How many collectors are there?

[Maggot]

I am amazed at the relative ease of picking up cards #'d /199 these days. I always end up thinking, how many collectors are actually out there?
For Blues cards, they really don't get scarce until you get to #/75 or less. Considering that most of those are probably going to player/set collectors, I've estimated there is no more than about 25 active Blues team collectors like myself.

What do you guys think? Is the hobby stagnant or continually decreasing?

[canucksfan007]

I think there are very few people who go for that 100% mark.

No one tries to do that for teams

No one ( besides tkmullin ) tries to do that for players

Also no one really completes sets ( mins OPC / UD 1&2 / SP Authentic )

I collect Luongo, and will take every parallel / jersey I can ... for $2 or less.

I dont think its that there arnt enough collectors of card "x" to fill the /199 copies, I think that people are smarter with their money and unless at a show, where they dont have to pay USD ( for Canadians ) or shipping charges, many people will pass on that /199 card.

[creasecollector]

I think it's stagnant right now. The UD Monopoly doesn't help matters at all, either. The same recycled stuff can get stale for some after a while, which is why more licensed companies and different types of products would be great for the collector right now.

Now I know people can hate on Panini, but when they were involved there was a lot more stuff to chase for collectors. Whether it was sets, players, or teams, there was more for everyone to create a better collecting experience.

Now how Kendall (TkMullin) does what he does is just insane. That level of player collecting with one of the best goaltenders of all-time in Marc-Andre Fleury is just mind blowing to me, and good for those collectors who can do that, because it's not easy. There have been a number of high profile collectors who collect those star players, and each one continues to impress me everytime I see it.

Even for the not so well known players, 'true' player collecting can be difficult due to the rising shipping costs as well.

[Thick McRunfast]

Stagnant.

I'm not much of a modern collector, but when I look at the products today, here's what I think:

(1) There must be millions of serial-numbered cards out there at this point.
(2) There must be millions of memorabilia cards out there at this point.
(3) There must be millions of autographed cards out there at this point.
(4) There must be millions of combination serial-numbered / memorabilia / autographed cards out there at this point.
(5) There must be millions of poorly designed cards out there at this point (e.g., I have a Joe Mullen jersey card where he's pictured with the Calgary Flames, but the jersey swatch is black)

So as a collector, how do you stay as interested or dedicated as you were years ago? The market is flooded with the same stuff each year. If I were a player collector, I think I'd just be looking for the select few cards that really appeal to me, and I'd leave all the other noise alone.

It's tough. As a card manufacturer, what do you do next to keep collectors interested?

[theboxbreaker96]

Theres just too many parallels/jerseys/autos out there that most people don't have much interest in picking them up. Its so stagnant for me. I cant even tell you how many times Ive switched my PC. I only collect HOF Autos/ High end Pens Rookies/ and vintage memorabilia. Sure I pickup some lower end Pens Rookie stuff like Sprong and Maatta but how many Sprong/Maatta Autos RCs do I need?

A lot of "collectors" are after the big cards. Therefore those parallels and jerseys are nonexistent in their collections.

[RGM81]

Looking back on it now, it’s probably accurate to say that 2015-16 changed the way many people collect hockey cards. The advent of McDavid (and Matthews to a lesser extent) has really shifted people away from grabbing what they can of as many players on their favourite team towards a more limited, almost “investment” style of grabbing cards.

The market for middle and lower tier players has pretty much bottomed out—COMC & eBay are over saturated with common YG’s at rock bottom prices.

The apparent need to have McDavid cards as “case hit” level hits meant that UD needed to make more Shane Prince and Jacob de la Rose cards than anyone could ever need.

Meanwhile, other stars are signing less and less, due to any number of reasons, making it difficult for UD to keep casual collectors engaged for those types of products like SP Authentic. If there’s little hope of hitting players you like, where the incentive to throw down those big dollars for a single box that can run you as much as $150?

And team performance also plays a big role in things. Habs fans had little to cheer for on the ice this season, while UD still hasn’t got any Weber autos, Carey stuff is always SSP, and it took them until after the season ended to get meaningful Drouin content. Even one of the most active fanbases in the hobby had a real cool down year.

There’s obviously still enough people collecting...or at least, cracking, to keep things sustainable in the short term. But I think that these super high end products like reconfigured Black Diamond, Splendor, etc are going to struggle in future years if the rookie crop isn’t strong or there’s not strong inclusion and access to high end players that meets the price point.


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[apod417]

As a Blues collector I find it pretty easy to pick up anything above /50 and most SP cards. I have had a harder time picking up low number parallels this year as opposed to the last 2 years, I dont think people are breaking as many boxes this year for obvious reasons. I'm starting to think the expo had a low turn out too, I still cant find a parayko midnight /25 only 2 have popped up on ebay and I was beat to the punch both times.

Imo the lack of a generational talent rookie and the fact that the 2 top picks can't sign for UD slowed things down this year.

UD needs to slow it down on the rookies too, I picked up all the Vile Husso cards I could including a few 1/1s, but the kid really didnt deserve a rookie card he sat on the bench for one or two games. But here I am buying them anyway so whos fault is it really lol.

[pwaldo]

People can now collect like a 100 different ways so there is that. I mean 25 to 30 years ago you basically could only makes sets and that's it. Now there is so much that a lot of collectors only focus on a small niche and ignore stuff like #D cards or something else since they have no interest in it.

[30ranfordfan]

People can now collect like a 100 different ways so there is that. I mean 25 to 30 years ago you basically could only makes sets and that's it. Now there is so much that a lot of collectors only focus on a small niche and ignore stuff like #D cards or something else since they have no interest in it.

This is a really good way of putting it.

If you look around online, you'll find people that still build sets, there are player collectors, there are "I collect big names, because I'll be able to flip these for cash quickly" collectors. There are rookie card collectors, there are team collectors, there are autograph collectors, and game used collectors. Probably a few other types I'm not thinking of.

Team Collectors: No way, no how, that anyone is trying to collect all cards of a particular team. Maybe from a specific release, but all releases? It's impossible.

So who is chasing that card /199 ??? If there are few set collectors chasing it, that creates demand for a few copies. Player collectors? After that, there is likely nobody putting it on a list of cards they really need to own.

Upper Deck's shift to catering towards "rip & flip" products - they also ensure that a high percentage of copies of a card end up online, for sale. If a card is limited to 199 copies - yes, that's relatively scarce. If there's no more than 30 people actively searching for that card, and 120 people have one and want to get rid of it.... the prices aren't going to be particularly high.

[odjickfan]

One thing that led to this point is the accumulation of cards over the years. Since the end of the 1990s, there are tons of rookies, inserts, jerseys, autos and numbered stuff produced year after year. At one point, you can't continue to fill the house with more and more stuff. At some point, you become more picky on what you want to add to your collection, there's a move from quantity to quality.