The difficulties of getting kids to collect

savedfrommyspokes · #1 07-11-2018, 09:07 AM

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.

AGuinness · #2 07-11-2018, 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 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.

Nice cards and a good idea on getting them interested, but certainly not every kid is going to catch the bug.

I've got two boys, 5 and 8, and we have a few traditions already with cards. We always open a box of Topps on Opening Day and I always give a blaster box of current year Topps and a handful of old cards from my collection to each on his birthday. Also do the birthday tradition with my nephews and my niece. My youngest son is into the cards - just last night instead of reading a bedtime book, we each broke out some of our cards and showed them to each other (my youngest is very into sports, too, in general).

My oldest is very into Pokemon, and I can see how that makes sense. The kids at his school trade them, even if few have played the game, basing their value on HP and attack damage. Even not playing the game, they get that the card can "do" something. And some kids, including a nephew who is also into Pokemon, are aware of the monetary value of the cards, which seems to pique their interest.

Cards are an opportunity to connect with kids (I bought a deck of Pokemon cards so I could play against my older son), but from my experience it is definitely a hit and miss proposition, baseball cards aren't for every kid.

glynparson · #3 07-12-2018, 06:33 AM

A ton of kids at my daughters school collect or collected cards. Less of them collected baseball but many collect football, or any number of gaming cards. I think that more collect than we seem to think. I also often see kids buying packs at the local target when I go there. It’s not as big as the 80s but neither is the production numbers of the cards

HasselhoffsCheeseburger · #4 07-12-2018, 07:58 AM

Hundreds of thousands of kids collect on the Topps apps. It may just be digital cards instead of cardboard moving forward.

Arthur

Rookiemonster · #5 07-13-2018, 01:22 PM

My son is 6, he likes cards and looking at them. I collects Chipper Jones. He enjoys opening packs and messing up my organized box of cards. I would not say he has a passion for it. But I didn�t have a passion for years even after I was a collector. Packs and cheap boxes seem to get his attention.

Neal · #6 07-13-2018, 04:01 PM

Fortnight

nuff said

albrshbr · #7 07-13-2018, 05:23 PM

My 9 year old is certainly into Fortnite.

But he also collects cards. He started with Pok�mon but has moved into football and basketball cards. He really enjoys doing case breaks on-line. We are both looking forward to spending 5 days at the National. He wants autos from Earl Campbell and Steve Largent (yes, not any of the new guys!). Look for us in the case break pavilion and digging in the 5000 count boxes.

I've also taken a few of his friends to our LCS and some shows.

Maybe there is still some hope.

steve B · #8 07-13-2018, 09:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neal

Fortnight

nuff said

Is something happening in a couple weeks?

ronniehatesjazz · #9 07-14-2018, 10:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glynparson

A ton of kids at my daughters school collect or collected cards. Less of them collected baseball but many collect football, or any number of gaming cards. I think that more collect than we seem to think. I also often see kids buying packs at the local target when I go there. It�s not as big as the 80s but neither is the production numbers of the cards

This is totally true. I think a lot of collectors don't quite understand how kids have been priced out of shops/shows. I remember going to shops when I was young and maybe you had a card or two above $100 but the vast majority of singles topped out at $20 or so... putting just about any card in reach for kids. Most shops I got into now have very few cards below $50 and most are north of $100. With packs it's the same story... most kids aren't going to be able to plunk down $50 for a pack of Tribute of Topps Museum. The shows are a totally different animal also than they were in the mid to late 90's where you'll see, almost exclusively, dealer after dealer with either expensive prewar and early postwar or insanely priced quad patch auto cards. A good chunk of kids still collect, they just do it at WalMart/Target or online. Nothing like the 80's but still most kids who play sports at least have a few hundred cards if not many more.

steve B · #10 07-14-2018, 07:54 PM

That's a big part of it.

I collected as a kid, mostly started in late 73, and the Hank Aaron cards showing all his earlier cards got me interested in older cards. Moved in late 77 to a place with a card shop.
T206s were 1.50 each for commons. And by the time I was working were maybe 2-3.00 That seemed pricy, as I only made a bit over 3 an hour.

