The new breed of collectors...

[SyrNy1960]

Originally Posted by darwinbulldog

I'm glad when I was a younger collector the older collectors didn't have so much disdain for me. Or at least didn't seem to.

They did, but they didn't express it like most do today because of the internet/social media.

[homerunhitter]

As us old farts are getting older, do you think that the younger collectors are really going to be into set building as we are now? Meaning do you think set building will eventually die out amongst the newer collectors entering our hobby?

Has anyone ever got to a point in their collecting where they thought, why even collect all this cardboard because in the end you can’t take it with you! So why collect? Just curious to everyone’s thoughts on this.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by homerunhitter

As us old farts are getting older, do you think that the younger collectors are really going to be into set building as we are now? Meaning do you think set building will eventually die out amongst the newer collectors entering our hobby?

Has anyone ever got to a point in their collecting where they thought, why even collect all this cardboard because in the end you can’t take it with you! So why collect? Just curious to everyone’s thoughts on this.

Man, that logic could lead one to a dangerous place in life, where nothing was worth doing.

[Leon]

I still enjoy the hunt of rare pre-war type cards. I never get bored. Plus I then collect whatever I want to. I am very sporadic. This came in the mail a few days ago...

[h2oya311]

Originally Posted by Leon

I still enjoy the hunt of rare pre-war type cards. I never get bored. Plus I then collect whatever I want to. I am very sporadic. This came in the mail a few days ago...

Is that a Deanie beanie? Sorry, couldn’t help myself.

[BobC]

Originally Posted by Leon

I still enjoy the hunt of rare pre-war type cards. I never get bored. Plus I then collect whatever I want to. I am very sporadic. This came in the mail a few days ago...

Cool item Leon. You ever see the individual triangular fabric patches with various ballplayers on them out there in the hobby, like the Dizzy Dean one on that beanie you got? They were used to make beanies like that one you have.

I think that is so cool when you come across things that were made with, or incorporated, sports related collectibles and items. Like pillows made with S74 silks, or a blanket/quilt made from B18 felts.

[Exhibitman]

The new breed of collectors are...enviably unabashed at discussing the money issues that we've all thought of for as long as there's been collecting. Look, for as far back as I can remember, whether you got a good deal has always been important. Yet we (older collectors) all pretend it wasn't so. The only differences are modality and style. Fifty years ago it was whether you got a good deal in a trade and whether you knew something your counterparty did not. No guides, no web sites, no data, really, except what you picked up. Now, it is cash and data based. The new collectors are overloaded with data. Stylistically, they don't 'shucky-darn' their way through a deal, acting embarrassed about the commercial element of it, they own it.

Money has been part of this ever since the first card shows appeared in the 1970s. Don't pretend otherwise and deride the new breed of collector for being up-front about it. The simple act of deciding what to sell and what to charge for it makes it about money. I learned how to negotiate a deal through collecting. I was wheeling and dealing as a ten year old, trying to grow my collection and flip cards for a profit to pay for it. We roamed all over looking into second-hand stores, junk stores and antique stores looking for cards. When we found a place with good stuff we jealously guarded it. I used to buy cards at this antique store 12 for a buck and flip many of them at $0.25-$0.50 each. It was a profitable enterprise. My daughter does the same thing with fashion. She goes to thrift stores and flea markets in search of designer stuff she can resell. The other day she tripled her money on a blouse. I told her that she now knows how I feel when i flip a deal.

The only negative I have about the newbs is that they haven't lived through a boom-bust cycle and have no idea what it is like to watch values implode. Many are in for a very rude awakening when they finally receive their bulk order of shiny stuff back from PSA

[Dead-Ball-Hitter]

The new collector of anything not ultra modern knows very little about the player whose card he or she is purchasing and doesn't believe a card today can be rare or scarce as it is, or will be, available on the internet soon.

Remember the days of searching for years for the cards you wanted or needed and then paying asking price to finally get it/them? Don't get me going on mail order purchases sight unseen!

[Tabe]

The disdain toward new collectors and "shiny cards" is a little nauseating. It comes across very much like "get off my lawn!" Things are different, they're not worse.

And I do have to laugh at people who claim they don't care about value in their cards. That's just not true. If you truly don't care, will you pay $200 for 1989 Fleer commons that you want? No? Then you do care. It's OK, go ahead and own the fact that you care.

[G1911]

Originally Posted by Tabe

The disdain toward new collectors and "shiny cards" is a little nauseating. It comes across very much like "get off my lawn!" Things are different, they're not worse.

And I do have to laugh at people who claim they don't care about value in their cards. That's just not true. If you truly don't care, will you pay $200 for 1989 Fleer commons that you want? No? Then you do care. It's OK, go ahead and own the fact that you care.

I wouldn't pay $200 because I can get them for 1 cent and they are available everywhere. It would simply be stupid to pay $200. That doesn't mean one cares if their $200 card becomes worth 1 cent; it means they aren't a complete idiot. I've often far overpaid for what a card would go for at auction or what I could ever hope to resell it for, but if that's what it takes to get a card I need, there is not a cheaper method of acquiring it at present, and that money is in my disposable funds budget, then I do it.

I know I'm in a tiny minority, but I hope the market crashes and my collection loses all it's value. I'm not selling my collection, so it's value is rather meaningless. I want to get more of the cards I'm looking for, because I like set building as my hobby and break from the real world, and it would be much more cost effective to me if the values crashed.

