What's a young kid supposed to do?
mark_dak
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As a kid, while mom got her hair done, I walked over to the Ben Franklin store and bought a pack of cards for a nickel or slid that coin into a crude card vending machine for ten or so cards sans the stale stick of gum. I was in Wamart, Target and a local Meijer store and realized a young kid can't just walk into the store and pick up a pack of baseball cards for an affordable amount... heck neither one of those three large retailers had a single pack at any price.
Then today I ran across 3 of these that I picked up on the old Teletrade auction where you did bidding by telephone and it got me thinking. I couldn't wait for the next "high tech" auction to start but never stopped to think where exactly we were heading. It seems we have come quite a way since then. I know it's easier to find what you want or sell what you have these days. Am I alone in thinking maybe there's still something to be said for the days before 3 figure grading fees, counterfeits and out of control card prices? Isn't it kind of sad that a young kid can't earn a few bucks and affordably enjoy what we were able to experience?
Sorry just taking a stroll down memory lane.
Comments
Nice write. Agreed.
Yeah, many of us have a connection to the hobby but the younger ones will never experience what we did. Just kind of think it's kind of sad.
Mark
I think the hobby is still pretty accessible for kids. But like everything else it is different and based on how you collect.
Kids don’t need their cards graded - at all. I mean, they do like graded cards like everyone else but kids mostly like the cards for cards sake.
They’re not easy to find but not impossible either. I would say it has changed, obviously, but it’s pretty much the best time ever to be a player collector or set builder and if you don’t care about autographed cards you can pick up current players (even superstars) - raw or graded - on the cheap as singles.
I agree it sucks that there’s not a ton of packs to rip anymore. It’s a pretty easy fix, too.
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It is a different hobby now. This is where I believe Fanatics just may improve the situation for kids. The base stuff should be cheap, mass produced year around, and available everywhere. I would love to see packs starting .99 cents, but don't think that will happen.
Do kids still flip cards? I did that a lot with the 1978-1980 sets (which partly explains the condition of my cards from those years). Just curious.
You gotta look out for #1.... but don't step in #2.
Accessibility is nearly non-existent. I don't consider having mom or dad using their credit card to order something on-line and having to wait for UPS or an Amazon truck to show up as being accessible. There's something to be said for a kid reaching into his pocket and buying a pack of cards with some money he earned, ripping it open and looking for his favorite hometown star. Sure they can sit with mom or dad and order the specific card they want. One of my earliest recollections is tearing into a few packs of 1964 Topps baseball cards at out cottage and seeing a few Tigers... practical no-name Detroit Tigers named Bubba Phillips and Jerry Lumpe in the packs. Don't ask me how or why I remember that but I do!
Outside of a couple of out of the way card shops still in business, I could not point to a single retailer in metro Detroit where a kid can walk in and purchase a decent priced pack of sports cards. I do agree that grading should not be first and foremost in their minds... I'd prefer them to enjoy the hobby of collecting and look past profit.
Just kind of sad, wish we could turn back at least a little but something tells me it's not to be.
Mark
Mark,
I have 2-3 places that sell cards near me; a toy store and a Pharmacy. If I get in a car and go to the mall there are two stores there that sell cards.
Pack prices are $5-8 a pack. Expensive, sure, but doable once in a while. I used to do a Coke, chips and a pack in my day and now that’s maybe $10…
…not th $2,50 it cost me. 😁
Best,
Tim
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
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I agree that times have changed but in the 50's and 60's the only place to see their favorite players were on cards. Now every kids has access to almost all of the MLB games and the internet so they can see their favorite players any time they want. The same is true for non sports cards. I loved my Star Wars cards and recreated the movies through those cards. I had to wait I think until 1985 to see Star Wars again on HBO and it was a BIG deal when it premiered on it. Now the movies are released on DVD or at home 2 months after release in the theaters so no body needs the cards anymore. I think cards are used not to see their favorite hometown players but more for investments. Does anyone even save base cards anymore?
