Today's card Market: We're killing it!!

[jameslacarte]

Usually when you say your killin something its a good thing but not this time. Are we slowly killing the market? I think so. all you have to do is look at cards from the last 2 decades to see that. Yg's that were once $200 are now $20 & so on & so on. Lets take a good rookie #'d /99, it could be worth $200 or a lot more depending on the player but you get another rookie from another set of the same Player #'d /99 & its worth nothing!! I dont get it!!
I know, your gonna say its about how many people want that specific card & i get it but we're killing the market slowly but surely. Unless you collect the Elite of the NHL(Gretzky, Orr, Howe, the elite of the best of all time), eventually your cards will be worthless cause somebody can always get them for cheaper,(at least thats what they say anyways)..
Thats my other favorite line- your cards is worth nothing because it isn't desirable.. Hmmm, thats funny cause alot of people are asking about that card, sounds pretty desirable to me.
-or my other favorite- I can buy that card on EBay for $5. Sorry but i looked & i dont see the same card listed for even close to that price but because some guy 2 years ago needed some cash to buy his next fix,(i mean box or card) thats what you base your value on? Smoke another 1 Pal, you need it!!
I get told my card is worth $10 yet i see 2 others listed for over $100 each so where can you find this card for $10, thats my question?

Slowly but surely we are killing the Market so everyone should just collect Gretzky, Orr & the other Elite Superstars #'d /20 or less or eventually your cards will be worth Jack!! Just some food for thought from a guy who has an absolute @hit tonne of worthless cards!!!

[RGM81]

This has been an ongoing issue since the McDavid boom. The market is polarized; the influx of new collectors are not interested in team projects or set building, only McDavid and the latest flavour of the month; to satisfy these new wave, McDavid after McDavid gets pumped out, with little to no emphasis on mid-range players and semi-stars; to satiate the McDavid lust, the production cost goes up, which of course gets passed on to the customer; long time collectors get frustrated, rinse and repeat.

[subban7677]

This is why people just need to "collect what you like". I like the Habs. I collect the Habs, and nothing else. I rarely, to never, check book or sale value of the cards I own because, quite frankly, I don't care what the prices are.

[canucksfan007]

You seem to be too worried on what your cards are worth. I have a bunch of stuff that I flip ( not only elite players ), I am more picky on what I pay and what I let them go for. Then I have my PC stuff. I have overpaid greatly for cards I want, especially in the Luongo collection. Do I care what my PC is worth, not at all, but I cant say the same for all of my cards.

Taking the last 2 decades is not very fair when you compare values. The internet / forums / facebook / IG has made collecting a lot easier. Back in the year 2000, you might have only had a few card shops and a monthly show ( if you were lucky ). Your avenue for finding PC cards was pretty small, and when you finally did find that ultra rare insert /1000, you had to pay a pretty penny for it.
@jameslacarte

- I would like to know which YGs you were referring to, when you said "Went from $200 to $20". All YGs start off hot, thats not "killing" the hobby that is actually boosting the hobby. Most of them come down, thats the way it goes,, but there are some that go up over time. A lot of older Young Guns actually did decently well in holding their value, when you compare e-pack to non e-pack to pre Crosby lockout. Every era has their expensive YGs, that hold value or even go up or hold demand fairly well, the mid tier that doesnt seem to have any chance at moving but is by no means low end, and the low end that can be had for under $1.00. In all honesty, this just seems like a vent with not much backing to it.

- Your second point, is simply based on what people like + supply and demand. There is SOOO MUCH for people to collect now a days, we have the privilege to buy what we like ( lets save this statement for later ). There are not many completionists anymore in the hobby, and why would there be? Companies make it impossible for people with even the biggest bank accounts to accomplish that goal. Sets like The Cup, SP Authentic, Young Guns, Ice. They have a following. They are staples. They are widely recognized by the collecting world as the best, the most sought after and if you cant afford to buy everything, the ones to go for. Thats why all SPA FWA /999 sell more than their non /99 Ultimate counterparts. If you know and understand the hobby, you know why a FW /999 out sells an SPGU Auto Patch /49.

