Greetings from a old-newbie....and some questions
tiny11
Posts: 4
Greetings to all from a newbie to this board in terms of posting but not reading the boards or collecting. I have collected vintage sets for years and finally sold the whole collection to kit young at one of the Chicago nationals (1994???)......I owned a sportscards store for 8 years and closed it last year......and it is only now that I am pursuing my 1st baseball set I ever collected as a kid...1973 topps baseball in psa 8 or better shape. since funds are limited, I estimate the time it will take me to complete this set at about 5 years!!!! give or take a few. Let me just say i have enjoyed reading the opinions of everyone here and after 30 years of avid collecting I have even learned some things i didnt know. Not to bash another board but I had spent some time on the Beckett boards and i have grown tired of the childish bickering over there and well as the grammer police that seem to wait around every dark corner ready to pounce on someone who's words are not quite correct. it is refreshing to read this board and have intelligent conversation and if your opinions differs you will not be mocked and driven away for it. (no this didnt happen to me...but many others i saw it did)
so...to my question. i will be going to the sun times show in chicago in a few weeks..i want to renew my membership to psa since it lapsed last fall. Is psa offering any type of show discount for the memberships at this show??? also, can i go ahead and submit my free gradings right away at this show?
i have built up a number of cards to be graded in the last year and i want to see if my eye is as good as some of yours when it comes to grading.
well, thanks for allowing me some time and i look forward to intelligent and entertaining conversation.....maybe someday i will get to meet some of you at the chicago shows.
so...to my question. i will be going to the sun times show in chicago in a few weeks..i want to renew my membership to psa since it lapsed last fall. Is psa offering any type of show discount for the memberships at this show??? also, can i go ahead and submit my free gradings right away at this show?
i have built up a number of cards to be graded in the last year and i want to see if my eye is as good as some of yours when it comes to grading.
well, thanks for allowing me some time and i look forward to intelligent and entertaining conversation.....maybe someday i will get to meet some of you at the chicago shows.
looking to build the nicest 1973 topps baseball set I can in psa 8 in the longest amount of time.......I have money issues!!!!!!!
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Comments
Welcome to the message boards. I received your email about the 1973 cards that I have available, but your ISP bounces every response that I sent to you from 5 different email addresses, both at home and at work. I don't know if you ever read the responses that I posted on this thread, but I have tried repeatedly to contact you. If you are still interested in some cards, I do have some left. The list on the thread is up to date.
Again, welcome to the boards. Let me know if I can help in any way.
JEB.
Website: http://www.qualitycards.com
1963 Fleer
Lou Brock Master Set
Tiny,
Welcome to the boards!! It is always nice to have new opinions here,especially ones that have the collecting background that you have.I am sure that you have much to add to these boards and that we can learn from you also.
Vic
I myself am going to the chicago show, and yes PSA will grade at the show, with a 35.00 per card for a turn around time of 2 hours and 25.00 for a turn around time of same day. I myself have 12 cards in 55 topps that I need graded or cross graded. I am hoping that I can complete or at least get close to completion of my 55 set. as far as a special to join I am not sure, I will join at the show if need be but I am not sure if they will make you join or if its something they will offer at the show itself...guess when I get to the front of the line at the show I'll find out...Plane ticket has been purchased, hotel res made, and counting down the days!!!!
Dave
Now collecting:
Topps Heritage
1957 Topps BB Ex+-NM
All Yaz Items 7+
Various Red Sox
Did I leave anything out?
Welcome to the boards!!
Glad to have 'ya.....I'll also be at the Chicago Show...Even though Joe at "SetBuilders" table only handles '72 and back, it is the unofficial meeting place at the show for Registry board members. Just kinda' check in with Joe and let him know you're on the Regisrty, and he'll introduce you to a few of the guys..
I also have a handfull of '73's in PSA 8 for you. Email is in sig. line.
Good luck!
Larry
email....emards4457@msn.com
CHEERS!!
