The new breed of collectors...

[mintacular]

I don't consider them "collectors' in any stretch of the imagination. They shouldn't be given that compliment

[butchie_t]

Originally Posted by mintacular

I don't consider them "collectors' in any stretch of the imagination. They shouldn't be given that compliment

What he said!

Cheers,

B. T.

[timzcardz]

The new breed of collectors . . . have potential.

I was at the Hofstra Show with a friend a couple of weeks ago. My knees were aggravating me after standing and walking around for a couple of hours, so as we were leaving I sat on a bench outside while my friend went to get the car.

While sitting, there was a kid, maybe 15, also sitting on the bench, going through a case with cards in it.

Nearly 50 years his senior, we still had a very pleasant conversation.

I asked him if he had anything good, and what he collected.

He told me he had some Saddiq Bey basketball cards. (To be honest, at the time I had no idea who Saddiq Bey was) He collected him because they had the same last name. Yes, the cards were shiny and new, and some in slabs, but he had a genuine interest in the cards for a reason that was special to him.

We chatted a bit more, and then his mother arrived to pick him up. He said goodbye and wished me a good day.

He could not have been more polite, or more engaging in conversation about what he collected.

So if this hobby is about being interested in the cards, and sharing that interest with other collectors, then I believe that there is potential in the new breed of collectors.

[Snapolit1]

Nice story. Seeing anything on the board these days that is not just gloom and doom is refreshing.

Bunch of old men sittin' around complaining. The game is dying. The hobby is dying. Kids today have no respect for anything. Bla bla bla.

Originally Posted by timzcardz

The new breed of collectors . . . have potential.

I was at the Hofstra Show with a friend a couple of weeks ago. My knees were aggravating me after standing and walking around for a couple of hours, so as we were leaving I sat on a bench outside while my friend went to get the car.

While sitting, there was a kid, maybe 15, also sitting on the bench, going through a case with cards in it.

Nearly 50 years his senior, we still had a very pleasant conversation.

I asked him if he had anything good, and what he collected.

He told me he had some Saddiq Bey basketball cards. (To be honest, at the time I had no idea who Saddiq Bey was) He collected him because they had the same last name. Yes, the cards were shiny and new, and some in slabs, but he had a genuine interest in the cards for a reason that was special to him.

We chatted a bit more, and then his mother arrived to pick him up. He said goodbye and wished me a good day.

He could not have been more polite, or more engaging in conversation about what he collected.

So if this hobby is about being interested in the cards, and sharing that interest with other collectors, then I believe that there is potential in the new breed of collectors.

[Touch'EmAll]

The new breed of collectors ...

Are fueling the much higher prices we are seeing nowadays - nice !

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

Nice story. Seeing anything on the board these days that is not just gloom and doom is refreshing.

Bunch of old men sittin' around complaining. The game is dying. The hobby is dying. Kids today have no respect for anything. Bla bla bla.

LOL remember the song Kids from Bye Bye Birdie, what was it, 1960?

Kids, they are disobedient, disrespectful oafs.

[butchie_t]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

Nice story. Seeing anything on the board these days that is not just gloom and doom is refreshing.

Bunch of old men sittin' around complaining. The game is dying. The hobby is dying. Kids today have no respect for anything. Bla bla bla.

I resemble that remark. Excuse me sir, I'll be right back.

[G1911]

I'm an old-school all-buy no-sell 'who-cares-about-value' type, but I'm a youngin', so I've spent a lot of time in the Discords with the new collectors and hung out with a lot of them.

I don't think they are really collectors. It's 80% about money, they do tend to think the cards are cool. They don't know much about the cards, the slab is king. But then again, it's old collectors who will pay thousands for vintage commons in a PSA 10 slab, so slab is king generally among both groups.

They are very open about pumping, though they don't seem to have much of a real economic understanding about the dump part. It's pump, pump, pump. They'll organize specific pumps together, but don't seem to realize what exactly they are doing, it's 'adding value through awareness' and they aren't organizing a 'dump' after the pump, so it's a little weird. They've spent a lot of time listening to Gary Vee and motivational stuff, no time studying mathematics or economics.

What I would consider ethics appears to be non-existent among the Discords. The only rule seems to be seller must deliver card to buyer. That's it. They can lie about condition, cover up problems, ignore alteration, whatever. Not really different again, the older breed of collectors have also been scamming and lying for decades, but the difference is the relative openness about this. I suppose a lot of it is because many of these guys come from the sneaker hobby that makes ours look squeaky clean.

While they lack in ethics (I have found this problem among the older sellers just as much, just with more obfuscation), they are extremely easy to deal with. There's no long back and forth. They'll say you're price is too high and make their offer, and that's usually their price, not a negotiation step. They are much, much better at using data. They will use actual comps instead of fantasies, and come correct with it.

