SGC Big News of 2023 - Pokemon?

[BobC]

Originally Posted by parkplace33

SGC released a video yesterday of "exciting news" for collectors. Turns out, it is a $15 Pokemon special

https://gosgc.com/2023-01-pokemon-special

This is actually quite predictable. The sports card market boom and surge resulted from the Baby Boomers hitting their middle ages, primarily starting in the 1980's, and resulted in things like the junk wax era that came to be and took over the market. At the same time, as the Junk Wax era was raging, wasn't it more often the adults that were now the ones jumping into and buying the majority of these 1980's - 1990's sports cards, and not necessarily their kids? Well, it is pretty well known that kids tend to not always follow their parents thinking and likes exactly. So instead of sports cards, a lot of those kids back then in the 1980's - 1990's got into Magic the Gathering, Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, and other such card and card game issues as well. So just as the 1950's - 1960's kids spurred the sports card hobby in the 1980's - 1990's, pretty much right on schedule, the 1980's - 1990's kids are now spurring the TCG (Trading Card Game) card surge that started in the 2010's, and is now carrying over to an even greater extent in the 2020's. Sorry Gomer, no "Surprise, surprise, surprise!" there.

So, for anyone that really wants to be a big-time future investor/collector, and possibly make a fortune in doing so, start paying attention to what today's kids are getting into that is new and just for them. And then wait about 20-30 years to see the prices of whatever it is they were into go through the roof as they try to rekindle their childhoods when they start going through middle age, and feeling their mortality. The problem is picking the correct few things that will stay with the kids from their childhoods and push their desires to own them again.

Things like Beanie Babies were always focused on adults to start off, just as NFTs are now as well. Thus, the chances of such collectible items to sustain and prolong their value over time, let alone have it grow, are somewhat small, at best, IMO. And the often quick collapse that can follow such collectibles trends is not at all surprising as a result either. And remember, there is no perfect way to always be able to pick the item(s) that will eventually come back to be highly valued. POGs are a classic example of a childhood toy/collectible item that possibly didn't stay around long enough at the start, or interest/reach enough children at the time during their childhood, to generate the overall interest that TGC cards have.

Food for thought!

[Lorewalker]

I am not sure any of us from our vantage point can tell how profitable it is for SGC to set up and grade at the National. I would have to assume that if it were they would set up and grade. Same reason they are now trying to pull in a few extra bucks on the Pokemon special.

We forget that it is really not so much about us as much as it is about what we can do for them--just like every business. When we watch Peter's video posts where he wants us to think SGC is a non-profit that is here to serve all collectors, we need to remember that he works for a business with lots of overhead and a desire/need to make money.

[parkplace33]

How about a $15 prewar special next month?

[BobbyStrawberry]

Originally Posted by parkplace33

How about a $15 prewar special next month?

I would send them some cards.

[lowpopper]

$10 each gets my attention

[Casey2296]

Originally Posted by parkplace33

How about a $15 prewar special next month?

How about a registry.

[parkplace33]

Originally Posted by Casey2296

How about a registry.

Bingo. I have given up hope on that.

[Snowman]

The vintage market is far too small to keep SGC competitive and afloat in today's hobby climate. Like it or not, they needed to do this if we still want them to be around in 10 years.

[Rich Klein]

A couple of months ago, SGC ran a $9 special to grade 2022 Bowman Chrome cards. Here is the Blowout forums discussion on that

https://www.blowoutforums.com/showthread.php?t=1539773

Again, ANY smartly run company is going to look at ways to expand their vertical or even phase into new things.

If all SGC did was pre-war/vintage they would end up with the same type of audiences I see at Postcard or Coin shows

Rich

PS I do agree they need to be in-person going forward at the NSCC

[Vintagedeputy]

Originally Posted by Casey2296

How about a registry.

Originally Posted by parkplace33

Bingo. I have given up hope on that.

This, 1000%.