Compared to now where a kid might make 7-8, but a vg common will usually be around 40. And other than the more common sets most prewar cards are pretty much untouchable (There's a bunch I still can't afford)

Rich Klein · #11 07-15-2018, 06:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ronniehatesjazz

This is totally true. I think a lot of collectors don't quite understand how kids have been priced out of shops/shows. I remember going to shops when I was young and maybe you had a card or two above $100 but the vast majority of singles topped out at $20 or so... putting just about any card in reach for kids. Most shops I got into now have very few cards below $50 and most are north of $100. With packs it's the same story... most kids aren't going to be able to plunk down $50 for a pack of Tribute of Topps Museum. The shows are a totally different animal also than they were in the mid to late 90's where you'll see, almost exclusively, dealer after dealer with either expensive prewar and early postwar or insanely priced quad patch auto cards. A good chunk of kids still collect, they just do it at WalMart/Target or online. Nothing like the 80's but still most kids who play sports at least have a few hundred cards if not many more.

I'll disagree about shows -- because that may be true for the big shows and the large costs to attend but at my local show (40 tables or so) let me assure you we have many very affordable cards and very few expensive cards. And the dealer to dealer action is not as large as some shows.

AGuinness · #12 07-15-2018, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rich Klein

I'll disagree about shows -- because that may be true for the big shows and the large costs to attend but at my local show (40 tables or so) let me assure you we have many very affordable cards and very few expensive cards. And the dealer to dealer action is not as large as some shows.

The one local show in Portland seems to have pretty decent turnout when I get the chance to go. Decent selection of mostly post war cards.

While some people have mentioned having a kid not into collecting or into collecting, I think it's good to note that in a number of big box stores by me that the latest issue of Topps doesn't seem to hang around for long before being sold out. And other venues for collecting (COMC comes to mind) seem to be flourishing (granted, COMC is also a marketplace for gaming cards, comics, etc.).

There's another thread on the board about the 2011 Topps Update Mike Trout at PSA 10 hitting $600, and what worries me more than kids losing interest is kids being priced out of what was a base card sold in packs. It seems crazy to think that if my 8-year-old was a big Trout fan, his "rookie" card would already be priced out for him - raw versions of this card are going for hundreds of dollars, including this example that has a wrinkle (!!!) (doesn't go directly to the card with a wrinkle, but you can still click on the link to access the original listing):

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2011-TOPPS-...p2047675.l2557

Jayworld · #13 07-20-2018, 12:03 PM

I think Neal's post is spot-on; I have two boys as well, and neither are really baseball fans. The older is a "casual" at best fan, and really neither are interested in baseball cards really. The older one has a complete 1987 Topps baseball set he purchased for $15 at a local show, and I bought a box of Topps Opening Day for them last year to split (interesting that there were no duplicates, so the collation has greatly improved since I was collecting from packs from 1975-82).

Although both have gone with me to local card shows (hi Rich!), neither are really interested; the older likes vintage WW1 and 2 art cards and history stuff, and the younger likes Pokemon cards. I also don't see any young "kids" when I go into the local card shop, either; most are around my age or older, and many drop a "bundle" (at least from my perspective...heck, I spend less than $100 each year on cards) of $150+ on unopened boxes to get that "special" pull, autograph, or relic card. That seems to be driving the current, modern hobby, and as discussed elsewhere in this folder on the forum, new common cards are basically "worthless" or "junk wax" as was the case from 1986ish to 1995.

By the time I was 12, I already had completed the Topps 1976, 1977, and 1978 sets and was placing my order to buy a complete 1979 Topps set from a mail-order dealer for the first time rather than buying and completing by the pack.

DHogan · #14 07-14-2018, 10:34 PM

A few years ago, I picked up about 20,000 different cards from the 80's thru about 2010. Including Sports Illustrated going back to the late 80's I picked out the cards I wanted. I recently gave them to a 10 yr old friends son. He loved them. His family sat around the kitchen table for days checking and sorting them out. Even his 16 yr old sister pitched into help. Then a few weeks ago, I gave him my Topps sets from the late 80's and 90's all in binders. About another 5,000 cards. He was on happy kid.

deweyinthehall · #15 07-21-2018, 08:04 PM

I just re-discovered this forum after looking for a place to talk about just this kind of subject.

