General Forum

I'm with Trafton311, and just collect what I want (or can). I'll chase some cards, and ignore others, just doing my best to enjoy the hobby that keeps me sane (most of the time).

We entered a new junk era when Topps won the exclusive trading card license for MLB in 2009. Competition and subsequently creativity and card innovation went down the tubes. The best era for cards, in my opinion, was right around 1996-2001 when Pacific, Upper Deck, Donruss, Topps, Fleer/Skybox were all competing with each other and putting out some amazing products. Now all I see are recycled insert set themes from the 90s, a hundred parallels for one card, and boring designs. 

Another point I'd like to make that several have already mentioned, is the fact that the trading card industry has been flooded by investors and flippers in recent years who do not respect the hobby or those who enjoy the hobby. I think Topps and Panini have keyed into this and leveraged this opportunity to create exclusive, high dollar sets as well as increasing the volume of common cards within common sets to create "rarity" and a "thrill of the chase" for inserts, game used, and autos.  

I really do not know what I would call it.  (Sad).   I checked a player (Trey Palmer - football) has 555 cards now ( his rookie year) and only 70 of them are NOT autographed cards.   There are more 1/1s then base cards.    I would say most of them are serial number lower than 10.  There are HOFers that do not have that many cards.

In Canada the "make it by barely" salary is 20$/hr, to compensate for that if i hired someone to help out means just to cover the help i would have to sell 200 (10 cent cards) each hour.

To bring 200 cards in a "sales" position that would mean 200 scans front and back and their respective titles 2023 Topps XX Simo LeBon Tigers - just an example.

Multiple item listings like this example - https://baseballcardstore.ca/products/2022-23-upper-deck-tim-hortons-hockey-1-60?variant=43485978394775 are great in that many cards can be done in 1 group but that requires work and sorting/putting in order the clock meanwhile still runs...

If I could snap my fingers and have the millions of cards appear properly on the website would be so amazing and not in a monetary gain sense but just to be able to cater to those collectors that need or want those cards.

It's just that time now is worth and costs so much, not to mention gas to bring anything from point A to B and some of those other trivial non-necessitated things like eating. 

I keep thinking how amazing would it be to bring life back to the corner stores like they once had with hockey and baseball cards, what could i do to make life fun like it used to be? A 25 cent pack? Great! - problem it would cost me more to get them there than what shop owner could sell them for.

Dollarama (dollar style chain stores in Canada) have 12 card packs of hockey for $1.25 i find that steep though.

It will be fun to see a lot of these Johnny come lately hobby know it all types to finally have their 15 minutes wear out.

Good luck to this guy - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZgpKC26tBk&t=181s

The exclusive trading card license, or monopoly, is the most disheartening part for me. I remember walking into my local card shop as a kid and seeing rows and rows of packs from all different kinds of brands to choose from: Fleer, Donruss, Upper Deck, Topps, Score, Pacific, Skybox. Now, it's a few boxes of Topps or Panini (for baseball).

Without doing the exact math, roughly 75 percent of Palmer's cards are from Leaf. Unlicensed garbage with intentional artificial scarcity.

Mojo butterfly, Kaleidoscope snake, Crystal clownfish etc.

Dozens of repetitive stupid parallels with serial numbering of 8 or less to make it look valuable. 

If people are buying this stuff, then the hobby is getting what it deserves. 

That is why I call it.     "SAD"

As of now I have a growing number of players (that played of Nebraska).  That I may not collect or just a few cards of them.  Yes not sure if I want the Leafs    That is one reason, I would love Admin to get the Do Not Want area done.

This has started and may be the next big change.     For college and player collectors.     Player moving from one college to another (some has been at 3) then the NIL.     Companies will jump on players and flood the market with Pre-Pro cards.   Sets with just college players which they can get to sign on no matter what year they are in, maybe even some high school players, Sets not even the Draft type of sets.   I'm just waiting for the Manning Sets to hit the shelfs:  Grandpa, two sons and now the grandson maybe even throw in a few other members of the family.

As of now just off the top of my head I know 5 guys that has well over 1 million cards each in storge (back room/basement/storage lockers).   They all wish there was a way to let collectors (like me) know that they have the cards I need without all the time, effect and cost.   I wish they would let me go through them.   4 of the 5 are just plugging away the best they can and the other one has a store and does Shows and E-Bay.  (2 full time employees and now and there a few more).  One of them looked into joining here but only wants to sell and his prices are on the higher side. 

IMO the companies are not really asking their end customers what they want.  They are doing what they think we want per the middlemen.   

Add to it this guy with about 5 million spread out over 2 locations.

You are slabsolutely right ,I have been observing some trends where the companies as you say dont gave a bleep about the end guy, they are just thrilled to bits to be able to heap their products to the breakers and have even started "extra-juicing" up their cases to try to keep drawing the innocent buy-in folks which will eventually run out when they can no longer afford to not be the 1 to hit per break.

The time is drawing near where there will simply not be enough $ left over for all the "junk" product they are pumping out now along with the huge lack of hobby imagination beyond fake manufactured shards and some poor scratch of an autograph.

And ultimately this is a hobby which is enjoyable when done right from any side of the fence you sit on, and we will still be here once the phase passes just like it did in the 90's.

Well said. The way I have been collecting has changed quite a bit over past 30+ years, but I'm still chugging along. I went from riding my bike to the 7-Eleven to buy packs of Pro Set, to shopping the local card shops, to now getting the vast majority of my cards on the aftermarket (eBay, shows, TCDB trades). I very seldom buy any unopened wax for current years, and I do miss that. Also, in the current era, I have really had to adapt to a player-focused collecting style because for the current stuff, it is harder to be a set-driven collector (1. SN# RCs make many sets impossible to complete; 2. sets come and go from year to year, so you really have to just ask yourself what do I like this year?). I do roll my eyes at all the parallels and the artificial scarcity and the whole "Hit" mentality, but at the same time I'm kind of grateful for it, because it gives publishers incentive to keep making cards. Maybe I'm wrong, but if it weren't for that element (silly as it seems sometimes), I'm not sure old school collectors like us would still have cards to collect these days. 

Most of Us here in Our TCDB Community are COLLECTORS that will continue to stay the Course!  There is NO SUCH THING as a worthless card (Collector Mindset), especially for those of Us with a sentimental "bent," from so many differing memories & events, across a multitude of decades . . .

Yours in Trading Card Affinity - Felix