How many card shops have become just like this......

[rhettyeakley]

Originally Posted by packs

I mean cards have only really been expensive for the past 10 years or 15 years. Before that they were worthless.

are you serious with this comment? So cards were worthless until 1998-2003?

I am much more optimistic about this hobby than most I guess based on the comments thus far. I think people are over analyzing things. As long as there are people that like both sports and history the future is probably fine. There are tons of hobbies out there that don't require one to have collected that item as a child to ensure that they collect as an adult. Heck, as a kid I was way more into Star Wars figures than I was baseball cards but only have a passive interest in them now. There is a portion of the population that likes to collect things, some couldn't care less. Those that have an interest in sports and like to collect things will be driven to this hobby. The overall limited supply of prewar sports cards actually IMO bodes well for this hobby. This is a hobby where a total population of under100 items is rather normal, a hobby such as coins and stamps any item with a total population in that range would be viewed as ultra rare and highly collected.

I think there will still be collectors they just might not follow the same path to the hobby as many of us did to get here. Again, I may be overly optimistic in the way I see it but only time will tell.

[packs]

Well what would you say the average price for a VG T206 Cobb any pose would have run you in 1998? Now you're going to pay somewhere around $1,000 on average.

I don't mean worthless as in zero value. My opinion (and it's just an opinion) is that cards didn't see real value until the internet became readily accessible.

[t206fix]

Originally Posted by packs

Well what would you say the average price for a VG T206 Cobb any pose would have run you in 1998? Now you're going to pay somewhere around $1,000 on average.

I don't mean worthless as in zero value. My opinion (and it's just an opinion) is that cards didn't see real value until the internet became readily accessible.

Yeah - but if you factor in inflation (look it up - gas was $1.06 a gallon back then...) and the fact that none of us had the internet readily available like we do now, and that vg Cobb is probably priced right for 1998. If I had a time machine, I would travel back to 1988, and I wouldn't have spent $$$ chasing Gregg Jeffries, Devon White and Bobby Bonilla RCs - and all my money would have been going into t206 Cobbs. But... there was no marketplace for them - I wouldn't know where to find one and, if I did, I would have paid probably $1000 at the local card shop for it.

The big game changer is in the internet. There is a market place out there right now for these cards where everyone in the whole world can compete for these cardboard gems. In 1998, I wouldn't know where to find a t206 cobb or even a t206 Danny Murphy Batting (I'm putting together a back run - if you've got one, let me know) Right now, I can go on the PSA/Sgc pop reports (I know the sgc pop report is lame) and see how many cards are out there graded. I can go on to VCP and Cardtarget and see how much these cards have been sold or priced at. If I buy a card with intention of flipping it, I know that that the everyone out there has seen what I paid for it... Information is everything, and right now, we have it at our fingertips. (Except for Leon, who must have government clearance on some of the searches he does... How many times do we need to see a post from him saying... "Look what I picked up on ebay. It's a 1914 Global Pirate Coupon (Ultra Rare Back only sold in Savannah, GA) Tris Speaker and I didn't spend that much on it ($7). It's the only one ever made!" Who knows about all these different cards unless he does have some sort of gov't clearance... right, Leon Your secret is safe with me...)

(DJ - start the Star Spangled Banner music in the background)

I love America and our free market ('Merica - love it). Because of this little thing called ebay (I know, I hate it too, but I also love it...) and Auction Houses, we know now that we can purchase a PSA 2 Red t206 Cobb from Henry Puffe in Lander, Wyoming for $540, or an SGC 20 from Merle Finkleberger in Jupiter, Florida for $495, and we know that we are not getting ripped off. But, if I see one going on ebay for a BIN of $800, well, buyer beware. Also, there's a 90% chance that we can resell that card for the same or an even higher amount in a year if needed (except in a global economic collapse or alien invasion).

So, anyhow, what is the point of my beer induced, way too long post...
I think that our hobby/addiction has never been better. If I wake up tomorrow, and t206 Cobbs are going for $75 (if you are selling a t206 cobb for $75, pm me first, I'll take it), then I know there will be trouble (not really, I'll still buy them from you). Right now, I can't even sniff a t206 cobb sgc10 for $400, so I'm pretty confident the market will stay stable. And yes, my 9 and 11 year old sons know who Ty Cobb is, and they'll buy a t206 cobb from you for $75 also.

Right now, check ebay and see how much a Mike Trout RC would run you, and ask yourself, have we changed since 1991? All of us on the vintage side say these are crap (or carp) cards, but are they, if they are really going for this much. Somebody's buying it...

[HOFAUTOS]

Take a visit to the Blowout Cards forum or FCB. Then visit YouTube and see all the mail day videos. Once you're done with that visit Vaughnlive.tv or ustream and see all the group case breaks. The hobby is huge and there are plenty of kids/teenagers in it. They might not buy cards from Wal Mart (they're smarter and know hobby product is better than retail) but they are active all over the Internet.

[Rich Klein]

There wsa a 13 year old (or so) dealer doing his first show and his whole family was into collecting including his grand mother.

He was mentioning to one of the other dealers (I only caught part of the conversation) about some really new scholl internet trading forum which invoved doing everything with videos on line. I'll find out more but the kids who get into collecting will be using new tools to collect we do not know about.

Heck, I'm not on this yet but apparently reddit is where it's at for social media and facebook is over the hill

Rich

P.S. While I like when people agree with me -- I still think Brooks will fade into history (outside Baltimore) as Cal will be the forever legend in Baltimore.

Heck, at yesterday's show for the first time I've been dong that show, I actually had people asking for Pudge and Ryan cards and their best days were only 10-20 years ago.