Bored With Cards?

[Topnotchsy]

There are many things that will likely keep cards more popular (and generally therefore more valuable) than memorabilia:

1. Nostalgia from childhood (the entry price for memorabilia is usually prohibitive for children, and you don't have nearly as much trading etc)
2. Checklists give people obvious clear goals, knowledge of what to focus on etc
3. Print runs and scarcity are often much more easily defined
4. They store well and don't take up much space

All that said, there is so much more history and variety in collecting memorabilia. The range of options is nearly endless, and there is so much to learn in any area. For me, the areas are Game Used Lineup cards, Integration-related items, WWII baseball and Negro League items.

It was shocking and wonderful to discover that when I was able to chase down the 1st contract Roy Campanella ever signed with the Dodgers minor league team, I could purchase it for far less than a high-grade rookie card of Campanella. And there are few things cooler than a Program from the 'World Series' tournament played by soldiers (including HOFers Leon Day and Willard Brown) in Nurmberg Germany in 1945 with Hitler's complex in the backdrop after the defeat of the Nazis.

I've definitely found my focus has shifted away from cards. The exploration and learning is endlessly richer. The cost for pretty significant historical pieces is often far less than you'd imagine once you get past the more standard memorabilia (like a game-used bat or jersey from an iconic vintage player).

Of course, one of the casualties is that as you continue to learn more and go deeper, you find endlessly fascinating corners of the hobby whivh others have no concept even exists.

[Scott Garner]

Originally Posted by Topnotchsy

There are many things that will likely keep cards more popular (and generally therefore more valuable) than memorabilia:

1. Nostalgia from childhood (the entry price for memorabilia is usually prohibitive for children, and you don't have nearly as much trading etc)
2. Checklists give people obvious clear goals, knowledge of what to focus on etc
3. Print runs and scarcity are often much more easily defined
4. They store well and don't take up much space

All that said, there is so much more history and variety in collecting memorabilia. The range of options is nearly endless, and there is so much to learn in any area. For me, the areas are Game Used Lineup cards, Integration-related items, WWII baseball and Negro League items.

It was shocking and wonderful to discover that when I was able to chase down the 1st contract Roy Campanella ever signed with the Dodgers minor league team, I could purchase it for far less than a high-grade rookie card of Campanella. And there are few things cooler than a Program from the 'World Series' tournament played by soldiers (including HOFers Leon Day and Willard Brown) in Nurmberg Germany in 1945 with Hitler's complex in the backdrop after the defeat of the Nazis.

I've definitely found my focus has shifted away from cards. The exploration and learning is endlessly richer. The cost for pretty significant historical pieces is often far less than you'd imagine once you get past the more standard memorabilia (like a game-used bat or jersey from an iconic vintage player).

Of course, one of the casualties is that as you continue to learn more and go deeper, you find endlessly fascinating corners of the hobby whivh others have no concept even exists.

Well said, Jeff!

[mrreality68]

Luckily we all have choices and options on what to collect.
Or any combination we like to collect.
Love everything that this forum shares both in experience and in pictures.

For me I will be expanding more into non-cards but my primary focus and passion will always be cards

[Butch7999]

Hey BobC ! Pardon our belated entry to this thread, but thanks for referring everyone to our website and forum
-- and thanks once again for your contribution to our "Big List of Games." S'true, we must've seen
the Arrest Cancer punchboard game fifty or a hundred times over the years and never realized it was
a baseball game and not just another baseball-themed punchboard until you pointed it out.
D'uh! Thus our signature...

Shush, though, eh? We're actually trying to "dis-promote" our hobby! Too much collector competition
for too little material, and we've already been all but priced out of the many games we'd still like to obtain...

[BobC]

Originally Posted by Butch7999

Hey BobC ! Pardon our belated entry to this thread, but thanks for referring everyone to our website and forum
-- and thanks once again for your contribution to our "Big List of Games." S'true, we must've seen
the Arrest Cancer punchboard game fifty or a hundred times over the years and never realized it was
a baseball game and not just another baseball-themed punchboard until you pointed it out.
D'uh! Thus our signature...

