Have They Ruined The Hobby

[sportscardrage]

As a kid, from the earliest I can remember as a child until I was about 13 or 14 I collected cards. Back then it was pretty much base and rookie cards that were the only cards you would actually get in a pack. It was also a period of time when cards, especially baseball, were mass produced like crazy. Even though things were mass produced, rookie cards still had decent value. After that period in time I pretty much stepped away from the hobby as my life was going through many things, with my involvement in other activities inside and outside school taking the forefront instead of the hobby.

In my 20's I slowly got back into the hobby. At that point in time base cards, and rookie cards were not the only thing you could get in packs and boxes. Autos and Game Used cards were now what were worth the cash. And all of the cards that were mass produced in the late 80's/early 90's were pretty much worthless, only few rookie cards held decent value from that era in the hobby.

Even now though, with Autos being the sought out card, for any player, in any set. Base cards are worth pennies if anything and rookie cards are maybe worth a few bucks. So I was thinking on a drive the other day, have Auto's ruined the hobby for kids? Because back when I was a kid a pack of cards were a dollar or so and it was the greatest and most exciting thing for me to see what kind of inserts or rookie cards I would get.

Sorry for the drawn out post, but yeah so I pose that question have the demand for autos ruined card collecting for kids, or even more so, the hobby as a whole?

[drubacca117]

The auto craze has had serious impacts on the hobby. The inclusion of guaranteed autos has driven up the price on even entry level products so much, there is no way that the average kid can afford to enjoy the hobby. Where a weeks allowance could net me 5 packs to crack open as a child, even a single pack of Topps can now cost $5 or more. As a kid, I could save some of my allowance for a few weeks and buy a whole box of cards. Now, a low to mid end product would take months for a child to buy, even as an adult I have to put money aside for a decent box.

One of the most frustrating aspects of this autograph saturation is that boxes are priced at a premium, often with disappointing results. I’m sure we have all felt the disappointment of opening a box with nothing to show for hits except an undrafted cornerback and a 7TH round kicker, or a redemption we won’t see for months, maybe years. Now put that disappointment in the mind of a child… scraping together every spare cent they could, finally getting that box, and then getting junk autos and redemptions. Of course, a lot of the fun (for me at least) is in the thrill of opening the packs, but when you’re promised a hit, most of us expect hits.

There is no easy answer to this question. On the one hand, owning something from your favorite players is easier than ever before. On the other hand, these hits are slowly pricing products beyond the range of children and casual collectors.

I was thinking of writing a post about how autos were killing the hobby as a whole, and was going to touch on this subject in that… you beat me to the punch!

[ManInTheMirror]

OP it's as if you are forgetting retail. Retail is perfect for kids who want base, rookies and inserts. $3 a pack and still a chance for a hit once in awhile.

[schwood]

I think it has made the 'hobby' turn towards the 'business' type activity. I see people out there that throw their base away. I think that the problem is that they forget when they were kids, and if they collected, what did they collect way back when. It was base. I get into breaks, and some people don't send off base. Too much of a hassle to sort it. I collect base. I have since I was a kid. I have always collected base. I still love getting in a new lot of a new product of base for my teams. That still gives me some collecting enjoyment. And hence why I still collect. Don't get me wrong, I like the Autos and Nasty patches you can get, but there is still enjoyment in collecting base. It is sad that people don't get that. And to me, it is important to bring the kids into the 'hobby'. My son collects with me, and he loves 'shiny' cards. Anything with any type of foil. Not inserts even. Just anything.

And as far as the 'too expensive' for kids to collect. Like VoteForFoles said, they have to look elsewhere. There are plenty of low end packs you can get at Walmart and Target. Even less than the 2.99 price point. Like the Topps Update and Opening Day I think are typically only like .99 a piece. And you can get pretty cool inserts and such in there as well. Just have to know where to look.

[drubacca117]

OP it's as if you are forgetting retail. Retail is perfect for kids who want base, rookies and inserts. $3 a pack and still a chance for a hit once in awhile.

Other than the occasional hit from a blaster box, I have never pulled a hit from retail, aside from a guaranteed hit. Plus, retail is bottom of the barrel in many instances, with retail products often having cheaper card stock, and less features. Of course many kids don't care about this, but I can understand kids seeing great products, and feeling disenfranchised when something comparable isn't available to them.

I'm obviously not saying that all products need to be priced kid friendly, but give 'em something!... haha

I think it has made the 'hobby' turn towards the 'business' type activity. I see people out there that throw their base away. I think that the problem is that they forget when they were kids, and if they collected, what did they collect way back when. It was base. I get into breaks, and some people don't send off base. Too much of a hassle to sort it. I collect base. I have since I was a kid. I have always collected base. I still love getting in a new lot of a new product of base for my teams. That still gives me some collecting enjoyment. And hence why I still collect. Don't get me wrong, I like the Autos and Nasty patches you can get, but there is still enjoyment in collecting base. It is sad that people don't get that. And to me, it is important to bring the kids into the 'hobby'. My son collects with me, and he loves 'shiny' cards. Anything with any type of foil. Not inserts even. Just anything.

