What would happen if Beckett went out of biz tomorrow?

yankeeno7

Just a theoretical question with all the talk of financial problems and bringing in Mr Mint to do articles or some nonsense.

A761506

I don't know much about Beckett's business problems, but I'd sure like to see PSA switch to using their holders. They are the best holders of any company by a mile.

Stone193

End of life as we know it!

Stone193

Barry

I think that any faith I had in Beckett is long gone. Back in the 80s they strongly adhered to the tenet that they were a "reflection" of the market and anything that would compromise that position would be avoided.

E.g. advertising was forbidden since it would appear to be a conflict of interest.

So, if they folded tomorrow? I'm no economics whiz. I say, someone will take up the slack I guess?

Good question.
mike

Boopotts

Honestly, it would be a blow the hobby. We all like to 'pooh-pooh' Beckett, but remember-- the people on these boards do not represent an accurate cross section of the American card collecting community. Most of the guys here collect graded, vintage cards. That's NOT what 90% of the rest of the hobby is in to.

The Beckett magazines, and their website (with their busy forums, free pop reports, and so on) are the masthead for the hobby. Nobody would win if they went under.

frankhardy

Do y'all think Ebay has hurt Beckett? If you think about it, to find out how much a card is REALLY worth, just search Ebay's completed items, and there you have it.

mcholke

Do y'all think Ebay has hurt Beckett? If you think about it, to find out how much a card is REALLY worth, just search Ebay's completed items, and there you have it. Text

I completely agree. I long ago gave up my Beckett suscription in favor of real market prices of Ebay. Their site is limited by lack of photos on most of the cards and I have been burned many times on card conditons from their sellers.

ndleo

I believe that Ebay may buy Beckett from the current owners. Ebay is always looking to grab more of the transaction dollar and Beckett would give them a leadership position in the sports market. You could argue that Beckett is the top name in the hobby in terms of public awareness. There are many more business out there that the Beckett name could be leveraged.

A761506

I'd say there is zero chance that eBay would be interested in buying Beckett. If eBay were to acquire any company, it would be a company that would be complimentary to their entire business operation, not just a tiny segment.

As a early-teen boy, I used to get so excited when the new Beckett would come in mail. All the vintage cards were listed, there were only 6 companies to contend with in 1989, up from 4 the previous year, so the price guide wasn't cluttered with all the modern crap that ruins it today. Now the price guide summarizes every baseball card produced between 1887 and 1979 in less than 2 pages.

Beckett himself knew the run had ended when he sold it off. He knew exactly what he was doing.

yankeeno7

I remember that it was always Beckett's policy not to be involved with investment of cards themselves. Now they have their own auctions, sell wax, and so forth. Beckett certainly has become a disgrace in my eyes. It is quite sad that they didnt stay out of the market...or at least appear to be...

ndleo

Apprise Media, the company that bought Beckett, is a $145 million fund. They are not a bunch of idiots. It is run by the same guy who founded Primedia, which is large business trade publisher. Their stated goal is to buy, improve, and sell businesses. I doubt Dr. Beckett could hoodwink these guys.

Sports and Collectibles represents the second largest sales volumes for Ebay ($4.2 b combined) after Autos ($14.1 b). The third largest is clothes at $3.1 b. So the hobby is a large business for Ebay.

Ebay bought Skype this year, which has nothing to do with auctions. Ebay already gets revenue from the listing and payments business, where else can they go and not compete with their own customers? That is where Beckett comes in. Everyone here knows that a Beckett/Ebay price guide for all sports memorbilia would be the most popular guide in the hobby. Add the grading and authentication services revenue, which would be purely accretive to Ebay's earnings.

Just my opinion, but it is based on data.

FYS

If eBay bought Beckett that could create a price guide based on eBay ended listings. Every person on the planet would buy this price guide. I think they would have to stop grading cards however. You can not authenticate and grade and then pretend to be impartial when listing in your own company. I think grading would be more hassle then its worth for them (low profit margin).

Can you imagine eBay pack pricing, raw pricing, wax/vending/cell pricing, graded card pricing etc. base on real eBay sell prices. Wow!

Boopotts

<< <i>If eBay bought Beckett that could create a price guide based on eBay ended listings. Every person on the planet would buy this price guide. I think they would have to stop grading cards however. You can not authenticate and grade and then pretend to be impartial when listing in your own company. I think grading would be more hassle then its worth for them (low profit margin).

Can you imagine eBay pack pricing, raw pricing, wax/vending/cell pricing, graded card pricing etc. base on real eBay sell prices. Wow! >>



Agreed- that would be absolutely incredible. You could charge 15$ an issue and I don't think most of us would bat an eyelash at paying that.

yankeeno7

Would an "Actual" price guide work though? Do they hold those prices knowing that they always sell for much less? If you dropped to actual sales, would the amounts that the items sell for also drop?

An idea for a very interesting publication would be to track card sales and have a magazine that reported the sale prices....or the average price if it was a popular card. Anyone have the time or energy to do this? Of course you would have to also get input from existing memorabilia shops and memorabilia shows. I wouldnt mind going to a show and paying what the reported sales were....because I would at least be paying fair market value for it.

