Is baseball card collecting almost Dead??? What's your take on it??

[WATER_DOG007]

So far I agree with what the Majority is saying.

I was heavy into collecting in 2005-2008, -work crazy OT 2009-2010, had my first Baby daughter 2011 and currently 2013 decided it's time to sell. What I'm Currently seeing ( past several months of monitoring- still decided to try & sell (exposure) and it just feels like to me "it's not like it used to be".

This thread is just to hear other members opinions

Thanks

 

[ASTROBURN]

People, esp kids, don't care about it anymore

What do kids care about nowadays? Video games, texting, taking pics on their phones, girl/boy friends ect ect

Do they care about cards? Nope

But you care. And you are the youngest collector i know

 

[koal]

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.

agree 100%

 

[BrewerSuperCollector]

Baseball card collecting today is mostly an over-40 men's pursuit. It needs to involve youth more to survive
.

The people within the over 40 demographic don't want that many cards now. They want items they can display in their man caves. They want photos, helmets, jerseys and the like.

 

[onehrk22]

Well in my mind the hobby is almost dead, but that could be because the love of baseball cards is dead in me personally. I think that a lot of kids my age (b. 1989) grew up on the heels of the 80s boom in baseball cards. I at least grew up hearing about them and had some exposure to them, ultimately leading me to be a member of the hobby until college. However, once I entered university and the 'real' world outside of my parents house, there just isn't any place for baseball cards anymore. They are clutter. I get excited about a baseball card, but then I stick it in a box and put it in a closet. Where is the fun in that? Where is the lasting value? As has been said, it is flat out boring. There are so many cheaper and more 'bang for your buck' hobbies out there... like hiking and surfing and biking and running and socializing. In the past, when some adult grew out of the hobby there was a child to take their place. This isn't true anymore and I don't expect it to change.

So that's my take.

 

[Hawk8]

So many good opinions in this thread

 

[shayscards79]

Dying isn't a fair term. It just crashed in the 90s and had a wholesale change. I don't its been declining on yearly basis though.

 

[predatorkj]

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.

So you think the price doesn't deter people? Trust me, I was spending a few hundred a week on comics from 2001-2006. And I still didn't know where to begin when it came to sports cards. Everything was so expensive and there were so many cards and sets and it was just pure chaos wading through the hobby trying to get my feel of things. To a lot of people, I think it's crazy and I don't doubt a lot if folks briefly start and then stop because they just figure to hell with it. At least with comics, if you like any particular character or comic(let's say x-men) there is a feasibly finite amount made, mostly the early issues or few key books are expensive, and everything else is easily obtainable. New issue every month, you get it, it's a few bucks, and you move on. Even the variant covers are somewhat affordable.

With cards, we're talking a lot of money, goals that can't ever be reached, and if you bust boxes or cases, you have no idea what you're getting. In a lot of ways the hobby has kinda wrecked itself. It's fun because we are involved and know the ropes but it's not at all easy to jump into by any means. And if you collect a current player, it can be pure hell. You don't even have a choice of whether or not to get all the cards. You have to pick and choose.

 

[BiggioBrooks755]

But you care. And you are the youngest collector i know

HAHA

I meant like 10-19 year olds

 

[smapdi]

One thing about comics is that the trade-paperback has made it easy for someone to read comics with actually buying a "comic book," meaning an actual floppy. Baseball cards don't have that. Nor do we have billion-dollar movies that suck people into card shops every summer. And Free Comic Book Day totally clowns Free Baseball Card Day.

 

[WATER_DOG007]

So many good opinions in this thread

I totally Agree!!!

 

[stricklcp]

Great thread. Since I just got back into the baseball card game about a year and a half ago, I can only volunteer my opinion from this short amount of time, but I believe it can overwhelm you....if you let it. I started back grabbing up cards that I have always wanted back from my prized possession was my 1985 Topps Dwight Gooden. I got my rookies of Ozzie and Cal, among others. Until it dawned on me one day that the only way to not lose yourself is to narrow your focus (mine being Aaron and Griffey Jr on card autos only). That being said I can also see the thrill of buying card packs or hobby boxes. It's like the lottery.....you may win $5 or $150....but the odds of the big payoff are astronomical......its the wonder of what could be that brings people back.

I agree with some comments that say "dying" may not be the best choice of words, but for me I think it's a market adjustment....filling the need for kids (or attempting to) and adults with the thrill of the chase.

 

[bcubs]

One thing about comics is that the trade-paperback has made it easy for someone to read comics with actually buying a "comic book," meaning an actual floppy. Baseball cards don't have that. Nor do we have billion-dollar movies that suck people into card shops every summer. And Free Comic Book Day totally clowns Free Baseball Card Day.

And you have to have a card shop to have a free baseball card day. There aren't many of those around anymore.