<< <i>Greetings to all from a newbie to this board in terms of posting but not reading the boards or collecting. I have collected vintage sets for years and finally sold the whole collection to kit young at one of the Chicago nationals (1994???)......I owned a sportscards store for 8 years and closed it last year......and it is only now that I am pursuing my 1st baseball set I ever collected as a kid...1973 topps baseball in psa 8 or better shape. since funds are limited, I estimate the time it will take me to complete this set at about 5 years!!!! give or take a few. Let me just say i have enjoyed reading the opinions of everyone here and after 30 years of avid collecting I have even learned some things i didnt know. Not to bash another board but I had spent some time on the Beckett boards and i have grown tired of the childish bickering over there and well as the grammer police that seem to wait around every dark corner ready to pounce on someone who's words are not quite correct. it is refreshing to read this board and have intelligent conversation and if your opinions differs you will not be mocked and driven away for it. (no this didnt happen to me...but many others i saw it did)
so...to my question. i will be going to the sun times show in chicago in a few weeks..i want to renew my membership to psa since it lapsed last fall. Is psa offering any type of show discount for the memberships at this show??? also, can i go ahead and submit my free gradings right away at this show?
i have built up a number of cards to be graded in the last year and i want to see if my eye is as good as some of yours when it comes to grading.
well, thanks for allowing me some time and i look forward to intelligent and entertaining conversation.....maybe someday i will get to meet some of you at the chicago shows. >>
Welcome, I agree on the all around coolness of this group of collectors here. Best of luck on your set.
theplasticman / Josh
http://www.clark22murray33.com
<< <i>Tiny ,...............Welcome to the boards ! You are right on the mark about this board being polite and informative ! Did you close your Baseball card shop due to lack of customers - economy - competition or what ? I have read so many stories about shops closing , just wondering what caused you to give up your's ?........Dave "Robby" Robinson >>
thanks everyone for your responses and making me feel welcome. I again want to say how nice it is to have INTELLIGENT conversation with collectors who share a common interest.
In terms of why I closed the shop...well, there were many factors. 9-11 really hurt me. i looked at my books and i saw my sales decline...or rather drop off worse than a gaylord perry spitball. I think guys looked at what was really important at that time and collecting took a hit. I lost a number of my big guys that would drop a grand a week on wax.
the internet also hurt me. if i had a dollar for everytime i heard that someone could buy something cheaper from dave and adams than they could buy it in my store i would still be in business. what alot of casual customers didn t realize was that dave and adams was not going to try and help you complete a set or give you a free screw down when you pulled that big card from a box. My die hard guys knew how important it was to have good customer service and they stayed with me....but the casual collector dropped off to the internet.
I lost some business to ebay but i also gained business from there so that was really a wash. I never undestood other shop owners who all they did was complain about ebay and how they were losing customers to it but they themselves refused to respond to this new market and get on line.
I think the thing that did the most damage to my business was the card companies. my customers could not justify buying a box for over 100.00 and getting about 25.00 in value out of the box. this seemed to happen more and more with boxes and now today it is a rarity to find a box that will give you real value for your money. one of my biggest customers is now a heavy ebayer that regularly spends 2-3 thousand dollars a month buying the cards he wants instead of wasting his money on boxes. I talked to him a few days ago and he feels he is SAVING money by buying online since he used to spend 3-5 grand at my store a month. he said he still gets that "THRILL" of the hunt by going the auction route and he also gets exactly what he wants.
Now dont get me wrong. I didnt depend on the card companies to make my business. I offered excellent service. I knew what my guys were collecting and i looked out for things they wanted. i gave a ton of cards away to kids trying to get them involved in the hobby and away from pokemon and yugioh. i have to say anytime i ever asked a card company to send me hats...t-shirts...keychains whatever so i could have a "TOPPS" or "FLEER" night or whatever comapny event NO ONE STEPPED UP to do anything except PACIFIC. they even sent a rep out to have a pacific night to the tiny little town in northern illinois on a january night where my store was at. say what you will about pacific but they did step up and do their part not only for me but many other struggling card shops i know of.
