Baseball Card story on the CBS Sunday Morning Show

[travistrue]

Always watch this show before going to church Sunday mornings. Today they had a story about baseball card collecting and why kids are not in the hobby.

Sorry if this was already posted. Couldn't get to my laptop until now.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-3445_16...use-of-cards/?tag=cbsnewsTwoColUpperPromoArea

Travis.

 

[Saro3317]

Thanks, good story

 

[bdangelo]

I honestly thought the piece was skewed, not enough balance. The card collecting industry isn't what it was 20 years ago, but I don't believe it is dying. One check on these boards can refute that. People are buying smarter and not spending as much, true. But there is still lots of product out there to collect.

 

[David K.]

If its drying...whos buying all of the new stuff?? : ) Best regards, David

 

[mintman2]

I HATE stories like this one !

Have virtually no interest in watching the video after reading the article. Right out of the gate the statement "Now, in Parsippany, it's just a few white, middle-aged men like..." turned me off. Something wrong with middle aged white men ? And WHITE was the objective word.

And then the following ones:
"Today the show is a long home run from the mid-1980s when...."

"By 1991, more than 3 million people were collecting baseball cards
And then, the bubble burst. The card business struck out."

"Today it's down as much as 75 percent."

That's like comparing the prices of tulip bulbs in the mid 1630's to the prices today, or better yet the prices of tulip bulbs in the 1650's. There was a BUBBLE, just like with cards, where insane speculation and overvaluation drove prices beyond all reason. 400 years later tulip bulb prices STILL haven't recovered. LOL

The bulb market is alive and well. As is the trading card market.

 

[Motown G]

Yeah, it was kinda one-sided for sure! Interesting story, though.

 

[metsman1986]

Working part time at a LCS, most of the buyers are white, but not middle aged...............About 10% are 15 years old or younger................It's all economics really, the kids can't buy the higher $ stuff and the investment bankers can....................Set building is not "in vogue", big hit, low #'d auto's are..................

 

[valediction]

If its drying...whos buying all of the new stuff?? : ) Best regards, David

The same people who were buying it in the early 90's, and THAT is the issue. Baseball cards used to be on every street corner. When I was a kid in the 80's I used to try to go with my dad when he put gas in the cars, so I could get baseball cards. I used to walk to the drug stores and grocery stores. There was a strip mall about a mile away from our home, I used to walk there as often as I could because the Town Drug drug store sold baseball cards, the Lotito's IGA grocery store did, the Tom Thumb convenience store sold them, then another mile or so farther, another mall with another grocery store, a Snyders drug store, and a Ben Franklin store that sold them, and some years, even the liquor store had a box at the cash register. Today I can buy them at Target, my local K-Mart has a handful of blasters, mostly non baseball and 2-3 years old, the 2 closest Wal Marts to me do not sell cards, I haven't seen them in grocery stores or gas stations for years, most drug stores are out of business aside from Walgreens and CVS, neither of which carry cards in my local stores. 7-11's moved out of Minnesota, so I don't know if they still sell them, Tom Thumb went from being a national chain down to being a mostly Alabama/Florida company, Ben Franklin is a shell of what it used to be, I think there might be 3 or 4 in the state somewhere, Woolworth's is dead (though technically I think Foot Locker was an offshoot). Kay-Bee toys died, Toys-R-Us isn't the force it used to be, Children's Palace/Child World went belly up. Local card shops are few and far between, and with the rise of internet sales, while cards may be more accessible to you and me than ever before, to a kid that's 9-10-11, they are harder to find and more expensive than ever before, and I think THAT was the point the article was getting at.

 

[montserratplay]

I agree that I was a little surprised to hear race involved in the story, even tangentially.

First of all, the Topps monopoly needs to end. Then they need to get cards back where kids can actually purchase them. We all grew up asking our parents for a little extra money so we could buy a pack of cards when we went to pick up milk. There needs to be an Opening Day-type set for $1.50 in every grocery store and drug store and gas station possible.

 

[mj23bullsfan]

bring it back to minimum number of brands, minimum number of cards, inserts etc...

there's wayyyyyyyyyyy to much game used, auto, #d, this, that, and the kitchen sink.

if they want to put all that stuff in there, then make it more scarce. don't put a rookie card in each pack, or an insert.

basically, stop mass producing and over inserting, just because you want to make money. the cheaper they make the packs, the more middle class america can purchase, they more they will sell.

just my opinion. i just loved it back in the day when you actually could afford packs and boxes, and it was more about collecting, that trying for the "big hit" so you could make a profit.

paul

 

[redbird4]

Seems they geared the story towards baseball only especially when mentioning the 1994 strike. True, baseball cards may have been the early front runner but there are millions of football, basketball, hockey and non sports card collectors as well.

