New Standard Catalog; Want Opinions

[Rich Klein]

I do realize what the *PRIMARY* focus of this board is; but I think we have enough varied collectors to ask this question.

I purchased the new Standard Catalog at Barnes and Noble this week and while I was perusing said volume noticed that there were precious few listings for cards 2000 to the present. And as one of maybe 5-10 people in the country who have actually edited "SC" type books, I do understand the tough decisions beipng made by F&W.

Laterl I noticed the back blurb of the tome and found out that just about all cards 2001-present were checklisted and priced on a CD.

And please think of this as a collector of more than just pre-war cards/

My query is:

1) Do you like that the way that is as user and think that 2000 is a good demcarcation point for going CD only.

2) Do you think that F&W should pony up to make sure that all sets vintage and present are available to a purchaser of the book in print format.

3) The HECK with it; make the whole darn data base available on-line and never do another print project. In other words; print is dead; move on to the 21st century!

4) Sort of related to option 2: Make the pre-1981 section a "specialized" catalog and 1981 to the present as another catalog. Give the customer two price points 1) A combined price for both volumes cheaper combined than either part 1 or part 2. A price point suggestion would be $49.95 for both volumes and $29.95 for each indvidual section.


Please post your responses to the board

Regards
Rich

[Tedw9]

I think they should just either offer the information online with a yearly subscription and/or a cd which you can purchase. I just purchased last years copy because it had everything on the cd.

I would miss the book as I have been using them for years. But I don't need a book that size anymore when I can have it all on one little cd.

[barrysloate]

Rich- Well here's the question I would ask: do cards from 2000 to the present actually have any real value? They may have a catalog value, but are they worth anything in the marketplace?

[HRBAKER]

Do cards from 2000 on even sell at a price that is close to the guide? I don't know or is it one of those things that you need to know what price you pay 10% of? As a user myself I see no problem with the cutoff. I would much rather have it all on line or in a "Vintage Only" print guide that is much lighter. I generally rip all the non-vintage section out anyway.

[Rich Klein]

To your question; while a great preponderance of the cards from 2000 to the present may have price guide value but not have real value (In actuality; this is probably true from 1981 to the present); the need for people who may have cards is to look up what set are they from; and what the price guide value is.

In 2004; we had approximately 90 different baseball products issued by the then four major manufacturers. And as such; being able to ID those cards is very important to anyone who may find them out of nowhere.

Rich

[barrysloate]

It's good to have a checklist of all modern sets, but the prices are very deceptive, and as such unnecessary. Many collectors who have modern cards are often shocked to find out how little they are worth. Thus, I think a price guide for these recent issues hurts more than it helps.

[Basilone]

Book values are still important but they are valuable for online trading on message boards, blogs, etc. In recent years, there have been a host of hobby message boards pop up (some with 25,000+ members) where trading is very popular. Yes....trading is back...thanks to message boards, blogs, etc. One website in particular http://www.thebenchtrading.com/ has over 7,800 members and focuses just on trading. Some message boards (like the Bench) have advanced "Trade Manager" features to help collectors track the status of trades, etc. That being said....on these message boards....Beckett pricing is the standard.