They're also pretty nice, in their own way. They are pretty open it's mostly about adding value and making money, but they see it as a fun side hustle as opposed to making the same money doing a job. There's definitely an enjoyment factor. They'll chat pretty openly about most everything. If someone gets ripped off, like a card they bought had its photo taken at an angle to hide damage, there is no huge fight or spat. It's a 'you win some, you lose some, fair play' shrug. They tend not to be affluent, they tend not to be poor. They're making extra side money, but most of them I've chilled with or talked too are working decent jobs.

I can't say I've really had any negative interactions; I just don't like the approach. It's not really much different from the older collectors in the main; it's largely about money, there is an enjoyment factor, it's not a job but it's some extra cash and the cardboard is always related to the paper. It's just a different style of the same classic format from a different generation. I'd prefer the hobby be like it was 80 years ago, with things worth almost nothing and it just being about fun, but it hasn't been that way for decades.

The only thing true about generalizations is that they are untrue, but that's my 2 cents on the recurring takeaways from my talks with these gents.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Not responding to or directed at anyone in particular, but IMO the notion that one can't care about value or even profit and be a "true" collector is both nonsense and offensive.

[tonyo]

Originally Posted by G1911

I'm an old-school all-buy no-sell 'who-cares-about-value' type, but I'm a youngin', so I've spent a lot of time in the Discords with the new collectors and hung out with a lot of them.

I don't think they are really collectors. It's 80% about money, they do tend to think the cards are cool. They don't know much about the cards, the slab is king. But then again, it's old collectors who will pay thousands for vintage commons in a PSA 10 slab, so slab is king generally among both groups.

They are very open about pumping, though they don't seem to have much of a real economic understanding about the dump part. It's pump, pump, pump. They'll organize specific pumps together, but don't seem to realize what exactly they are doing, it's 'adding value through awareness' and they aren't organizing a 'dump' after the pump, so it's a little weird. They've spent a lot of time listening to Gary Vee and motivational stuff, no time studying mathematics or economics.

What I would consider ethics appears to be non-existent among the Discords. The only rule seems to be seller must deliver card to buyer. That's it. They can lie about condition, cover up problems, ignore alteration, whatever. Not really different again, the older breed of collectors have also been scamming and lying for decades, but the difference is the relative openness about this. I suppose a lot of it is because many of these guys come from the sneaker hobby that makes ours look squeaky clean.

While they lack in ethics (I have found this problem among the older sellers just as much, just with more obfuscation), they are extremely easy to deal with. There's no long back and forth. They'll say you're price is too high and make their offer, and that's usually their price, not a negotiation step. They are much, much better at using data. They will use actual comps instead of fantasies, and come correct with it.

They're also pretty nice, in their own way. They are pretty open it's mostly about adding value and making money, but they see it as a fun side hustle as opposed to making the same money doing a job. There's definitely an enjoyment factor. They'll chat pretty openly about most everything. If someone gets ripped off, like a card they bought had its photo taken at an angle to hide damage, there is no huge fight or spat. It's a 'you win some, you lose some, fair play' shrug. They tend not to be affluent, they tend not to be poor. They're making extra side money, but most of them I've chilled with or talked too are working decent jobs.

I can't say I've really had any negative interactions; I just don't like the approach. It's not really much different from the older collectors in the main; it's largely about money, there is an enjoyment factor, it's not a job but it's some extra cash and the cardboard is always related to the paper. It's just a different style of the same classic format from a different generation. I'd prefer the hobby be like it was 80 years ago, with things worth almost nothing and it just being about fun, but it hasn't been that way for decades.

The only thing true about generalizations is that they are untrue, but that's my 2 cents on the recurring takeaways from my talks with these gents.

great post, good insight... thanks!

[cardsagain74]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

Nice story. Seeing anything on the board these days that is not just gloom and doom is refreshing.

Bunch of old men sittin' around complaining. The game is dying. The hobby is dying. Kids today have no respect for anything. Bla bla bla.

It's much worse at spots like "vintage baseball photos" groups on facebook. Those have basically just three subjects on a daily basis:

- Old is better than new

- Starting pitchers today throw fewer innings (what a fresh news bulletin eh)

- Nolan Ryan is the most amazing creation ever dropped into the universe

[Snapolit1]

Yep.

Originally Posted by cardsagain74

It's much worse at spots like "vintage baseball photos" groups on facebook. Those have basically just three subjects on a daily basis:

- Old is better than new

- Starting pitchers today throw fewer innings (what a fresh news bulletin eh)

- Nolan Ryan is the most amazing creation ever dropped into the universe

[parkplace33]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

Yep.

A wise man once told me:

“The good old days weren’t really that good. They were just old”

[obcbobd]

Originally Posted by mintacular

I don't consider them "collectors' in any stretch of the imagination. They shouldn't be given that compliment

Exactly, they are more investors or in some cases gamblers (or whatever you call someone who buys lottery tickets)