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Is baseball card collecting almost Dead??? What's your take on it??
- Thread starter WATER_DOG007
- Start date
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bmp1971
Active member
If I gave you the real take on it, chances are good I wouldn't have the freedom to ever post again on Freedom Card Board.
Austin
Well-known member
Collectors like me who have been in the hobby for 30 years have a completely different (and more accurate) perspective on the health of the hobby compared to newcomers who have been collecting for fewer than ten years.
If you collected during the boom of the '80s, then yes, the hobby is on life support and you've seen the unfortunate demise of child collectors.
However, the hobby will never die.
It will eventually be like coins or stamps, where 99% of collectors are adults, mostly middle-aged or older.
A few of you blamed video games, and that is not true.
During the mid-late '80s and early '90s boom, millions of kids played Atari, Nintendo, SNES, Sega Genesis....AND they collected baseball cards.
Almosy every boy in my neighborhood played both video games and collected baseball cards.
I think it's a combination of kids' obsession with spending every waking minute on the internet and smart phones, combined with cards' high prices.
But most of all, it's a new generation of kids with new interests and fads.
Every generation of kids has new interests.
Kids these days just don't care about sports cards, and you can't really blame them since they have no connection to the hobby's glory days from before they were born.
Most kids of my generation (born in 1973) had no desire to collect coins or stamps, even though it was a huge hobby before we were born.
It's the same with kids today.
If you collected during the boom of the '80s, then yes, the hobby is on life support and you've seen the unfortunate demise of child collectors.
However, the hobby will never die.
It will eventually be like coins or stamps, where 99% of collectors are adults, mostly middle-aged or older.
A few of you blamed video games, and that is not true.
During the mid-late '80s and early '90s boom, millions of kids played Atari, Nintendo, SNES, Sega Genesis....AND they collected baseball cards.
Almosy every boy in my neighborhood played both video games and collected baseball cards.
I think it's a combination of kids' obsession with spending every waking minute on the internet and smart phones, combined with cards' high prices.
But most of all, it's a new generation of kids with new interests and fads.
Every generation of kids has new interests.
Kids these days just don't care about sports cards, and you can't really blame them since they have no connection to the hobby's glory days from before they were born.
Most kids of my generation (born in 1973) had no desire to collect coins or stamps, even though it was a huge hobby before we were born.
It's the same with kids today.
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Austin
Well-known member
Oops, wrong thread.
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predatorkj
Active member
- Aug 7, 2008
- 11,871
- 2
I agree with a few of the points, especially Austin and Smapdi. I think the number one problem is price. Whether it be "book" or even ebay value, or simply the price of a product. The hobby had to evolve somehow to keep luring people in and once autos and GU became a fad, they had to persist. And by doing so, product had to increase in price. I remember opening a beckett back in 2003 or so and seeing every damn card listed from like 2001 -the end of the guide was like $40 and up. Most were in the hundreds. I asked myself "How the hell does anyone collect anything anymore". When I decided to rejoin the hobby in the winter of 2006, I discovered it wasn't as bad as I thought it was, as long as you weren't worried about belonging to any particular niche or collecting any particular thing. And the idea of gu and autos brought me back in. But to a kid born in 1996 or later, hell, they don't know what it was like to be 8 years old and going to a store to buy 1991 fleer and being happy to get cards you needed for a base set. By the time they even were old enough to know about the hobby, there were probably autographs and GU galore and the hobby itself was already expensive. So they've never known what it was like for it to be a cheap and enterable hobby.
A hobby where every box is decently expensive, and a lot of hits don't yield a return on said box, and all the good hits are semi expensive on the secondary market really makes it hard for anyone to enter. Add to that the general mindset concerning base cards these days, and the fact that non-desirable hits are seen as worthless as well...well it kind of forces people who are new to the hobby or were born after the autograph phase started into a small and expensive corner. Because we cannot expect them to appreciate general inserts or set building. Hell, we can't even necessarily get them to appreciate low numbered cards or autos or GU in general.
My question is not why people don't enter the hobby, but what would make them want to enter the hobby? Especially if they've never collected before and have no ties to it from the past?
A hobby where every box is decently expensive, and a lot of hits don't yield a return on said box, and all the good hits are semi expensive on the secondary market really makes it hard for anyone to enter. Add to that the general mindset concerning base cards these days, and the fact that non-desirable hits are seen as worthless as well...well it kind of forces people who are new to the hobby or were born after the autograph phase started into a small and expensive corner. Because we cannot expect them to appreciate general inserts or set building. Hell, we can't even necessarily get them to appreciate low numbered cards or autos or GU in general.
My question is not why people don't enter the hobby, but what would make them want to enter the hobby? Especially if they've never collected before and have no ties to it from the past?
TBTwinsFan
New member
A couple things...
1. It's way too expensive. I can barely afford to do it anymore.
2. Not enough "kid friendly" products (although Topps has been trying as of late).
3. This is the most important one that's being danced around...
-It's flat out boring to kids. They don't want to sit and stare at pictures of sports guys all day.
