Where Cards are and are going - Link to Josh Luper's "statement"

[carlsonjok]

Originally Posted by Gorditadogg

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As Josh points out Wall Street is recognizing our hobby and investing in it. He thinks this is a good thing and will help make card-collecting cool.

I remember, not too long after I graduated from college and was starting on my career, being called on the phone by a (no doubt shady) investment firm wanting me to invest in sports cards. I had absolute no connection to the hobby at that time, so it wasn't like they bought somebody's mailing list. This was in the early 1990s. We all know what happened subsequently. So, I'm firmly in the camp that Wall Street's interest in sports cards will only do damage to the hobby.

Similarly, I see the Fanatics deal through the same jaundiced eyes. The fact that MLB, NBA, NFL, MLBPA, NBAPA, and the NFLPA are all investors in Fanatics points to a business strategy that seeks to squeeze as much out of the license agreement as possible. And that means, in my estimation, a focus on the investor side of the hobby. I may be wrong, and I hope I am, but I'll need to see it to believe it.