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The Great Baseball Card Bubble - article on Slate.com

jeffcbayjeffcbay Posts: 8,951 ✭✭✭✭
in Trading Cards & Memorabilia Forum
Here is a very interesting article on www.slate.com about the history of our hobby. I found it to be a very interesting read, with lots of cool links to related stories and references. If you have a few minutes you should go check it out!

Comments

  • MULLINS5MULLINS5 Posts: 4,517 ✭✭✭
    lol
  • jeffcbayjeffcbay Posts: 8,951 ✭✭✭✭


    << <i>lol >>



    Whaaaaat... you're making me feel like I did something wrong. What'd I miss?
  • MULLINS5MULLINS5 Posts: 4,517 ✭✭✭
    haha, no, skywalker posted something about that book minutes ago...funny coincidence
  • jeffcbayjeffcbay Posts: 8,951 ✭✭✭✭
    Oh I see it now... oops! Oh well, at least my post had a COOL link attached to it! image
  • MULLINS5MULLINS5 Posts: 4,517 ✭✭✭


    << <i>Oh I see it now... oops! Oh well, at least my post had a COOL link attached to it! image >>



    image
  • dzolotdzolot Posts: 174 ✭✭
    Wow. Awesome article!! Thanks for posting. You guys gunna buy the book??? How about the new T206 book? It looks good. Lots of advertising -- i'll probably end up buying it, or tipping off my wife to buy it for me : )
    I have twelve Sports Cards videos on youtube w/ over 75,000 views in total!! Vintage cards like 1951 Mantle, 33 Goudey Ruth, T206 Cobb, etc (copy and paste link below):

    http://www.youtube.com/user/dzolot

    Thanks for watching. Hope you enjoyed!!

    - I would encourage all collectors to post a video of their collection - I have found it to be a very rewarding way to share my sports cards!!
  • SDSportsFanSDSportsFan Posts: 5,178 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Mint Condition sounds like a good book. I've seen a few favorable reviews of it. I've also got to renew my PSA membership so I can get the T206 book image

    Steve
  • 72skywalker72skywalker Posts: 1,554 ✭✭✭
    That is the book i was talking about. Sorry, no cool links from me. I am not that flashy. It looks to be a cool read.
    Collecting Yankees and vintage Star Wars
  • SportsCardCollectorSportsCardCollector Posts: 320 ✭✭
    Interesting article. Thanks for posting it.

    Looks like I'll be making a run to the bookstore. image
    "It's not so important who starts the game but who finishes it."
    - John Wooden
  • BunchOBullBunchOBull Posts: 6,188 ✭✭✭
    He said Frank Thomas.

    Pretty good read.
    Collector of most things Frank Thomas. www.BigHurtHOF.com
  • cardbendercardbender Posts: 1,831 ✭✭
    Another good book on the hobby is 'Card Sharks' . It's about the company Upper Deck, how they got started and some of the behind the scene dealings that go on there. Once you read that, you'll maybe stop buying new products or at least question why open up packs of so-called limited edition cards.
  • fkwfkw Posts: 1,766 ✭✭
    Most who have read it say it is very well written, It was mentioned on the Net54 site a week or so back and some of the biggest guys in the hobby gave very good reviews of it. Thats the first Ive read of any of it and the guy did some good research and did interview the right people for it from what I can tell from those couple pages.

    One day I will read it all image

    PS The Author is fairly young from what I hear (I believe he is about 31-32), so even more kudos for a well written researched piece IMO.
  • divecchiadivecchia Posts: 6,688 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Good read, thanks for posting the link...

    Donato
    Hobbyist & Collector (not an investor).
    Donato's Complete US Type Set ---- Donato's Dansco 7070 Modified Type Set ---- Donato's Basic U.S. Coin Design Set

    Successful transactions: Shrub68 (Jim), MWallace (Mike)
  • toc1000toc1000 Posts: 95
    Back when I began collecting in 1987, it was foreseeable the card companies would print until MR=MC (marginal revenue = marginal cost.) And the cost of paper isn't very high. Then the unscrupulous Upper Deck types, who would retain the plates and simply print 1,000,000,000 Griffeys, without any commons.

