Vintage / Modern

[packs]

Yes, but maybe people aren't aware of just how extreme the hobby is now. You can buy a box like Flawless for 10 grand and have the opportunity to pull a Lebron Logoman card that will sell for 2 million dollars.

[raulus]

Originally Posted by packs

Yes, but maybe people aren't aware of just how extreme the hobby is now. You can buy a box like Flawless for 10 grand and have the opportunity to pull a Lebron Logoman card that will sell for 2 million dollars.

I blame inflation. Even in its transitory state!

[packs]

Another thing I think about in terms of modern collecting today is the thrill of opening the packs. Like I said, there is a lottery or dream home opportunity attached to almost every product that gets released now.

You just aren't going to find that kind of excitement in pre-war. Potentially if you're one of the lucky ones who stumbles upon something at a flea market. But for most of us the thrill is buying cards we love for as low a price as we can find, but often accepting that we'll really pay whatever we have to. There isn't the same kind of magic in pre-war vis a vis the unknown.

When I was growing up and opening up packs I wasn't opening them in search of a lottery ticket. I just liked baseball and I liked the Yankees and I wanted Yankees cards. That led me down the path of vintage. I wanted cards of Yankees players my dad talked about. I wanted cards of Babe Ruth. I wanted cards of Lou Gehrig. But I never wanted them because they were valuable. And I think that is a major shift in today's modern collectors. There are probably still collectors who just like collecting sets. But I think there are far more modern collectors in the hobby that just want to chase.

[Johnny630]

Much of today’s Modern Market is not much collecting, it’s more gambling looking to pull that quick hit. Hurry grade and flip. That’s what it is. Mention Set Building of Modern Cards to anyone under 30...they will look at you like you have two heads. Most of the focus in modern is scoring.

[G1911]

Originally Posted by Johnny630

Much of today’s Modern Market is not much collecting, it’s more gambling looking to pull that quick hit. Hurry grade and flip. That’s what it is. Mention Set Building of Modern Cards to anyone under 30...they will look at you like you have two heads. Most of the focus in modern is scoring.

There is still a healthy and large group of collectors out there. Money is just more vocal; reading the board here you would think 90% of vintage are also primarily investors.

There's less difference than people think. Modern and vintage revolve around money for the vocal part, and then there's a bunch of people quietly just doing their thing and having some fun. Grade and flip describes vintage as much as it does modern.

[raulus]

Originally Posted by G1911

There is still a healthy and large group of collectors out there. Money is just more vocal; reading the board here you would think 90% of vintage are also primarily investors.

There's less difference than people think. Modern and vintage revolve around money for the vocal part, and then there's a bunch of people quietly just doing their thing and having some fun. Grade and flip describes vintage as much as it does modern.

C'mon man...let us have our smug, elitist moral superiority. What else do we have left??!!

[G1911]

Originally Posted by raulus

C'mon man...let us have our smug, elitist moral superiority. What else do we have left??!!

Well, we also have... uhm.... What's your favorite T206 color?

[jingram058]

Originally Posted by packs

Another thing I think about in terms of modern collecting today is the thrill of opening the packs. Like I said, there is a lottery or dream home opportunity attached to almost every product that gets released now.

You just aren't going to find that kind of excitement in pre-war. Potentially if you're one of the lucky ones who stumbles upon something at a flea market. But for most of us the thrill is buying cards we love for as low a price as we can find, but often accepting that we'll really pay whatever we have to. There isn't the same kind of magic in pre-war vis a vis the unknown.

When I was growing up and opening up packs I wasn't opening them in search of a lottery ticket. I just liked baseball and I liked the Yankees and I wanted Yankees cards. That led me down the path of vintage. I wanted cards of Yankees players my dad talked about. I wanted cards of Babe Ruth. I wanted cards of Lou Gehrig. But I never wanted them because they were valuable. And I think that is a major shift in today's modern collectors. There are probably still collectors who just like collecting sets. But I think there are far more modern collectors in the hobby that just want to chase.

Could not agree more with this. This should be required reading by anyone involved with cards...really separates the wheat from the chaff. There are still collectors out there, some of whom post here on net54. And then there are the investors. They post too, but to them it's all about the grade, and that's it. They don't give a hoot for the stories of old baseball, just the grade and how much it is then worth and how the card speculation is going.

[raulus]

Originally Posted by jingram058

Could not agree more with this. This should be required reading by anyone involved with cards...really separates the wheat from the chaff. There are still collectors out there, some of whom post here on net54. And then there are the investors. They post too, but to them it's all about the grade, and that's it. They don't give a hoot for the stories of old baseball, just the grade and how much it is then worth and how the card speculation is going.

Can’t remember who said it, but I vaguely recall another thread in which someone asked where all the collectors were in ultra modern, with the response being:

“That’s like walking into a whorehouse and asking, ‘aren’t there any nice girls in here?’!”

[todeen]

Originally Posted by packs

Another thing I think about in terms of modern collecting today is the thrill of opening the packs. Like I said, there is a lottery or dream home opportunity attached to almost every product that gets released now.

You just aren't going to find that kind of excitement in pre-war. Potentially if you're one of the lucky ones who stumbles upon something at a flea market. But for most of us the thrill is buying cards we love for as low a price as we can find, but often accepting that we'll really pay whatever we have to. There isn't the same kind of magic in pre-war vis a vis the unknown.

When I was growing up and opening up packs I wasn't opening them in search of a lottery ticket. I just liked baseball and I liked the Yankees and I wanted Yankees cards. That led me down the path of vintage. I wanted cards of Yankees players my dad talked about. I wanted cards of Babe Ruth. I wanted cards of Lou Gehrig. But I never wanted them because they were valuable. And I think that is a major shift in today's modern collectors. There are probably still collectors who just like collecting sets. But I think there are far more modern collectors in the hobby that just want to chase.

This is my story too. There was nothing shiny in 1991 Topps - which was my first pack of cards at 5 yo. At 10 yo, I got into 1996 Topps cuz I wanted a Mantle insert. I never pulled one, and that was my first bitter experience with buying packs. I never overcame that disappointment. I still hate buying packs today.

But I will say, from being on Twitter, I find a lot of modern collectors in their 30s who aren't gambling. They probably have similar backstories like me. And they all say the same thing, "I should get into vintage." I'm not sure it's a tidal wave, but some will jump over.

For me, I have always loved history. Ken Burns documentary came out when I was 9 yo. I loved the b&w photos and stories. And my grandma told me how I was distantly related to Tris Speaker thru my grandpa. To be a vintage collector, I think you gotta have a care for history. Otherwise, these modern investors will just be vintage investors collecting "blue chip" cards.

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