob Gibson card marked at $2, and I asked the guy "Is it REALLY 2 bucks?" He said, "Yeah, but it's condition is horrible..."

I bought it because I liked the card. The condition wasn't THAT bad... the edges and corners were rough, but it was a good card nonetheless. I am too this day happy that I traded a pair of Washington's for it.

predatorkj · Aug 30, 2010

011873 said:
Running a card store, I get a lot of people in with little to no hobby knowledge. And former collectors who got out in the early 90's.

We take it for granted but for those people above, what the hobby is NOW is nothing what they expected.

1. Many think that todays cards are worthless because of all the bad press theyve read about over the last several years.

2. They all think "old" cards from the 80's are worth money and are shocked when I tell them they are worthless.

3. Even more shocked when I tell them cards from the 70's arent worth a ton either unless they grade very very high.

4. Most shocked when I tell them todays cards can be worth a fortune and that Pujols' WORST rookie card is worth more than Griffey's best rookie card.

5. They cant get over GU cards and that they are actually used in agame.

6. And those autos, they cant actually be signed by the player, right?

7. Are bowled over by the shineyness of the stock and foil.

8. Cant believe that a card can actually be limited to "only 100" in the world.

9. Think I can order anything at anytime from Topps for original cost.

10. Shocked that a pack of cards can cost $10, let alone $500

11. That you can actually buy a car if you land the "right" card

12. Still expect gum in the packs

Really? Even the 1989 Bowman Tiffany? I suppose it depends.

Most people I talk to hear their cards are worth nothing and that the newer cards are worth more and will always be worth something. They get the deja vu feeling like they have heard that before(which they probably actually have back when the card market died) and they leave the shop in disgust. Bad thing is...its true. I can't ever see today's cards being worth nothing. There are just too many valuable attributes that make them valuable. Autos, GU, and serial numbers will always hold some value.

SportsCardMojo · Aug 31, 2010

schmidtfan20 said:
200lbhockeyplayer said:

schmidtfan20 said:

heck many cards from the 50's aren't worth squat unless they are high grade.

Click to expand...

This is what so many people fail to comprehend...and it's so true.

Click to expand...

but can you blame them? Is is cardboard that in many cases is over 60 years old. One small
crease can ruin the entire card! I once wanted to put a 52 topps set together. I love the
look of the cards, the photos are timeless. Many of the players look like kids. This is what
got me into heritage. It just isn't fair that cards that are that old are just kicked to the curb
because of a few "love marks" I would love to just go through a complete set of say 52 or
54 and just look at the cards, who cares about corners or edges.

Kevin

I have to agree. The fun part of the hobby is to go through your cards once in a while and just look at what you've got. I don't have any vintage cards, but I would LOVE to find my collection from when I was a kid. Back then we tossed them into shoeboxes and didn't care about the condition, only the person on the card. Funny thing is, I have grown up to be a pretty OCD person, so I do like my "high end" collection to be pristine, but I like the look of vintage cards, even the ones not in great condition. If anything, it makes it more "real".

Derriz · Aug 31, 2010

A couple years ago, I hit up a LCS in Columbus, after having never looked at a card in 15 years. I couldn't believe there were packs for a hundred bucks. I thought maybe the guy was nuts or something.

Yeah, it was a major sticker shock after leaving the hobby around '91.

hawkfandan · Aug 31, 2010

A few weeks ago a guy I grew up with asked me if I still collected cards. I said that I did and he asked if I could come by and help him figure out what he's got. He told me he was strapped for cash and was looking to unload his vast collection. I knew right away what was coming as we're the same age and began collecting around the same time. I agreed - hoping he'd have a few diamonds in the rough that he could possibly sell for SOMETHING. I headed over there after work one night (12 pack in hand, hoping to soften the blow). He pulled out box and box (after box), of crap he'd bought mostly from HSN & Don West. It was awful. Graded cards from companies I wasn't familiar with of cards that shouldn't have been graded to begin with. Box after box of 87,88,89 Topps & Donruss. Set after set of Classic. Then we moved on to the Basketball. HOOPS! Ugh. I did my best to let him down easy, which he couldn't believe of course. At that point, I had no other choice but to show what these cards were going for on Ebay. I really did feel for him, as he thought he was going to unload his collection for a small fortune. Had he asked, I wouldn't have taken ANY of the cards for free, that's how bad it was. It made me wonder, how many times has a similar scene played out?

padremurph · Aug 31, 2010

Recently went through my cards from my childhood and didn't really find anything that is worth a thing today. Obviously these cards have sentimental value but it's pretty crazy that very few cards from a whole generation are worth anything.

smapdi · Aug 31, 2010

A friend's dad had a collection like that. He had stashed away stuff in the late 80s, mostly unopened boxes and cases, but only 1988-up. Even 1987 Donruss would've been somewhat useful at the time (this was around 1998 when I saw it). I think he did have 2 or 3 1982T Update sets, but the Ripkens were OC. But upon people like that is our hobby built today.

I like the people who get angry just thinking about baseball cards (or comics or whatever). If it comes up in conversation with a non-collector, they either talk about the amazing collection they used to have but got ripped off by a dealer, selling it for pennies on the dollar when they were going to/in/coming out of college, or they think the whole premise is dumb and I'm dumb for doing it and they just can't fathom spending thousands of dollars on pictures of guys.

bozemanbreaker · Aug 31, 2010

Great list which in my mind points out many of the great faults of the hobby, not the customers...

uniquebaseballcards · Aug 31, 2010

The people who collected during the vintage period never thought their collections would be worth anything, and with condition aside, they were generally wrong. The next group of people up to 15 years after the end of the vintage era who bought post-vintage/modern cards who thought their cards would be valuable or would increase in value over time were generally wrong too. Lots here like to say even today's rarest cards would be valuable in the future or even retain their value, but given the existing track record its likely they'd be wrong again...maybe some future technology would replicate cards or something crazy like that will be invented.

Its not hard to understand why investors like to flip, odds are very likely that long-term investors are going to be wrong about current era long-term card values given past history.

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Interesting thoughts from non hobby people

011873

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