I think you're on to something. How many kids do you know today who are allowed to 'hike' anywhere? I was 9 or 10 years old and my parents let me and a buddy walk to the drug store I mentioned that was about a mile away. we had to walk 4 blocks along a very busy street (it was a main exit off of a freeway), then up a hill that made your legs burn, once we got to the top of the hill it was two or three blocks to the street by the local airport, then 4 blocks to get to 5th St where the strip mall was. That had the grocery store and the drug store, then, if we crossed 5th St (one of the two main roads at that end of town) we got to the convenience store. Who allows their kids to do that anymore? And what kid has that kind of time? My sister has 2 boys and a girl ages 8,10, and 12. I call my sister on Tuesday to see what the kids are doing this weekend that a good uncle may want to watch. I'm lucky if I get a call back by the weekend. Dance, gymnastics, hockey, baseball, football, scouts, religion class...every night two or three of them have activities, plus homework, plus actual games, then there's the travelling tournaments, if they get any down time it's playing the Wii or Nintendo DS. Kids these days don't seem to collect anything. I went to a coin show last weekend looking for some junk silver. It was like the card show described in the article. I walked in the building, looked around and muttered to myself "I'm 40 years old and aside from the waitress from the upstairs bar, I might be the youngest one here. I was at least 15-20 years younger than every dealer, I did see a smattering of people who were younger than me walking about, but 98%+ was white and male and older than me. I have the 2 nephews and a niece, 3 other cousins have 7 more kids between them, 3 more on my dad's side, and I have 5 more cousins who are about 18-22 years younger than me, and I can't think of anything ANY of them collected other than Pokemon/Yu-Gi-Oh cards, and that lasted about a summer and a half. Do you know many kids that collect Matchbox or Hot Wheels cars? Comic books? Stamps? Marbles? I don't. It's not just sports cards/non sports cards that are hurting. Kids just have so much going on these days and are so protected, I'm not sure I'd want to be a kid today.
Baseball Card story on the CBS Sunday Morning Show
- Thread starter travistrue
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I think you're on to something. How many kids do you know today who are allowed to 'hike' anywhere? I was 9 or 10 years old and my parents let me and a buddy walk to the drug store I mentioned that was about a mile away. we had to walk 4 blocks along a very busy street (it was a main exit off of a freeway), then up a hill that made your legs burn, once we got to the top of the hill it was two or three blocks to the street by the local airport, then 4 blocks to get to 5th St where the strip mall was. That had the grocery store and the drug store, then, if we crossed 5th St (one of the two main roads at that end of town) we got to the convenience store. Who allows their kids to do that anymore? And what kid has that kind of time? My sister has 2 boys and a girl ages 8,10, and 12. I call my sister on Tuesday to see what the kids are doing this weekend that a good uncle may want to watch. I'm lucky if I get a call back by the weekend. Dance, gymnastics, hockey, baseball, football, scouts, religion class...every night two or three of them have activities, plus homework, plus actual games, then there's the travelling tournaments, if they get any down time it's playing the Wii or Nintendo DS. Kids these days don't seem to collect anything. I went to a coin show last weekend looking for some junk silver. It was like the card show described in the article. I walked in the building, looked around and muttered to myself "I'm 40 years old and aside from the waitress from the upstairs bar, I might be the youngest one here. I was at least 15-20 years younger than every dealer, I did see a smattering of people who were younger than me walking about, but 98%+ was white and male and older than me. I have the 2 nephews and a niece, 3 other cousins have 7 more kids between them, 3 more on my dad's side, and I have 5 more cousins who are about 18-22 years younger than me, and I can't think of anything ANY of them collected other than Pokemon/Yu-Gi-Oh cards, and that lasted about a summer and a half. Do you know many kids that collect Matchbox or Hot Wheels cars? Comic books? Stamps? Marbles? I don't. It's not just sports cards/non sports cards that are hurting. Kids just have so much going on these days and are so protected, I'm not sure I'd want to be a kid today.
My card fix was down a very long hill, maybe 1 mile or more and then a few blocks worth to a family grocery store. We lived on a somewhat rural island at the time and the ride was maybe 1/10 of the travel we would make on an average day. Sometimes we were gone for 5-6 or more hours, just exploring. I was 9 or 10 around that time.
Later, when I was a bit older, I would take a ferry to Seattle and walk to the Pike Place Market or nearby Belltown to the couple card stores I was familiar with in Seattle. I would never even consider letting my kids do that these days!