well, enough of my rantings!!!! i have a real job now with the luxury of a actual paycheck every 2 weeks which is a relief to me and my wife. no more worries or headaches. just gotta get up, go to work and do my job. not worry about what to order...make the rent..can i sell the 20 boxes of sp i just ordered..will anyone show up today..etc.
on a different note...joe at setbuilders???any idea where he is set up at??? for some strange reason i feel a cough coming on on friday the 19th......i might not make it to work that day. it would be nice to meet some of the guys from the board
<< <i>Andrew,
Welcome to the message boards. I received your email about the 1973 cards that I have available, but your ISP bounces every response that I sent to you from 5 different email addresses, both at home and at work. I don't know if you ever read the responses that I posted on this thread, but I have tried repeatedly to contact you. If you are still interested in some cards, I do have some left. The list on the thread is up to date.
Again, welcome to the boards. Let me know if I can help in any way.
JEB. >>
i have sent you a response from my hotmail account.........i know they wont bounce your response back to you because i know i get everything else there....viagra...hgh.....get out of debt.......geez you would think these emails were from my friends..
I didn't receive an email. My email address is jeb@virtualizard.com.
JEB.
<< <i>I think the thing that did the most damage to my business was the card companies. my customers could not justify buying a box for over 100.00 and getting about 25.00 in value out of the box. this seemed to happen more and more with boxes and now today it is a rarity to find a box that will give you real value for your money. >>
First, welcome to the board. I'm a relative newbie myself -- having only been here for a few months. But I started collecting in 1969 (I'm 45 years old) so I've also been around the block a few times. I'll also be coming to the Chicago show, all the way from Houston, Texas. I'm glad that was posted about Joe at Setbuilders being the gathering place for folks from here. I hope to meet all of you in person too!
Now, re: the above quote. That's a very telling statement, and a perspective I've maintained since the mid 1990's. The card companies were simply pushing out too much stuff. And its worsened in the last few years.
But hidden inside your quote is really another big problem that's cost the hobby (and shops like yours) its figurative "life." That's the transition (again, pushed mainly by the card manufacturers) that this hobby is all about PROFIT and NOT COLLECTING. I saw it too when I visited card shops in the late 1990's. I'd always see a lot of people ripping open packs by the hundreds, then either shrieking in glee or lamenting loudly, at what they found. And I know it wasn't that they were finding (or not) that one card to complete their set. They were finding (or not) some card that was already worth more than the average of what they paid per card in that pack.
Every time I saw it -- and I saw it a lot -- I found this sight to be simply un-friggin-believable.
Eventually, of course, they all figure out that they were getting hammered by the card companies. That, of course, is what contributed to the decline of shops in general, and probably your shop as well. Funny though, its still going on -- just in fewer places, and in less quantity, than it was a few years ago.
Scott
Back in 99 after college i started up collecting and i went the way of football. Manning was the hottest thing out there and I wanted his rc's bad. I also started collecting pack of 99 and 00 cards...and still have quite a few unopened boxes of stuff....it just got TOO MUCH....I thought i was going to stop collecting again or just pick a few stars from the sweet 99 draft and stick with them.
Then i bought a 55 ted williams card and was hooked. The cards seemed so much sweeter!!! And it reminded me of a time in baseball when there were fewer teams and alot bigger stars - baseball was king then and so were its stars!!! God rest teddy ballgames soul!!!
55 was a set that didnt quite completely appeal to me...i bought a banks, koufax, and kaline and then decided my first graded set was going to be 1956 topps....cause it had a mantle.
im 10 cards away from the set now in psa 6-7 grade with most stars being 7's. No way ill ever go back to modern....accept next year when i buy 2 cases of 2005 heritage cause it the modern version of my 56 set. I also might pick up 57's too LOL
at any rate..anybody else ever switched cause of the card companies???
