Rude awakening #879

At least several times a year, an enterprising young journalist and Generation X product who may have been a baseball card collector in his childhood and adolescent years becomes curious about the value of his collection and sets out on a journey.  Through visits to the usual suspects (card shops, Craigslist, eBay, etc.), he inevitably discovers that cards from that era are generally worthless upon committing his adventure to print. 

Ultimately, the story ends with the writer deciding the memories are worth more than any monetary gain he might receive from his collection. 

And so goes another one of those stories............

A collection of memories

Living an alternative (baseball card buying) lifestyle, Part I -- Becoming a social butterfly

Card buying and collecting has been revolutionized over the past 20 years.  While the glut of product has made set building and pursuit of hits for relic and auto collectors of a particular player or team both expensive and difficult via traditional methods, the arrival of eBay changed the hobby forever. 

If there's one thing we have learned as collectors and hobbyists whether buying or selling on eBay, however, it is that change is inevitable.  While eBay still claims to be for the little guy, most Power Sellers and other experts will quickly point out that the master plan of CEO John Donahoe has been to rebuild eBay into Amazon.  Seller fees continue to gradually increase, leading to a more costly presence for smaller Store owners, to the point where inventory of available cards to fit your collection is dwindling despite eBay's still very formidable marketing muscle. 

Online sports card buying is here to stay, and the increasing dissatisfaction with eBay has opened the door for multiple new sites and ways to buy and/or sell cards.  In the first of a multi-part series on this blog, we'll give you the hook up to a few of them.

***DISCLAIMER*** The writer of this blog has not bought and/or sold cards on all of the sites listed, and is in no way endorsing them, their fee structure, feedback system, or anything else regarding their site.  I welcome any and all comments both pro and con on this blog so we can get a better idea which ones to patronize and which ones to avoid.  As always, the individual buyer or seller is as responsible for how the experience goes on these sites as the customer support of the site itself. 

Social networks have begun to have a strong Group presence among card buyers and sellers.  We'll start this series by giving you several Facebook-based Groups and Pages devoted to buying, selling, and trading.  You might find a great buy while stalking your long lost ex! :-) 

• Baseball Card buying, trading, and selling - A very active group (currently 147 members and growing) with some really good higher end relics and autos to be found.  I have done some trading here and had very pleasant experiences thus far.  Like most Facebook Groups and social networking itself, there is some bickering and pettyness among certain members, but overall a great place for player and team collectors. 

• Yardsellr - Founded by former eBay execs, Yardsellr was designed to integrate the "yard sale" experience into social networking.  You can easily blast your inventory onto Facebook and Twitter from the Yardsellr site.  The good news for sellers is there are no listing or final value fees here!  The bad news for buyers is that an additional fee is tacked onto their purchase price.  Another difference between here and eBay is that while PayPal is accepted here, it isn't forced on you.  Their merchandise is divided into blocks.....you can find one for Baseball Cards.  And many of the blocks have dedicated Facebook Pages, which brings us to.......

• The Sports Card Block on Yardsellr - Nice, large pics of the current sports card inventory on Yardsellr along with links to the listings. 

• There are also PLENTY of local "online yard sale" pages and groups on Facebook.  The size of the following normally depends on the size of the city.  My home county has an Etowah County Online Yard Sale!! page 5,000+ members strong!  Shipping costs and hassles, not to mention sales tax, could be alleviated on top of getting a nice bargain. 

Now more than ever, eBay certainly cannot be ignored, but there are plenty of ways around it to find great bargains and better terms for sellers, and in this case you never have to leave Facebook, where you might spend too much time anyway! 

Please comment if I missed a Facebook-based card buying, selling, or trading group OR list a local "yard sale" page or group you may know about that has cards. 

Harper's Bazaar

For the second straight season, a Washington Nationals phenom is driving the sports card market.  This week, his current minor leaue team's hometown paper and SI take a look at his card values, his questionable attitude, and most important to hobbyists and investors, the value of his autograph along with his willingness to sign it. 

Have you had a big Harper pull from a box break?  Share it with us! 



For kids and adults, the hunt is on for Bryce Harper's autograph

 

HERE HE COMES

The "state of the hobby" address

The North County Times has just done an excellent three part series on the baseball card hobby, covering what it used to be, where it is today, and what the future might hold.  Most of the heavy hitters in the business are quoted, and the point of view of the brick and mortar dealer, the manufacturers, and the collector are covered.  It's a very nice, and accurate, summary of how we got here and where we might be headed, although if I have one qualm, it would be the glossing over of the impact of eBay (and on a broader scale, the internet itself) on both mom and pop dealers and on the hobby itself. 

