For fans and collectors, spring means time for the recurrent belief that this year’s prospect will become the next Mike Trout or Giancarlo Stanton. Back in the penny stock market days of the card collecting hobby (what we call the overproduction eras well), we looked forward to seeing how our “heroes of tomorrow” were progressing. Was this the year when they’d break out? … [Read more...]
Iowa Paper Tackles Industry Changes
From 50-cent packs to holograms to autographed relics to digital trading cards, the last 30 years have been a wild ride in the trading card industry. It’s been the most volatile period in hobby history. As demand grew in the wake of a multitude of media stories on the increasing value of cards from years past, the trading card manufacturers amped up production, leaving a … [Read more...]
Ramblings: Recalling the Crazy Days of 1989
Last week, I wrote about the 1989 Fleer Billy Ripken obscenity card and some of the challenges store owners had at the time. One aspect which I did not even think about was who honored what deals were previously made on the unopened product which all of sudden exploded in price when word got out about the ‘scandalous trading card’. On my Facebook page, Ken Goldin (then the … [Read more...]
Child of the Overproduction Era
We knew they were making a lot of them. We didn't know there were THAT many. Sports cards produced during the 1980s and early 90s met what was becoming a nearly insatiable demand. New collectors came into the market. Moms and dads invested for their kids' education. It was a crazy time. Now, we all know the emphasis should have been on the word 'crazy'. Far too many … [Read more...]
Baseball Cards in the Rearview Mirror
To those who never left, it's an easy story to tell. Overproduction, the internet, the baseball strike and the launch of dozens of new products all swept the 1980s baseball card heyday away. For those who left the hobby before the bubble burst in the mid-1990s, it can be a shock. There are still sports card stores, although not as many. There are still wax packs, although … [Read more...]
Another Card Collection Lament from the 90s
They're in their 30s now. Those eight-to-thirteen-year-old kids of the late 1980s and early 90s who kept the booming baseball card shops in business during the overproduction era are settled now. College grads. Wives. Maybe a kid or two. Then it happens. The trip to the closet to dig out those old cards. Or maybe just a wistful trip down memory lane. They've heard … [Read more...]
Rare Cards, Tighter Controls Pushing Market?
In recent years, mainstream media reports have focused on a 'dying' sports card hobby. Much of the material written about the state of the market focused on the overproduction years of the 1980s and early 90s and how they failed to retain their original value, let alone increase as so many kids and parents had hoped back in the day. That's changing a bit with the release of … [Read more...]
Blog: Mays Left ’em High and Dry in Galesburg
I ran across an interesting blog post from a Galesburg, Illinois newspaper reporter tonight about one of Willie Mays' early card show appearances. It was 1986 at a show that was very popular at the time despite not really being that close to any major city. Back then, the autograph guests were a bonus. Most people still came to buy and sell cards. There were about three … [Read more...]
Shops Roll With Changes as Hobby Evolves
The economy is picking up. But does that guarantee profits for hobby shops? Not unless they're willing to adapt. That goes for card companies too. The overproduction era of the late 1980s and early 90s may have generated a negative publicity flow over the last few years as kids who collected back then came to realize their cards were essentially worthless when they … [Read more...]