We the collectors are not killing the market. Flippers and people who bust just to sell are not either. There is only one thing to blame for this, and for hockey its Upper Deck. Like I said before, there is SOO MUCH for people to collect, that we cant collect them all. The "low end" set is now non existent. The "mid end" sets are 1 pack products that cost more than $200. Just look what happened over the years to some pretty big name sets:

Black Diamond (before the product configuration change)
- 24 pack box, 2 quad diamond hits including 1 rookie. 1 parallel, a couple jerseys and the chance at an auto. Cost - low $100

Black Diamond (after the product configuration change) - sorry if im wrong with the following, I dont bust this garbage.
- 1 pack box. 1 base card? 1 rookie / retro rookie / rookie parallel / how many of the same card with a different color or different picture of the same guy can we fit in here. A couple garbage "hits" and most of the time an auto. Cost - over $200

SP Game Used (before the product configuration change)
- 6 to 8 packs a box. Every pack has a hit ( jersey / auto / patch ). Rookies numbered to /999, with 3 tiers of parallels people can understand. Usually a box contains 1 patch and 1 auto. The title of the product actually give you "GAME USED" content Cost - mid $100

SP Game Used (after the product configuration change)
- 1 pack box. Base cards - 1 per case as now all are SP. Rookie cards, 1 per case as now all are SP. "GAME USED" Banner cards? "GAME USED" heres a piece of net that might have nothing to do with the actual player. And the combos, sometimes make no sense at all. How about a rookie parallel, that is the players age + his weight - his height x the number of girlfriends hes had + 1000. Also, the All Star game is not for the everyday hockey fan, its for the kids. Do I want anything All Star Game in my collection. Absolutely not. Using All Star pics, gross. Using All Star memorabilia, gross. - Cost - over $200

I dont want to even get into the gong show that Trilogy is now.

My point is, every product today has to have some sort of rookie auto, rookie auto patch, tribute rookie auto, tribute rookie auto patch, true rookie .... and thats just the rookie auto and all its parallels. That doesnt count the rookie inserts, and all their parallels to go along with it. Sure, looking at a single card might look like its short printed, but in all honesty its not even close to 10 - 15 years ago. It doesnt matter what the serial on the card states, unless you want that one specific card, there are TONS of auto rookies ( parallels or true ) of Quinn Hughes to choose from when the year is done.

The average collector can not afford everything, they have to be picky, thats why staples are chosen and the garbage new stuff usually is not.

Richard is also completely correct with the McDavid phenomenon. The hobby 100% shifted when McDavid entered the league. Everything other "star" FW after McDavid has been effected by the McDavid Phenomenon. Every other "star" YG or YG Canvas gets more than they should, and its all thanks to the 15/16 season. This is also a main reason the price of wax continues to climb. Was Pettersson / Marner / Laine really more hyped than Malkin / Price / Tavares / Stamkos / MacKinnon. Not at all. Is there a reason why the later years all out sell the earlier years ... all has to do with McDavid.
@jameslacarte - I looked through your sales thread, and found cards I wouldnt mind owning. But once you say "dont ask for my price send me an offer or I will ignore" its a big red flag to me, and I would think a lot of other potential buyers. Your cards, your prices. By saying that, it looks like you are going to fish for more money than a card is worth and will most likely come out to not making a deal. If you are a motivated seller thats actually looking to make sales. Have nice clear pictures.State your asking price, and if you are accepting offers or not. Dont make your customers do all the work when youre the one who wants to sell

[piper1]

James,

There have been posts like this before and your point is one of the main reasons why I stick to trading with traders. I take it that someone has caused you to feel the need to vent your spleen to the entire forum but the best course of action is to block that individual altogether, so forget about them and enjoy your hobby.