I personally love going to card shows but there are zero locally. Would have to travel 100 or more miles to get to one. I think someone mentioned above my post about the computer. Why would I travel so far (gas prices!!) when I can go online and get the cards I want delivered right to my door? Scouring different sites like the Bench or Ebay for bargains is like going through the bargain boxes at a show!

I really dislike waiting for the mail though and always loved having the cards in my hand right then-and-there.

 

[Yankeeswin]

That show is pretty dead- it's a Tuesday night show. One of the reasons for the lack of kids is that their Dad's were burned 20-25 years ago with the overproduction.

Love going to shows but they aren't wrong, it is middle aged white men. Big problem that I see for kids is that other than Walmart and Target, there are no retail markets. I don't see them in local supermarket chains, bodegas, convenience stores, and drug stores. That's where I used to get them. Walmart and Target are ruined by adult losers pack searching. Kids that do want to collect and don't have anyone pushing them get the hint real quick.

 

[rangersfan1982]

Very interesting story...

 

[Yanks21]

They are coming out with (or its already out) a Reality show about a LSC in I think Maryland, Oh and it is owned by an African American and his son. I would have to think if the producers of Pawn Stars came out with this show there would have to be some type of interest in the hobby still.

 

[lprimus]

They are coming out with (or its already out) a Reality show about a LSC in I think Maryland, Oh and it is owned by an African American and his son. I would have to think if the producers of Pawn Stars came out with this show there would have to be some type of interest in the hobby still.

I saw that show this past weekend. Ball Boys, if I recall correctly. It's basically a copycat of Pawn Stars, except it's based out of a sports card shop. Mildly interesting.

Jason

 

[redbird4]

That show is pretty dead- it's a Tuesday night show. One of the reasons for the lack of kids is that their Dad's were burned 20-25 years ago with the overproduction.

Love going to shows but they aren't wrong, it is middle aged white men. Big problem that I see for kids is that other than Walmart and Target, there are no retail markets. I don't see them in local supermarket chains, bodegas, convenience stores, and drug stores. That's where I used to get them. Walmart and Target are ruined by adult losers pack searching. Kids that do want to collect and don't have anyone pushing them get the hint real quick.

No retail markets at all it seems. Man, I remember the day hiking to the nearest 7-11 or local grocery store to buy as many packs as I had money for. Then I would turn around, mow some lawns to get enough money to buy more!

Back when there were shops all over the place (early '90's?) people would treat you like your were nuts for buying retail boxes from Wal-Mart. The inserts and such weren't even close in comparsion to hobby boxes. Sadly it seems for some of us that's all there is anymore. The last card shop we had here in Salem was in 2006 and it lasted 6 months tops. Next closest shop is at least 50 miles away. *sigh*

Shoot, we don't even have a Target to compete with Wal-Mart.

 

[baberuth#3]

They need to stop producing so many of those expensive packs with GU and Autos galore because they are bringing the value of the cards down and the average kid cannot afford them. I think the big problem is, kids collect them at a young age and then get tired of them later.. video games and the internet are probably a big reason.

 

[montserratplay]

Well, let's all look on the positive side. (Not the easiest thing for me.) I have given cards to the friends to give to their children in the past. I am 100% sure that you guys and gals have done the same. Baseball has proven itself to be a resilient sport and card collecting has also proven itself to be a resilient hobby. We were in an ebb...soon, we will be in a flow. (Once there are cheap base packs in convenience stores and grocery stores and gas stations.)

 

[metsman1986]

Well, let's all look on the positive side. (Not the easiest thing for me.) I have given cards to the friends to give to their children in the past. I am 100% sure that you guys and gals have done the same. Baseball has proven itself to be a resilient sport and card collecting has also proven itself to be a resilient hobby. We were in an ebb...soon, we will be in a flow. (Once there are cheap base packs in convenience stores and grocery stores and gas stations.)

I saw a package of cards at a Rite Aid (drug store chain) today that was unusual..............It was last years Topps baseball that had 2 packs, 12 cards each, in a clamshell with a cardboard back for $4.99................Looks like it might have been repackaged by a third party................Maybe cards are coming back strong! Just gave a friends kids all my 2012 Topps series 1 dupes...............They would just be collecting dust otherwise.................

 

[greyminis]

I love collecting cards. And I know a lot of other people who do too. Part of the reason some card shows and some hobby shops are dying is that it's pretty easy to get what you want without leaving the comfort of your own home. Technology has changed everything, even the cards themselves. There is certainly oversaturation of the market with product, but all of us here like at least some of what is being released.