I am not sure I believe the hobby will die completely, but I do see a steady decline in the future. It is too expensive. If it does die out, it is bound to be rediscovered at a later date and revived. Look at how many older collectors seem to be coming back to dabble. Although they are the older folks the article may be talking about, they left and came back. It is reasonable to expect kids down the road to become interested in cards years from now.
Later, when I was a bit older, I would take a ferry to Seattle and walk to the Pike Place Market or nearby Belltown to the couple card stores I was familiar with in Seattle. I would never even consider letting my kids do that these days!
I am not sure I believe the hobby will die completely, but I do see a steady decline in the future. It is too expensive. If it does die out, it is bound to be rediscovered at a later date and revived. Look at how many older collectors seem to be coming back to dabble. Although they are the older folks the article may be talking about, they left and came back. It is reasonable to expect kids down the road to become interested in cards years from now.
LOL
Isn't one of the Yogiism's something like "Nobody goes there anymore because it's so crowded" ?
I enjoy browsing the card shop, one of only a handful still open. This guy buys like crazy though, so there is always something new.
I don't buy packs anymore and not sure I would unless they came down to the 80s pack pricing. I could enjoy some 2012 Topps for $0.20-0.50 per pack like the good old days (and I'm sure some of you had even cheaper "good old days").
In the end, it just isn't fun busting $3-4 packs and having a half dozen cards to show for it. As I have said all along, the lottery mentality took over and now you are really just buying for a chance at something big. You almost never have your money's worth after busting packs. Even think about a 1992 Donruss box being sold at a bargain price of $5. Are you going to have $5.00 worth of cards when you are done? Not likely...Only if you beat crazy odds and pull an Elite insert!!!
I hate to use words like "worth" and "value", but that is what collecting has come to and there is always something better to do with your money, so it needs to be worth the money you are spending. If you justify most of the cost to "entertainment", then you'll always be happy with the results.
I don't buy packs anymore and not sure I would unless they came down to the 80s pack pricing. I could enjoy some 2012 Topps for $0.20-0.50 per pack like the good old days (and I'm sure some of you had even cheaper "good old days").
In the end, it just isn't fun busting $3-4 packs and having a half dozen cards to show for it. As I have said all along, the lottery mentality took over and now you are really just buying for a chance at something big. You almost never have your money's worth after busting packs. Even think about a 1992 Donruss box being sold at a bargain price of $5. Are you going to have $5.00 worth of cards when you are done? Not likely...Only if you beat crazy odds and pull an Elite insert!!!
I hate to use words like "worth" and "value", but that is what collecting has come to and there is always something better to do with your money, so it needs to be worth the money you are spending. If you justify most of the cost to "entertainment", then you'll always be happy with the results.
After mowing or raking someones yard, we used to ride our bikes and make the circuit of the 3 local stores that carried cards. now there aren't any. Even if there were, when was the last time some kid came around and offered to mow, rake, or shovel for you?
Too much liability to let them mow or shovel. Plus they have to get dressed up like a catcher to ride their bikes around the Cul de sac, much less to a store.
I know people who have lived in the same place for ten years now and still don't know their neighbors except the ones right next door. My grandmother and her kids keep in touch with all the old neighbors and their families, even if they move away. They still get invites and notices to graduations, weddings, funerals. Today most people I know don't even keep emailing each other once they move. We're more connected but less attached than we've ever been.
It's funny, I was actually at that card show that they mentioned "Mr. Mint" was at (around 2:40 in the video).
I've gone to that show every year for the past few years (even found quite a few cards from that "Bargains" table they show), and it seems like there's more people each time. It also seems like more and more kids are there with each passing year as well, at least to me anyways.
While the video did have some good points, I don't think it came close to the full story. The hobby has dropped off in recent years, but I wouldn't categorize it anywhere near "dying".
I've gone to that show every year for the past few years (even found quite a few cards from that "Bargains" table they show), and it seems like there's more people each time. It also seems like more and more kids are there with each passing year as well, at least to me anyways.
While the video did have some good points, I don't think it came close to the full story. The hobby has dropped off in recent years, but I wouldn't categorize it anywhere near "dying".
I agree. I don't think it's dying, just changing. I do pretty much all buying from my computer--which is great -- but I miss the face-to-face interaction.
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houbb
Guest
There was a severe course correction in the hobby in the late '80's and early '90's, and prices dropped like a lead balloon after the work stoppage in '94. Like anything, what goes up must come down. It happened with cards. It will happen with gold, silver, anything that is going up these days, too.
