Future of the Hobby, Opinion & Satire

[Deertick]

Originally Posted by JimStinson

As collectors we collect what we cherished as kids , In 5 years or 10 years as older collectors (like me, who lived and breathed baseball) exit the hobby will today's kids look back fondly to days spent at the ballpark ? I don't think so.

My experience is YES, kids will look back fondly at times spent at the ballpark, and/or watching the game on TV. Nothing has really changed in that aspect. If the game itself intrigues them and captures their attention, the memories will be the same as ours. My 17yo son and 14yo stepdaughter not only love going to the games, but avidly watch the games on TV in their entirety. (unlike their Dad, who has an early bedtime sometimes )

I agree with the reality of competition for entertainment which has diluted ALL marketshare of any one particular segment.

The one thing that is noticeably absent is the desire to collect cards. In the digital age, they seem to be a quaint holdover from the past. Whereas in our youth, the vast majority of schoolage kids collected in some manner, now only the more mercenary leaning seem to have an interest. While my son appreciates my cards, he is more interested in my non-card items. His favorite player is Longoria, yet he has no desire to collect a run of his cards. ( He was very interested in a couple of GU bats that I was bidding on )

Edited to add: As far as the old timers, I have difficulty in convincing him of their greatness. I try to explain the deadball, lowering of the mound, expansion, DH influence, etc. After all, numbers don't lie. But PED's do.

[Leon]

As a kid I loved major league baseball and everything that went with it. As an adult, I could care less. Not one iota. I still love to collect cards but not sure it has to do with baseball as much as camaraderie and other aspects of collecting. I still love the game, in and of itself, and play a lot of softball....and love it. I just don't care to watch the debacle that MLB is today.

[HRBAKER]

I'm quite the opposite, I can watch any game at any time. Matter of fact I was having a conversation with someone yesterday about how I couldn't care less about the NFL until all the baseball was done with. I know that plants me in the SOLID minority.

[perezfan]

Originally Posted by HRBAKER

I'm quite the opposite, I can watch any game at any time. Matter of fact I was having a conversation with someone yesterday about how I couldn't care less about the NFL until all the baseball was done with. I know that plants me in the SOLID minority.

Same exact scenario for me... but also realize we're the vast minority. Listening to Mike & Mike in the morning, you'd assume that Football comprised 90% of American sports viewing, with Basketball at 5%, Baseball at 3% and "all other" making up the final 2%.

[MooseDog]

In response to losing two jobs at the end of 2011 I opened up a consignment shop. I have learned quickly that the market for "stuff" is rapidly drying up. People who come in say their kids have no interest in their collectibles. They only care about video games and money.

I have some contacts with a couple of local estate auction houses and they say the top end is where it's at. The IPO rich and the Wall Streeters have nearly unlimited cash and freely spend it on things to show off but the mid and lower end of all markets is all about bargain hunters and flippers.

In terms of autographs, with few exceptions, autographs of today's athletes and celebrities is a scribble. You can't tell one from the other. The thing that drove me to the hobby was the elegance of the handwriting - think Chas Gehringer - but today's autographs are a joke. I can't see anyone being hooked on the hobby getting an autograph of someone they can't even tell who it is (the woman in the car notwithstanding - she just wanted ANYONE). This can't help the hobby long term.

And given the prevalence of electronic communication it is entirely possible that good handwriting will be a "lost art".

I think nice vintage pieces of iconic stars will always be in demand, certain team collectors will probably always look for some obscure names but I think in the long run on the low end there is going to be a lot more supply than demand.

The other killer is the sheer volume of forgeries.

[HRBAKER]

Submitted for your consideration:



BTW, in case you're interested there is a Wil Myers Private Signing on an auto site coming up @ $38 for cards.
If you get in now that's only $19 a letter!

[Mr. Zipper]

Originally Posted by MooseDog

I have some contacts with a couple of local estate auction houses and they say the top end is where it's at. The IPO rich and the Wall Streeters have nearly unlimited cash and freely spend it on things to show off but the mid and lower end of all markets is all about bargain hunters and flippers.

This is true for any hobby. Higher end material appreciates, and common, mass-produced material or material in lower grades stagnates. It applies across autographs, comics, cards, coins, etc.

I wish someone told me 20 years ago that one $250 item is way better than ten $25 items.

You'll never have a problem seeing a return and moving blue chip items. On the other hand, if it was something that was created as a "collectible"... good luck!

[JimStinson]

For clarification I don't think the "hobby" of collecting autographs is going away...its been around for a couple hundred years at least and will probably be around for a couple hundred more.

Just not in the mainstream and not at the price levels we've seen in the last two decades and certainly not strong enough to support the "satellite" businesses that have grown up around the hobby in general.

When a Christy Mathewson autograph sells for four times the price of an Abraham Lincoln autograph that should be a barometer that something is a little "off" and that the hobby itself is headed for a "correction"

When the real estate bubble burst , it wasn't just the high end houses it was everything ! And people did not stop buying houses they just didn't pay NEAR as much and didn't buy as many of them ...

And most of the Mortgage brokers and other enterprises that "Fed Off the Frenzy" just found another line of work.
_________________________
jim@stinsonsports.com

Vintage autographs For Sale Now
stinsonsports.com