The difficulties of getting kids to collect

[steve B]

My youngest picked up a small box of baseball cards yesterday, just a small late 80's boxed set.
"Hey daddy, what are these?"
"Baseball cards"
Disappointed tone " Oh, I thought it said waspball" Puts it down and walks away.

She's almost 6, but if I can't even get my own kids interested.........

And now I want to invent waspball. It could be a big hit on cable tv.

[Johnny630]

It seems like today’s youth under 30 are way more interested in living in the moment, spending their hard earned money on experiences rather than collectibles.

[commishbob]

Originally Posted by steve B

And now I want to invent waspball. It could be a big hit on cable tv.

You may be on to something there

But as to the subject at hand....

My sons got into collecting when they were young. They had lots of cards, pennants, SLU figures, etc. They saved all their publications, chased autographs, etc. I took them to cards shows and card shops. But as they got older high school stuff, playing sports & video games became a priority. The next thing you know they are married and I have boxes of junk wax collecting dust in my hobby room.

I was at the Houston TriStar show this past weekend and there were very few young people in sight.

I'm not sure what the answer is when it comes to getting younger blood involved.

[steve B]

She collects, but at the moment it's mostly my little pony, and five nights at freddies figures. But only sister location, the new series with lots of teeth are "too creepy" But the non-toothy homicidal animatronics aren't?!

They might get into pokemon soon, they've gotten a few cards but treated them about like a 5 and 7 year old treat most things.

[JustinD]

Mine flipped around sophomore year of high school to girls and cars. I am hoping he does the same thing as me and comes back to it after college...we'll see.

He starts Michigan State in August and I will admit college girls are better than cards, so he has a point.

[stevecarlton1972]

Obviously kids have so many more things to do then we did as kids (Ipad, Phones, video games, etc). But the one thing that got me into Baseball as a kid which eventually got me into collecting Baseball Cards was reading the Sports Section everyday and being obsessed with box scores.

Statistics/Tradition was the one thing that Baseball had over the other major sports, and that is sort of lost in the internet/post-Steroid era these days. I used to love getting cards of older players who had been in the league and you could look at their 15 year career of statistics on the back of the card. I loved comparing the backs of a Nolan Ryan with Steve Carlton and Tom Seaver in the early 80's when they were approaching 3,000 Strikeouts, 300 wins, etc.

Stuff like that just doesn't appeal to kids these days like it did when we were kids, and that is probably why the NFL is so appealing to them because it's all about THE moment. Keeping score at a baseball game, reading the box scores everyday in the newspaper, and following who may break Roger Maris HR record are all just gone now as the lore of the Baseball isn't the same. The advent of the Wildcard, interleague play, etc just cemented Baseball as just another sport. I think those things reflected in card collecting too and why we love them.

[clydepepper]

Well, I'm 62 and as long as there are plenty of 40-year-olds willing to purchase from me - I will try not to worry about how they will resell them.

[brett 75]

For the most part kids have no interest in what we are doing with our baseball (sports cards) in general. 26 ,15 and 11 none of them collect. All I ever get is what are you going to do with all those cards? Most of the time I tell them they are going to have to deal with it when I'm gone! This is an old mans hobby and I'm reaching that age. I recently quoted my father Enjoy what you collect and don't worry about it.
Brett

[Slinger]

I left in my teens.

I came back 7 months ago at 38.

I feel this is a common/usual cycle perhaps. Not to worry.

[savedfrommyspokes]

My two boys have the same lack of interest in cards...my older son's interest peaked in 2014 when he got a Jeter auto, but since then, his interest has greatly declined. My younger son, loves baseball but could care less about cards....he would rather be playing baseball outside, or if that is not possible watching or gaming baseball inside. Two springs ago, I used the Topps website to generate cards for them....they could have cared less. They both went through a Pokeman phase, but that passed a year back.

[ronniehatesjazz]

Originally Posted by Slinger

I left in my teens.

I came back 7 months ago at 38.

I feel this is a common/usual cycle perhaps. Not to worry.

This is very common! I collected up until I was 14 and didn't come back to it until I hit 29 a few years ago. All my friends who collected when we were kids pretty much have done the same thing. The difference between now and then is that we all have a decent amount of disposable income that allows us to buy all the cards that we wanted when we were kids and couldn't afford it. One of the first cards I bought when I got back into it was a beat up Ruth Goudey card. When I received it in the mail it was like I was a kid again... awesome feeling and full of nostalgia! I think a lot of people get back into it for the same reasons.

[Neal]

Next week, I'll be 51 years old. I started collecting in the mid to late 70s, with 80-83 being big years. Packs were 30 cents and local card shops were abundant with the occasional fire hall show. It was a blast.


Added to the collection during the HS and college years, and without eBay, the collection remained largely the same. Flash forward to the late 90s with eBay, the internet, message boards, and access to more spending money, the collection changed. Still is to this day …..


