Are Baseball Cards going to disappear

[doug.goodman]

Originally Posted by Rich Klein

"Apple, Microsoft, and Google are all finishing up their latest "cloud services." That means that when you turn on a
computer, the Internet will be built into the operating system. So, Windows, Google, and the Mac OS will be tied straight into the Internet. If you click an icon, it will open something in the Internet cloud.

Speaking as a guy who traveled with a "laptop" before any (ok, ok, most) of the rest of you, before the term "laptop" was coined, all I can say is :

The "cloud" is crap. Remember when computers were going to mean a "paperless" society?

Anybody who worships at the alter of "the cloud" will find a new place of worship as soon as they spend a couple days with no internet access, yet in desperate need of info from "the cloud".

At least, that's what I think,
Doug

[teetwoohsix]

I agree Doug. Also, say good-bye to privacy when "the cloud" blocks out the sun........Section 5.2 of the Amazon Cloud Drive Terms of Use:

“5.2 Our Right to Access Your Files. You give us the right to access, retain, use and disclose your account information and Your Files: to provide you with technical support and address technical issues; to investigate compliance with the terms of this Agreement, enforce the terms of this Agreement and protect the Service and its users from fraud or security threats; or as we determine is necessary to provide the Service or comply with applicable law”

Ugh.

[tbob]

Originally Posted by teetwoohsix

I agree Doug. Also, say good-bye to privacy when "the cloud" blocks out the sun........Section 5.2 of the Amazon Cloud Drive Terms of Use:

“5.2 Our Right to Access Your Files. You give us the right to access, retain, use and disclose your account information and Your Files: to provide you with technical support and address technical issues; to investigate compliance with the terms of this Agreement, enforce the terms of this Agreement and protect the Service and its users from fraud or security threats; or as we determine is necessary to provide the Service or comply with applicable law”

Ugh.

George Orwell 1984

[teetwoohsix]

Originally Posted by tbob

George Orwell 1984

Good one.....

Here's an interesting article about "the cloud" and "The Patriot Act"........

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/igeneratio...e_skin;content

Sorry to stray OT in this thread. Baseball cards won't disappear- your cloud files, on the other hand, may.

Happy 4th of July !!!
God Bless the U.S.A., keep our troops safe and BRING THEM HOME !!!!
The Declaration of Independance, The Constitution, Liberty, and Freedom !!!
A great day to reflect on what this Country is all about......

Sincerely, Clayton

[joeadcock]

My industry is attempting to go paperless.

Hard to imagine baseball cards going away. It is something to hold and value. As said before, maybe future new baseball cards will disappear. Not the old stuff.

[ls7plus]

The new market seems dominated by speculative and transient demand (with the latter meaning that as long as a young player is hot, his card will stay that way, but when he's in his '30's and on the downside, its days as a hot commodity are done, as some new exciting phenoms will have come to rule the roost). But that's not so different from what we had in the '80's to early
'90's, and I can't be the only one who managed to gravitate from new cards then to older cards, with a little help along the way. The same can happen with these "collectors" now--given a genuine interest in baseball, all that's required is a change in focus, especially if there's no aversion to reading about the days of old, or watching some of MLB or Fox's old baseball classic programs.

I'm probably in the minority on this, but I also think that there may eventually be a strong market for something like a Joe Mauer Bowman Chrome Gold Refractor (one of 50), assuming he recovers physically and is able to resume a Cooperstown-bound career for a long enough period of time. The time to buy that card of course is not now, at $1500-$2000 or so, but when Mauer is in his downslide '30's, or shortly after his retirement, when he's out of the everday spotlight. I'm guessing a '68 Topps Bench rookie is about $900 in PSA 9, and that the pop count numbers should be similar to the Mauer. My conclusion would be that the Mauer Gold Refractor would be a reasonably good buy at $100-$200, when all of that speculative hype and transient interest has run its course, and the card has a chance to grow into its real value, apart from the hype. As a HOF collector, if Mauer does indeed persevere and stay on that path, I know I would want what I would consider his best, or one of his best cards--its just that right now, his course is cloudy, and there are a lot better vintage cards to spend that kind of money on than a gold refractor!

Thoughts, anyone?

Larry

[teetwoohsix]

I think modern cards will eventually climb in value (in general), but how far down the road is the million dollar question.

I had a hard time following what was what in modern cards, to the point where it was so confusing for me trying to look cards up in the Beckett big book that I just gave up. Still have tons of modern cards in binders w/ Ultra-Pro sleeves, and occaisionally will look through them, but I really don't know what is worth $$ and what is a dime a dozen. I also think if this is slightly complicated for an adult, it must be for a kid.

It would be nice if Topps "kept it simple" and quit mass producing cards, and quit selling "complete sets".......I think the modern "set" would be way more valuable if you had to put it together yourself.

I'm just rambling, sorry.......

Sincerely, Clayton

Originally Posted by doug.goodman

The "cloud" is crap. Remember when computers were going to mean a "paperless" society? Doug

It's happening, it's just been a very long transition. I'm 99% paperless for my job after swimming in paper just 10-15 years ago. With the exception of gifts, items with sentimental value, or vintage collectibles, I don't buy or own CDs, DVDs, books or magazines; I read a LOT, and listen to music a LOT, and watch movies, but for me virtually everything is digital. I'm 54, and I've operated this way for a couple of years already. It's pretty liberating. My entire library of music, video, photos, magazines, books and business files goes wherever I go, takes up no shelf or drawer space, and is easily searchable and available on demand.

For my daughter, who is 25, and her friends and aquaintences, this is a way of life. My daughter has never maintained any paper files, and hasn't bought any "artifacts" like books or CDs in years.