T206 no longer listed in Beckett Baseball Magazine

[Eric72]

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

[HRBAKER]

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.

[wazoo]

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.

[Eric72]

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

[wazoo]

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.

[thecatspajamas]

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.