Disagree sort of.
There’s packs again in Target and Walmart.
Packs are as low as $2-3 depending on what you buy.
There’s other outlets depending on where you live.
When I got my first pack, I think it was 25 cents(1980 Topps). While this might seem cheap, it was 5x the price of the 60’s nickel packs. By the end of the decade, dollar packs were the norm.
I don’t find $3 packs to be outrageously priced. Time goes on and wages and prices go up. Minimum wage when I first started working was $4.35 an hour. I don’t know what it currently is in California, but the Del Taco by my house is advertising $16.50 an hour to start and can’t hire enough workers. In N Out is around that also and has benefits and nearly their entire staff is under 25 years old.
I agree for adults that packs have kept pace but for kids they need to be the price of a candy bar. Growing up all the kids in the neighborhood would bug the parents for a candy bar. I would use that money to buy baseball cards and it made me a collector for life. If a candy bar is $1.25 parents would probably give their kids $2 at most.
Flipping cards? Are you insane? Watch any video on YouTube of someone (including kids) opening packs of cards. They immediately put any decent card in a penny sleeve or semi-rigid holder. I've even seen some wearing latex gloves when they go through the packs!
I'm afraid the days of actually having fun with sports cards are long gone. It's all about "investing" in cards. Hopefully, when this latest bubble bursts, all that will be left are the true collectors who just do it for fun.
Sad to say, but I think you're right. As the kids seem to trash all the base cards anyway, maybe we should start a movement where we teach kids to flip cards using just base product. They'd probably look at us like we're crazy, but it's the attempt that counts, right?
Yup, I see many cards from the 50's and 60's with writing on them, but you'd never see that now. They're missing out on the fun of defacing a player you don't like! I also remember sticking my 1969 Topps decals to the player's regular issued card! Don't have them any more, but I do recall having a 1969 Clemente with a decal on the front! I wasn't the brightest kid, I guess, but they were just something to play with and nothing more...
P.S. There's a '69 Clemente on eBay right now with his decal on the front! Guess a lot of kids did that. The seller wants $75 for the card, though! Dream on...
I can top you in the dumbness department. Back in 1978, when I was seven (or seven and a half, as I would have said), my brother taught me about sending cards away for autographs, and with his help I sent a 1978 Topps Pete Rose off for an autograph -- and then after I got it back I traced over his signature myself, for whatever reason. To this day I hope that Rose was having some clubhouse kid sign stuff for him, and that I didn't destroy a legit autograph. (I do still have several others I got at the time, including Rice and Bench, so I learned my lesson.)
Think I got you beat. I remember the day my buddy and I thought if we had a newer card of a player we would trash the older ones. We probably filled a kitchen trash container half full. I'm saying 1967 or so... I can't even blame my mom and dad like everyone else can!1 Doh!
Mark
You're right. My younger self yields to your younger self.
I did the exact same with with my Ken Griffey Jr auto. Traced right over that signature in pen. Still have it but it only has sentimental value now.
Trying to buy packs to build sets is too expensive now, I gave up. You can easily buy hand collated sets for reasonable prices online. Why spend $300 chasing base cards in Topps packs when you can just buy the factory set for $60?
The early days of sports cards where young children are the targeted market is never, never, never, and NEVER coming back. THe toothpaste is well out of the tube and it ain't going back. Also, I fully and vigorously reject the notion that only those who collect for "fun" are the only faction able to be called "true collectors". You are missing every boat with that mindset. Better get a good life jacket!
ISO 1978 Topps Baseball in NM-MT High Grade Raw 3, 100, 103, 302, 347, 376, 416, 466, 481, 487, 509, 534, 540, 554, 579, 580, 622, 642, 673, 724__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ISO 1978 O-Pee-Chee in NM-MT High Grade Raw12, 21, 29, 38, 49, 65, 69, 73, 74, 81, 95, 100, 104, 110, 115, 122, 132, 133, 135, 140, 142, 151, 153, 155, 160, 161, 167, 168, 172, 179, 181, 196, 200, 204, 210, 224, 231, 240
Because everybody has their own way they like to collect and there is no wrong or right way to do it.
