SGC Big News of 2023 - Pokemon?

[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

[Rich Klein]

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

Pokemon and all those TCG's are huge. And IIRC the numbers correctly, that's a way to grow their market share. As Leon has said in the past, although we are an important part and monetarily a very important part of the sports collecting hobby, we are probably 1-3 percent overall of the collecting world.

Rich

[Johnny630]

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

PSA owns that market. Csg is a close second. Sgc I wish would stay focused on its bread and butter, vintage. Oh and hey start grading in person at the National Again.

[Rich Klein]

With all due respect AND as someone who works in the sports card market, any smart company is always going to look for ways to expand their business.

If SCG ups their Pokemon market by 10 percent, I'd wager they make quite a good deal more $$ which allows them to do more things in their bread and butter field.

As for your other point, I can understand the 2021 hesitance in live grading at the NSCC but by 2023 it's probably a corporate mistake not to do in-person grading in Chicago.

Rich

[Johnny630]

Originally Posted by Rich Klein

With all due respect AND as someone who works in the sports card market, any smart company is always going to look for ways to expand their business.

If SCG ups their Pokemon market by 10 percent, I'd wager they make quite a good deal more $$ which allows them to do more things in their bread and butter field.

As for your other point, I can understand the 2021 hesitance in live grading at the NSCC but by 2023 it's probably a corporate mistake not to do in-person grading in Chicago.

Rich

SGC also missed 2022 on-site slabbing grading at the National. I appreciate and respect your comments above however to me SGC's bread and butter is their respected, trusted, and widely utilized by the Collector and Investor Vintage Sports Card Grading. Hopefully they remain focused to their core business.

[mrreality68]

Originally Posted by Johnny630

SGC also missed 2022 on-site slabbing grading at the National. I appreciate and respect your comments above however to me SGC's bread and butter is their respected, trusted, and widely utilized by the Collector and Investor Vintage Sports Card Grading. Hopefully they remain focused to their core business.

+1 agree but cannot blame them for wanting to follow the money. Since that is their business and they are not a charity

[parkplace33]

Originally Posted by mrreality68

+1 agree but cannot blame them for wanting to follow the money. Since that is their business and they are not a charity

I agree, but it makes you wonder with the business decisions they have made (or not made) over the last 5 years.

I like SGC, but I think they are content with being second.

[Gorditadogg]

Originally Posted by Johnny630

PSA owns that market. Csg is a close second. Sgc I wish would stay focused on its bread and butter, vintage. Oh and hey start grading in person at the National Again.

I don't think it is that close. PSA is grading 1,000,000 total a month right now, including 300,000 gaming cards. SGC and CSG are grading maybe 100,000 total cards a month each, so the Pokémon-type cards would be a percentage of that.

https://www.sportscollectorsdaily.co...ering%2C%20etc.)

https://www.gemrate.com/

[Johnny630]

Originally Posted by Gorditadogg

I don't think it is that close. PSA is grading 1,000,000 total a month right now, including 300,000 gaming cards. SGC and CSG are grading maybe 100,000 total cards a month each, so the Pokémon-type cards would be a percentage of that.

https://www.sportscollectorsdaily.co...ering%2C%20etc.)

https://www.gemrate.com/

Agree !

PSA IMO owns the Registry regardless if another company starts one or not. They have had it too long. People aren’t switching or crossing. Most people who participate in the PSA Registry have a lot of time, money, and cards invested in it. The PSA Registry is PSA's Most Brilliant Asset with a close second being their Registry. It’s amazing. Mention pop report or Registry to any collector young or old, it’s synonymous, they all know what it is and pay close attention to it :-).

[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.

[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.

[conor912]

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

At least it’s not NFts. Some people’s idea of exciting news is a real head scratcher.

[esehombre]

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

Yeah, that is not the first time they have come out with "Big News" that turns out to be about as exciting as watching golf or grass grow. I think the first time was they were taking orders at the National or something like that. Oh boy, just imagine what bold move may be on the horizon - would they dare consider 1988 Donruss for the same price?

[Exhibitman]

What's a "TCG"?

[Casey2296]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

What's a "TCG"?

Trashy Card Grader

For all that junk wax you've been hoarding

[Eric72]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

What's a "TCG"?

Trading
Card
Game

Pokemon is a popular example. You can buy the packs, collect the cards, and then use them to play the Pokemon card game. The original US version of the card game, launched in the late 90s, was produced by Wizards of the Coast.

Wizards kicked off the current TCG craze in 1993 with Magic: The Gathering. That particular game has been going strong (more or less) ever since. Much like sports cards, there is worthless bulk, cards with six-figure price tags, and everything in between.

[Eric72]

Since it's a Pokemon thread....

[BobbyStrawberry]

Originally Posted by Eric72

Trading
Card
Game

Pokemon is a popular example. You can buy the packs, collect the cards, and then use them to play the Pokemon card game. The original US version of the card game, launched in the late 90s, was produced by Wizards of the Coast.

Wizards kicked off the current TCG craze in 1993 with Magic: The Gathering. That particular game has been going strong (more or less) ever since. Much like sports cards, there is worthless bulk, cards with six-figure price tags, and everything in between.

Do people play the game with graded cards?

[Eric72]

Originally Posted by BobbyStrawberry

Do people play the game with graded cards?

Occasionally, a graded card will make it to the table in Magic.

A popular variant of Magic involves one your cards representing the "Commander" of your deck. It's not shuffled in; it spends the game either in play or off to the side.

Because it's not shuffled in, people will often keep their Commander in different holders. I've seen toploaders, one-touch recessed holders, beveled edge inch-thick Lucite screw-downs, etc. And yes, even graded cards.


# # #


Of course, there are some people who do goofy crap just to be different. I'm sure it's just a matter of time before I see one stride over to the table with 60 graded cards, ready to play. To date, though, I haven't seen this. I'm sure it has happened, though.

[Vintagedeputy]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

What's a "TCG"?

Before the days of Pokemon, TCG actually stood for “Topps Chewing Gum”