And as far as the 'too expensive' for kids to collect. Like VoteForFoles said, they have to look elsewhere. There are plenty of low end packs you can get at Walmart and Target. Even less than the 2.99 price point. Like the Topps Update and Opening Day I think are typically only like .99 a piece. And you can get pretty cool inserts and such in there as well. Just have to know where to look.

I definitely agree with you Schwood, the hobby definitely has a business feel to it, seemingly geared more towards people busting boxes and flipping cards to get a profit.

As for kids knowing where to look... generally it isn't a matter of going to the corner store or gas station for cards, those days are long gone. This means kids generally can't just go out themselves and get cards, but have to go where they are brought.

I don't know... maybe my thoughts on this are too rooted in nostalgia. Thinking back to when I was a kid and there were only a few products, and a kid could get a few packs and still have money left over for candy and such. It just pains me to know that those days are largely gone, and that decent products are just too damned expensive for a majority of people to enjoy.

[sportscardrage]

See issue I have with retail is that, why should the odds of getting a hit in a pack of retail Topps Chrome for instance be substantially less than the odds in a hobby pack, even something with more hits like Rookies and Stars. For me I think some sets should be only retail and some should only be hobby. I know some sets are just hobby only but I just wish there weren't sets that had hobby and retail. Its just something that I find tedious and should be rearranged because there are people (adults and kids alike) who only have the retail outlet of buying cards so why should they be screwed over, for the lack of a better term, just because they leave in a more rural or even just don't have a hobby shop near them.

There are so many sets (yes its another thing that racks my brain when it comes to the hobby) that each brand puts out for each year why wouldn't it be possible to set things like Rookies and Stars, Topps Platinum and whatever other sets that are not the most popular when it comes to collectors for retail only and still have the same odds of hits and such that the hobby set has now.

I don't know, I guess like comics the hobby has a whole has focused more on adults than kids over all.

[schwood]

The reason the odds are different is that the price point on those packs is different. But, you do that route for something different. I would argue, you wouldn't go rummaging in retail if your major interest is getting the hits. Those are for more collectors who don't mind getting lower end stuff, and getting base and inserts in your packs instead of hits. I think that it is kind of cool that they have retail and hobby of the same product. Typically the cards have slight differences, and that just gives the true collector more to chase and collect. Again, it depends on what you are in this for. If you are in it as a business, buy hobby. If you are in it for collecting buy both. If you can't afford hobby, you can still get some pretty cool stuff in retail.

[hayn]

1) Why are you a collector?
2) What do you collect?
3) Business or pleasure?
4) Family orientated?
5) With whom do you share with?
6) Why do you share?
7) Do you collect to collect?

There were several blind men. Each was brought to an elephant, each was told to describe what they thought they were describing. One touched a leg, it's a tree. The other a tail, it's a snake, and so on.

Some collectors will agree that autos have impacted the industry, others will defer. Each collector has a unique set of personal preferences. Each answer will be varied as the blind men describing an elephant.

Mrs. Toshi and I have our personal preference in our collecting attributes. The most important thing we associate with is, are the base cards cards that we would kill for? 99% of the break is base cards. Hence if we don't like the base cards, our opinion is that we will not purchase such a product. The 1% of the rest of the break are inserts and hits.

Yes, I agree that the industry has had an impact as everyone whom commented on this thread. Also note that in our current economical state of inflation, this has grown 200% over, just in the last 15 years. Children's allowances have substantially grown. As everyone has pointed out, so has the cost of a hobby box, and like wise simple consumable goods that are essential in our lively hoods. With that said, our increase of living expenses will never be able to keep up with inflation. Other creative ways are needed to supplement our income. The entrepreneur whom purchases sports cards for profit will find his/her situation teeters on a make or break chance of a potential hit, hence the odds and the purchases of several cases to beat these odds. With this knowledge, it is extremely difficult for anyone else as well as children to come upon a hit.

As parents, we must convey to our children that one of the many and rare importance in life is happiness. As individuals, we experienced sadness, death, and tears of joy. Happiness is a very important commodity. In my humble opinion, I've emphasized that money is crucial in my children's lives, more so when they reach adulthood. But I've always showed them in this instance, football cards, the joy of ripping packs. As for the ever elusive hit, it is just extra icing on my cake. I have learned not to expect big hits. In turn, my expectations are how fun it is as a family to share in the joy and laughter of ripping packs. If a big hit happens, then my cake is now a double layered chocolate souflee.

In summation, It's what we teach our children and how we react as adults. Mantra #1 "I collect to collect".