Why do collectors still buy these?

steel75

I have always been puzzled by this. I've been picking up some jumbo patches of players from the past (Mcgwire,Ichiro,Reggie, etc.) and my FIRST thing was to see if it was GAME WORN/USED. I have zero interest in Player Worn or the dreaded Not from Any Specific Game or Event. Some big sets have those! .....couldn't believe it. I've seen big money spent on those too. Or to make it more meaningless......a sticker auto with it. What am I missing?

DBesse27

I agree and only buy game used swatches. But a card can have a swatch that’s game used and also not from a specific game. That’s what Heritage says.

GroceryRackPack

now I kind of like those pieces when they sweep up at the fabric store...

steel75

@DBesse27 said:
I agree and only buy game used swatches. But a card can have a swatch that’s game used and also not from a specific game. That’s what Heritage says.

No one is really asking for specifics like "used on 7/25/78 vs Reds", but believe me if the card manufacturers could say game used/worn..... they would.

steel75

I've seen videos of patch cards that have stuff not even from team issued jerseys. But they do have those patches on retail jerseys.......hmmmm

DBesse27

@steel75 said:

@DBesse27 said:
I agree and only buy game used swatches. But a card can have a swatch that’s game used and also not from a specific game. That’s what Heritage says.

No one is really asking for specifics like "used on 7/25/78 vs Reds", but believe me if they card manufacturers could say game used/worn..... they would.

And Heritage does. They just also include that disclaimer.

steel75

Geee......an auction house who stands to make money is "vouching" for the history of a patch instead of who actually made it.
Seems honest to me.

mrmopar

A relic card can be considered no different than a parallel or insert if one no longer has interest in the piece of material itself. Then, why wouldn't people be buying them, as everything has its spot in collections.

I agree that they really don't hold the same interest and appeal as they once did. You were never going to be able to prove that the wood slice or fabric swatch ever belonged to the item they claimed it to be from, although I tend to believe that they were legit in the earliest of issues.

steel75

It's not about proof. Never was. Autos have an authentication through the card company putting it out. Did you see him signing it? No. The card company says it's legit. No different with patches. The card company itself isn't even willing to state it's game used, fake or not.
But I guess they keep will putting out unrelated material to your favorite player and long as people will buy it.

Copyboy1

This is why I have zero interest in modern stuff. It all seems like a gimmick.

Oooh! A random piece of fabric I have no connection to!
Oooh! An autograph I didn't get on a sticker stuck to a card!
Oooh! A 1/10 card that's the exact same card as twenty other 1/10 sets, just in a slightly different color!

Nobody seems to care about the player anymore. I see people going nuts over cards of nobodies who no one will remember in 3 seasons just because it's got a sticker with an autograph on it.

DBesse27

@steel75 said:
Geee......an auction house who stands to make money is "vouching" for the history of a patch instead of who actually made it.
Seems honest to me.

Fanatics has owned Topps less than a year. Heritage is in its 23rd year. Again though, I agree with the basis of your original premise.

JolleyWrencher

I don't think a patch card made by one of the major companies is any less dumb than a 1957 piece of cardboard with a picture of a guy named Hank Aaron who I never saw play but I have to believe he did. Or a 1887 Old Judge player who has no stats. Collectors come in all shapes and sizes.

The parallel modern cards is well explained in another thread by another member. The old inserts were not serialized, such as a 1987 Donruss Highlights Ken Griffey Jr with White lettering, and so nobody knows how many were made. This is a great example of an intentional variation. If the White highlights had a serial number then would more people have gained interest at the time of the debut?

What about something such as a 2002 Upper Deck Michael Jordan National Convention exclusive serialized to 200?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/404291980156?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=lMcNOb9lT5u&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=ae-eOCLFR9S&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

To get a little more on topic from what the OP said...why are people paying big money for patch/swath player worn when not necessarily game used relics. Why pay for sticker auto's instead of on-card?