Take a look at all three parts below............

BASEBALL CARDS SPECIAL REPORT PART I: Once-thriving baseball card industry tries to hold on to collectors

BASEBALL CARDS SPECIAL REPORT PART II: Baseball card business came crashing down after its peak 20 years ago

BASEBALL CARDS SPECIAL REPORT PART III: Sports cards evolving in effort to lure next generation of collectors

Deficit reduction

While debt continues to pile up around M Street in our nation's capital, a few miles down the road, 2 of baseball's hottest players' cards are raking in enough dough to make a dent (albeit a tiny one) in that massive deficit :-)  Before the Tommy John Surgery Heard 'Round The World took Stephen Strasburg out of commission until at least 2012, he was carrying both the hobby and his team, which had a relatively strong first half.  While Bryce Harper has yet to wear the Nationals uni just yet, his cards are picking up the Strasburg torch, but to a much lesser extent from a price standpoint.  Still, if his fast minor league start continues, there's a chance those prices could go from "inflated" to "ludicrous".  Perhaps the Tea Party is interested in making the investment to pay down the deficit.  

Bryce Harper's trading cards rising in value

What could possibly be more All-American than.......

an article about the love of our All-American hobby, written by a native of Andy Griffith's hometown, which became Mayberry on TV?  Yet another writer who thought he could retire off an '89 Upper Deck Griffey rookie card has had a rude awakening, but uses the occasion to reflect upon his life and the decisions he has made. 

Which cards in your collection trigger a very specific (and possibly non-sports related) memory?  Share them in the comment section, and in the meantime, enjoy the story of one writer's trip down memory lane upon rediscovering his card collection............

Baseball cards, memories, and the passage of time

An outsider's perspective

A few weeks ago, we looked at how one of HGTV's biggest stars viewed baseball cards as an investment.  Now another investment website has offered their two cents on baseball cards as an investment these days.  They also invoke a hobby name I hadn't heard in quite a while. 

So, if you're in this to get rich (and best of luck with that, by the way), here's another opinion on how to go about it.........

The Top-Performing Alternative Investments: Baseball Cards

Spreading the word

The more hobby evangelists we have, the stronger the hobby will be.  This guy has a pretty sweet vintage collection and is as qualified of an "expert" as you'll find based on this article.  He is also much closer to the subject of his favorite card than most of us will ever get to our favorite players.  If you're a seller or an eBayer, I strongly recommend doing things like this as a great way to market your business.  Getting it down to the grass roots is the most effective way to build your business and word of mouth about it. 

A Passion For Portrayals - Baseball card fan presents lecture at Sayville Library

 

The memories remain......

Reading pieces like this, I often find myself wishing I had a DeLorean so I could either: a) stop someone's mom from throwing out a shoebox of what would now be vintage cards, thus leaving their children to wax nostalgic via the magic of print media, or b) talk her into giving them to me and then hopping back to present day courtesy of the trusty ol' flux capacitor.  Anyone reading this who may have discovered a treasure trove of cards they thought were gone forever?  Share your stories in the Comment section.........

Harry Deitz: I still miss special box of memories

I'm on TV, so I MUST be an expert!

It seems like collecting anything or the pursuit involved in collecting anything, sports cards and memorabilia or otherwise, seems to make for compelling reality TV these days.  Pawn Stars, Antiques Roadshow, Treasure Hunters, and for the freak show element, Hoarders.......are among some of the most watched shows on basic cable.  We've documented previously how one show dashed the dreams of a youngster who thought he had a goldmine in baseball cards.  I think it's safe to assume that none of the folks on these shows bury themselves in Beckett or religiously check eBay for the market value of the cards like those of us in the hobby do, but overall, is the advice they give, which is normally solicited solely because they're on TV, anywhere in the ballpark (no pun intended) of those regularly associated with the hobby?  Let's find out from one of HGTV's newest stars.............

 

Trash to Treasures, Cari Cucksey talks 'Cash & Cari,' on HGTV

Uncut & Uncensored!!!

The article below reminded me of a time when I first discovered the hobby in the early 80's when uncut sheets were a goldmine.  Safer than money in the bank.  Since rediscovering and re-entering the fray a few years ago, I began to read a few assorted pieces online indicating that they commanded nowhere near the premiums they got at the late 80's/early 90's peak of the hobby.  Once I gave it a search on the Bay, it looks like the value of uncut sheets have been knocked to the canvas. 