I piss and moan on their social media every chance I get about this. I will not give up the fight and I will make sure that my voice is heard. The competition of the old registry drove submissions, pure and simple. Having an online forum to build sets and compare was wonderful. In the early days, it was great. Almost like how some people open up Facebook as a homepage, we visited the registry daily to see how we were one upping each other to build the best set, or simply to complete one.

Changing the cert numbers was stupid and contributed to the registry’s downfall.

Are you listening, SGC? Fix this.

[Johnny630]

Originally Posted by Vintagedeputy

This, 1000%.

I piss and moan on their social media every chance I get about this. I will not give up the fight and I will make sure that my voice is heard. The competition of the old registry drove submissions, pure and simple. Having an online forum to build sets and compare was wonderful. In the early days, it was great. Almost like how some people open up Facebook as a homepage, we visited the registry daily to see how we were one upping each other to build the best set, or simply to complete one.

Changing the cert numbers was stupid and contributed to the registry’s downfall.

Are you listening, SGC? Fix this.

At this point do you think it's worth their time and effort ? PSA overwhelmingly dominates the registry space. Maybe if they merge with CSG..idk.

[Johnny630]

Originally Posted by Vintagedeputy

This, 1000%.

I piss and moan on their social media every chance I get about this. I will not give up the fight and I will make sure that my voice is heard. The competition of the old registry drove submissions, pure and simple. Having an online forum to build sets and compare was wonderful. In the early days, it was great. Almost like how some people open up Facebook as a homepage, we visited the registry daily to see how we were one upping each other to build the best set, or simply to complete one.

Changing the cert numbers was stupid and contributed to the registry’s downfall.

Are you listening, SGC? Fix this.

At this point do you think it's worth their time and effort ? PSA overwhelmingly dominates the registry space. Maybe if they merge with CSG..idk.

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by Casey2296

How about a registry.

Monday.

Originally Posted by conor912

Some people’s idea of exciting news is a real head scratcher.

I got so excited at the idea of exciting news, I peed, just a little...

Originally Posted by Rich Klein

If all SGC did was pre-war/vintage they would end up with the same type of audiences I see at Postcard or Coin shows

Now, that is scary. Last postcard show I went to, I lowered the average age by 20 years. I think showing your Social Security check stub is a membership requirement in most postcard clubs.

[bammerbb]

Originally Posted by Casey2296

How about a registry.

A registry would sure motivate me to grade some cards. It's been a long time, but I'm ready to go.

Brian

[Republicaninmass]

Originally Posted by Casey2296

How about a registry.

Ready Monday...



2031

[peanuts]

Originally Posted by BobC

This is actually quite predictable. The sports card market boom and surge resulted from the Baby Boomers hitting their middle ages, primarily starting in the 1980's, and resulted in things like the junk wax era that came to be and took over the market. At the same time, as the Junk Wax era was raging, wasn't it more often the adults that were now the ones jumping into and buying the majority of these 1980's - 1990's sports cards, and not necessarily their kids? Well, it is pretty well known that kids tend to not always follow their parents thinking and likes exactly. So instead of sports cards, a lot of those kids back then in the 1980's - 1990's got into Magic the Gathering, Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, and other such card and card game issues as well. So just as the 1950's - 1960's kids spurred the sports card hobby in the 1980's - 1990's, pretty much right on schedule, the 1980's - 1990's kids are now spurring the TCG (Trading Card Game) card surge that started in the 2010's, and is now carrying over to an even greater extent in the 2020's. Sorry Gomer, no "Surprise, surprise, surprise!" there.

So, for anyone that really wants to be a big-time future investor/collector, and possibly make a fortune in doing so, start paying attention to what today's kids are getting into that is new and just for them. And then wait about 20-30 years to see the prices of whatever it is they were into go through the roof as they try to rekindle their childhoods when they start going through middle age, and feeling their mortality. The problem is picking the correct few things that will stay with the kids from their childhoods and push their desires to own them again.