I bought a few packs of Topps Big League today because part of what I read said it was aimed at getting kids into the hobby. It's a nice design, a decent feel, and relatively simple - but still a disappointment. Only 400 cards, limited stats, etc.

I'm 50, and a set builder. I've been buying cards since I first found a small uncut sample sheet of 1978s in a Dynamite magazine in 4th grade. I became a baseball fan because of the cards, rather than the other way around. In recent years, I've given up putting together anything current because of what's out there.

To my mind, here are some things Topps could do to appeal to young, and old, collectors alike:

1) Have a comprehensive set that includes star outfielders, but also back-up catchers and long relief men. That's how I, and I suspect many others, really started to learn about MLB - the teams, the players, etc.
2) Include lifetime stats, with minor league records where they fit - at first glance, it looks like Joey Votto has been around only as long as Khris Davis.
3) Give all teams a roughly equal amount of cards - with some recent issues, it's hard to imagine kids in San Diego or Baltimore getting very excited about what they have to chose from.
4) Have a nice, non-flashy, cardboard-ish stock with no foil printing - this is something Heritage and Big League get right. Some recent Topps base cards had to be held at just the right angle to read the player's name.
5) Have absolutely no computer generated "paint jobs" - leave those guys that switch teams for the update issue;
6) Don't make it impossible to easily build a base set - I'm looking at you, Heritage - no better way to discourage kids than to make it hard to complete a set.
7) Sell cards at someplace other than just Wal-Mart or Target. Make them ubiquitous.
8) Insert sets are fine, but if you want parallels, autos, relics and such, keep it very simple and make them slightly easier to find than Amelia Earhart. It might help keep the guys who loiter around Targets at opening to snatch up cases of product away, and that would be wonderful.

I know it sounds like an old man yelling at people to get off his lawn, but I just can't imagine it being that hard. Kids are either going to buy cards or they're not.

I suppose the one good thing about younger people staying out of the hobby means that eventually I'll be able to pick up some 1960s sets for a few hundred dollars. Seriously - can these sets still go for thousands if no new blood comes into the hobby?

Anyway, glad to get that off my chest - happy collecting!

Rich Klein · #16 07-22-2018, 04:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deweyinthehall

I just re-discovered this forum after looking for a place to talk about just this kind of subject.

1) Have a comprehensive set that includes star outfielders, but also back-up catchers and long relief men. That's how I, and I suspect many others, really started to learn about MLB - the teams, the players, etc.
2) Include lifetime stats, with minor league records where they fit - at first glance, it looks like Joey Votto has been around only as long as Khris Davis.
3) Give all teams a roughly equal amount of cards - with some recent issues, it's hard to imagine kids in San Diego or Baltimore getting very excited about what they have to chose from.
4) Have a nice, non-flashy, cardboard-ish stock with no foil printing - this is something Heritage and Big League get right. Some recent Topps base cards had to be held at just the right angle to read the player's name.
5) Have absolutely no computer generated "paint jobs" - leave those guys that switch teams for the update issue;
6) Don't make it impossible to easily build a base set - I'm looking at you, Heritage - no better way to discourage kids than to make it hard to complete a set.
7) Sell cards at someplace other than just Wal-Mart or Target. Make them ubiquitous.
8) Insert sets are fine, but if you want parallels, autos, relics and such, keep it very simple and make them slightly easier to find than Amelia Earhart. It might help keep the guys who loiter around Targets at opening to snatch up cases of product away, and that would be wonderful.

I know it sounds like an old man yelling at people to get off his lawn, but I just can't imagine it being that hard. Kids are either going to buy cards or they're not.

I suppose the one good thing about younger people staying out of the hobby means that eventually I'll be able to pick up some 1960s sets for a few hundred dollars. Seriously - can these sets still go for thousands if no new blood comes into the hobby?

