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What is the ONE thing you hate most about the current state of the hobby?
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Brewer Andy
Active member
- Aug 10, 2008
- 9,634
- 21
Honestly just wish it was more kid-friendly or that there was more youth involved. Surprisingly I think my nephew is in to football cards but its pretty rare when I hear about a kid collecting
MOFNY
Active member
I wish boxes were less expensive. For Topps it seems every single product looks identical. Every product must have GU and autos. Where are the unique designs and the heart? Plus, where is the quality in a base set? I used to collect the Finest, Gold Label, etc. base sets.
Bob Loblaw
Active member
One licensee and the result of same; laziness on the part of the holder and "incomplete" cards on those who don't own a license.
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Casebusters
Active member
Not enough baseball products, with a 25 man roster for each team
MojoDan
Active member
- Aug 22, 2008
- 30,348
- 1
That base cards mean almost nothing. It has to be an auto, game used, or refractor to be worth anything to most people. I miss the simplicity of getting a big name in the sport from a pack and having others want to trade for it.
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hofmichael
New member
The one thing that irratates the XXXX out of me is presells.Wax has become the stock market.I refuse to pay inflated prices for product so I stopped breaking wax.
Actually collectors drive me more mad than anything. People haven't learned anything from the 90's hype days. People are still willing to way overspend on RC autos and the most recent coolest thing (now it's Topps Update AS Jersey patch/autos). In 2 years those same cards, regardless of how the players perform will be worth less than paid at the top of the hype as people move on to the next big thing.
You want reasonable wax prices, well people need to stop feeding into the hype.
You want reasonable wax prices, well people need to stop feeding into the hype.
jwc9p
New member
I didn't know there was another answer!
ChasHawk
New member
This.
Topps, UD, and DLP should all still have licenses and Panini should still be making soccer stickers.
For me it's probably case breakers and the exclusive Topps license. I don't know something just rubs me the wrong way about guys who are looking just to make money and have no interest in collecting. Plus feel like they're a huge part of the reason for over production, increased box prices and the devaluing of cards. With the exclusive license, just hate having no alternative and think it has caused complacency.
Sent from my DROID RAZR using Sports Cards by Freedom Card Board.com
Sent from my DROID RAZR using Sports Cards by Freedom Card Board.com
Bob Loblaw
Active member
You really need to do some research, Mario. Case breakers have been around since the early 80s.
ChasHawk
New member
And are the reason we are able to buy the cards we want for our collections.
JustinG08
New member
Same here. I am so sick of all these $100+ products or on the rare occasion a product delivers a reasonable value prices are immediately sent through the roof.
I actually think that there are too many baseball products (and football...eesh). I think if Topps limited itself to one base set (with updates), one prospect set (with updates) and one high-end set (with all of the neat inserts wrapped into one product), it would be more appealing to the uninitiated. As it stands, the products are nearly identical, cater to niche markets and divide up the collector base. To be honest, my favorite Topps set is eBay. I pick and choose what I want without a care about the "new set". I know this is a bad business model...you want to have the new thing each month so collectors don't get bored. But if there were three sets, each with massive print runs and all inserts rolled into those cardinal sets, you might see something closer to the halcyon days of the hobby.
I also dislike the casebreakers. A LOT. They are the crucial and complicit second stage to the pyramid scheme that is our hobby. It bugs the pants off me that, because I do not dish out my money in advance (I actually am not able to!), I can never have the chance to get a nice card first and get that nice $$ bump. If the casebreaker model really is only profitable if they get to be "first", they aren't adding value. They are extracting money from market conditions that they (and the companies) set up so that both can guarantee optimal sales. Topps only lets you get it first (aka, make the big money) if you agree to buy a chunk of their product (so their butt is covered). It jacks up prices and removes a fun and profitable part of the hobby from 99.9% of us. I don't buy the whole "it allows us to get our nice things" argument. I buy a good deal of cards from people that break a box here or there. Casebreaking (and by this I really do mean the whole release date casebreaking or buying and sitting on bulk) is a collusive mutual market manipulation scheme. it bugs me so much that I pretty much don't buy on eBay from anyone with more than 10000 feedback.
(off soap box).
I also dislike the casebreakers. A LOT. They are the crucial and complicit second stage to the pyramid scheme that is our hobby. It bugs the pants off me that, because I do not dish out my money in advance (I actually am not able to!), I can never have the chance to get a nice card first and get that nice $$ bump. If the casebreaker model really is only profitable if they get to be "first", they aren't adding value. They are extracting money from market conditions that they (and the companies) set up so that both can guarantee optimal sales. Topps only lets you get it first (aka, make the big money) if you agree to buy a chunk of their product (so their butt is covered). It jacks up prices and removes a fun and profitable part of the hobby from 99.9% of us. I don't buy the whole "it allows us to get our nice things" argument. I buy a good deal of cards from people that break a box here or there. Casebreaking (and by this I really do mean the whole release date casebreaking or buying and sitting on bulk) is a collusive mutual market manipulation scheme. it bugs me so much that I pretty much don't buy on eBay from anyone with more than 10000 feedback.
(off soap box).
TBTwinsFan
New member
Where do I start... Well, I will just pick 2.
-Lack of retail products. This may just be me, but it seems like companies aren't putting as much out on the retail market anymore. Say what you want about retail, but I just enjoy opening cheap packs and thumbing through the cards. It's not about the hit ratios or the values for me.
-To much emphasis on prospect products from Topps. I honestly don't care. Prospects are boring. I know it's the money maker for them, great, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. Also, I am not a person who complains and then goes and buys 3 cases of the stuff.
-Lack of retail products. This may just be me, but it seems like companies aren't putting as much out on the retail market anymore. Say what you want about retail, but I just enjoy opening cheap packs and thumbing through the cards. It's not about the hit ratios or the values for me.
-To much emphasis on prospect products from Topps. I honestly don't care. Prospects are boring. I know it's the money maker for them, great, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. Also, I am not a person who complains and then goes and buys 3 cases of the stuff.
uniquebaseballcards
New member
- Nov 12, 2008
- 6,783
- 0
What I hate most is: too many eBay sellers. Many people who sell are unprofessional and have to sell and/or flip in order to stay in their hobby niche, this is in addition to all the unprofessional people who don't collect cards and only look to make money off those that do collect. All the selling and flipping makes the hobby expensive for real collectors; I suspect many wouldn't be here if they were unable to sell unfortunately. Selling is time-consuming and frustrating work for most people that takes time away from collecting.
Second most thing is: lack of appreciation for the hobby in general with some people here. I don't understand why some people bother hanging around if all they do is complain about the state of the hobby... most of these people would still complain even if what they wanted came to pass. I suspect some people don't have enough balance in their lives and expect too much out of cards to fill that void. Learn to adopt and appreciate the small things and all the ways to collect.
Third: lack of appreciation of small things such as photography and base cards. Too many people only appreciate 'hits' - and selling them (see #1 above).
Second most thing is: lack of appreciation for the hobby in general with some people here. I don't understand why some people bother hanging around if all they do is complain about the state of the hobby... most of these people would still complain even if what they wanted came to pass. I suspect some people don't have enough balance in their lives and expect too much out of cards to fill that void. Learn to adopt and appreciate the small things and all the ways to collect.
Third: lack of appreciation of small things such as photography and base cards. Too many people only appreciate 'hits' - and selling them (see #1 above).
ChasHawk
New member
Some people bang the same drum all the time too 