Shush, though, eh? We're actually trying to "dis-promote" our hobby! Too much collector competition
for too little material, and we've already been all but priced out of the many games we'd still like to obtain...

Hi Butch,

How do you think the rest of us feel with what's happened to card prices, we're all feeling the pain. Ha ha

I'll try to keep it on the down low regarding old baseball games going forward though, okay?

Thanks,

Bob

[sayheykid54]

Memorabilia has always been more appealing to collect for me. I enjoy collecting Bats, Gloves, Glass Negatives, Programs, Tickets and many one-of-a-kind pieces.

Unlike cards, many of the pieces I've collected over the last thirty years would not be able to be replaced if I sold them.

[perezfan]

Originally Posted by sayheykid54

Memorabilia has always been more appealing to collect for me. I enjoy collecting Bats, Gloves, Glass Negatives, Programs, Tickets and many one-of-a-kind pieces.

Unlike cards, many of the pieces I've collected over the last thirty years would not be able to be replaced if I sold them.

True that...

While even the rarest cards resurface time and again, so much great memorabilia is truly one-of-a-kind and irreplaceable.

[Frankish]

My feelings are similar (to OP). I'm not sure how much of it is due to feeling that, after all of these years, I'm quite far along the learning curve for the vintage cards I like to collect and find myself focusing more and more in minutiae, how much of it is due to my general lack of interest in TPG grading and all that comes along with it, and how much is due to the escalation in prices over the last few years. If not equal measures, it is probably at least some of each.

Memorabilia such as jerseys and gloves and balls and magazines and programs are really fascinating. Personally, I don't really collect them due to a lack of space for both storage and display. Whatever I collect has to fit easily into binders and folios. Tickets might make sense, and I am learning about them.

But what I actually found myself collecting was original photos and (against all odds) Japanese baseball cards.

Originally Posted by Topnotchsy

There are many things that will likely keep cards more popular (and generally therefore more valuable) than memorabilia:

1. Nostalgia from childhood (the entry price for memorabilia is usually prohibitive for children, and you don't have nearly as much trading etc)
2. Checklists give people obvious clear goals, knowledge of what to focus on etc
3. Print runs and scarcity are often much more easily defined
4. They store well and don't take up much space

With the exception of the first item in the list, this is what keeps me fascinated with Japanese cards. I didn't grow up following Japanese ball, so instead of nostalgia I have a huge new area of learning (language, league history, players, etc.). And, a little bit like with memorabilia, with enough research and pavement-pounding it's still possible to find new, undiscovered items (in this case cards) on a semi-regular basis.

[Butch7999]

BobC, oh believe you us, we get it! We dabble in card collecting as well, in spite of a collecting budget
that's a microscopic fraction of the budget 99% of the guys in this forum have on hand to play with.

[Snapolit1]

Another thing about memorabilia is if you have a favorite player and have a contract, or personal effect, autographed picture, or even a bat. . . . . well that's something your dude owned or held in his hands. That's a connection that you don't get with cards. (Unless signed of course.)

[71buc]

I completely agree with Steve. I have 71 World Series Ring that I never remotely dreamed of owning when I watched that Series as a child. There is something about taking a swing with a Clemente game used bat that for a guy like me is magical. The rarity of memorabilia is more like a treasure hunt. Conversely if you have the financial resources you can own most cards. I routinely sell cards knowing that I can easily replace them. I can’t remember when I last attempted to sell any of my 1971 Bucs memorabilia. In the end I guess I’m not bored with cards they just don’t offer the same thrill for me.

[mrreality68]

Lot of good insights on this thread.
Lots of great and varied memorabilia to collect.

I am still a card person but could see at some point expanding into memorabilia

[perezfan]

Warning…

Once you make the plunge, you might get hooked!