That kind of course correction was bound to happen as cards that weren't worth a whole lot suddenly were worth a ton. Case in point, the '68 Topps Ryan rookie. Keep in mind that was an early series card, and didn't have a short print release like the last series when no one was buying baseball in late '68. A friend of mine went to the National in the mid '80's and picked up 10 near mint-mint Ryan rookies for less $40 a piece. A short few years later that card started soaring around $1500. This was for a card that was only 20 years old at the time. When something goes up like that it's going to go down.
Course correction.
Are as many people in the hobby today? Probably not. Course correction. How many of those were there for a quick investment? Course correction. Are hobby owners today concerned this hobby is dying because they don't see a lot of kids come into their shops or shows? Sure. But they still come in. When I went to my very first show in '76 I was a teenager and the youngest person there. No kids. All adults and middle aged men. That was 35 years ago and the hobby grew from that and exploded in the '80's. The same thing can happen again for cards. Same is true for comic books. Neither are going away.
You can put a camera in a small card show like CBS did, and it paints a visual of the health of the hobby, but it is nowhere near accurate. People today don't drive to card shows when they can get what they're looking for on the 'net, in a fraction of the time it takes to sift through cards. AND they can do it in their jammies. The internet changed that. Back in the late '80's and early '90's, there were card shops on almost every street corner. They have since closed up shop, but they still exist today on the 'net and ebay. Technology changed that.
That kind of course correction was bound to happen as cards that weren't worth a whole lot suddenly were worth a ton. Case in point, the '68 Topps Ryan rookie. Keep in mind that was an early series card, and didn't have a short print release like the last series when no one was buying baseball in late '68. A friend of mine went to the National in the mid '80's and picked up 10 near mint-mint Ryan rookies for less $40 a piece. A short few years later that card started soaring around $1500. This was for a card that was only 20 years old at the time. When something goes up like that it's going to go down.
Course correction.
Are as many people in the hobby today? Probably not. Course correction. How many of those were there for a quick investment? Course correction. Are hobby owners today concerned this hobby is dying because they don't see a lot of kids come into their shops or shows? Sure. But they still come in. When I went to my very first show in '76 I was a teenager and the youngest person there. No kids. All adults and middle aged men. That was 35 years ago and the hobby grew from that and exploded in the '80's. The same thing can happen again for cards. Same is true for comic books. Neither are going away.
You can put a camera in a small card show like CBS did, and it paints a visual of the health of the hobby, but it is nowhere near accurate. People today don't drive to card shows when they can get what they're looking for on the 'net, in a fraction of the time it takes to sift through cards. AND they can do it in their jammies. The internet changed that. Back in the late '80's and early '90's, there were card shops on almost every street corner. They have since closed up shop, but they still exist today on the 'net and ebay. Technology changed that.
Theres a lot of people to blame but I blame MLB/Selig the most. Opening day used to be huge for our National Pastime. Now the opener was in Japan when we were all sleeping. I bet most didnt even know it was on and unfortunately more didnt care. JMO.
AJ
AJ
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houbb
Guest
Ahhhhhhh, Selig. The man has a vision. Unfortunately, it's myopic at best. He's so focused on trying to expand MLB and make it an international league, but fails to notice he only has one franchise outside of the US in MLB. He used to have two. That shrunk under his lack of leadership. Markets the size of Vancouver or Calgary can also sustain MLB franchises but have never been considered.
I digress.
If you have never seen "Ball Boys," (I confess I haven't yet) here's a link to the show's trailer...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dt_Rj7EHD28
It's not a knockoff of "Pawn Stars." It's produced by the same production outfit that produces that show and "American Restoration." I'm most concerned with the time slot. Saturday afternoon? That's death for a network show. AMC put more thought behind the placement of their show, "Comic Book Men," than the idiot programmers at ABC did with this show. I hope I get a chance to see this show.
I digress.
If you have never seen "Ball Boys," (I confess I haven't yet) here's a link to the show's trailer...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dt_Rj7EHD28
It's not a knockoff of "Pawn Stars." It's produced by the same production outfit that produces that show and "American Restoration." I'm most concerned with the time slot. Saturday afternoon? That's death for a network show. AMC put more thought behind the placement of their show, "Comic Book Men," than the idiot programmers at ABC did with this show. I hope I get a chance to see this show.
H
houbb
Guest
3pm Eastern Time/2pm Central Time on Saturdays.
http://abc.go.com/shows/ball-boys/?cid=abccomsearch_results
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