Stras/Heyward contributing to higher prices for all cards ?

[mmier118]

I was just wondering if you guys thought that Strasburg and Hewyard exploding have contributed to higher prices for all cards? The main reason is as these prospectors make money off of this guys they are able to spend more money on other cards. I know that all the money I made on these two just went to get me some nice PC items that I wouldn't have normally gotten. I've bought things from 90's inserts to PSA graded cards from the 50's. These are things that I would not have bought this year if these to guys didn't pan out. Also these guys bring new people into collecting, I know for me I really hadn't bought a ton of cards until this offseason, and I've read of a lot of people coming back into the hobby. Believe it or not the Topps exclusive helped me coming back, since the reason I left was it was just too confusing with so many brands but now i can have a good feel for it again, and there are some great young players to follow / learn about. Could we be seeing a resurgence of the hobby again? What are your thoughts?

 

[sportscardtheory]

My sales have been going up since Heyward/Strasburg2010.

 

[Topnotchsy]

It definitely makes some sense. There's also the element that the sales are bringing people into the hobby (someone joined here just yesterday mentioning Stras was the reason why, and the guy who bought the Stras Superfractor was someone who had been out of collecting for a while.

I honestly had not taken your insight into account, but I certainly can relate to it. I recently sold a big card, and it definitely allowed me to do more buying.

 

[matfanofold]

Without having to get in to specifics as to why I believe this, I'll simply say yes.

 

[sportscardtheory]

lol It's the Heyward/Strasburg vortex. It has sucked-in money from the outer-edges of the collecting world to invigorate our hobby. Bravo, young lads!!!

 

[ThoseBackPages]

TOPPS FTW!!!

 

[nborton]

I think it has a large effect, and I think the large decrease in products issued has influenced things as well. There just isn't as much to buy even if there weren't too insanely hot guys in the products. I guess from a sellers standpoint it's a good thing to have fewer sets made.

 

[brouthercard]

I don't think it's specific to stras, heyward, or any other player from any sport, per se, but if there is simply a hot item out there, people will spend.

The money for the hobby has always been there, people just need a reason to spend it.

 

[uniquebaseballcards]

But the hot item is Stras...the non-collectors buying have little or no clue about different brands. Whatever's out there when the time is right wins.

One could say a major goal of selling is to get non-collectors to buy cards, particularly at a moment's notice.

I don't think it's specific to stras, heyward, or any other player from any sport, per se, but if there is simply a hot item out there, people will spend.

The money for the hobby has always been there, people just need a reason to spend it.

 

[tikitomoka]

I've alaways been a football guy (with a little basketball), and stayed far away from baseball, but all of the Stras talk definitely got me into baseball cards. The hype around Stras is something that I have never seen in my life, and it has gotten me more excited about baseball in general as well.

 

[predatorkj]

I think its gotten people who don't normally buy baseball cards back in. It draws your attention when a card that could have been pulled from a pack made this year can fetch 16 large. Many people my age and maybe a little older and maybe a little younger are scratching their head and probably thinking "maybe I ought to start up the old collection again". What will be the real test is when they do decide to, and they dig all those old cards out of mom and dads attic and take them to the shop to see what they are worth. Once they find out all the cards from their childhood are worthless...will they still be interested? Because as far as I have seen...there have been a lot of people who do this same exact thing and get turned off by it thinking that if they get into the hobby again, they will just be wasting money. Maybe the actual thought that new cards can be valuable and can maintain some sort of value will dig the claws in a little deeper for them.

 

[mmier118]

I think its gotten people who don't normally buy baseball cards back in. It draws your attention when a card that could have been pulled from a pack made this year can fetch 16 large. Many people my age and maybe a little older and maybe a little younger are scratching their head and probably thinking "maybe I ought to start up the old collection again". What will be the real test is when they do decide to, and they dig all those old cards out of mom and dads attic and take them to the shop to see what they are worth. Once they find out all the cards from their childhood are worthless...will they still be interested? Because as far as I have seen...there have been a lot of people who do this same exact thing and get turned off by it thinking that if they get into the hobby again, they will just be wasting money. Maybe the actual thought that new cards can be valuable and can maintain some sort of value will dig the claws in a little deeper for them.

i don't know if finding out your old cards are worthless neccesarilly would turn people off to the hobby, for me it was the opposite, i went to my parents house and donated a ton of 80's and 90's commons but found a few cards that held in ok 84 fleer update, 82 ripken traded etc then discovered i can get the 85 mcgwire for $4.00 and the 86 canseco for $2.00 and started collecting the cards i loved as a kid, kind of built the collection i would have dreamed of as a ten year old. Then i discovered jersey cards were super cheap now, then the elite inserts, now i'm buying auto's and vintage psa stars with my flipping proceeds, it's a crazy progression. I got sucked into the collecting vortex again, and i don't think it would have happend if I would have spent a few hundred on Heyward and he didn't perform causing me to sell them back on ebay for a loss.

