Help! The Hobby is DYYYINNGGGGG!!!!

[MattyC]

I haven't experienced or encountered people proclaiming the hobby dead at all. It is a very big field with so many different types of cards within it, so it all depends what one is talking about, specifically. It's hard to discuss in the most general terms, because we can't really lump in a Babe Ruth RC or T210 Shoeless Joe with the likes of a 1991 Fleer Wax Case. It is true that the 100t lot of 1988 Fleer Ricky Jordans is not worth much right now.

Yet from the headline cards in the likes of each year's REA and HA auctions, all the way to daily auctions on eBay (where 1986 Donruss Canseco's in PSA 10 still command $75 or so, 84D Mattinglys time and again crack $600, and Registry commons fetch $$$$), the hobby seems downright robust.

[begsu1013]

100% agree so I will reluctantly offer 60% on all book prices of mantles, aarons, ruths, ryans and roses just to bail everyone out or I will trade you my ricky jordans. your call. send them to me quickly, though!

in all seriousness, great write up and use of words and thanks for the knowledge drop on the home alone bandit narrating the wonder years! never knew.

man, what I woulda gave for just a few minutes w. that winnie cooper. woulda been the roughest 61 seconds of her life! ; )

[barrysloate]

The hobby isn't dying, but it would be fair to say its best days are behind it. This doesn't shock me because one of the things I've learned in my 62 years is that things change, everywhere. So to see the hobby change from its peak in say the 1990's is what I would expect, not something that would surprise me.

As I've mentioned I collect large cents, American pennies minted between 1793 and 1857. The typical age for a serious large cent collector is probably somewhere between 45 and 70. Not a lot of young people are jumping in, which is not a great omen for the future of that hobby. But life changes, so what can you do?

And The Wonder Years was one of my favorite shows, and I did know that Daniel Stern was the narrator.

[1963Topps Set]

Actually, I feel the baseball card industry peaked in the late 1980s. In 1989, I was unable to make a dent in the 1970 Topps set. In 1993 I was able to complete the 1959 Topps set. The 1994 baseball strike helped me a lot by killing the industry and getting rid of a lot of profiteers and freeloaders.

[ALR-bishop]

At 65 it is still just a hobby for me. Since it is just a hobby , I do not care if it has peaked or not.

[Matthew80]

I enjoyed the nostalgic read as well. I was born in 80 and love the boom in the late 80s-early 90s. So many great memories with dad and friends...

I'm pessimistic about the hobby, though. That said, anyone who thinks it's dead right now just needs to look at eBay.

[ALR-bishop]

If you are looking at eBay to cheer yourself up about the hobby be sure not to compare how it looks now to a few years ago

[frankhardy]

Originally Posted by ALR-bishop

At 65 it is still just a hobby for me. Since it is just a hobby , I do not care if it has peaked or not.

Ditto for me......except I'm not 65....I'm 40.

[ALR-bishop]

"Life begins at 40, but so do fallen arches, rheumatism, faulty eye sight, and the tendency to tell a story to the same person three or four times"...Helen Roland

[ls7plus]

Anyone who thinks the hobby is dying should take a look at the changes in REA's auction catalog over the last 20+ years--I have one I believe is from 1993, and its about 6-8 double-sided pages on newspaper-type stock. Now, it seems to grow and grow every year, and is presently over 500 pages of the highest grade, glossy stock available. Of course, REA focuses on where the true value lies in the hobby: rare, truly significant items in the best grade you can find or afford.

The fatal flaw with new cards is that the highest demand and hence price tends to be for "one of...(insert limited quantity)" of such players as Mike Trout or Bryce Harper, where the significant aspect will not be determinable for many years. Pay $50K for a one of three Trout refractor rookie and you may be near tears when he later turns out to be Pete Reiser, Rick Reichardt, Tony Conigliaro, Ron Swoboda, Kerry Wood, Joe Mauer, Steven Strasburg, or even Rocky Colavito, let alone A-Roid (Reichardt and Swoboda were also "the new Mickey Mantle" for awhile in their time). Let him age into his mid to late 30's to see where he really ends up at. His cards will all still be out there. Demand for the latest and greatest is speculative and transient, while that for rare and significant items tends to be lasting and growing, as the number of knowledgeable collectors grows.

The hobby certainly isn't dying, and won't, as long as baseball is around, and collectors are interested in its history. There is, however, a maturing process that occurs within the hobby, and it seems every generation of collectors must learn and accept the above. Paying big bucks for the latest wunderkind to burst upon the scene is no different than taking your wad to the craps or roulette table--which is perfectly fine, so long as you realize exactly what it is that you are doing (and given the asking price for some of these modern "gems," craps and roulette may well have a higher upside). Patience is the order of the day when thinking about spending any significant sums on these kinds of cards/players. You can't make something worth the price you'll have to pay if you submit to the GOTTA HAVE HIM NOW urge by wishing it to be so. Time is the factor that will reveal true and growing value.

May your collecting bring you joy, rather than pain,

Larry