Things like Beanie Babies were always focused on adults to start off, just as NFTs are now as well. Thus, the chances of such collectible items to sustain and prolong their value over time, let alone have it grow, are somewhat small, at best, IMO. And the often quick collapse that can follow such collectibles trends is not at all surprising as a result either. And remember, there is no perfect way to always be able to pick the item(s) that will eventually come back to be highly valued. POGs are a classic example of a childhood toy/collectible item that possibly didn't stay around long enough at the start, or interest/reach enough children at the time during their childhood, to generate the overall interest that TGC cards have.

Food for thought!

I'm going to echo this as someone in the age demographic in question (late 20s). Most of my friends who are starting to grow their income rapidly aren't collecting sports cards – instead, I see folks picking up high grade holos/rares/promos from the original Pokemon sets, building out Alpha Magic collections, and getting old video games (though they often just get sealed boxes raw, not going for graded copies). A dear friend just dropped his annual bonus into a Beta Timetwister and our group chat was popping off for him. That's a grail card for our generation, in the way that finally getting a 51B Mays is for most of Net54's gen.

SGC are getting a foothold in a market that they're currently weak in and that makes perfect sense for them. They know that us vintage collectors are going to stick with their services, so their marketing dollars should be focused on building out a market share in a lucrative area.

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

Originally Posted by peanuts

a Beta Timetwister and our group chat was popping off for him.

I think this is some form of English. Google Translate was no help.

[peanuts]

Originally Posted by BillyCoxDodgers3B

I think this is some form of English. Google Translate was no help.

LOL. Sorry, generational gap.

Magic the Gathering has an original set of 295 cards that came out in 1993. Beta was the second set, with 302 cards.

Timetwister is one of the best cards in the game, the "Power 9." Since each Power 9 card is a rare, there are only 3,000 Beta Timetwisters.

MtG cards are ridiculously condition sensitive, given that they were actively used to play the game (and in fact, certain cards, including Timetwister, have never been reprinted and thus originals are needed to play certain formats). For perspective, PWCC just sold this BGS 8.5 copy for $8400.
Big card, really tough to complete subset, condition sensitive - ticks all the boxes for millennial Magic nerds.

[Eric72]

Originally Posted by peanuts

LOL. Sorry, generational gap.

Magic the Gathering has an original set of 295 cards that came out in 1993. Beta was the second set, with 302 cards.

Timetwister is one of the best cards in the game, the "Power 9." Since each Power 9 card is a rare, there are only 3,000 Beta Timetwisters.

MtG cards are ridiculously condition sensitive, given that they were actively used to play the game (and in fact, certain cards, including Timetwister, have never been reprinted and thus originals are needed to play certain formats). For perspective, PWCC just sold this BGS 8.5 copy for $8400.
Big card, really tough to complete subset, condition sensitive - ticks all the boxes for millennial Magic nerds.

Timetwister has been printed in six different sets, although only three of those are legal for tournament play:

(print runs approximate)

Tournament Legal
Alpha - 1,000 copies
Beta - 3,000 copies
Unlimited - 17,000 copies

Not Tournament Legal
Collectors' Edition - 9,000 copies
International (Collectors') Edition - 5,000 copies
30th Anniversary - print runs not known with certainty, released in 2022, product launch failed miserably so it's unlikely (but not impossible) they'll print more

As mentioned, they are condition sensitive. Additionally, some percentage of these cards are lost each year to floods, fires, angry soon-to-be-ex-spouses, etc.

[peanuts]

Originally Posted by Eric72

Timetwister has been printed in six different sets, although only three of those are legal for tournament play:

(print runs approximate)

Tournament Legal
Alpha - 1,000 copies
Beta - 3,000 copies
Unlimited - 17,000 copies

Not Tournament Legal
Collectors' Edition - 9,000 copies
International (Collectors') Edition - 5,000 copies
30th Anniversary - print runs not known with certainty, released in 2022, product launch failed miserably so it's unlikely (but not impossible) they'll print more

As mentioned, they are condition sensitive. Additionally, some percentage of these cards are lost each year to floods, fires, angry soon-to-be-ex-spouses, etc.

Aye, fair correction. I was only thinking in terms of tournament legal sets.