You might have seen our story about Tim Carroll, a collector who takes common cards from the last 25 years or so, cuts them up for the color and creates his own classic "cards". He made a T206 Wagner and a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle this spring. His latest project is a 1965 Topps Joe Namath rookie card. Cool looking art.
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Speaking of sports art...Benjamin Blackburn has created two new Albert Pujols pieces just in time for the All-Star game. He works with mahogany to sculpt beautifully detailed pieces. View his work at Wonderboy Studios.
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Panini is out with its latest football card set, Donruss Classics. Take a look below. Have a great weekend!
One of the developments I've noticed this year is the number of dealers, collectors and others in the hobby starting to embrace social media.
When I set up Sports Collectors Daily's Twitter account last year, I found only a couple of hobby-related people had signed on. Since then Twitter has exploded. I'm still not sure of its long-term merits. But it's hot--and it's an easy way to share quick opinions, updates and stories that don't always make our pages.
Facebook is an even bigger phenomenon. What started on college campuses is now quite mainstream. We've launched a new Sports Collectors Daily Fan page, which includes our RSS feed, a few photos and other related bits. I'm also trying to get better about posting some notes on the Wall from time to time. It's a great way to connect--about hobby issues and just general stuff on a more personal basis.
There are plenty of big-time hobby businesses who haven't signed up for either Twitter or Facebook yet and some that have aren't utilizing it at all. Yes, it's "another thing" that takes time but I can tell you that you're crazy if you don't get on board. It's a huge, virtually untapped market. It doesn't take a lot of time to add something to your pages. And it's FREE advertising.
One mistake some hobby businesses have made, though, is to turn it strictly into a marketing tool. If you want to succeed in whatever kind of social media you engage, you've got to be more than that. Make an observation. Pass along a tip or a cool item you've just picked up. Show off your hobby knowledge. Engage other sports fans in a discussion that has nothing to do with cards or autographs or old baseball programs. Take a picture of yourself at a show and update live. Do something to show you care about your friends and followers. Social media is about being a community. Be a friend first. You can sell later.
Here's a link to our Fan page, by the way.
John Schenk, the St. Louis-area high schooler who's built an autograph business that was featured on the local NBC station in the spring, tries to help charities with his signings whenever possible.
Here's a link to a private signing with a few former St. Louis Cardinals players he's got going now. It's aimed at helping some of his fellow teen agers stay on the right track.
I've seen a lot of discussion on message boards and blogs recently regarding a long-time hobby publication and one of its major advertisers.
A story in the New York Daily News that claimed the advertiser, which has been accused by serious collectors and hobby dealers of selling notoriously bogus autographs, is no longer being allowed in the pages of the magazine. Another message board post now claims the advertiser pulled out.
I've gotten emails over the last couple of weeks from collectors and dealers asking to me to put together a story on this development and others regarding the magazine. You haven't seen one. And barring any really newsworthy development you won't. My policy from the beginning has been to let our content speak for itself.
The hobby media landscape has changed drastically this decade. No longer are printed publications the only way collectors get their news and features. There are message boards, blogs, forums, e-newsletters, Facebook and other forms of communication that have put information sharing in the hands of everyone...not just a select few.
This website was started for one purpose: to be a news aggregation for the sports card and sports memorabilia industry. I heard for years that the hobby never got any attention in the mainstream media, but since I've worked in that profession for years I knew that wasn't the case. And in three years, Sports Collectors Daily has proven that there are plenty of stories appearing in large and small newspapers and TV stations across the country. We've brought hundreds of them to you, put corporate news and important court cases in public view and offered a boatload of what I think are pretty good news stories and features. All of it free. All of it fresh. All of it archived for easy searching.
I'd rather spend time continuing to do that--and setting the standard for what a hobby news site should be--than attacking another hobby media entity for decisions it makes or doesn't make. In short, I'd like to let our content speak for itself. Because if you're not reading us--or some of the other more interesting baseball card blogs and forums--you're missing out on a great new era in hobby media--one that doesn't require a successful and high quality site to have multiple employees or a multi-million dollar budget.
Panini has trotted out its 2009 Donruss Elite product.
The cards are hitting store shelves now. We're still several weeks from the start of NFL training camps, but if you're into football cards, this should keep you occupied for a few minutes. The slideshow comes courtesy of the comopany.
And if you're looking to buy a box, some singles or a case, you can get a handle on selling prices for 2009 Donruss Elite here.
Orlando's late game failure has put the Lakers up two games to none in the best of seven NBA Finals.
Barring divine intervention, the Lakers will add another banner to the rafters, Kobe will get richer and we'll forget about the NBA until draft day.
The Lakers of the 1970s were Chamberlain and West and Baylor and even Goodrich to a certain extent. The Lakers of the 80s were Magic, Kareem, Byron Scott and James Worthy. The Lakers of the 90s were Shaq and Kobe. The Lakers of the current era are...Kobe. And that's part of the problem. Pau Gasol is a nice player and Lamar Odom is a stud when he's zoned in, but when all is said and done, the Lakers are Kobe. He's already reached his popularity peak so you can't expect there to be much of an impact in the hobby.
The NBA could use another jolt from someone like Dwight Howard taking over the series to establish himself as a true superstar. Ain't happenin'. Howard was a no-show in crunch time Sunday night. He may become a winning superstar at some point and he's still popular with collectors, but he's going home this year and his fan base isn't likely to climb anymore in 2009. LeBron is big, but a championship would have boosted him into the role of young Jordan. It's wait 'til next year in Cleveland, though.
I hate to say the Lakers winning another title is going to be boring everywhere but in LA, but sadly, I think the nation will yawn its way through whatever games may lie ahead.
Speaking of the Lakers, we've carried at least one mainstream media outlet's story on David Kohler's Lakers collection. Now, the Long Beach newspaper has gotten the tour and given it a nice write-up. Kohler, for those of you who aren't totally in tune with the hobby, runs SCP Auctions.
Editor's Blog