ryan
I have one collection...1955 topps..period..after completion of that set I will look towards the 52's....you want evidence its all about money..look no further that Lebron James..my wife and I were looking thru my 55's last night and we started talking about rookies...she asked me about lebron james and I told her I am not sure...goto beckett.com..look up his name and see which cards are available...well to my surprise there were 70 different varitions of rookie cards, autographed, jersey cards, special inserts...Talk about over exposure..how can I or anyone else keep track of this stuff...I told her this is why I got away from it 10 years ago..I came back to it and found that there were no card shops in the area, they have all since closed, purchasing my cards now consists of graded cards, and you have to be careful of which companies graded cards you get and finally I hear UD is now looking at a 500.00 per pack wax pack/box.....I am sure the target market for that price is the 8 year old boy who is getting into collecting for the first time...never aimed at profits...no, not the card companies!!!
I do "feel" for the B&M (Brick and Mortar) stores. Tiny hit the nail right on the head. How can you expect people (kids especially) to get into/stay into the hobby of collecting? It is like comic books. They are close to $3 an issue. It is hard for a "kid" to collect anything now because of the people that see a "quick buck" and or everything as an investment BEFORE it has time to mature.
Do you think it would be better if Card companies did not "report" stats with regards to print runs and odds? What if <insert card company here> created a product and sold it for a "resonable amount" (I realize they have to make a profit to stay in business) included inserts etc. but did not tell anyone.
The process would need to go "word of mouth". It would put the "collector/Hobbyist" back in control, not the "Money Maker". It would give everyone a "chance". To "finish" that set you would need to find a card and pay for it what YOU think it is worth not what it may be worth because there is so few.
I dont know is it me just babbling?
Its just I cant understand (and Ive posted it before) how you can charge someone more for something that MAY OR MAY NOT be included. The cost for a lottery ticket for the 50 Million dollar jackpot is the same for a 1 Million dollar jackpot. 1$. Most times with Box/Pack busting that is all you are doing, playing the lottery.
Always nice to see another 73 collector jump on board! As you can see from my signature line, I've got a bunch of 73s I'm trying to get rid of.
If you want to check my latest submission, let me know if you need any of the 8s:
552569
zip: 92037
Today's kids collect things other than baseball (err.. sports) cards. Things like Yu-Gi-Oh, LOTR action figures, Pokemon, Pogs, and GameBoy cartridges. These are the precious items of their childhood they will try to recapture as wallet-fattened adults. If you're smart, you'll start stashing this junk away today. Tomorrow's adults will shell out bucks to buy a bit of their childhood back!
So leave the card companies alone... they are marketing to those who care about their product most -- adults.
Oh, and by the way, welcome to the board Tiny! You've inadvertently started a nice thread here!
Keith
Sorry if there is a chance that it can be called "collectible" kids might as well give it up.
Why do you suppose these things are "geared" towards adults? Because kids dont care? Thats what it seems like in your wording. Maybe if the pricing/product accesible to kids they would care.
What happens to the "hobby" when we pass on? (figuratively speaking....) Since there are no kids collecting now there will be none collecting later. Again Im basing this on how you word it.
Again I find it hard to believe it cost this much to produce a "box" of cards.
The point is MONEY. It is not about the hobby anymore.
This is a complex issue. You're right about the money. But it's still cheap compared to all the PS2s, Xboxes, skateboards, movie tickets, and sneakers that kids blow there parent's money on these days. The baseball card companies know what their competing against for a kid's dollar (or hundred). Why price it cheaper? If the kids don't buy it, the primary market of adults will. EG: Topps Pristine, UD Exquisite, UD Ultimate Collection.
I'm not suggesting that other forms of "collectibles" are cheaper... it's just that tastes change from generation to generation. Sports cards has had a long run with kids. But today's kids have so many more distractions than sports that baseball cards have become less desirable. Even the product on the field is less desirable to kids. And if the game can't draw them in, then how will baseball cards?
Look back a few generations to see what kids were collecting then... marbles come to mind. Kids spent all their money buying specialized marbles to aid them in competition. Some of these sold for a lot of money in the day. But who cares today? Times change. Once the collective childhood of a few generations because a memory, the things that were cherished then become a memory too. People will only continue to collect based on value, not on personal experience or childhood passions. In this regard, kids don't care today. Baseball card collecting is a hobby of an older generation. The companies know it... especially Topps! Look at all the Heritage stuff out today. And they can never print enough. That alone should indicate who is at the core of our hobby.