Now I am married, with two boys. One loves baseball and all sports and my youngest is a casual sports fan other than Philly teams. Neither collect, and I don't think any of their buddies do either. To me, that is the sign of a potential "apocalypse" for the hobby - none were 30 cent pack kids like most of us.

My neighborhood was teaming with kids back in the day whose daily summer activities included trading sessions. Some of them still collect, many do not.

[stevecarlton1972]

Originally Posted by Neal

Next week, I'll be 51 years old. I started collecting in the mid to late 70s, with 80-83 being big years. Packs were 30 cents and local card shops were abundant with the occasional fire hall show. It was a blast.

I'm 45 years old, so I collected on the same trajectory as you, but just a few years after. I started collecting around 1979, as the 80's were the big years of collecting for me.

I still say (and I may have posted this earlier in this thread or another tread), once those cards became a value for me, it all changed. When I was collecting back in 1981, 82, 83, 84, it was all about completing the Topps Baseball set each year. I didn't bother with Fleer or Donruss, or even other sports, I just wanted to complete that 792 card set for Topps each year. I would have traded a double of a 1983 Tony Gwynn Rookie back then for some common player to complete the set.

But once I saw a value on these cards (around 1986 when my friend told me about the Canseco Donruss Rookie) it was never the same. Then Upper Deck came around and cards started to skyrocket and they pretty much priced most kids out.

Less is more is the eventual downfall of kids not collecting because there are just too many sets today, and you have to be a real collector to know which is which. Back when I was a kid, I rode my bike up to Wawa or 7-11, bought a few packs of Topps Baseball Cards, and life was good.

[G1911]

I'm younger than most here at 27. Collected as a kid, after my Dad bought me a few packs, never lost interest. I didn't collect in High School/College for economic reasons, but never really left the hobby. My dad, my uncles, my grandpa, all collected as kids. None of my cousins do, and most of my friends in my age group could care less about cards. My best friend is a great baseball fan and loves the history of the game, he'll take one of my boxes or binders occasionally and flip through the vintage, but doesn't collect.


I think it's largely because A) my generation is less collector oriented, B) has far more interest options than older generations did in the digital era, and C) my generation lacks the financial means to collect much. Many of my college classmates graduated with major debt, and struggle to live independently and build families, have little money to spend on hobbies at this point in their lives (which partly makes digital stuff more appealing, as here in Sillicon valley a smartphone and computer is basically a required item, and using them to spend time browsing the internet or playing free games costs nothing). I have been blessed to be able to responsibly spend some money on tobacco and vintage cards, but a lot more 45 year olds can do so than 25 year olds. I suspect many baseball fans will find the hobby later in life when it becomes more practical for them. And if it doesn't, that's one reason I don't spend much on any item. It's an aging market, and if it completely collapses one day, I want to still be happy with my modest collection and not feel like I lost an investment if they lose their value.

[ronniehatesjazz]

Originally Posted by G1911

I'm younger than most here at 27. Collected as a kid, after my Dad bought me a few packs, never lost interest. I didn't collect in High School/College for economic reasons, but never really left the hobby. My dad, my uncles, my grandpa, all collected as kids. None of my cousins do, and most of my friends in my age group could care less about cards. My best friend is a great baseball fan and loves the history of the game, he'll take one of my boxes or binders occasionally and flip through the vintage, but doesn't collect.


I think it's largely because A) my generation is less collector oriented, B) has far more interest options than older generations did in the digital era, and C) my generation lacks the financial means to collect much. Many of my college classmates graduated with major debt, and struggle to live independently and build families, have little money to spend on hobbies at this point in their lives (which partly makes digital stuff more appealing, as here in Sillicon valley a smartphone and computer is basically a required item, and using them to spend time browsing the internet or playing free games costs nothing). I have been blessed to be able to responsibly spend some money on tobacco and vintage cards, but a lot more 45 year olds can do so than 25 year olds. I suspect many baseball fans will find the hobby later in life when it becomes more practical for them. And if it doesn't, that's one reason I don't spend much on any item. It's an aging market, and if it completely collapses one day, I want to still be happy with my modest collection and not feel like I lost an investment if they lose their value.

I wish the market would collapse so I could stack t206 cobbs and wagners but I think they will only get more and more expensive unfortunately. No one wants to see their cards lose value but that's the paradox of being a true collector.

[Bored5000]

Originally Posted by ronniehatesjazz

I wish the market would collapse so I could stack t206 cobbs and wagners but I think they will only get more and more expensive unfortunately. No one wants to see their cards lose value but that's the paradox of being a true collector.

Agree with you when it comes to iconic players such as Cobb, Wagner, Ruth, Gehrig, etc. The market is never going to collapse for inner circle Hall of Famers from the pre-war era. I do think there is some danger in valuations for cards from the 1950s on up because there is just so much supply around. I also think obscure type cards of common players could suffer a major hit in the future.