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

[WATER_DOG007]

Here is one small example ( among many others I have encountered recently) We all know Troy Tulowitzki is a great player & will prob be a HOF, if he stays healthy. So, I have a 2005 GOLD REF of him- Dropped the price multiple times down to $299 obo (which I was hoping to get $250) a guy offered $100. So here is my question-is this card really worth that= $100? I think it's at least worth $250, am I wrong & why? Just a simple question, please try to refrain from bashing me, if it's no where near $100 card. Im asking cause sales / offers like this make me think " ??"

 

[ChasHawk]

If 1/4 of the crap in this thread is true, why is it more expensive to collect my favorite player now than it ever has been?

 

[mchenrycards]

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.

I think this post is spot on! I have collected since I was 8 years old in 1973 and have been through the ups and downs of this hobby. I will continue to collect but my collection is not based any specific value because the sets I collect have almost no price volatility. I dont try and make money on the newest prospects or get caught up in the Ebay values as I enjoy the cards for what they are...a hobby I started as a child and will continue to collect that way probably until I am dead and buried.

 

[predatorkj]

If 1/4 of the crap in this thread is true, why is it more expensive to collect my favorite player now than it ever has been?

Because we all decided to collect Dawson! Lol...

Seriously, don't let that fool you. Every decent player has hardcore collectors. Yours being a hof'er doesn't make it any easier or cheaper. There's been competition on the Bagwell front but I'm not so sure that's indicative of hobby success.

 

[Johnny G]

Kids are buying heroin and painkillers and playing videogames while texting on Iphone 5's. After all that, who has money for a $5 pack of Bowman Chrome?

 

[bigunitcards]

If 1/4 of the crap in this thread is true, why is it more expensive to collect my favorite player now than it ever has been?

Haha, exactly. I think we need LESS collectors and more people selling off their cards, that way I could find more than 3 Randy Johnson '98 Tek cards per year

 

[e_t_f84]

No, cards are not almost dead. It's still a 200 million dollar a year industry. Compared to the 1.2 Billion industry it was in 91'. The problem was, around 94', the price of the products went up so high, and sales were so low, that card shop owners couldn't recoup the money they invested. So they had to close up shop. As a result, there are around 700 shops in the U.S. Compared to 5,000 in the early 90's. Topps losing an Anti-Trust Laws suit allowed more manufacturers to create cards which over saturated the market. The new companies like Upper-Deck were the first to advertize their cards as investments. It was basically somewhat of a failed experiment based on greed, bad market projections, etc. ...Something like that...

 

[Will Style 13]

I don't think it's dead but it certainly morphed. Card shops and card shows are almost extinct though. I used to be able to go to the card shop every week and a card show at least once a month. Ebay made things convenient but there is no thrill of the hunt anymore. Also Topps license Monopoly isn't good. I like some of the products Panini is putting out but like most people can't stand airbrushed logos. Also Autograph cards and GU (especially GU) are so over done that unless it's a multiple player HOF Auto Relic it's not exciting. I remember pulling even common autos and being excited.

 

[nappyd]

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.

Not to mention you can digitally download(legally and otherwise) comics to read on committers/phones. Cards? Ehhhh

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[Dmscards]

.

 

[ChasHawk]

All these people who keep saying shows are dead, do you check the Beckett show calendar?

I live in rural Illinois and there is a show every week within a decent drive of me.

And several BIG shows per year.

 

[nappyd]

All these people who keep saying shows are dead, do you check the Beckett show calendar?

I live in rural Illinois and there is a show every week within a decent drive of me.

And several BIG shows per year.

Uh no, there's only one big show. He was better in wcw than wwf though.

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[ChasHawk]

Uh no, there's only one big show. He was better in wcw than wwf though.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Freedom Card Board mobile app

And now he's just old and fat

 

[MansGame]

Good read.

Particularly the eBay side conversation. I also hate their fees (I also hate paying taxes) but it's a necessary evil. If you don't want access to the largest pool of potential buyers, keep moving - otherwise, pay the fee and get what is probably your best price.


---
Buying Albert Belle cards! PM me!

 

[Ty Hope]

Sports cards have all but died to me. The only thing I really buy anymore is non-sports and sketch related. Sports cards flat out got boring and tired. No new ideas...

 

[predatorkj]

Sports cards have all but died to me. The only thing I really buy anymore is non-sports and sketch related. Sports cards flat out got boring and tired. No new ideas...

What else is there to do?

 

[Ty Hope]

What else is there to do?

Exactly. Its all been done. As a collector, I always need something new to keep my interest.

 

[Ty Hope]

I also don't want to bring up the whole redemption topic again, but let's face it, they have really put a dent in the hobby. Getting promised a card, waiting for years, and then getting something totally different in return... not a good way to keep customers.

 

[shayscards79]

I throw around the idea of getting out of this hobby from time to time, but it's more than just having cardboard. I really like how in touch prospects keep me into the draft and the minor leagues. I actually like going to minor league games now and knowing who a lot of these guys are.

Also, I also sell on consignment at an LCS that I've become good friends with the owner. In turn by spending so much time there I've got to know a lot of good local collectors that I probably wouldn't see anymore. Not to mention I like coming around here and blowout and seeing what's going on online too in regards to this hobby. There's much more to it.

 

[WATER_DOG007]

I also don't want to bring up the whole redemption topic again, but let's face it, they have really put a dent in the hobby. Getting promised a card, waiting for years, and then getting something totally different in return... not a good way to keep customers.

Another Great Point!