How does anyone know the game worn jersey piece wasn't from a warm-up practice piece of clothing? You don't know and you will want to believe it's the piece of the jersey which slid across home plate on the game winning squeeze play.

The facsimile cards I do not like and I'm not sure anyone actually seeks these out so I am leaving these cards in their own category. I know they sell, on occasion, but I've also even saw auctions end for $300+ for a 1990 Donruss MVP missing period card, so there are some really misinformed people.

For sticker autographs it is more about the card variations. A 2023 Lebron James base card may be worth $0.50, the camouflage out of /250 is $10, the tie dyed prizm out of /25 is $40, the sticker autographed holographic/refractor out of /100 is $50.

I have a floor piece from a Bulls practice court, not the game used court, but it's still a neat piece.

People desire a connection to the player or sport and retailers/rippers want to hype it up.

If modern era cards didn't evolve then the hobby would be damn near dead from the lack of variations.

Imagine it is 1965 and you are building the full set of 1964 Topps. All of your buddies are doing the same thing. How do you feel when all your friends have the same cards you do and you are arguing over which card was printed the best. Kids today would lose interest immediately. It's all about the kids...most of us began collecting as a child, so a 10 year old Chiefs fan getting a Patrick Mahomes III sticker autograph in a pack is surely going to make him feel on top of the world and I get why things are the way they are today.

Electric cars, VR/AR pornography, I don't necessarily like where the world is headed but I can understand how it's being marketed and sold to society and there's usually always a crowd looking to try the next new thing.

stwainfan

Crazy things in the hobby. Some one traded a 51 Bowman Mantle 33 Goudey Ruth and other cards for a Steven Curry path auto.

82FootballWaxMemorys

@stwainfan said:
Crazy things in the hobby. Some one traded a 51 Bowman Mantle 33 Goudey Ruth and other cards for a Steven Curry path auto.

Without detailed specifics of each card I can't say for sure if the same person, but in my ol' neighborhood we had a person like that, his name was Moe Ron.

stwainfan

@82FootballWaxMemorys said:

@stwainfan said:
Crazy things in the hobby. Some one traded a 51 Bowman Mantle 33 Goudey Ruth and other cards for a Steven Curry path auto.

Without detailed specifics of each card I can't say for sure it the case, but in my ol' neighborhood we had a person like that, his name was Moe Ron.

Here's the link.
https://youtube.com/shorts/ouQ9Bc8PIh8?feature=share

coinkat

There are different types of collectors. Personally... this is not for me. And in all fairness, what I collect may not work for others.

Copyboy1

@JolleyWrencher said:
I don't think a patch card made by one of the major companies is any less dumb than a 1957 piece of cardboard with a picture of a guy named Hank Aaron who I never saw play but I have to believe he did.

Aaron is universally recognized as a great player. In this case, it's the history of the game that gives that cardboard value - something that can't be faked or manufactured.

Now take This PSA 7 Kenny Pickett autograph patch which just sold at Goldin for $150. $150 bucks for a medium-grade condition card of player who isn't any good, and will never be an all-time great. The only value that comes from that piece of cardboard is totally and completely manufactured - via scarcity and gimmicks.

Again, just my opinion and how I collect.

mrmopar

@steel75 said:
It's not about proof. Never was. Autos have an authentication through the card company putting it out. Did you see him signing it? No. The card company says it's legit. No different with patches. The card company itself isn't even willing to state it's game used, fake or not.
But I guess they keep will putting out unrelated material to your favorite player and long as people will buy it.

There it is in a nutshell. As long as people keep buying, they will keep making it.

RonSportscards

Who are any of you to say what people should collect, or to demean someone's collection. Is that $150 spent on that Kenny Pickett better spent buying a mid 90s junk wax Michael Jordan base card? The value is in what Kenny 'could do'. Or maybe the buyer doesn't care about stats or value appreciation but just collects pro players named "Kenny". Does that make your collection 'better' than his?

ndleo

@RonSportscards said:
Who are any of you to say what people should collect, or to demean someone's collection. Is that $150 spent on that Kenny Pickett better spent buying a mid 90s junk wax Michael Jordan base card? The value is in what Kenny 'could do'. Or maybe the buyer doesn't care about stats or value appreciation but just collects pro players named "Kenny". Does that make your collection 'better' than his?

