Does anyone still get Beckett?

Topnotchsy · Oct 19, 2010

Got a letter in the mail with an offer to resubscribe (for $2 an issue) and I realized it's pretty much the first time I've thought of Beckett (other than BGS) in months. Does anyone still get it? I'm debating whether it's worth giving it another shot at that price.

Krom · Oct 19, 2010

Topnotchsy said:
Got a letter in the mail with an offer to resubscribe (for $2 an issue) and I realized it's pretty much the first time I've thought of Beckett (other than BGS) in months. Does anyone still get it? I'm debating whether it's worth giving it another shot at that price.

Not really, the price guide is a joke. With all the other sports in one mag its not much now adays. I don't mind that a friend has a sub and gives me his old copies when he gets a new one. But would not pay for it though.

ethanbryer · Oct 19, 2010

I buy one at walmart ever once in a while.

I havnt bought one in at least half a year tough.

bouwob · Oct 19, 2010

The value is in the OPG for checklists. But if you are not interested in pricing, the checklists are free.

ThoseBackPages · Oct 19, 2010

www.ebay.com is the best price guide in the universe!

TBTwinsFan · Oct 19, 2010

My grandma bought me a subscription to BGS SCM, which I like to read about the pulls and the hot lists, otherwise, that is all. I lost the 2 free gradings though...

****...

f2tornado · Oct 19, 2010

I let my subscription lapse for a while but Beckett gave me an offer of $17.99 for another year. I figured each mag has a buck fifty worth of info and reading entertainment so I took advantage. The added grading certificate for two cards (or five with a 25 card order) is worth the price alone should I opt to use it.

matty07 · Oct 19, 2010

The entire book is a price guide. I just wish they would put more articles in it..hot lists. Just do anything to make it more interesting to read

RZimm11 · Oct 19, 2010

Bought the one with Stras on it a couple months ago. It is huge, but is 90% price guide, which is, of course, outdated by the time it's out.

Only about a dozen pages of articles and a bunch of ads.

Won't be buying again.

uniquebaseballcards · Oct 19, 2010

I'd consider using Beckett for vintage card prices only. I don't care for their articles or their modern card pricing.

Topnotchsy said:
Got a letter in the mail with an offer to resubscribe (for $2 an issue) and I realized it's pretty much the first time I've thought of Beckett (other than BGS) in months. Does anyone still get it? I'm debating whether it's worth giving it another shot at that price.

brumbach · Oct 20, 2010

I subscribe to the baseball and pick up the other sports occasionally. I use it mainly to ID cards before I list them, there is a ton of product from 2001-present that I am not very familiar with and I need to guide so I can put the correct name of the cards in my listings. I have also found that for stuff over a year or so old, 20% of Beckett high is usually close to a lot of closing prices on eBay. Of course, I'm 37 and started out with CCP back in the day and have been using Beckett guides since the late 80's, so I admit that I might rely on it more than some of the youngins out there just out of habit.

Tom Oates · Oct 20, 2010

If it were made of softer paper I could use it in the restroom but other than that it's not worth the paper it's printed on.

Tom

011873 · Oct 20, 2010

As a store owner, Im basically done carrying the multi sport issues, NO ONE in the store likes it because of the absolute lack of prices in it.

What does your 2005 BCDP Braun auto REFRACTOR book? Well its not listed BUT you can find out how much a 2009 ertl Jeff Gordon car is or perhaps youre interested in knowing a 2008 WWE Jeff Hardy base card is 75 cents.

Its so so bad that when a new or returning or former collector comes in looking for Beckett, I tell them to avoid the multi sport and go for one of the Plus mags.

Dump that and subscribe to the Baseball Plus (I think its actually just Beckett Baseball) instead.

G $MONEY$ · Oct 20, 2010

I have started buying the Hockey one again in the last few months. Something to look through and read that is hobby related at work when i dont have access to the internet

jrinne · Oct 20, 2010

baseball Rookie Rolodex issue

Gellman · Oct 20, 2010

011873 said:
Its so so bad that when a new or returning or former collector comes in looking for Beckett, I tell them to avoid the multi sport and go for one of the Plus mags.

