What's hurting the vintage card hobby?

[nolemmings]

I don't believe the hobby is growing too slowly, and I don't want it to grow any faster. The economy in general has forced some people to forego or cut back on hobby expenditures across the board, I would guess--still alot of folks out of work and fighting to save their houses. Still, when I look at my saved ebay "you won" emails from over the past many years, I see prices have climbed steadily on most all prewar stuff, so demand is surely there. Auctions have increased in terms of both the number of auction houses and in frequency, and while there is some turnover of high ticket items, there's no shortage of continued "new" material, so supply hasn't disapeared either.

In short, the hobby is fine, IMO.

[benjulmag]

When I was a kid in the 60's, the current cards as a practical matter had no value. We flipped them, handled them, put them in our bicycle wheels spokes. In other words, we enjoyed them for what they were, not for what they were worth. That to me is how someone develops a passion for collecting. In contrast, when my son collected cards, he and his friends seemed to put too much focus on what the cards were worth and whether they were in immaculate condition.

So with all the focus today about investment value and slabbing comes the cost of making it much harder for kids, tomorrow's serious collectors, to develop their passion for collecting.

[FUBAR]

i think the forgeries and scammers are what is hurting us the most... plus, its pretty hard to find a clothespin to put a card in your spokes anymore!

[JP]

I wish eBay sellers like rawoysterman would go away...

[chris6net]

I think the local shows in the big cities like where I live NYC cater more to autographs and 50,s and 60,s cards more than ever before. I can remember the Hofstra and White Plains shows having a ton of vintage 10 years ago not to mention the Philly Shows. CN

[FUBAR]

i do feel like a lot more of the true pre-war vintage cards are being kept in collections rather then traded. Ebay has allowed pre-war collectors more access to these cards and many sellers have taken advantage of that and put them into auctions rather then shows. You get a guaranteed sale in an auction.

[sportscardtheory]

It's like gold. The smart ones are buying gold now, not selling. Like gold, vintage cardboard is being hoarded right now, and that's not a bad thing... except for those who want to buy-in at fair prices. lol