 

[Tpm2780]

I don't think at all that baseball card collecting is almost dead. I actually agree with others on here that higher prices for buying a box of cards has steered kids away from buying packs of cards but I still think the hobby all in all is still strong. I know some people on here don't like how many parallel cards are being released these days and in turn causing more mass production but I look at the positives about it. I think it gives collectors more of an opportunity to get short printed cards of players they really enjoy collecting and in turn it may make those cards more affordable. I think it can make the hobby more fun for collectors being able to collect "cool" looking cards of their favorite players. I see it more as a positive than a negative. Also, I really like how online marketplaces like eBay have given collectors such a great way to find cards that they want to add to their collections that they may not be able to find anywhere else. I think it also gives collectors a great way to meet other collectors out there who use eBay as a way to sell or buy cards for their collections. I have found a lot of nice cards myself on eBay and also have met other collectors along the way. In the end, I think the hobby has changed from how it use to be but has given collectors a lot more to look forward to especially with how many "sick" looking game used cards, etc there are out there. As long as I am enjoying the hobby I will continue to collect!

 

[WATER_DOG007]

fixed

 

[predatorkj]

One thing about comics is that the trade-paperback has made it easy for someone to read comics with actually buying a "comic book," meaning an actual floppy. Baseball cards don't have that. Nor do we have billion-dollar movies that suck people into card shops every summer. And Free Comic Book Day totally clowns Free Baseball Card Day.

A lot of comic collectors I have known and still speak to prefer single issues and only like trades for stuff either too expensive to be thumbing through(ie. books from the fifties or sixties or really high value newer stuff) or for story lines they only have a marginal interest in and don't feel like paying more for back issues.

As for the movies, comics were doing quite well without them. And will do so in the future. And will also always garner the interest of newer and younger generations. Baseball as with all sports, has a season every year. So the only edge comics has there is the fact that comics naturally appeal to new generations and will self feed the cycle.

As far as free comic book day, I haven't seen anything they've given out in quite a while but it was never anything mind boggling.

Cards and comics differ because of what they are and how they can be collected. And not just in the literal sense. Cards are a much steeper cliff to climb. Comics, with patience and a little time, are a lot easier to delve into.

 

[joey12508]

I use to collect in the early 90's stopped for a while picked it up again in 2001. I do think the hobby is past its prime. although the vintage collectors still seem strong. the prospecting niche has seen its peak although people still pay crazy money for whats hot. I am almost at retirement age and my generation are the ones who grew up with many of the stars that no longer play the game today. I hope younger generations find the love and the passion for the hobby as mine have.

 

[ASTROBURN]

Even though you may have collected when you were younger, and now life is filled with changing diapers, or school midterms, someday you will wish you kept the cards you used to own. Theres no money to be profited by selling your collections now that can be compared with the sentimental value your collection will provide later.

i didnt start collecting until i was a sophomore in high school, well past the "kid" expectation for hobby survival. Sold part of my collection at a huge loss to help pay for my wedding five years later. Took what was left and put it away. Five more years passed and i found a renewed interest in my collection. Among mortgage payments, raising my first daughter, and living the forty hour work week life, i found myself thrilled that i didnt sell my whole collection. Now it is the biggest it has ever been, even on my ultra limited budget allowed by my better half.

Kids arent the answer for hobby survival. Its us. We need to keep it alive on our own. To continue our collections without being frustrated and selling it away. If you get frustrated, put it away. Take a break. The cards will be here when you return.

and my opinion on a few other points brought up so far...

Card shops used to be a place to convene with other collectors, a place for interaction. Well, with the birth of ebay and the demise of the card shop, forums like this are now where we can interact with others in the trading card community. Times have changed. Free card day at the shop has been replaced with a Free to Good Home thread. Showing off your hits to other customers at the store have been replaced by Latest Mailday threads. Im not sad that these things have changed. With the way my life is, i cant hang out at a LCS all day. I have a job, a family. Im glad we have a forum online to congregate at or i wouldnt be into my collection as much as i am.

There was a time where i wanted non card items as well as cards for my mancave. But times have changed and i no longer have the space for larger items, so my focus is now 100% on items that fit in a binder. So saying that card collecting is in decline among older collectors because they want larger items is bunk. At least to me it is.

I have two daughters, and even though Alison likes going to games with me, she has no interest in collecting cards. She wants the latest Hello Kitty item she sees in a store. So, for my kids, they wont be collecting baseball cards anytime soon. Maybe its different for boys? I cant add input on this one...

 

[predatorkj]

And you have to have a card shop to have a free baseball card day. There aren't many of those around anymore.

Don't blame comic books for being way more successful than cards. You know, the reason I'd say there are more comic shops around still to this day than card shops, other than popularity, is because they are fair and collector oriented. I've only been to one comic shop in my life that was crap(3rd planet over on Kirby). Every other place was usually friendly and the people running them really liked to stop and take the time to talk about the comics and different aspects of the industry. The prices at the shops were all reasonable too. No overcharging(though from time to time I disagreed with Nan's comics here in Houston) whatsoever. Even on hot new books. No holding back gobs of stuff to put out after it gets hot either. And they carried everything you could ever think of.

I've been to one card shop in this state that's worth a damn and even then, it can be debatable. Some like to overcharge, some like to carry nothing but over priced wax, some like to overcharge you unless you spend at least $200 or more, and even some have owners who look at you like what the hell are you doing here? Even a lot of the collectors you run into can be annoying or just plain antisocial.

All I know is when I used to go to the comic shop, it was a fun few hours. When I go to the card shop, it's not so fun. It's not terrible. But it's really not fun. I'm sure there are shops like that. But not a lot of them.

 

[joey12508]

I totally Agree!!!

Great thread.