[timzcardz]

The new breed of collectors . . . have potential.

I was at the Hofstra Show with a friend a couple of weeks ago. My knees were aggravating me after standing and walking around for a couple of hours, so as we were leaving I sat on a bench outside while my friend went to get the car.

While sitting, there was a kid, maybe 15, also sitting on the bench, going through a case with cards in it.

Nearly 50 years his senior, we still had a very pleasant conversation.

I asked him if he had anything good, and what he collected.

He told me he had some Saddiq Bey basketball cards. (To be honest, at the time I had no idea who Saddiq Bey was) He collected him because they had the same last name. Yes, the cards were shiny and new, and some in slabs, but he had a genuine interest in the cards for a reason that was special to him.

We chatted a bit more, and then his mother arrived to pick him up. He said goodbye and wished me a good day.

He could not have been more polite, or more engaging in conversation about what he collected.

So if this hobby is about being interested in the cards, and sharing that interest with other collectors, then I believe that there is potential in the new breed of collectors.