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Thread: The Hobby is Dead

  
  1. #11




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    Also, if you have Gretz rookies in screw downs you haven't realized how much the hobby has changed. Sure, you may not get a buck for those YG's of plugs that never skated in the NHL, but the Gretz in good shape are worth 500-5K dollars. The only PSA 10 sold for over 100K, and a 9 goes for close to 7K and an 8 for $1800.

    Grading is a great example of the hobby shifting, and it has brought a lot of new blood into vintage. I understand many are opposed to Grading and I won't try and change anyone's mind, but check out graded vintage hockey recent sales and tell me that The Hobby is dying! I wish it was, would be much easier to acquire cards!

  2. #12




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    I have to respectfully disagree. The hobby is not dead at all - the hobby is evolving, like everything else in life - 10 years ago, online trading was the thing, it was huge with the Beckett boards, etc. Now the big thing is group breaks, and what I see is resurgence of shows. Is trading down? Yes - but I still see a huge interest.
    aka Bear Ridge Collectibles

  3. #13
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    What a ridiculous concept.
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  4. #14




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    I'm think I'm more into cards now than when I was a kid :) The internet has made it even better!
    Collect what you like. Simple.

  5. #15
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    I've had a fantastic calendar year...notwithstanding the past 3 months. Slowest summer I ever experienced.
    Bring on hockey season!

  6. #16




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    I've been at this since 88. About the only thing that's changed for me is the complete shift from ripping boxes and set building to just buying singles. The complete "lottery" nature of boxes now, while thrilling, just isn't as much fun as buying what I want. Plus it's allowed me to add other stuff (signed photos, actual game used equipment) to my collection I wouldn't have otherwise. All hobbies have ebbs and flows with the only constant being change.

    Though I do freely admit I could seriously do without the parallels. I don't feel compelled to buy them all it's just half the time I'm confused over what I'm buying lol.

  7. #17




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    If your definition of "the hobby" is the health and profitability of the card business, then you're right that things are not what they once were. Overproduction, over saturation and ridiculously high priced releases have forever changed "the hobby". When the entry level packs (OPC, MVP, Score, etc...) are selling for $3.50 and the ultra high end selling for several hundred $$$ for a single pack / card the hobby is not as accessible to new collectors. Some say the hobby has gotten more profit driven. Maybe it has. But the higher prices people pay for cards, the more they need to get something out of it besides a few cool inserts.

    If your definition of "the hobby" is focuses on the collector's and their zeal for cards, I'd say that has not changed. People still love ripping packs and building sets. The internet has opened up a whole new avenue for buying and trading. I've been collecting for over 30 years and still get excited about pulling an insert or autograph (or even a PC base card!).
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    Overproduction, over saturation and ridiculously high priced releases have forever changed "the hobby". When the entry level packs (OPC, MVP, Score, etc...) are selling for $3.50 and the ultra high end selling for several hundred $$$ for a single pack / card the hobby is not as accessible to new collectors.

    This is the jibe of what the author was intending to say, although I think he jumped the gun. It may not be dead, but it is dying. Kids these days don't collect cards simply because it costs too much - as well as the fact that they don't have whistles and buzzers and flashing lights. Kids have other more exciting things to do.

    Two years ago, I bought a box of football cards for each of my three nephews for Christmas. I chose FB because it was the middle of FB season. They enjoyed opening the packs, and then, literally, one of them asked me, "What do we do with them now?" I was flabbergasted that they had no idea. I tried to explain the concept of card collecting, and they got bored after about 30 seconds. On the way out the door that night, their dad had to remind them to take their cards with them, and they looked like it was just another chore -- like taking out the garbage. They had absolutely NO interest in them.

    If a hobby does not inspire kids to replace its dying members, it will die a slow death. My father introduced me and my brothers to stamp collecting, but it did not last long. None of us do it today. Just like the author described the stamp hobby, the card hobby is on the same slope. If you dont get kids interested now, they wont be interested when they grow up and can afford it. We all did it as kids and have either stayed with it or came back. But we all did it as kids. How many collectors out there never did it as kids and only got interested as an adult? You may find one or two, but I doubt you'd be able to uncover more than that.

    So although he jumped the gun, the hobby is not dead, but it IS dying. If you don't replace dying collectors with kids, then the end is inevitable. It's only common sense.

    I do not have kids myself, so there isn't much influence I can wield there. But for about the past 5-6 years or so, I have been giving out cards to kids at Halloween instead of candy. The kids think its cool because its the only "different" thing they get all night. The parents love it because its less candy the kids are eating. I will be the first to admit, it was not a truly altruistic idea. I thought it would be a good way to get rid of some of that 90s garbage without actually throwing it away (something I still cant make myself do). But what I do now is combine some older singles with some newer stuff, and each kid gets a team bag full of cards of all different sports. I include the odd auto or cheap jersey card and throw in some Caps auto'd cards I can get regularly at practice, so some will get that extra thrill. I also throw in a pack or two of brand new stuff (whatever I can get really cheap -- year old blaster boxes are good cheap stuff), so the kids get the thrill of opening packs. I would much rather do that than spend money just on candy. And if I can create a new collector somewhere along the line, then that will be at least one potential customer for my collection after I retire/die.

  9. #19




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    When I was a kid a remember not being able to afford a Score Eric Lindros RC and you know I never pulled one either lol

  10. #20
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    You guys should come to Kelowna sometime - our last trader night had three very well-informed and -engaged young dudes all under the age of 18. And there would have been more if one of the regulars wasn't in Colorado getting ready for hockey season.

    Just because YOU don't see youth hanging out at the card shop when you're there, doesn't mean it's not happening. I lounge at my LCS far too long some days and there is a regular stream of kids coming in to buy sets, browse for singles, and open some packs of cards.

    Don't confuse your own late-summer/pre-season boredom into a projection as to the entire state of the hobby.

    Could the hobby be stronger? Yes.

    Has the NHLPA done what it feels is an important step to reduce some of the over-production out there? Possibly.

    Will hockey cards in some form or fashion exist for the next five years? Absolutely.

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