Not caring about value is not a morally superior or better way of doing cards, no method is. Investors, collectors, in-betweenners may do whatever they wish, but some simply are not here for the fiscal side. That isn't superior, but it is an extant method.

[BobbyStrawberry]

Originally Posted by Tabe

TAnd I do have to laugh at people who claim they don't care about value in their cards. That's just not true. If you truly don't care, will you pay $200 for 1989 Fleer commons that you want? No? Then you do care. It's OK, go ahead and own the fact that you care.

Why would anyone pay $200 for something that's easily obtained for fifty cents?

[Carter08]

Originally Posted by Leon

I still enjoy the hunt of rare pre-war type cards. I never get bored. Plus I then collect whatever I want to. I am very sporadic. This came in the mail a few days ago...

Fashion always comes back around. Probably see those worn in high school in a few years lol.

[jamest206]

I suppose at 42 I am the "new breed". My dad was the son of a WW II vet, who at 17/18 went through South Africa in to Italy. He loved baseball cards, and so did we! Late 80's early 90's pay day meant boxes to open, and a lot of chores to do! My other grandpa was great at the numerical order of them, said it was no different than organizing his checks at his law firm, so all we had to do was unwrap and look for the gold mines (that never appeared).

Yes my dad did kick himself in the butt for all the Mickey Mantles that went in to the tires on his bikes as kids, but we always had fun going to auctions looking for a diamond in the rough, wherever they were in Indiana. By the way, I made sure to never wear a hat inside or even think about having my shoes on if I laid on a couch.

I got in to the T206's a couple years ago, reading 8 Men Out, and discovering "Sleepy" Bill Burns T206 on Wikipedia, and realizing there is more than just Honus out there. Slab or no slab, I love to build sub-sets, and then sell them for a loss normally. It is a hobby I can't do without. I am constantly learning with this. I used to work on a wide variety of Heidelberg printing presses, so looking at the cards, and issues the printers of those days were dealing with make my imagination go as well. At one point in life I could say I was the youngest person in North America running the largest sheet fed Heidelberg (11-color). I love the miscutting/centering issues as well. Brings back memories of my days in the print shop on the east side of Indianapolis. Dirty work!

I have all my wants in life, 4 cats, a nice coupe( like the Beach Boys sing about), an awesome town home by the Rockies, and a beautiful Blonde/Blue Eyes California Girl who I love to spoil. Doing it all for my baby now, and God Bless her. She is the true example of JFK's great phrase, and she gave more to this country and hasn't asked for anything back (Marine Small Arms & Army MP during the Bosnian affair). She is the definition of brave. I used to be a decent bodybuilder in the midwest, but those days are long gone. Now it is about US manufacturing and contributing my small portion to job creation & the GDP.

T206, whether competing for a card(losing more than winning) or finding what I think is a gem is super fun. To me, this is the ultimate hobby. I tried comic books (way different breed of collectors) but love the guys I meet doing this way more! I will keep on truckin, and raw or graded keep having fun. Sorry for the rant, but you all wanted to hear from a new breed of collector, and here you have it, still learning as I go!!

[homerunhitter]

True, but think about it where do all these binders and boxes of top loader cards go too eventually. Someone else selling them for pennies on the dollar? The wife’s new boyfriend? Some card dealer that like , nope this babe Ruth card isn’t worth much because it isn’t graded. I’ll give you $10 for it! Hopefully it will go to someone that is knowledgeable about prices and would appreciate it. What is the end game in collecting? Just something to think about.

[Hordfest]

As a newer collector, one pre-war set I really think is neat and would be interested in collecting is the R326 and R342 1938 movie flip books. Not sure how big the print run was though and if it would even be viable.

[G1911]

Originally Posted by homerunhitter

As us old farts are getting older, do you think that the younger collectors are really going to be into set building as we are now? Meaning do you think set building will eventually die out amongst the newer collectors entering our hobby?

Has anyone ever got to a point in their collecting where they thought, why even collect all this cardboard because in the end you can’t take it with you! So why collect? Just curious to everyone’s thoughts on this.

The same reason I do anything in life: I think it is right, I think it is practically necessary, or I think it is enjoyable. Obviously cards falls under #3. There’s no point and we all die, but that doesn’t seem a reason to me not to enjoy my life while I’m here. I enjoy the cards, so why not? I can’t take money with me either. Might as well do the harmless things that give me joy and enjoy the one brief life I get before it’s time to scoop me six feet under soon.

[Touch'EmAll]

Old or young, this is a fun hobby and hopefully with a little profit. Whatever makes it fun to whatever age should all be considered good as it keeps our hobby thriving. Sets, no sets, singles, vintage, modern, long term, short term flippers, it all contributes to the fun. Things change, go with the flow, don't get too stuck in the mud. Do what you like, don't knock the next guy. Appreciate the fact the hobby is alive and well.

[Mike D.]

Originally Posted by homerunhitter

Has anyone ever got to a point in their collecting where they thought, why even collect all this cardboard because in the end you can’t take it with you! So why collect? Just curious to everyone’s thoughts on this.

In a way, aren’t NFT’s kind of that? The thrill of acquisition (and hopefully selling) without the pesky need to actually own/hold anything?

[Mutton Chop Yaz]

Originally Posted by 3arod13

They did, but they didn't express it like most do today because of the internet/social media.

Some of them expressed it in person, while trying to rip you off to boot! Any kid who explored the local card shops of Anytown, USA with allowance or lawn mowing money in hand during the 1990s knows the Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons (from whence my user name originates) is only barely a fictional creation.