Umm, how about not referring new or returning collectors to beckett at all?

The bottom line is that the magazine presents such an unrealistic view of what is really going on that it damages the actual experiences in the long run. Just yesterday I got an email from someone talking about how disappointed they were when they found out Beckett was a complete joke. They had just returned to the hobby and were going to buy a few boxes, but after going on ebay and getting the REAL story, they decided it was better to continue watching from the sidelines.

Even a couple of months ago I got back to back emails from two shop owners who have stopped carrying the magazine because of what it does to people who use it. Not only does it take the fun out of things for new people, but as said above, it damages expectations and perceptions, which have a negative effect on a continued positive experience. One of the shop owners bought a laptop and had ebay pulled up on the counter if people were that inclined to know what something was worth.

If Beckett were to dump their joke of a price guide, it would eliminate most of the conflict of interest presented in it, and I wouldnt have such a problem with what they do on a tri-daily basis.

Crash Davis · Oct 20, 2010

Gellman said:
011873 said:

Its so so bad that when a new or returning or former collector comes in looking for Beckett, I tell them to avoid the multi sport and go for one of the Plus mags.

Click to expand...

Umm, how about not referring new or returning collectors to beckett at all?

The bottom line is that the magazine presents such an unrealistic view of what is really going on that it damages the actual experiences in the long run. Just yesterday I got an email from someone talking about how disappointed they were when they found out Beckett was a complete joke. They had just returned to the hobby and were going to buy a few boxes, but after going on ebay and getting the REAL story, they decided it was better to continue watching from the sidelines.

Even a couple of months ago I got back to back emails from two shop owners who have stopped carrying the magazine because of what it does to people who use it. Not only does it take the fun out of things for new people, but as said above, it damages expectations and perceptions, which have a negative effect on a continued positive experience. One of the shop owners bought a laptop and had ebay pulled up on the counter if people were that inclined to know what something was worth.

If Beckett were to dump their joke of a price guide, it would eliminate most of the conflict of interest presented in it, and I wouldnt have such a problem with what they do on a tri-daily basis.

I'm not sure how putting out a price guide is a conflict of interest for Beckett.

Selling BGS-graded cards is a conflict of interest, whether it be on consignment or not.

That's where the real focus should be.

For me, I enjoy reading the three pages of articles per month. I look at the price guide as just that - a guide.

Having said that, I can see why experienced collectors have virtually no use for the magazine from a practical standpoint; however, from a purely informational one, the hefty price tag for a monthly magazine that presents nothing more than a mishmosh of random sets in their price guide and a ton of annoying advertisements is a bit too rich for my blood.

Gellman - I do like what you've done with your site. While I don't agree with a lot of what you say, I respect the work you put in to your site. It looks great.

PeteD · Oct 20, 2010

Every once in awhile just so i'm up to date on BV for trades. Some ppl still trade useing BV vs Ebay.

Gellman · Oct 20, 2010

Crash Davis said:
Gellman said:

011873 said:

Its so so bad that when a new or returning or former collector comes in looking for Beckett, I tell them to avoid the multi sport and go for one of the Plus mags.

Click to expand...

Umm, how about not referring new or returning collectors to beckett at all?

The bottom line is that the magazine presents such an unrealistic view of what is really going on that it damages the actual experiences in the long run. Just yesterday I got an email from someone talking about how disappointed they were when they found out Beckett was a complete joke. They had just returned to the hobby and were going to buy a few boxes, but after going on ebay and getting the REAL story, they decided it was better to continue watching from the sidelines.

Even a couple of months ago I got back to back emails from two shop owners who have stopped carrying the magazine because of what it does to people who use it. Not only does it take the fun out of things for new people, but as said above, it damages expectations and perceptions, which have a negative effect on a continued positive experience. One of the shop owners bought a laptop and had ebay pulled up on the counter if people were that inclined to know what something was worth.