ISO 1978 Topps Baseball in NM-MT High Grade Raw 3, 100, 103, 302, 347, 376, 416, 466, 481, 487, 509, 534, 540, 554, 579, 580, 622, 642, 673, 724__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ISO 1978 O-Pee-Chee in NM-MT High Grade Raw12, 21, 29, 38, 49, 65, 69, 73, 74, 81, 95, 100, 104, 110, 115, 122, 132, 133, 135, 140, 142, 151, 153, 155, 160, 161, 167, 168, 172, 179, 181, 196, 200, 204, 210, 224, 231, 240
A collector is someone who collects for the fun of it. He doesn't care what the card may be worth in a year or two. He overpays for some cards because he really wants a certain card. He doesn't mind if a kid actually touched and played with a card. No hermetically sealed cards for collectors.
Investors buy to resell down the road. They may enjoy sports cards, but they're mainly in it for the money. In my opinion, anyone getting their cards graded is an investor. I can see buying graded cards of the most counterfeited ones (1968 Topps Ryan, for example), but getting your childhood cards graded is only done by an investor.
A collector will rejoice when this latest sports card bubble bursts, while an investor will curse any reduction in the value of his sports card "portfolio". Bottom line, there's is a HUGE difference between a sports card collector and a sports card investor.
If you can't have fun with cards, that's your personality defect. Don't let others dictate your happiness, Mr. Tim.
I'd be tempted to disagree with you in the case of the guy who sent his 6-quality 1989 Donruss Griffey etc. in at the Super Express level.
I'm just had it up to the top of my skull with those who blather on about how the hobby SHOULD BE. Especially those who openly root for the day they can rejoice over the losses of other collectors. That's SICK.
Just do your own damn thing. THAT is what drives the hobby.
ISO 1978 Topps Baseball in NM-MT High Grade Raw 3, 100, 103, 302, 347, 376, 416, 466, 481, 487, 509, 534, 540, 554, 579, 580, 622, 642, 673, 724__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ISO 1978 O-Pee-Chee in NM-MT High Grade Raw12, 21, 29, 38, 49, 65, 69, 73, 74, 81, 95, 100, 104, 110, 115, 122, 132, 133, 135, 140, 142, 151, 153, 155, 160, 161, 167, 168, 172, 179, 181, 196, 200, 204, 210, 224, 231, 240
No, I completely agree. It just bothers me to see people waste thousands of dollars on grading fees for cards that collectively aren't worth ten. Collect what you want, but don't pay absurd prices for it. And, of course, don't wish other collectors ill. There are plenty of people associated with or adjacent to the hobby who deserve it far more.
There is no Ben Franklin, no 5 cent packs of cards or even 25 cent packs of cards. Kids today will play video games instead of board games and baseball cards. Perhaps, as they grow older and wiser, they will search out the history of the game and will pick up where we left off. Otherwise, the hobby is doomed.
Do you root for OPEC when they jack up the price of oil? Of course not. Do you feel sorry for them when oil crashes? Of course not, you rejoice in their losses because you benefit from it. This is the same situation. "Investors" are paying stupid prices for cards thinking they'll be rich in ten years. The more they pay stupid prices, the more sellers like Dean will jack up the prices. I'm paying more for the cards I want because of all the investors and speculators in the sports card market right now.
Bottom line? I'm sorry if you stupidly paid $500 for a PSA 10 1969 Topps Jerry Adair, but that's why they call it speculating. Hopefully, the investors and speculators will leave and ruin another hobby after the sports card bubble bursts. Good riddance!
I don’t think kids care. Interests change.
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i think what many may say is that they can't do their "own damn thing" any longer. And for those that say young kids don't care, well I'm not sure they've ever had the opportunity.
Mark