[blueandwhite]

what's killing baseball cards?

"I'm disappointed about (the state of the hobby)," said George King of Gambrills, who collects himself and also sells cards. "Not very many kids can afford $20 or $50 a pack."

Actually, cards can be even more expensive than that. One table had a unique pack for sale for a whopping $850.

"They've tried over and over again (to get more children to collect) and I don't think there's any going back," Mr. King said.

the article is from the The Capital, a Maryland paper
see the whole story at
The Slow Death of the Baseball Card » Netscape.com

[Lefty Noob]

There's several reasons for the hobby's slow, inevitable demise.

One is a lack of interest from the kids - they have these high tech video games, downloadable screensavers and desktop wallpaper, video clips and other multimedia stuff they can get for cheap or free. Why spend a chunk of money on a piece of cardboard with all of this around?

Especially at some of these prices - even if a kid is going to spend $10 to $20 on a pack of cards, will it be baseball cards that they can only look at, or will it be these gaming cards like Yu-Gi-Oh that they can use to play games against their friends with. Too many alternatives and too much of an investment required.

Plus baseball hasn't helped by making playoff and World Series games all but inexcessible to younger fans, what with games starting at 8pm or later on most nights. Not many kids can stay up to 11, 12 or later on a school night to catch the end of ALCS Game 4 or what have you.

[ThePundit]

I think Lefty has nailed the reasons. And it's a shame. I loved collecting baseball cards. Remember flipping, scaling, (Leaners got double), trading, chuck ups...Boy am I starting to feel old.

[EmpireWF]

I loved baseball cards (sometimes nba, but 94% MLB cards) and collected them until around '99 or so. It was fun when you found a card of your favorite player and other top players in the game.

But Lefty's right on all accounts. The MLB not catering to kids is a huge deal and I'm surprised it's not a major story. MLB is losing out on getting today's youth hooked on their product because when the playoffs come (besides the afternoon games), the majority of games are concluded laaaate in the night. These kids instead get hooked on the NFL (sportswise) because the games are almost aways in the afternoons and only twice you know it will end late (MNF, SNF).

I remember Topps (I think it was them) tried to turn people into internet baseball card collecting but that never took off.

[blueandwhite]

These are reasons I never thought of - especially the late night games being impossible for small children to watch.
Is baseball the most card collecting sport? How come?

[MJHMarc]

Baseball is one of the most popular card-collecting sports because it dates back through history. You have a better chance of finding a Honus Wagner card than finding a card that dates back to that time period in basketball, football or even hockey.

The problem is that baseball collecting has become more competitive than ever. Jerseys cards, autographs cards and bat cards, oh my! They even have ratios now on how often you could get a card in ten packs or so. It is corrupted because there are a limited amounts of cards which everyone drools over.

The card companies (knowing that children will desire the expensive limited cards) gradually rack up the price making children waste their lunch money on a piece of printed paper. Baseball cards packs started at only a nickel and went up to $5 to $20 a pack!

Baseball card-collecting went from a hobby to a full-blown industry!

[Gotham Dark Knight]

Originally Posted by blueandwhite

what's killing baseball cards?

"I'm disappointed about (the state of the hobby)," said George King of Gambrills, who collects himself and also sells cards. "Not very many kids can afford $20 or $50 a pack."

Actually, cards can be even more expensive than that. One table had a unique pack for sale for a whopping $850.

"They've tried over and over again (to get more children to collect) and I don't think there's any going back," Mr. King said.

the article is from the The Capital, a Maryland paper
see the whole story at
The Slow Death of the Baseball Card » Netscape.com

What are yuo doing to me Blueandwhite girl?...Can't you find a postive article?... ...geez...

The thing is, there is a wide selection...packs go from $.99 cents for something like Topps Total to the higher brackets...most packs are in the $1.99 to $2.99 range...

But its a lot easier to get cards on the secondary market, like e-bay, flee markets, blow out sales at card stores, garage sales...

for example my Alex Rodriguez Upper Deck Sp rookie card ($80-$100), I bought for $0.05 at a blow out card sale a few years back...

I have gotten Bobby Orr and Bobby Hull cards (in the $35-$50 range) on line for a dollar each...etc

You just got to know what you are doing...

My Hotel Room is full of cards cause I found this cool card in Milwaukee at the Oaks Creek Mall (I think that's right) that blows out cards in this little 50 cent re-packaged packs...they packs had plenty of great cards like a Brodie Croyle rookie #/999...etc...great stuff if you dug around their bin...

Now stop it!...You here me missy!...I need positive articles...positive...you got that...