If Beckett were to dump their joke of a price guide, it would eliminate most of the conflict of interest presented in it, and I wouldnt have such a problem with what they do on a tri-daily basis.

Click to expand...

I'm not sure how putting out a price guide is a conflict of interest for Beckett.

Selling BGS-graded cards is a conflict of interest, whether it be on consignment or not.

That's where the real focus should be.

For me, I enjoy reading the three pages of articles per month. I look at the price guide as just that - a guide.

Having said that, I can see why experienced collectors have virtually no use for the magazine from a practical standpoint; however, from a purely informational one, the hefty price tag for a monthly magazine that presents nothing more than a mishmosh of random sets in their price guide and a ton of annoying advertisements is a bit too rich for my blood.

Gellman - I do like what you've done with your site. While I don't agree with a lot of what you say, I respect the work you put in to your site. It looks great.

Thanks dude.

Here is what I meant by conflict of interest: Beckett sells space to card companies that are also contained in their price guide. THey also get loads of free stuff, etc. For them to set prices for the part of the hobby that still uses the guide, is a conflict of interest due to how much they could affect things.

Crash Davis · Oct 20, 2010

Gellman said:
Crash Davis said:

Gellman said:

011873 said:

Its so so bad that when a new or returning or former collector comes in looking for Beckett, I tell them to avoid the multi sport and go for one of the Plus mags.

Click to expand...

Umm, how about not referring new or returning collectors to beckett at all?

The bottom line is that the magazine presents such an unrealistic view of what is really going on that it damages the actual experiences in the long run. Just yesterday I got an email from someone talking about how disappointed they were when they found out Beckett was a complete joke. They had just returned to the hobby and were going to buy a few boxes, but after going on ebay and getting the REAL story, they decided it was better to continue watching from the sidelines.

Even a couple of months ago I got back to back emails from two shop owners who have stopped carrying the magazine because of what it does to people who use it. Not only does it take the fun out of things for new people, but as said above, it damages expectations and perceptions, which have a negative effect on a continued positive experience. One of the shop owners bought a laptop and had ebay pulled up on the counter if people were that inclined to know what something was worth.

If Beckett were to dump their joke of a price guide, it would eliminate most of the conflict of interest presented in it, and I wouldnt have such a problem with what they do on a tri-daily basis.

Click to expand...

I'm not sure how putting out a price guide is a conflict of interest for Beckett.

Selling BGS-graded cards is a conflict of interest, whether it be on consignment or not.

That's where the real focus should be.

For me, I enjoy reading the three pages of articles per month. I look at the price guide as just that - a guide.

Having said that, I can see why experienced collectors have virtually no use for the magazine from a practical standpoint; however, from a purely informational one, the hefty price tag for a monthly magazine that presents nothing more than a mishmosh of random sets in their price guide and a ton of annoying advertisements is a bit too rich for my blood.

Gellman - I do like what you've done with your site. While I don't agree with a lot of what you say, I respect the work you put in to your site. It looks great.

Click to expand...

Thanks dude.

Here is what I meant by conflict of interest: Beckett sells space to card companies that are also contained in their price guide. THey also get loads of free stuff, etc. For them to set prices for the part of the hobby that still uses the guide, is a conflict of interest due to how much they could affect things.

You see, I completely disagree with that statement.

Beckett has little to no baring on what cards sell for on eBay, whereas, logically (one would think), eBay sales would have a healthy influence over the prices stated in Beckett's price guide. There are a lot of big-time case breakers who sell base cards from sets for well over BV, while most game-used and autographed cards sell for much lower than BV.

Now, considering how Beckett not only has control of the submissions it receives, it now can resell BGS-slabbed cards on eBay through it's consignment division with little or no oversight.

That is a major conflict of interest.

Graded cards is where it gets fuzzy, in my opinion.

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