DISQUS

Jennson · 1 year ago

a similar thing happened in comic books too where the publisher began to take advantage of the collector by printing the same comic in multiple covers and creating these humongous epics that involved every character in their roster. Not only that, but they steadily increased prices of comic book issues in the 90's to the point where each book is about $3 an issue now. It got to the point where Marvel overleveraged and had to file for bankruptcy. I just simply could not keep up anymore and have since chose a handful of titles that I could read up on my own time. I totally agree with you that collecting just becomes a chore after a while and it's just nowhere near as fun as it used to be.

KC · 1 year ago

With baseball cards ( as well as comic books) the companies aren't focusing on children nor should they be... if their goal is to make money. I'm 35 and have collected baseball cards since I was 9. As a child and teen I could never afford the cards - even at 35 cents a pack getting lots of cards wasn't easy. However as an adult I can pretty much buy anything I want...and I do. These hobbies are no longer for children and I'm not sure they should be. How can a child compete financially with me when I can spend $1500 on a case of cards that I want? And there are lots of other people out there like me - they are accountants, lawyers, computer programmers, etc. Kids won't be able to compete in an adult hobby.

But my suggestion to anyone with kids is to just let them collect what they want. You are talking about pieces of cardboard with pictures of 20 year olds on them. They are not an investment. They can burn up in a fire, become damaged in a flood, be trampled on by the family dog. Your kids should collect what they want - be it Mets players, cards with pictures of catchers in their gear, players with the same birthdate as them.

Also there are certain products that are geared to less expensive collectors. You'll know by the price on the pack. If its a $1 pack of cards chances are its just cards, nothing fancy - which is great to some people, even me sometimes :) If it's a $10 pack of cards then you can expect to get an autograph or a game-used jersey or bat card. That's what drives up the prices - the "quality" of what's in the pack. So stick with the lower dollar items and you'll have fun at the hobby. But mostly just collect what YOU want - whether you are a child or an adult - that's what makes the hobby fun.

Oh and as for collecting just a certain teams Topps cards or every card on a certain player...I've given up too. There are just too many 1 of 1 cards out there. If I like a player I just try to get as many cards as I want/afford. There will never be a way to get everything anymore. I suggest you just try to get a card of every player in a MEt's uniform that year...1 David Wright, 1 Jose Reyes, 1 of Joe Schmo relief pitcher if he has a card made that year. Then you don't care about brand so much, just getting a card of each player if they have one in a set that year.

VTCastle · 1 year ago

Nice article and I agree as a lifelong collector. It's true that "your Dad's tactics" of taking you to the corner store for a pack of $0.99 Topps is over, but in a way it almost shows the maturation of the entire hobby.

As a holder of some the highest value cards out there, I find the research behind the investment to be rather enjoyable. Then again, I'm a stock trader so the research aspect of any investment comes w/ the territory.

My particular strategy is checking sites like Ebay or Naxcom for the "new and upcoming" star, and grabbing a few of his rookie cards of the manufacturer who's card demands the highest price. This has worked very well for me when considering examples like ARod and even newcomer Evan Longoria.

Doobie · 1 year ago

I gave up collecting cards about five years ago, even though the industry tanked before that. I just couldn't justify spending that kind of cash for something that was just going to sit on a shelf or box that no one besides me would notice.

Adam · 1 year ago

What you say is true - the cost of baseball cards exceeded their value in fun to you. I think the action word there is you. If you had decided that the collecting was more important, you would have scaled up that part of the hobby and enjoyed that. Probably, you enjoy baseball more than you enjoy baseball cards - I know I do. I loved collecting baseball cards as a kid, but now I enjoy playing catch and taking my kids to (minor league) games more than baseball cards.

Two last items:
1. I work closely with an art auction house. The people who are experts in the various items (modern furniture, american furniture, various paintings) all started as collectors, some as baseball card collectors. It is a collecting thing rather than a baseball thing.

2. I took my older son to the all-star fanfest last week. We had cards made of ourselves, got autographs, played games - all for the price of admission (about $25). At the end of the day, he turned to me and said - can we do this next year. (Answer - no, it is in Missouri).

Dave · 1 year ago

It sounds like you're about the same age as me (28) and had a similar experience with baseball card collecting. I loved collecting cards as a kid, but gave up on it in 1994 mainly due to there being too many sets, the strike that year, and the fact that I developed other interests as I got older. But I have gotten back into collecting this year. I've found that it's best to just ignore the sets that are out there that are too expensive or just aren't interesting to you. If you focus on 4-5 sets per year, or even less, collecting can be a lot of fun today. Some suggestions would be Topps Heritage, Allen & Ginter, Goudey, and Upper Deck. Try buying a few backs and see what you think.

I'd also recommend checking out my blog (Fielder's Choice) or an even better blog called Wax Heaven to get the perspectives of people who have gotten back into the card collecting hobby recently. You'll also find links on our blogs to many other card-related blogs. Reading some of them is a great way to keep informed about the current hobby and talk to other collectors and former collectors.

Patrick · 1 year ago

For me it was a combination of everything you listed above - getting older, too many card sets and variations to keep track of, and the high prices. I collected through high school when a friend and I frequented games at the Astrodome. We collected hundreds of autographs. It was a time I remember fondly. I don't collect any longer (at least with any purpose or regularity), but I do buy at least one pack of Topps cards every year. They end up sitting in a stack not doing anything, but a couple dollars is worth remembering the times I had growing up.

reddyfreddy · 1 year ago

Lots of baseball fans are turning to collecting posters. The Cincinnati art museum just created a limited edition poster of a portrait of Pete Rose painted by the pop artist Andy Warhol. It's pretty cool. When I called to get mine, they said the phones have been ringing off the hook! People still love Rose.