[jameslacarte]

Just venting. Its not just 1 instance though, it feels like an everyday thing now. I liked trading but its become a pain in my @ss instead of being fun now.
@canucksfan007- I put make an offer because apparently i always ask too much,(someone can always get it cheaper lol). I dont deal with COMC & rarely EBay so i dont know values & i dont know how to check sold Ebay cards either but like i said above, just because someone dumped a good card for $5 doesnt mean i will. As far as EBay & COMC go i can only see what similar cards are priced at to buy now, so, if i see the same card listed for $100 & someones offering me $10 thats a bit insulting. You always have the option to buy the other card for $100 or go without, thats how i see it>

Its taken the fun away from collecting for me & i know members that have left for the same reason

I will just put them away for another 50 years & maybe the grandchildren can make a whopping $50 some day...

[jameslacarte]

@canucksfan007-did it take you all day to write that novel? it took me all day to read it!

[canucksfan007]

Just venting. Its not just 1 instance though, it feels like an everyday thing now. I liked trading but its become a pain in my @ss instead of being fun now.
@canucksfan007- I put make an offer because apparently i always ask too much,(someone can always get it cheaper lol). I dont deal with COMC & rarely EBay so i dont know values & i dont know how to check sold Ebay cards either but like i said above, just because someone dumped a good card for $5 doesnt mean i will. As far as EBay & COMC go i can only see what similar cards are priced at to buy now, so, if i see the same card listed for $100 & someones offering me $10 thats a bit insulting. You always have the option to buy the other card for $100 or go without, thats how i see it>

Its taken the fun away from collecting for me & i know members that have left for the same reason

I will just put them away for another 50 years & maybe the grandchildren can make a whopping $50 some day...

@jameslacarte

If trading is more of a pain than fun for you ..... maybe you need to take a break from trying.

If you state you do not follow COMC or ebay prices, then yes you are probably right in you charge too much. I think I posted in one of your sale threads that you were looking to sell, and the immediately quoted BVs. You need to realize that BV has nothing to do with cash values and what things actually sell for. BV does not equal $$. This whole post youve just dug yourself a hole. I dont know what im selling, I dont know the value of what im selling things for, I dont know how or refuse to use tools to find these values ..... and yet somehow everyone else that seems to offer lowball offers are in the wrong? Not the 1 guy whos stating prices too high, because he admits he does not check anywhere for prices .... but the countless other people who all seem to think the same thing. Sound logic there.

" if i see the same card listed for $100 & someones offering me $10 thats a bit insulting" - You could not be more wrong with this comment.

Asking price is asking price. Saying you dont know how to check completed listings is simply foolish, it is one button. I can ask $100,000 for each one of my cards. You continuously say you wont sell something based on what "someone dumped a good card for $5", but what if 10 people sold that card in the $5-$10 range? Are you just smarter than the rest? Do you have some insider trading on that card and when its going to go up to your expectations?

If its not fun for you, move on. If members leave because the hobby is changing and they are unable to keep up thats on them as well.

Youre entire post above shows everyone that they are not the issue, its the guy who's trying to move their cards at random prices because he "dont deal with COMC & rarely EBay so i dont know values & i dont know how to check sold Ebay cards either"

You seem to be the most qualified person for the job .... I think theyre hiring at Beckett

[canucksfan007]

@canucksfan007-did it take you all day to write that novel? it took me all day to read it!

No. I type more than 10 words per minute ..... its not an issue for the people who grew up using a keyboard. I actually did it while feeding my 2 year old his lunch.

Im sorry, ill try and keep things simpler for you. I also dont read at a third grade level.

[cheevers]

I am nothing more than a simplistic collector. I was going after everything that came out almost but have put it down to UD Series 1,2 & Update. Every once and awhile, I'll see a new set that catches my eye and go after a select few cards. When I'm caught up with UD, I'm going after OPC from 1968, the year I started collecting. UD has ruined collecting with its 10 types of the same card, - /01 - /05 - /10 etc., etc. Just my .02 cents.