[MJHMarc]

First of all, I am proud that blueandwhite is finally posting in the MLB section of the GoTeamsGo Fan Forum. I always see him spitting out his thoughts in the NHL area, but this is a pleasant surprise even though the selected story isn't. All our friend, Gotham Dark Knight, is trying to say is that you shouldn't expose the corruption of baseball collecting to a collector. It is depressing just as if I told you how bad the Maple Leaf's jerseys are. But, they are actually pretty cool !

Here is a little example of taking risks while collecting sports cards. A few years back, I purchased a huge white box of all-sports cards for $5. They guy told me that there were no special memorabilia cards in there, but they may be worth something that day. It just so happens that I found Shaun Alexander, Gilbert Arenas, Albert Pujols, Kerry Wood, LaDanian Tomlinson and Pokey Reese rookies inside. Alright, Pokey Reese isn't that good overall but his name is better than all the others. Pee Wee Reese tops Pokey Reese, though! Are they related?

[blueandwhite]

Thanks, and I am very happy to have found my way here.
I didn't mean to be a wet blanket on the whole card thing. I'm a huge fan of nostalgia and I think, when i saw this article, it made me sad. Cards are something to look at and touch and keep and show your kids and nephews and nieces - video games aren't.
i have a rookie Cal ripken - but I'm told it's not worth much.

[blueandwhite]

oh and hey thanks for the compliment on the Leafs jersey - which is by far the best looking of the bunch. mind you sometimes the leafs are bad...
don't know how I feel about you seeing my commenting as "spitting".
are you really in the antarctic?

[MJHMarc]

"Spitting" was just figurative language, blueandwhite. Your posts are full of excellent thoughts and portrayed in the highest quality. Between me and you, I really live in New York. But keep that on the DL (down low, not the Disabled List). The last thing we want to see is one of our members on the DL! My friends and I always joke around how we speak to the polar bears and swim with the penguins in our free time. From what I heard, it is pretty peaceful down there. I am thinking about moving there someday but for now I feel happy where I am.

If your Cal Ripken card isn't worth a lot of money, can I have it?

[blueandwhite]

did you see the march of the penguins? did you see how cold it gets down there?
re Cal Ripken card - i think I'll hang onto it, just because I will always have a soft spot for him.

[Kasey Kahne 9 fan]

Ok this is from a younger prospective. Baseball cards are no longer a factor todays younger range that can afford cards that want cards goes for hockey and baseball it might not be recored any where those are the sports now you'll disagree but it is true. I myself buy 5-10 packs of hockey cards a season and have quite a collection and I know about 9 people that collect cards but as someone has said you can show something so much better on a computer with all the animations and designers on the net than off some paper yet the only decrease in cards that is huge in the last 10 years is baseball. Oh and on the other side of the cards action figueres from McFarlen are doing better than they were in all sports in the last ten years I even have 9 my self it is a much greater representation for 20 bucks and stands up.

[Gotham Dark Knight]

Originally Posted by Kasey Kahne 9 fan

Ok this is from a younger prospective. Baseball cards are no longer a factor todays younger range that can afford cards that want cards goes for hockey and baseball it might not be recored any where those are the sports now you'll disagree but it is true. I myself buy 5-10 packs of hockey cards a season and have quite a collection and I know about 9 people that collect cards but as someone has said you can show something so much better on a computer with all the animations and designers on the net than off some paper yet the only decrease in cards that is huge in the last 10 years is baseball. Oh and on the other side of the cards action figueres from McFarlen are doing better than they were in all sports in the last ten years I even have 9 my self it is a much greater representation for 20 bucks and stands up.

The McFarlen type figures are a niche inside the collector market, and not as big a business as cards...As anything else the value is subjective...cards or figures are only worth what the public is willing to pay...

Even some of today's cards command a premium...a one of one Roberto Clemente printer's plate (from Topps) fetched over $1,500...the Alex Gordon Rookie Cards inserted into Walmart Boxes (by mistake or so they say) was fetching a few hundred dollars right off the bat...

It is also hard to gauge the market if you are buying 5-10 packs a season...nothing personal...its just too small a sample...I can probably go through 5-10 on a bad day...but to each his own maddness...

[ThePundit]

I think the bottom line is that those of us 40 and older lived and breathed baseball in the summer. When I was growing up, there was no such thing as "play dates." My friends and I just used to meet at the park and play baseball. We also would hop on our bikes and go to the stationary store and buy baseball cards....Today, kids have: travel leagues, play dates, video games, the internet,etc....They're just not as obsessed with baseball as we were in the summer time. Boy...am I really feeling old.....