Anyone changing their collecting plans when Topps is gone?

[jchcollins]

Originally Posted by ASF123

There have been massive cultural changes since the junk wax heyday, most notably involving technology, the fragmentation of mass culture into countless consumption options, and what kids are into as a result of the first two.

Responding to this and the post above, color me skeptical that kids will ever again be into collecting pieces of cardboard with athlete photos on them simply for the sake of having them, at least on anything approaching a mass scale. That's not how 21st century kids relate to sports, or the broader world around them for that matter. I know this is not a unique view around here.

Also - even if cultivating a base of youth collectors were a viable strategy, when do corporations ever focus on long-term sustainable development over short-term windfalls these days?

My comments were made at the risk of being a bit too wistful for the past, for a moment - I suppose. I would agree with you that the hobby has passed kids as mass consumers by for long enough to where it would be difficult to ever get those kinds of numbers back.

If it remains purely or even mostly about the money (and I have no reason to believe it won't...) then any type of physical distribution strategy may not be of concern to Fanatics or anyone else. They are just going to maximize profit and move on to the next thing when whatever it is is no longer grandly profitable.

[deweyinthehall]

Originally Posted by jchcollins

My comments were made at the risk of being a bit too wistful for the past, for a moment - I suppose. I would agree with you that the hobby has passed kids as mass consumers by for long enough to where it would be difficult to ever get those kinds of numbers back.

If it remains purely or even mostly about the money (and I have no reason to believe it won't...) then any type of physical distribution strategy may not be of concern to Fanatics or anyone else. They are just going to maximize profit and move on to the next thing when whatever it is is no longer grandly profitable.

Me too and, sadly, I agree. Had our generation (boomers and those immediately after) been presented with the options kids have today, traditional cards would have died out before Donruss and Fleer came to market. We were lucky we managed come of age in a different era. For many reasons, some not having anything to do with cards.

[packs]

Originally Posted by deweyinthehall

Me too and, sadly, I agree. Had our generation (boomers and those immediately after) been presented with the options kids have today, traditional cards would have died out before Donruss and Fleer came to market. We were lucky we managed come of age in a different era. For many reasons, some not having anything to do with cards.

Lucky for you, maybe. But aren't those people who grew up with wax packs the same people who now run these companies and have decided to shift the market to adult-only consumers?

[ASF123]

Originally Posted by packs

Lucky for you, maybe. But aren't those people who grew up with wax packs the same people who now run these companies and have decided to shift the market to adult-only consumers?

I don't think they're the ones "deciding" to shift the market. They're responding to structural changes.

[packs]

Those changes are driven internally. No one asked for products that cost 300 or more per box.

[deweyinthehall]

Originally Posted by packs

Those changes are driven internally. No one asked for products that cost 300 or more per box.

Correct, but there seem to be more than enough willing to buy them - a fact which will confound me to my dying day.

[Bigdaddy]

So a couple of predictions:

• The Topps name will live on, either bought out by Fanatics or licensed by them. It has value, but only if it is producing cards
• Fanatics will not produce cards for the demographic on Net54
• Fanatics will not produce cards for kids
• Fanatics will go in directions that Topps has started, but with vigor - severely limited releases, shiny stuff, NFTs, electonic cards, etc.
• We (Net 54ers) will clamor for the good ol days, but it is demand from collectors that forced the market to where it is today

[Bcwcardz]

Originally Posted by deweyinthehall

Correct, but there seem to be more than enough willing to buy them - a fact which will confound me to my dying day.

The people buying now just look for “hits”. They are looking to make $ only. There are people who actually trash the base cards. These aren’t collectors coming into the hobby. They are gamblers looking to make money.


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[jchcollins]

Originally Posted by packs

Lucky for you, maybe. But aren't those people who grew up with wax packs the same people who now run these companies and have decided to shift the market to adult-only consumers?

Me personally, no. If you want to blame it on a generation I suppose you can but not sure what that solves.

[packs]

Originally Posted by jchcollins

Me personally, no. If you want to blame it on a generation I suppose you can but not sure what that solves.

I don't know if every problem needs a solution but they all have a start.

Topps is Done My post MLB Drops Topps After 70 Years, Trading Card SPAC Deal Terminated Topps Topps went down hill after 1985 some might disagree.

[jchcollins]

Originally Posted by packs

I don't know if every problem needs a solution but they all have a start.

Market forces and consumer habits of a different century are a lot more to blame than the notion of those in power somehow making shifts only upon curmudgeonly, generational lines. Times change yes, and that is low hanging fruit I suppose - but I would disagree with the generational answer outside of a punchline.

[packs]

Originally Posted by jchcollins

Market forces and consumer habits of a different century are a lot more to blame than the notion of those in power somehow making shifts only upon curmudgeonly, generational lines. Times change yes, and that is low hanging fruit I suppose - but I would disagree with the generational answer outside of a punchline.

I said a group of people collectively decided to raise the prices of products. Products began rising in price in the early 2000s. No one born in the late 80s, 90s, or 2000s could have made those decisions, but the people who did make the decision to raise pricing were the same people who grew up paying nickels and dimes for cards. Those things did happen. It's not an attack on a generation.

[cardsagain74]

Originally Posted by jchcollins

Me personally, no. If you want to blame it on a generation I suppose you can but not sure what that solves.

But no day on the internet would be complete without bumping into the "my generation is so superior to younger one" ego-massaging posts somewhere

I just found the news disappointing from a sentimental perspective. Even with all the industry changes since '81, I think most of us who grew up anytime from the '50s through the '80s (when it comes to baseball cards and especially all the nostalgia we feel from them) think "Topps".

So it's a bit sad how the name won't be part of the hobby now. Especially after 70 years.