1. It's way too expensive. I can barely afford to do it anymore.
2. Not enough "kid friendly" products (although Topps has been trying as of late).
3. This is the most important one that's being danced around...
-It's flat out boring to kids. They don't want to sit and stare at pictures of sports guys all day.
TBTwinsFan
New member
I should also note that while gaming cards (i.e. Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, etc etc) are popular, they aren't as mainstream as they used to be in the late '90s and early '00s.
In fact, when I go to the card isle, I see more kids looking at baseball cards than I see looking at Magic cards.
In fact, when I go to the card isle, I see more kids looking at baseball cards than I see looking at Magic cards.
- Thread starter
- #29
WATER_DOG007
New member
Glad someone finds Ebay fees funny. must be nice.
- Thread starter
- #30
WATER_DOG007
New member
Love to hear it. Send me a PM
- Thread starter
- #31
WATER_DOG007
New member
Sorry about that. I've lowered so many prices lately I must have missed that one. Thanks. Changing right now
BBCgalaxee
Well-known member
- Sep 9, 2011
- 6,475
- 59
Topps and mlb are the absolute worst in terms of marketing cards.
Sent from my HTCONE using Freedom Card Board mobile app
Sent from my HTCONE using Freedom Card Board mobile app
predatorkj
Active member
- Aug 7, 2008
- 11,871
- 2
Oh trust me, Yughio is still quite hot. Every time I go to Walmart or Target there is at least two kids looking at the Yughio cards and the card aisle may have 15-20 feet of space on it and 2/3rds of that space is dedicated soley to CCG's such as Magic or Yughio and Pokemon along with the CCG sleeves and Deck Protector stuff. It's insane but it's always easy to see where the retail outlets get their bread and butter card wise.
predatorkj
Active member
- Aug 7, 2008
- 11,871
- 2
If you are topps, what is there to market? They are being well fed by those of us buying cases from hobby shops and such. Do you normally need to put bait out for hungry animals? No, they'll come of their own volition.
As for MLB, I don't think they even know how to market cards nor do I think they feel it's their job to do it. I think they really believe topps makes money for them so they must be doing something right and therefore why spend any extra money to do anything different.
TBTwinsFan
New member
It's popular, but it's not "mainstream," or as much as it used to be anyway.
Granted, I only buy Naruto TCG when they are in the cheap-bin at ShopKo. Haven't actually played TCG in 7-8 years.
BBCgalaxee
Well-known member
- Sep 9, 2011
- 6,475
- 59
I posted my thoughts about a month ago on this. But here it goes.
Topps has made a bowman commercial the last few years.
The problem with it is that it's marketed as if it's 1990.
Base card after base card after base card is shown with absolutely no mention of autographs, game used, numbered cards, high quality or Refractors. You know, the top reasons why many (most) buy cards.
This isn't 1990 when boxes were $15. The lowest priced "quality" boxes are five times that (Srp). There better be a reason why.
As a store owner, you'd be shocked how many times a new collector, former collectors or non collectors walks in and is astonished that a card features a piece of jersey or bat. Or that a card is limited to 100, 50, etc.
Or amazingly, a card with an autograph. "Its stamped right?" Or " so there's only 50 in the world?" That's what always comes next from them.
THAT'S how impressive these things are to people not involved.
We know what they are, most don't and that's who the commercials are geared to.
With all the negative press cards have received over the last several years and knowing how many thousands of collectors got burned by mass production of the 80s, showing base cards will not bring in new collectors. That's old hat to them.....really old hat.
Want more proof? Some of the looney ssp cards from topps over the years did wonders bringing in New collectors as well as drawing attention from national news outlets always mentioning the huge asking/sale prices on eBay.
Worth and quality should always be emphasized in the ads unless it's obvious (no one thinks a Pujols auto is a buck).
Over the last ten years, I mentioned this to the league's and companies over the years to no avail at conferences.
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If it's not a hot rookie / scolding hot veteran or a solid graded vintage card, a lot of folks think their card of a middle tier player (Craig Biggio, Josh Johnson, Jake Peavy, Curtis Grandeson, Ian Kinsler, Hanley Ramirez, etc) is worth a gold bar, even if previous sales dictate otherwise.
That has literally turned me off from cards, because if there is one thing I know better than anyone in this hobby, it's what Josh Johnson stuff goes for.
That has literally turned me off from cards, because if there is one thing I know better than anyone in this hobby, it's what Josh Johnson stuff goes for.
ccouch (Chad)
Member
- Aug 8, 2008
- 444
- 6
He doesn't think that eBay fees are funny. He thinks it is funny when people XXXXX about instant access to millions of potential buyers for a 10% fee. eBay's platform costs money. Paying 10% to use it is hardly unreasonable. Where else are you going to get that kind of exposure for your item?
And I agree with jcmint -- the hobby is alive and well. And there's a buttload of money to be made with some effort and intelligence.
ASTROBURN
Active member
Its down because my wife said I cant spend what I want to.
- Thread starter
- #40
WATER_DOG007
New member
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