    Unfortunately that's the Archilles Heel of the hobby - there's no way to prevent counterfeit or limit the print run.



  • toc1000toc1000 Posts: 95
    I don't mean to double-post, but what's to prevent a skilled counterfeiter from reproducing the 1952 Topps to 1980 Topps exactly - at least visually?

    Honestly, I don't see any technological barrier. Detection would require carbon-dating the ink & cardboard, ruining the card.


  • DeutscherGeistDeutscherGeist Posts: 2,990 ✭✭✭✭
    Nice article, but it kind of puts more salt on the wound too. All those 80s rookie cards will need decades of inflation to hit what they were at their peak.

    I also read the Don Carman (former Phillies and Reds pitcher) article of how he finally got around responding to autograph requests about 15 years later when he found a stash of unopened mail.
    "So many of our DREAMS at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we SUMMON THE WILL they soon become INEVITABLE "- Christopher Reeve

    BST: Tennessebanker, Downtown1974, LarkinCollector, nendee
  • akuracy503akuracy503 Posts: 1,923 ✭✭✭


    << <i>I don't mean to double-post, but what's to prevent a skilled counterfeiter from reproducing the 1952 Topps to 1980 Topps exactly - at least visually?

    Honestly, I don't see any technological barrier. Detection would require carbon-dating the ink & cardboard, ruining the card. >>



    It's probably quite possible to reproduce counterfeit vintage with todays technology and equipment however it'll probably cost a lot more than its worth to correctly dial in the paper source and ink pixelation to match a specific years issue such as '52 topps.

    Then again who really knows what thieves are capable of doing these days..it's just a matter of time something like this will put a dent in our hobby. image

    CU Ancient Members badge member.

    Collection: https://flickr.com/photos/185200668@N06/albums

  • billwaltonsbeardbillwaltonsbeard Posts: 3,748 ✭✭✭✭
    That article is BS. No one is paying 1 cent for 88 Donruss.
    My cards on COMC
  • toc1000toc1000 Posts: 95
    1988 D Robert Alomars in NrMT-MT can be purchased in lots for under $0.50 apiece on eBay.

    And that's the only regular issue 1988 Alomar - a future HOFer.

    Same for 1988 D Glavine rookies... under $0.50 apiece in NrMT-MT lots.

  • KnopflerKnopfler Posts: 783 ✭✭✭
    "A few weeks later, Bob Engel, a respected National League umpire, was arrested for allegedly stealing more than 4,180 Score baseball cards, worth $143.98, from a Target store in Bakersfield, Calif., and attempting to steal another 50 packs from a Costco. "

    I don't even know where to begin with this one...
    Topps Heritage Cards

    Allen & Ginter Cards

    My Blog -- Ballcard Mania
  • hammeredhammered Posts: 2,671 ✭✭✭


    << <i>"A few weeks later, Bob Engel, a respected National League umpire, was arrested for allegedly stealing more than 4,180 Score baseball cards, worth $143.98, from a Target store in Bakersfield, Calif., and attempting to steal another 50 packs from a Costco. "

    I don't even know where to begin with this one... >>




    I remember that story when it was released. He took packs of '90 Score. If I recall, the judge asked him why he took the cards. The ump said, "To collect and trade."

    I don't know what was worse - that an ump was caught stealing packs of cards, or that he chose to steal '90 Score.
  • billwaltonsbeardbillwaltonsbeard Posts: 3,748 ✭✭✭✭
    Score was actually very hot in 1990. That black and white Bo Jackson was the hottest card in the business for a while.
    My cards on COMC
  • hammeredhammered Posts: 2,671 ✭✭✭
    Yes I know. I paid $90 for a factory set.
  • larryallen73larryallen73 Posts: 6,069 ✭✭✭
    Those 1988 Donruss cards, once considered a savvy investment, can now be bought in bulk for around 1 cent apiece.

    That's a quote from the article. Tell me who is paying 1 cent a piece. I find that I have to hide them for Goodwill to even accept them for free!
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