Anyway, glad to get that off my chest - happy collecting!

1) Your basic Topps set issued in series 1, 2 and update pretty much covers all that. Yes there are 2-3 cards of the stars but you are just as likely to have a Chance Sisco card as a Mike Trout card. This one is covered

3) See comment about Topps 1. 2 and update. Yes, all teams are covered

6) I get your frustration about Heritage and the SP's but,,,, the original sets those cards are based on had SP''s and tough cards to find. Guess what, that's actually being somewhat true to the original. I can live with the SP's especially when Topps returned as they did this year to having common players as SP's. What had been going on the past few years with the stars almost all being SP's was terrible. This year is fine.

7) I'm sure Topps and Panini would love to sell cards at more than those just the places you mentioned. That is what caused some of the "junk wax" issues of the 1980's and 90's when cards were everywhere. But I get it, the wider audience does need more places for cards.

8) I could explain in long detail why the card companies do parallel sets but the simplest answer is that this makes sense for them and Topps does a pretty good job in their basic set of mostly affordable insert cards with a few better ones tossed in.

I get your rant, but as the old saying goes, be careful what you wish for.

Rich

Johnny630 · #17 07-22-2018, 09:10 AM

I’ve heard many guys say. Oh my wife is gonna kill me or don’t tell me wife, I hope she doesn’t find out etc. I think these are funny.

Anyways here is my question, what percentage of women collect ? Better yet what percentage under 50? At this one small card show in Baltimore, that I sometimes set up at, I’ve only seen 2 women collectors.

From what I gather most women don’t want card hoards in their house, they get pissed off with the space it takes up. The key is to get young girls and women involved in the hobby. I’m sure this statement makes many cringe, I believe it will really help the hobby.

Rich Klein · #18 07-22-2018, 09:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnny630

I�ve heard many guys say. Oh my wife is gonna kill me or don�t tell me wife, I hope she doesn�t find out etc. I think these are funny.

Anyways here is my question, what percentage of women collect ? Better yet what percentage under 50? At this one small card show in Baltimore, that I sometimes set up at, I�ve only seen 2 women collectors.

From what I gather most women don�t want card hoards in their house, they get pissed off with the space it takes up. The key is to get young girls and women involved in the hobby. I�m sure this statement makes many cringe, I believe it will really help the hobby.

Trust me, I live with that issue about cards in the house every day. At my shows, what I usually do is check to see who is the collector if the significant other comes. To make it easier, I usually let them in for free because to charge the small amount of money to upset someone makes no sense to me. Sometimes they pay the admission anyway which is fine by me.

I use the same policy for kids and half the time let them in anyway. The more people we can expose to the fun in the hobby the better off we are. That's why one should always think long-term. Now, there is a difference at show such as the National where the costs are so huge and so much is going on, yes they do charge for the significant others but all kids 12 and under are let in free for the National. All in favor of that policy for the kids and frankly too difficult at that show to monitor the S/O issue..

Rich

Johnny630 · #19 07-22-2018, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rich Klein

Trust me, I live with that issue about cards in the house every day. At my shows, what I usually do is check to see who is the collector if the significant other comes. To make it easier, I usually let them in for free because to charge the small amount of money to upset someone makes no sense to me. Sometimes they pay the admission anyway which is fine by me.

I use the same policy for kids and half the time let them in anyway. The more people we can expose to the fun in the hobby the better off we are. That's why one should always think long-term. Now, there is a difference at show such as the National where the costs are so huge and so much is going on, yes they do charge for the significant others but all kids 12 and under are let in free for the National. All in favor of that policy for the kids and frankly too difficult at that show to monitor the S/O issue..

Rich

Agree Rich. Free admission for collectors wives and kids go a long way, that’s classy and old school. love it

Johnny630 · #20 07-22-2018, 05:57 PM

I’ve heard this one a lot too, predominantly collectors in their late to early 40’s. I have to put my kids through college. I wish I had the money to buy some of your cards. Which leaves what I believe is the median age hard core collector in the hobby, male mid 50’s to 70’s.

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