Even a publication that tracked ebay sales. Just as a guide.

WinPitcher

Do y'all think Ebay has hurt Beckett? If you think about it, to find out how much a card is REALLY worth, just search Ebay's completed items, and there you have it.


That is if the card in question actually sold within the last 30 days. I disagree, for that venue being the tell all on what a card is really worth.

At best it tells you what a card sold for within the past 30 days. I have seen cards sell for multiples of SMR and I have seen some steals too.

JMO

Steve


PS Beckett's price guide has its flaws too.

Best way to know what a card is worth is to know your market.

example........3 weeks aqo i mentioned to a dealer i needed 1 card to complete a set. his reply? he sent it and asked me to pay what i thought was fair. The card in question had not shown up in ebay for quite some time. I sent him 30.00 plus his actual shipping. last week an example went off on ebay for 79.00. 2 people had to have that card and thus it was driven up. the following week another example hit the bay and the underbidder of the 79.00 auction won it for 25.00. That told me that i was in the ball park on the cards true value.

so the last 3 examples of that card sold for 30.00, 79.00 and 25.00

what is the true value? my dealer friend thought 40.00 was what he could have gotten for his on the bay. all 3 were similar in centering. non was any better then the other from what I could see.


Best to know ones market and not rely on guides and ebay results.

use those venues to get the knowledge you will need to make an informed bid or offer.

ndleo

They would have to do some statistical adjustments to factor out bad feedback sellers, high S&H, and other wild cards. You couldn't just use the final price in every case, however the raw data would be there for everyone to see.

That would eliminate some of the perceived "favoritism" Beckett had.

I still think they could do grading since the marketplace would determine the value, not Beckett/Ebay. They probably shouldn't list the items.

Allen

I use older Becketts as a reference now and again, but the best price guide is eBay. You can type in whatever the item is and see exactly what it is worth -ie. what someone is willing to pay for it. Ebay has realized this and that is why they about 2 years ago they made it so you had to be a registered used to view completed items. Now you can only see items ending in the last 14 days though they store items for 90 days. Now they are selling access to records for $2.99/2 days to $9.99-24.99 per month.

envoy98

Doesn't anyone remember the online ebay/beckett co-op price guide? They did this a year or two ago, nobody paid for it and it went away very quickly. It was $5/mo, it had some great info but for some reason it just never caught on.

Now as far as Beckett going out of business...I think it would hurt the hobby. At least with a Beckett mag you have something to use as a tool to keep people from flat out ripping you off at shows. While it has it's flaws, it's still the best thing going IMO and it has been the defacto standard for years.

TNP777

if Beckett went out, I'd only miss the free checklists. I occasionally check out the message boards, but most of the posters seem pretty trollish. Hard to find anyone to trust over there.

Geordie

bjork73

One also has to realize that eBay is NOT the entirety of the sports card industry. Card shops and shows still represent a huge portion of overall sales, and while the shows may be able to offer stuff on the cheap sometimes, the shops can't, and the GOOD shops shouldn't (good meaning that one has a decent shot of finding a particular card, whatever that card may be, at that store, and be able to get it quickly). Alas, the only store that really goes all the way there is Burbank Sports cards, and only a few others even come close. There's a premium to be attached to being able to be reasonably certain that you can find the exact card you're looking for and be able to buy it from a reputable company, and even a bit more IMO to be able to look at the card and have it right in your possession immediately after you buy it. So to me, Beckett is like a "full service" price.

Southerncards

What would happen?

There'd be dancing in the streets and a party for 3 days straight!

yankeeno7

dizzyfoxx

nothing.

ndleo

A more realistic question is what would happen if SCD and Tuff Stuff went bankrupt. I don't know anyone that actually reads those mags anymore.

Stone193

If any of the big companies fold, I believe it would be worth looking at.

These companies and their vitality may be a reflection of the strength of the hobby.

mike

JoeBanzai

I used to read Beckett religiously, studying the prices of the cards I was interested in as well as the ones I wanted to sell. More often than not, the dealer I was haggling with would say "book is wrong on that card". Of course always in their favor. As time went on I felt that whether they were right or not, if the "book" was widely regarded as being incorrect, there was little reason to spend the time reading it.

Even though prices vary on eBay, I feel that you are watching (for the most part) an accurate indicator of the prices that are realized for the cards you are interested in. Everyone has an opinion, I would rather see actual results.

Since the vast majority of the magazine is a price guide, I don't use it at all. It does seem to come in handy for people interested in new issues as a checklist.

Nothing drastic would happen as far as I am concerned if they went out of business.

JoeBanzai

DirtyHarry

Everyone would wake up, have some breakfast, and get on with their lives.

Stone193

<< <i>Everyone would wake up, have some breakfast, and get on with their lives. >>


Make mine a sausage biscuit, hash browns and orange juice!

yankeeno7

Two eggs over easy, bacon, home fries and toast! Oh yeah...nice cold glass of orange juice(no pulp!)