What has collecting come to?

[cardking80]

There are so many pros and cons of sports cards but what has it really come to? Anyone reading this post loves the hobby but what about those who dont? what about the people who fake autographs and scam poeple of millions each year on fraud involving sports? cards have become more and more flashy and "bringing people closer to the game". As my dad put it the best, " they (the card compaines) are be competing to get the most exclusive part of a player, pretty soon their will be jock strap cards. I mean dont u think card companies are trying to take advantage of the average consumer just a little bit? there have already been game used dirt cards and peices of the berlin wall. i mean what the hell is going on? what do you guys think of this? I think the hobby would be better off if it was more simple. doesnt anybody feel that the millions we spend on cards is going down the drain in a couple years? can u say mass inflamation. o well...i wanna hear what u guys think.....-Ben

[paul06901]

yes I totally agree.....I remember when I had those g/u dirt cards.........they were so hot at the time............now you can pick up a g/u card for a quarter........when UD first came out with g/u the griffey booked over $1000, now you can pick one up for $10.00..............Card companies now try lowering the print run on they're g/u and serial #ering them to make them seem more valuable to the collectors, when in reality they just produce more and more parallels of the same card, so there is truly a bogus amount of the actual card.........Rookie cards, you can find the spx rookie cards with a g/u jersey and an autograph and serial #/d for anywhere from $5-10.......thats rediculously low..........Ive been out of this hobby for hte past 2 years and now im coming back.........and man have a lot of things changed................THere ya go I know others are reading this but im the first to reply....

Thanks,
Paul

[Truerarities]

I agree with some of the stuff said but iam still a bit torn. I mean the overproduction of GU is bad but I am still happy when I pull a GU (even a crappy one), because lol it's sounds corny but it's a piece of the game. Personely I wouldent mind having a piece of the Berlin wall or some dirt from Woodstock (also from the american pie set). So there are pros and cons to toning down GU production. Pros, the collecting value will go up making it a more interesting trading and set building expierence. Cons, it will make getting a GU of your favorite player much harder and kids just buying packs in K-Mart will rarely or never have a chance to get a GU (though with pack searchers this may be the case at the moment). Anyway it is very hard to decide on this subject, imo many collectors say that they would like to go back to basics i.e extremaly rare or no inserts, autos or GU but if it actually happened I believe a majority of collectors would get bored. Anyway just my 0.02.
Kyle

[podstock]

Originally posted by cardking80
As my dad put it the best, " they (the card compaines) are be competing to get the most exclusive part of a player, pretty soon their will be jock strap cards. I mean dont u think card companies are trying to take advantage of the average consumer just a little bit? there have already been game used dirt cards and peices of the berlin wall. i mean what the hell is going on?
Ben

oh yea, that's what we're all waiting for -

GU bat cards
GU jersey cards

and

GU Jock Strap cards

oh boy!, wonder how much A. Rod's Jock Strap GU card will be worth; after all, isn't he a Metrosexual (i.e. admired by straight and gay men -- that's all men on earth!!)

I bid $1500!

lolololol

[DMILES]

ha ha ha lol

[canuhandledisman]

Well i started collecting cards..cause my girlfriend told me..i need 2 et a hobby and stop bein focused on work and school so much....so i decided 2 collect cards becaus ei like sports....my main question....is does anybody have any hints or tips about collecting...cause yall r scaring me tellin me there is no real reason to collect....is ther enaything i should collect thats gonna apprecoiate with value..if not let me know...so i know what im gettin into..and how much money i sould spend on this hobby...........i really only wnat basketball cards

[Truerarities]

If your planning on collecting for money, dont.
Kyle

[Justnuts]

If your planning on collecting for money, dont.

I agree totally. For one thing you'll end up spending more then you make trying to make more and so on. It's way more fun just making card collecting a hobby instead of an investment. And there are all kinds of ways to collect. You can try to build a set, collect your favorite players cards, or favorite team. You could even try building a "type" set of all the basketball cards ever made. A type set is one card from each set ever produced. It's a good way to get the older cards without going for the set that usually the average person can't afford, but you still have a sample of that set.

The bottom line is collect in ways that make YOU happy. Don't worry about what it'll be worth 10-20 years down the road. Just enjoy the hobby for what it is or what it should be...a hobby.

[Molina00]

It would make things a lot simpler if we could go back to the days of having the base set. Maybe a parallel set like the old Topps Tiffany and 2 or 3 insert sets and that's it. It would make it a lot easier to be a set collector since you wouldn't have to worry about the SP's which make it nearly impossible to finish a set without dishing out tons of money. It is fun to pull game used cards but they really don't need to produce so many. Each set should have just 1 or 2 game used sets instead of 4 or 5.

canuhandledisman-if your looking to make some quick money with collecting then don't bother but if your like a bunch of us here and just love sports and enjoy collecting and trading cards then go for. Just buy whatever fits into your budget. Some cards do turn out to be worth the investment but not many and just during the time the player is hyped so there isn't a whole lot of money to be made.

[HowlandIs God]

This is why i starting collecting vintage cards. I am only 16, but have already completed the 1955 set. I work at a cardshop and we buy back GU and autos for pennies on the dollar, they are so common. As for vintage, that is where the real money is. Im sorry to say it, but all the money you guys are spening on GU's will be wasted. In a few years, those will be worth nothing as more and more come out, diluting the price of all other products. Hopefully, the hobby will realize this also, and sway towards the wonderful world of vintage!