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Old 01-13-2010, 02:36 PM
bbeck bbeck is offline
Bob Beck
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Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 100
Default Who will be the buyer of our vintage cards in 20 years?

I have followed the boards for quite some time and this is my very first post. I find the boards to be informative, funny and full of varying opinions. Everyone has their biases and such is life. I have been a vintage collector for over 30 years(one of every Hall of Fame member as nice as I could find it since I started in 1976) and left investment banking to open a collectibles shop in New Jersey over 18 years ago. I always wanted my own business and why not enjoy going to it every day?

The past year was extremely rough and the majority of the kids have left the hobby for other diversions.( I used to actually have a club in the store with over 300 kids as members.) Today, when a child enters the store and sees an Al Kaline card he asks his dad, who's alkaline? With all the negative press in baseball and very few clean heroes beyond the likes of Derek Jeter, who or what will actually inspire these kids to collect the greats of the game beyond the obvious Ruth, Cobb, Gehrig, Mantle , etc.. Granted, you will always get the kid who loves the vintage and will collect it all, but baseball has changed forever and is very different from the days of "us" baby boomers. Baseball was pure and passionate when we were kids, or at least seemed so(I named my dog Gibby after Bob Gibson) and the extension to collect vintage material was a natural when we reached adulthood and wanted to continue our quests and obsessions with the national pastime. I do not see this in today's kids, not one bit (to many diversions, video games, technology, etc.), and I wonder, "who will buy our cards" in 20-25 years. After all, they are the buyers of all of our memorabilia/cards/etc. in the future. As previously stated, the best will always sell, along with the greats of the game, but what about the rest? Personally, my collection will be handed down to my son to do as he chooses. But what about those who would like to sell? I see first hand the apathy towards cards and collecting with today's kids. I try to explain the history but most just don't seem to care. Where does this hobby/business stand in 20 years, will these kids have half the passion to collect like we do?
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