Forbes Article...good can reading.

[conor912]

For those that don't know, David Seideman writes 1-2 articles per month on the hobby for Forbes, usually about vintage. While I don't completely agree with everything in this one, I think he touches on some interesting points, specifically about the dealer to dealer transactions vs. dealer to collector.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidsei...-market-crash/

[Leon]

Well written article and information most of us in the hobby take for granted. Dealer to dealer sales are healthy imo. What is more healthy for our hobby is helping our young collectors (I just turned 54) enjoy and appreciate vintage the way most of us do, for so many different reasons. Paying it forward is always good.....

ps....if you have a blacklight you might put it under it to check that box off the analysis list... All collectors should own one ....here is a cheap one and there are millions out there......

http://www.ebay.com/itm/US-SELLER-Ha...item2a545410ce

[conor912]

Glad you liked it, Leon. I may have missed something, but I'm failing to see the black light connection, though.

I agree about the kids, which is why with the WSSCA shows I go after kids hard. For Halloween I'll be sticking free parent passes (kids already get in free) with the treats into candy bags for the November convention. I'll also be tracking down Pee Wee football leagues. What I don't get is how adult collectors chastise kids for only collecting modern players/cards. That's what we all did when we were kids and starting to collect! When you're 8, you want to collect they guy that hit 2 HR last night, not 100 years ago. When I was a kid, my dad read a lot. Whenever I went to read something, he'd always say "why are you reading THAT?" in disapproval. And guess what...it turned me off of reading entirely for years. We tend to forget how impressionable kids are and how important the encouragement of ANY kind of collecting is. My daughter has gotten really into collecting PEZ. I think they're stupid, but I don't tell her that and instead use it as an opportunity to teach her about rarity (supply and demand), variations, etc....all the factors that effect every collectible market across the board. I have found that we can enjoy collecting different things, together.

[4815162342]

I'm not worried about baseball card collecting going completely "out of style" and our cards becoming worthless. The hobby isn't necessarily for kids anymore, but so what? There will always be people like us who enjoy the game of baseball and who happen to enjoy collecting. At a certain age, those two traits combine with a moderate disposable income, and vintage baseball card collecting is the result.

[conor912]

For the record for anyone reading this thread, the article in the OP is not about kids or "how the hobby is dying".

[frankbmd]

Originally Posted by conor912

Glad you liked it, Leon. I may have missed something, but I'm failing to see the black light connection, though........

Detecting Head and Body Lice Eggs (Nits and Eggs reflect ultraviolet light)
Hunting scorpions and other insects
Detecting Bed Bugs
Fluoresces Gems, Minerals and Fossils
Use with UV Automotive Dye to detect Automotive coolant A/C Freon Refrigerant Gas Fluids Leaks
HVAC / AC leak detection
Locate pet stains
Detect blood stains
Use at Rave Parties
Detecting bodily fluids, which fluoresce when exposed to UV light
Checking for counterfeit paper money bills
Detect Counterfeit Stamps and Tagging
Night time Fishermen- Glow in the Dark Bait (UV light charges Glow)
Inspect Vaseline, EAPG, Depression, Uranium, Topaz & Canary Glass
Rodent Detection-Find mouse and rat dropping and urine
Test for True Vaseline Glass buttons
Finding food and pet stains on carpeting and other surfaces
Inspecting glass for cracks and other defects
Searching for minerals outdoors (Illuminates Fluorescent Minerals)

The black light connection is itemized above.

Items of particular interest to Net54 board members are highlighted in bold print.

