Results 11 to 20 of 30
-
05-11-2005, 02:01 PM #11
tutall is correct on the high end stuff - it's all about supply and demand, so that's why those are still everywhere. Until companies start losing lots of $ on them and need to search for a different innovation to keep people interested, we will continue to see them.
Anyway, I still think there are enough low-end products to keep collectors interested, because the card producers also realize there are cheap people who still like the collecting aspect over the price aspect. In basketball, we still have Topps, Fleer Tradition, Fleer Platinum (well, not this year), Hoops, and Upper Deck's base set (although I miss their MVP and Victory lines). Topps also came out with Total this year, which is geared almost exclusively toward set collectors (yes, we are still out there!). They also have the Bazooka line.
As for player collectors - true, all the 1/1 cards and other low serial numbered cards make it impossible for one to collect every card of a certain player, but that doesn't mean we can just stop collecting players entirely because we can't get each one! For Lamar Odom, I just focus on most of his base cards. And when I am looking for singles, I can still get some fairly nice Dwyane Wade cards for a few bucks.
-
-
05-11-2005, 02:20 PM #12
IMHO, I blame Ebay first & foremost for the problems we face these days as collectors, and the manufacturers next... sure we can all blame the dealers who play the game & even ourselves for being the pawns... but the Internet, not just Ebay, has made it easier to obtain the cards we want, driving down the price to obtain the cards (i.e. availability increased). I remember when I was a kid, you had to go to a card show in hopes of finding the cards you wanted, or checking classified ads for listings on people selling cards. We've come a long way from that.
With regard to the manufacturers, most of you share the same feelings I do... too many sets, not enough quality. Dealers are trying to survive... many have gone out of business because they can't afford to compete with the internet & rising costs... just how it is. I would rather see less sets with more cards like the Topps Total or UD-40Man than the Exquisite & whatever super expensive thing they come out with. We also can live without so many low end sets... it just creates more dead trees that people don't want to collect.
-
05-11-2005, 06:16 PM #13
Did Becketts kill the hobby?
With the help of a few other things, yes.
-
-
05-11-2005, 10:08 PM #14
What exactly is dead? It sounds like we're all still collecting quite well. People trade on this site and others all the time so the trading aspect is still there. Yes some cards are too expensive and player sets aren't completable but on the other hand there's a lot more cards of your player to collect. I would venture that most of us enjoy the hunt of collecting and set building and, speaking for myself at least, are a little let down when a set is complete. In contrast to the expensive cards you have eBay, so you can get the cards you want for much cheaper and a lot more readily.
I understand that the advent of eBay has killed dealer business but that's the death of dealing, not collecting.
In regards to the buku sets out there I disagree. Options are a great thing. Think about it, how exciting is it really to go to the store and choose between either Fleer, Topps, or Donruss sets like it was in '87? That's basically all there was for packs for like the whole year, 3 sets, that's it. I'd much rather have the variety all year long like we do now (although my wallet certainly disagrees!).
Just my opinion.
-
05-11-2005, 10:18 PM #15
Sorry this just reminded me of the Buggles hit - yes you know the one!!!!
Video Killed the Radio Star
-
-
05-12-2005, 01:08 AM #16
while everyone is ranting about the companies ill say that i find it almost embarrassing and humiliating when companies dont change the base cards from sport to sport...
ill pick on topps total i havent bought any total of this year, but i know the 03 football and 03 baseball all used the same card outline. all they changed were the pictures and stats. how hard is it for them to come up with different designs for each sport...lazy.
-
05-12-2005, 06:51 AM #17
Originally Posted by S.A.M.
If by "we" you mean people on this site, you're right. The topic of this discussion, however, came from the point of view of two guys who don't collect anymore because of the price and saturation of the market. Their point was that the fun was taken out of it for the average fan who wanted to pick up a few packs now and again; they argued that more and more people got into collecting to make a buck, and less and less people collected simply because they had a love of the particular sport. Baiscally, they felt collecting has become more of a business and less of a hobby.
I'm not saying I totally agree with this, I was just interested to see what others who still collect think.
-
-
05-12-2005, 07:26 AM #18
I do agree that there are more people in it for the money. A friend of mine as school has older cards but stopped collecting. I asked him to go through his cards and look for players I am collecting. During his search he found some semi-high end cards and decided that he was going to put it on e-bay. He then got some cards off e-bay just so he can sell them later. He has no respect for the hobby, doesn't keep up with the sport, which may be beside the point. (venting here now). Why people do that, I will never know. I am not saying that everyone that just sells cards is in it for the money and doesn't have respect for it, dont get me wrong. But its the people that make it like a business (excluding hobby shops) sorta gets to me.
-
05-12-2005, 06:19 PM #19
Well here are two known facts:
1) Whatever Beckett states...usually doesn't sell for that price unless it's a rarity...like a Lebron James SPX RC...which books to around the Book Listing. Otherwise...cards are usually sold on eBay or exchanged by hands through baterring. Even Beckett states that their guide is not the exact or actual prices but just a "Guide". Why do you think it's called "Guide"
2) eBay didn't do nothing bad...they did wonders for the SportsCard Hobby. Just imagine if you had a Brendan Haywoode 1/1 Auto...and couldn't find nobody to sell it to or was getting low quotes from friends or buyers in your area...and the only way to get true value is to find a UNC-Chapel Hill/Washington Wizards fan to buy it. eBay made that all happen...and not only with one but many. So your getting true value for your cards. Hell I remember one day back in 1993 or 1994 and I pulled a Jeff Bagwell Stadium Club 1st Day card which was an awesome pull since they were 1 per box and there was like 500 cards in the set...and I couldn't find nobody to buy it and finally just dumped it for like 5 bucks when it booked for 60 bucks. And at the time...those 1st Day cards were hot in the industry.
So eBay made the hobby BETTER. Beckett made the hobby stable. Otherwise...you would pay 1,000 bucks for a Jordan Auto and later end up feeling ripped off because you saw the same Jordan Auto for 500 bucks.
-
05-13-2005, 02:01 PM #20
Originally Posted by Nasty_Boy
i would have to disgree with some of this... Ebay is awesome for me as i am a player collector but you have to understand that not all card collectors trade/buy/sell online... think of it this way
say there are 5 BIG sportscard sites with 8000 registered members on each... that is a high nuber because there are only 3 i can think of that actually have that many members.. that is 40,000 people on trading sites... now you have to take into account the double members who might be a member of both, the non active members who posted about one card they had or something and left, banned user account etc.... then you add in Ebay.. maybe another 10,000 card collectors... are you telling me there are only 50,000 people that collect cards? a lot of people still go to the c ard shop and pay 75-80% BV.. i see it at my shop all the time... that is where beckett gets their value... lets face it... how many times have you gone to a card show and seen cards marked at WAY above Ebay Prices? all the time... if they could sell them for that much on ebay they would probably save themself the time and money for a table and put them on there... but there are collectors who A. dont have access to the internet, or B. Dont want to take the time to look on there and enjoy going to the hobby shop all the time.. i know for me personally when i go to the hobby store i willl spend quite a bit on singles i need for my magglio collection because i know what i am getting and i am buying from a local store keeping them in business... I think beckett goes by the average price of card shops/shows... obviously if they went by ebay prices the marks would be much lower but that is not all they take into account
-