I guarantee if you live long enough, you'll see the end of mainstream card collecting. Sure, it'll still be worth something. But only because some guide says its valuable and because there'll be someone out there who can make money on it. For example: Postcards were a big collectible... not in contemporary times. Yet, today there are still a few collectors and there are still some postcards that change hands for good sums of money. But for the most part, we (my generation of 30 somethings) see it as an old person's hobby. You don't see many young folks buying up vintage postcards!
I think in another 30-40 years, this is where baseball card collecting will be.
What is see is little Johnny with $50. Little Johnny can purchase a box of sports cards for $50. (well maybe.....) or he can buy a Video game.
Little Johnny KNOWS he will get more enjoyment out of his $50 investment with the video game then the CHANCE he has to take with a box of cards. Why is that?
Thats a no brainer. Say he "tries" the cards and gets lucky. Pulls a nice card or two keeps one and "reinvests" the other. Well with his reinvestment he buys some more cards maybe 6 or 7 packs. Luck of the draw he dont get squat. Now he has a nice card he can keep cause he like Frank Peters. No more money and nothing to "trade" and or reinvest (cept his favorite player). He works gets $50 more dollars to spend. Where do you think he is going to put it. Another box of cards? Or a video game he can share/play with his friends? Hell he can trade video games and or borrow them. His friends instead of taking a chance on the cards bought games. They figured it was to costly of a "chance".
Now if they were a little less expensive he would have bought some, his friends may have bought some and they could trade sell and have a good ole time.
Kids were collecting cards a few generations ago, and comics. Of course Im counting 1970 as a few generations ago.
Somewhere somebody step over the fine line of collecting and investing and it has spiraled out of control.
Well, you're definitely onto something with your last comment... it's not about collecting, flipping, trading, or bicycle spokes anymore... kids treat cards like their parents treat them! And as long as the card companies and shops keep touting their wares akin to scratch tickets, the future of the hobby defitinitely doesn't look good...
By the way, I LOVED your image of the note you got from the kids you gave the cards to... I wish more people had this view of the hobby! Thanks for sharing that.
Keith
I mean do not get me wrong. Im attempting to open an online/Ebay type store (http://vcards.facciolli.com). But not for the money. I figure if I can keep my "head above water" with the bills by selling stuff I should stay ahead/even of the game WHILE affording good prices AND socking some stuff away.
Only time will tell. I have learned a lot already in my short 4 days here.
Course if you do not see me in six months my wife has stuck her 5 1/2 where the sun dont shine for "wasting money" as she likes to put it.....
as long as baseball does ok, cards will survive
will they decline? sure...thining of the herd, generation gap whatever, it will go up and down...it happens
it doesnt take wall street genius to figure out that modern market will not last in any fanancially meaningful way...its doomed.
but collecting baseball cards (vintage) has to do more with history and a passion for collecting itself.
i wasnt even born in this country, i never played with cards and yet i still collect.
baseball cards are the natural marriage of the love of the game and the love of collecting.
Groucho Marx
My biggest problem is the price points for cards today and the over-proliferation of brands and companies. Leagues should limit the number of licenses given out and limit the manufacturers on the number of brands that they can produce.
We need to get back to the point where you can go to the local store and pick up a few packs for a reasonable sum of money. $1.99 for a Topps base issue is $1 too high, in my opinion. Plus you never see any cards go on sale at stores any longer.
I think the leagues under-estimate the power that card collecting can have upon their sport for their future revenue streams.
I don't disagree that this hobby will become passe' and in 30 to 40 years you may be hard pressed for anyone to have interest in it any longer.
Erik
<< <i>Plus you never see any cards go on sale at stores any longer. >>
Not true. Shopko, at least, has a sale about once a month on their card stuff. 10-20% off.
Tabe