Dealers must be concerned with items highlighted in red.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by frankbmd

Detecting Head and Body Lice Eggs (Nits and Eggs reflect ultraviolet light)
Hunting scorpions and other insects
Detecting Bed Bugs
Fluoresces Gems, Minerals and Fossils
Use with UV Automotive Dye to detect Automotive coolant A/C Freon Refrigerant Gas Fluids Leaks
HVAC / AC leak detection
Locate pet stains
Detect blood stains
Use at Rave Parties
Detecting bodily fluids, which fluoresce when exposed to UV light
Checking for counterfeit paper money bills
Detect Counterfeit Stamps and Tagging
Night time Fishermen- Glow in the Dark Bait (UV light charges Glow)
Inspect Vaseline, EAPG, Depression, Uranium, Topaz & Canary Glass
Rodent Detection-Find mouse and rat dropping and urine
Test for True Vaseline Glass buttons
Finding food and pet stains on carpeting and other surfaces
Inspecting glass for cracks and other defects
Searching for minerals outdoors (Illuminates Fluorescent Minerals)

The black light connection is itemized above.

Items of particular interest to Net54 board members are highlighted in bold print.

Dealers must be concerned with items highlighted in red.

Absolotely!! Dr. Frank you are the best....


But, Yikes, I was using the wrong function to go back and forth on the board and my answer freaked out. This comment I made (and subsequently made again) went in the wrong thread.

[frankbmd]

Originally Posted by Leon

Absolotely!! Dr. Frank you are the best....


But, Yikes, I was using the wrong function to go back and forth on the board and my answer freaked out. This comment I made (and subsequently made again) went in the wrong thread.

Oh Leon, now you're acting like a Nit Picker with a black light.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by frankbmd

Oh Leon, now you're acting like a Nit Picker with a black light.

If you have nits a nit picker isn't bad!! (*no affiliation to this company)

http://www.thenit-picker.net/

,

[esd10]

the biggest issue with the hobby is people are buying as a investment and have priced out a lot of young people new to the hobby for vintage cards. I started collecting again back in 2004 or 2005 and you could pick up a raw decent t206 for $10-15 (ebay) but now those same cards sell for double or triple now.

[bobbvc]

Originally Posted by esd10

the biggest issue with the hobby is people are buying as a investment and have priced out a lot of young people new to the hobby for vintage cards. I started collecting again back in 2004 or 2005 and you could pick up a raw decent t206 for $10-15 (ebay) but now those same cards sell for double or triple now.

The type of canned beans I buy at the grocery store sells for double what it did in 2004 (and they're still making those, unlike T206's) Let's not even get into property values. Inflation has it's way with collectibles as well as genuine value increases.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by bobbvc

The type of canned beans I buy at the grocery store sells for double what it did in 2004 (and they're still making those, unlike T206's) Let's not even get into property values. Inflation has it's way with collectibles as well as genuine value increases.

It seems everything goes up. I can barely afford the taxes on my house anymore.
As long as the stock market is up I think hobby prices will increase. If there is a big drop I think it will affect some card prices but not the "commodities".

[ls7plus]

Originally Posted by Leon

It seems everything goes up. I can barely afford the taxes on my house anymore.
As long as the stock market is up I think hobby prices will increase. If there is a big drop I think it will affect some card prices but not the "commodities".

The hobby is simply maturing the same way the coin market did, with the big boys (it wasn't that long ago we called them "whales") now also being drawn to it. Really rare and significant cards are still well below comparable items in other collectible fields. I remember the early '90's, when an ExMt M101 Ruth rookie could be had for $5,000 to $6,000. Multiply by 25X or so now, but that pales in significance to $30-$40 million Ferrari 250 GT's. The original 5 Shelby Daytona Cobras, which won LeMans, could have been had for a total of about $12K in the late '60's, and now each is well into seven figures. 1967 L-88 Corvettes (with the 427, 560 horsepower racing engine and related racing components), 20 of which were made, could be had for less than $20K in the '80's--now, $3.5 to $4 million all day long. I always like to think that one indication of the hobby's growth is the size of REA's catalogs. I have one from the mid '90's that was on newsprint and about 8 pages long. Now, even the fall auction catalog is approaching 500 glossy pages.

There will be some up and downs, but as long as baseball is around and people are drawn to its history, rare and significant items (each of which is a matter of degree) will continue to rule the day in the long term.

Just my two cents worth (and a lot of time studying the collectible car and coin markets),

Larry