T206 no longer listed in Beckett Baseball Magazine
 

In fact, all Pre-War cards were omitted from their most recent price guide. Given the 198 pages they devote to cards from 1948-Present, I find this surprising. Surely, T206 is more widely collected than 1990 Donruss Rookies (the complete factory set is listed at $2...just an example...first one I found...and there are no individually listed players.)

After all, they only saved roughly one page worth of coverage by leaving out the T205, T206, 1914 and 1915 Cracker Jack, Goudey issues from the '30s, 1939-41 Play Ball and a small handful of other sets.

Given the print space they still give to seldom traded issues from the overproduction era, I personally think this might be a prelude to an exclusively Pre-War price guide. I know, of course, that it is quite likely my thoughts are naively and overly optimistic.

Any other ideas as to what caused them to shift gears?

Please let me know.

Best Regards,

Eric

They probably have a good idea who their readership is and make decisions accordingly. Frankly I didn't even realize they still printed Beckett Monthly.

In my opinion, the prices were pretty pointless for t206s. Whenever I would look at the prices, they always seemed to be the same. No change whatsoever. Not the most accurate representation.

Jeff, Waz:

Thanks for your replies.

I guess I am a dinosaur among dinosaurs who stills gets a bang out of finding the magazine in my mailbox. Seeing this recent development gives me a moment of pause, though...really, T206 no longer rates (even as a blue-chip, rock-steady segement of the hobby) and deserves a little coverage?

It would be appropriate for me to get with the times, it would seem, and subscribe to the online version of their (or, perhaps, somebody else's) price guide.

Along with my original question, I would greatly appreciate suggestions on this front.

Best,

Eric

I've always loved the book, but found it inaccurate when it came to pricing. Not by that much, but still enough! Completed listings are the best to find the value of a card in my opinion.

One other thought: it could be the beginning of the end. I should preface that by saying that I have absolutely no inside knowledge of what led to the decision. A similar thing happened with Wizard Magazine, the pre-eminent monthly comic book magazine/price guide. First they started dropping out series to thin down the price guide section. Eventually they dropped the price guide section altogether, and the magazine itself began to read like a previews catalog for upcoming comics and related merch, with maybe 1 interview with a creator per month. Not long after that, they ceased publishing the magazine, and now just do cons (comic cons, that is, though I certainly felt conned when I paid for those last few issues).

My guess would be that, with the abundance of online resources available, few pre-war collectors look to a monthly printed price guide for their pricing information.

I haven't read Beckett in years. I never knew they started listing pre-war stuff.. I remember it used to start with '48 Bowman. I think they are going back to the old format.

I really used to like their "Graded Card Investor" for the useful info it contained on a wide range of Pre-War stuff--one article actually featured our very own Leon Lucky! That mag ceased publication in 2010. After that, I believe they decided they preferred to cater primarily to the new card market (yuck!), despite the virtually irrefutable fact that values for such cards are so grossly inflated with speculative and transient demand! Just the thought reminds me of several months ago, when I saw one of Mike Trout's rare parallel refractors (one of three?) with a "buy it now" price of a cool $50 grand! Boy, I'd like to try having that much more money than brains, just to see how it feels!

By the way, Hi, Matt. I thought wow, somebody else is up as late as me reading the posts on this board, then I saw that its only going on midnight for you!

Regards to all,

Larry

The Graded Card Publication
 

Is now a 2x a year book so there is still plenty of work done on older graded cards.

Rich

And as I discovered when I painstakingly wen through each pre-war card and the values associated in the Graded Card Publication, last year, it is the most accurate print pricing guide I have ever seen. If you want a real, printed guide that is spot on for pre-war and other pricing, this is it. I don't know about the post war but with the pre-war pricing, I couldn't find one that I disagreed with. And they have a lot of pre-war pricing in it. (not all, but a lot) Beckett gave out around 20 of these at the Net54baseball Dinner last year and I didn't hear back from anyone that said they found very much they disagreed with.

Yes, unfortunately, the Magazines are mostly for more modern cards that change price a little more frequently, and they keep issuing so many that something has to give. Think about how small those original Beckett's were and now they are all like books! Also, the high end pre-war stuff... let's face it, it primarily resides in slabs. Thus, like Leon said, go get the Graded Card Price Guide Book - you will find the most comprehensive information there (or also the Almanac - published once per year). Keep in mind I'm over Grading, not magazines, so I am not "officially" speaking for them, just as a fellow collector. But personally, I LOVE the Graded Price Book - and I, too, tried to point out flaws in it because I thought it might be old pricing, but Brian the PG Editor, has gone to great measures to really track all this stuff amazingly. I think, from a collector point of view and not a Beckett employee, it is hands down the best reference book for pre-war cards now with different grade breakdowns instead of just ranges.

Mark

No worries there. We are actually coming off the best year we have had in a long time, and in fact, I cannot hire fast enough in my department to keep up with demand. My staff has grown by 35% in the last year and I expect to grow it again by 35-50% this year. I tell new employees, "Welcome to the busiest workplace in Dallas! :-)"

It's been a long time since I looked, but didn't Buckett use to have a monthly mag devoted to vintage? (By vintage I mean both pre- and post-war)

Congrats to Phil Garry on his new position as magazine editor.

When does the new issue come out please?.

Glad to hear that my speculation was completely unfounded. Keep up the good work!

Leon,

Thanks for weighing in with this. I will be sure to pick up a copy of the guide.

Best,

Eric

Mark,

I appreciate you sharing this insight. Thank you very much.

I now have my sights set on picking up the Graded Card Price Guide Book.

Best Regards,

Eric

Beckett Price Guide
 

+1

Yes they did. I still carry one around at shows to use as a quick reference that will be 10 years old in March (2003 issue). It's especially good for a quick glance for SP, variation, and semi/minor star details. I actually put it inside one of the clear plastic book report sleeves to keep it from falling apart even more. LOL

Addendum: I think they stopped the Vintage monthly sometime in 2003 as well.

+2

New Issue
 

Are you referring to the Beckett Graded Card Price Guide? If so, the last one (3rd Edition) just hit in December. We are already sold out but you might check BN.com, Amazon, or half.com.

Next issue (4th Edition) is June 2013. You can preorder product code PGGC0004 by calling 239-280-2380. It should be $24.95 retail, and they said I could offer free shipping for Grading customers in the United States on the retail orders. Dealers can also order bulk copies at a discounted rate but without the additional free shipping since they get the bulk discount.

Thanks,
Mark

Thank you mark your the best:)

No problem, Octavio - I hope you enjoy the book. Like Leon said, it really is the best guide out there, and I'm in no way involved with it's production, so I'm saying that as a third party. I tried to call them out on some Joe Jackson and Gehrig cards being priced too low in some grades, and they were able to give me tons of evidence supporting their pricing. (That's how I learned that eBay actually isn't always the best place to buy some of these cards.) Anyway... thanks for the compliment and hope the book works for you!

Also, if you prefer digital (I prefer print, but to each his own), the same Graded Card Pricing is on www.beckett.com through an online price guide subscription, updated in real time daily (although in all honesty, pre-war cards don't exactly change values that much which is why a 2x/year publication works great). I tried to post an example, but I am not sure how to save an html page and attach here. Couldn't transfer it to a jpeg or anything. Sorry!