A closer look says, as suspected, the older the product, the bigger the price.  While any 80's era uncut sheet can be had for a song (or two), even some of the more rare and seemingly in-demand 80's era sheets have gone largely ignored thanks to overproduction.  Case in point.......this '82 Topps sheet featuring the Ripken RC for $56.55. 

As you would probably expect, the older the sheet, the higher the price.  A '65 O-Pee-Chee sheet featuring at least 11 Hall of Famers fetched almost $3,400.  So if you have anything pre-1970, it can still grab a pretty nice premium. 

If you're holding an uncut sheet, would it benefit you to chop it up?  Let's go to the experts.......

Babe Waxpak: To cut or not to cut card sheets, that is a complex dilemma

If you're looking to the card shop to send your kid to college......

The Stephen Strasburg example provides the textbook case of how sports cards as an investment are no safer in the long term than anything else you could sink your money into.  If investing in cards provide a better alternative than just taking your life savings and putting it all on one spin of the roulette wheel in Vegas, here's one player recommended as a target to put your money in.  An eBay search of the cards mentioned in the article indicates they can still be had for a song.......as low as 35 cents in one case (plus a rather exorbitant shipping charge for 2 baseball cards).  Then there's this one, which will cost you a little more. 

Clayton Kershaw's Los Angeles Dodgers rookie trading cards starting to pick up investment steam

If you win it, they will buy

My best guess is you could substitute Cleveland, Washington, D.C., Charlotte, Houston, and possibly Detroit for the Phoenix area in this article and it would read exactly the same.  And my utmost condolences to anyone who loaded up on modern era Pittsburgh Pirates memorabilia thinking it would provide your kid's first class ticket to the Ivy League.........

Down year for Arizona sports team equals weak sales for Phoenix memorabilia dealers

Divine Intervention

The story from early November about a Honus Wagner card being auctioned off to benefit a Catholic school initially had a less-than-Hollywood ending, with the original winning bidder failing to produce the $220,000 pledged for the card.  Fortunately, and just in time for the holidays, the story took a brighter turn thanks to a doctor and card collector. 

Catholic sisters' baseball card auctioned off to new owner

There goes the college fund.........

This piece doesn't mention how much the kid, or his parents, paid for these, leading me to believe they were either really expensive or advertised as being huge bargains.  Regardless, you hate to hear this kind of stuff, especially when the hobby desperately needs more of the ones who brought 'em to this dance.

I am serious.....he IS one of the Spectrum of Stars.....and don't call him Shirley

Leslie Nielsen might be one of the greatest comic actors of this generation.  If you ever want to keep me pacified for hours, sit me in front of the TV during a Leslie Nielsen comedy movie marathon.  Aside from laughing loudly and frequently, I won't get off the couch. 

As with many non-sports figures featured on the hundreds of products during the mass sports card overproduction of the past 15 years or so, Leslie Nielsen was on a baseball card.  Well, technically not a baseball card, but for lack of a better term.  Then again, he did pose as the home plate umpire in the first Naked Gun, so it's not like he never set foot on a Major League Baseball field. 

His moment on cardboard is remembered here......

Leslie Nielsen appeared on 2009 Upper Deck card

And now, a few of my favorite silver screen moments featuring comedy's "silver fox".....

A virtual field trip

One man looks inside the Madison Square Garden of card shops.....quite possibly the single most praised AND criticized shop in the world among hobby message boards and forums.  His experience was considerably more pleasant than some have advertised.  Clearly, this ain't your average Main Street shop! 

An LCS trip to Burbank Sports Cards

I Left My Money In (A) San Francisco (Card Shop)

So, one week removed from their place in history, how hot are the cards featuring the latest round of World Series heroes around the Bay Area?  Fortunately, someone has done the work for me.......

Baseball cards' value depends on who's hot or not

Hail Honus!

Admittedly, this one wasn't in very good shape, but a T206 Honus Wagner is a T206 Honus Wagner, and it goes for a great cause.......

Nuns get $220K from Wagner card sale

For the anti-Beckett crowd.......

For this blogger's money, the Babe Waxpak column is about as good as it gets for the casual collector or "layman" to find out just how collectible or "limited edition" their cards or other memorabilia pieces really are.  And since it is readily available online, and for free, there really isn't any of this blogger's money involved.  He also goes beyond baseball most weeks.  This week covers NASCAR and vintage football tickets.  And, alas, one collector's dream of sending his kids to college w/ a collection of Panini football stickers are dashed.......as at least one reader's dream normally is in every column..........

Babe Waxpak: Signed Earnhardt card valuable, Redskins stickers not so much