It does get tiresome. Asking why someone collects is one thing but it always becomes a vintage superiority gloat session. I collect vintage and modern, I didn’t realize it was one camp or the other.

I follow modern football so I enjoy collecting modern fb cards. If it has an event patch so be it, it truly doesn’t make a difference if I like the card.

DBesse27

@steel75 said:
Geee......an auction house who stands to make money is "vouching" for the history of a patch instead of who actually made it.
Seems honest to me.

By Heritage, I meant Topps Heritage. I don’t mess with auction houses.

Copyboy1

@RonSportscards said:
Who are any of you to say what people should collect, or to demean someone's collection. Is that $150 spent on that Kenny Pickett better spent buying a mid 90s junk wax Michael Jordan base card? The value is in what Kenny 'could do'. Or maybe the buyer doesn't care about stats or value appreciation but just collects pro players named "Kenny". Does that make your collection 'better' than his?

You must have missed this part: "Again, just my opinion and how I collect."

RonSportscards

@Copyboy1 said:

@RonSportscards said:
Who are any of you to say what people should collect, or to demean someone's collection. Is that $150 spent on that Kenny Pickett better spent buying a mid 90s junk wax Michael Jordan base card? The value is in what Kenny 'could do'. Or maybe the buyer doesn't care about stats or value appreciation but just collects pro players named "Kenny". Does that make your collection 'better' than his?

You must have missed this part: "Again, just my opinion and how I collect."

Umm....what? LOL Look at you acting SO superior again, yet you were SO puzzled as to why your card sales failed your expectations. Market data, trends, and real analysis be damned.
And no, I didn't miss the part of you trolling me. See. Me smart too.
Grow up. Who cares about your opinion to what other people collect. It's not about you.

Copyboy1

@RonSportscards said:

Umm....what? LOL Look at you acting SO superior again, yet you were SO puzzled as to why your card sales failed your expectations. Market data, trends, and real analysis be damned.
And no, I didn't miss the part of you trolling me. See. Me smart too.
Grow up. Who cares about your opinion to what other people collect. It's not about you.

Congrats on being the first person I block on this forum.

junkwaxgems

@JolleyWrencher said:

The parallel modern cards is well explained in another thread by another member. The old inserts were not serialized, such as a 1987 Donruss Highlights Ken Griffey Jr with White lettering, and so nobody knows how many were made. This is a great example of an intentional variation. If the White highlights had a serial number then would more people have gained interest at the time of the debut?

1986 Highlights. Are you claiming these were intentional? Because they were absolutely not. They were a design problem in the very first printing of the set that was quickly remedied.

And fyi, there was no Griffey Jr card in that set.

Cakes

@ndleo said:

@RonSportscards said:
Who are any of you to say what people should collect, or to demean someone's collection. Is that $150 spent on that Kenny Pickett better spent buying a mid 90s junk wax Michael Jordan base card? The value is in what Kenny 'could do'. Or maybe the buyer doesn't care about stats or value appreciation but just collects pro players named "Kenny". Does that make your collection 'better' than his?

It does get tiresome. Asking why someone collects is one thing but it always becomes a vintage superiority gloat session. I collect vintage and modern, I didn’t realize it was one camp or the other.

I follow modern football so I enjoy collecting modern fb cards. If it has an event patch so be it, it truly doesn’t make a difference if I like the card.

For me it's real simple, I really cannot afford to collect vintage anymore. I love the 54 and 55 Topps Baseball but I can't bring myself to pay 5 times more than I paid for a similar card 10 years ago. Most of the high grade vintage stuff has increased so much over the last 10 years so I started to collect modern. I am glad I did because I have some nice hits from rips that should continue to increase in value: Curry, Leonard, Doncic, Trout, Ohtani, Harper, Soto, Mahomes, etc.