When was the end of Junk era?

[Rich Klein]

Since Jay and myself frequent the same store --- I can add some more depth to his comments

In Al's defense -- he does have a TON of singles from 1981-present available for collectors and those boxes get visited on a regular basis. It's not his biggest seller but he does very well with them. And there are many collectors who do base cards and frequent those boxes

However, the bulk of his money and his collector interest comes from the newest packs and boxes. If there is a decent product, go into his store on Wednesday evening about 6 PM and ask him how many cases/boxes he blew through of the new product.

Jay: I think you would have just as much fun opening "retail blaster" boxes of a product you like.

Just MOO

Rich

[Jayworld]

Originally Posted by Rich Klein

Since Jay and myself frequent the same store --- I can add some more depth to his comments

In Al's defense -- he does have a TON of singles from 1981-present available for collectors and those boxes get visited on a regular basis. It's not his biggest seller but he does very well with them. And there are many collectors who do base cards and frequent those boxes

However, the bulk of his money and his collector interest comes from the newest packs and boxes. If there is a decent product, go into his store on Wednesday evening about 6 PM and ask him how many cases/boxes he blew through of the new product.

Jay: I think you would have just as much fun opening "retail blaster" boxes of a product you like.

Just MOO

Rich

Rich: Nice post. Al does have singles (mostly commons) from about 1965-1981, along with a smattering of 1950s Bowman and 1960s Fleer. His setup has expanded within the past 1-2 years from nil to approximately 3-4 thousand cards, which I think nice. Honestly, the only reason I go into the store now is to either buy supplies (Ultra Pro pages, albums, etc.) or peruse from the singles table. I have not found any modern product that I have liked, at least enough to collect and try to build a set, since I returned to the hobby in 2000. I have bought a few packs here and there of various product, trying them out, to try to "spur" my interest again in modern product, and it just doesn't "take." I end up selling or trading the new stuff for vintage.

Seriously, the only modern products I collect are Japanese baseball, Calbee, BBM, and Owner's League. The Japanese cards are WELL done, nice designs, and when you open a pack, you get...drum roll....cards. Not cut signatures, parallels, etc. It's been a refreshment to the hobby for me.

Still think that "Junk wax" (wax a misnomer) is still here, and hopefully, as echoed earlier in the post, perhaps Panini and Topps will put more effort in design and thought into their products rather than high prices and the emphasis on "hits."