 

[ElwayHOf2004]

I feel as someone who had Stanton, Posey, and Carlos Santana cards to flip that those guys did not get the appropriate call up bump due to the attention Strasburg got. In fact, Santana's autos are virtually the same prices they were in May

 

[G $MONEY$]

The Hockey Market went through a very similar "boost" with super hot rookies in 2005/06. Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin and Dion Phaneuf all had RCs in the same year and it brought in a whole lot of new collectors and brought back a bunch that collected in the 90s. That 2005/06 season was one of the most amazing and exciting years i ever had in this hobby and was also the first year of a super premium product, The Cup, entering the Hockey market.

I wonder if Baseball will ever get a super premium product? or is it something that just wont work in baseball?

 

[predatorkj]

I think its gotten people who don't normally buy baseball cards back in. It draws your attention when a card that could have been pulled from a pack made this year can fetch 16 large. Many people my age and maybe a little older and maybe a little younger are scratching their head and probably thinking "maybe I ought to start up the old collection again". What will be the real test is when they do decide to, and they dig all those old cards out of mom and dads attic and take them to the shop to see what they are worth. Once they find out all the cards from their childhood are worthless...will they still be interested? Because as far as I have seen...there have been a lot of people who do this same exact thing and get turned off by it thinking that if they get into the hobby again, they will just be wasting money. Maybe the actual thought that new cards can be valuable and can maintain some sort of value will dig the claws in a little deeper for them.

i don't know if finding out your old cards are worthless neccesarilly would turn people off to the hobby, for me it was the opposite, i went to my parents house and donated a ton of 80's and 90's commons but found a few cards that held in ok 84 fleer update, 82 ripken traded etc then discovered i can get the 85 mcgwire for $4.00 and the 86 canseco for $2.00 and started collecting the cards i loved as a kid, kind of built the collection i would have dreamed of as a ten year old. Then i discovered jersey cards were super cheap now, then the elite inserts, now i'm buying auto's and vintage psa stars with my flipping proceeds, it's a crazy progression. I got sucked into the collecting vortex again, and i don't think it would have happend if I would have spent a few hundred on Heyward and he didn't perform causing me to sell them back on ebay for a loss.

This is exactly what happened to me minus finding any of my old cards. I got rid of those when I was about 10. But I pretty much went after what I would have loved to have had as a child and then it grew. Especially because of the GU and auto aspect. When I had peeked back into the hobby off and on throughout my hiatus, I always wished to own some of these types of cards but they were super expensive. 40 bucks for one jersey card of Andruw Jones here, 30 for a Greg Maddux and I said no way. But when I got back in in 2006, it had cheapened a lot and I had gotten the itch long enough. Especially when I found actual card shops.

IMO...a person really has to feel there is a positive to getting back into the hobby. Like they can get a foothold and carve out their own desireable collection without too much hassel.For me, the prices of cards, my lack of knowledge of the hobby at its current point, the sheer amount of cards that I would want to obtain, and the sheer amount being made day in and day out, it just seemed too overwhelming to me. Plus I had already sunk so much time and investment into comics and action figures. The only way I ever made the jump is because I was lucky enough to be able to trade one commodity for the other. For everyone it is different. If I hadn't of found someone to trade my comics for cards...I probably wouldn't have been too interested in switching over. Luckily for me, the stuff I like for the most part is somewhat cheap.

 

[predatorkj]

The Hockey Market went through a very similar "boost" with super hot rookies in 2005/06. Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin and Dion Phaneuf all had RCs in the same year and it brought in a whole lot of new collectors and brought back a bunch that collected in the 90s. That 2005/06 season was one of the most amazing and exciting years i ever had in this hobby and was also the first year of a super premium product, The Cup, entering the Hockey market.

I wonder if Baseball will ever get a super premium product? or is it something that just wont work in baseball?

They have some nice stuff(had actually). Exquisite and such. But baseball seems to be too much of a niche hobby to allow any one sort of product to dominate. People like way too many things. And every product appeals to a certain niche. Want to build a nice set then you go with topps. Want a premium rookie, go with bowman. Want insane patches then go with Prime patches or some such Donruss product. Want endless parallels then go with M&M. Want retro then take your pick. It just varies. It just seems baseball has been around so long that the collectors of its cards are a lot pickier than they are in other sports. It seems basketball guys and football guys only want to bust high end and care absolutely nothing about base and rinky dink inserts. Baseball seems to have to cater to a much varied crowd.

 

[ElwayHOf2004]

I also feel that some young starts haven't seen the appropriate bumps in prices. David Price Sterling autos go for the same or less than they did in the winter. He's had a great year. Also, Colby Rasmus hasn't seen the surge you would expect from having a huge year. I thinkt he mega-rookie attention of a few has left some guys still under-priced despite being well known young stars

 

[uniquebaseballcards]

Yes, this makes me remember that there is an overall ceiling as to how much can be spent by all people currently active in the hobby. There's not enough people out there to support everything.

With so many choices, certainly some stuff may seem undervalued but the only way for some cards to increase in popularity and/or value people not previously active in the hobby would need to become active...or otherwise other stuff needs to loose popularity and/or value to balance everything out.

I also feel that some young starts haven't seen the appropriate bumps in prices. David Price Sterling autos go for the same or less than they did in the winter. He's had a great year. Also, Colby Rasmus hasn't seen the surge you would expect from having a huge year. I thinkt he mega-rookie attention of a few has left some guys still under-priced despite being well known young stars