Collectors of baseball cards striking out

[Jeffro.]

Sorry if this has been said before. I watched the OP's video and my thoughts on this are that comic characters are more eternal.

 

There is only 1 spider-man, and he has been in comics for the last 50 years. The average athlete's career isn't more than 10 years.

 

Sports is a business of "what have you done for me lately." Players are VERY easily forgotten. Unless you have vintage rookies of legends expect the market to fall through very soon.

 

I was collecting a lot of Broncos and Spurs players autographed card and recently sold my entire collection on the bay because once those players retire or get traded the market for them will be gone.

 

I think the vintage comic market is much stronger, and the sports fad is much more comparable to the modern comic/ variant market.

Babe Ruth is eternal. Mickey Mantle is eternal, Sandy Koufax is eternal, Roberto Clemente is eternal. There are just as many immortals in baseball, probably more, as in comics.

I assure you, people have not forgotten about Whitey Ford, Bob Gibson, Honus Wagner, Eddie Collins, Christy Matthewson, etc.

Yes, cards do tend to take a hit after the shiny and new wear off. But what collectible in todays market doesnt?

The maxim is the same: Collect what you love, love what you collect, and if there is any money left in them then that is a bonus.

But how many baseball cards have sold over $10k vs comic books...lets say after 1950

I dunno. But I would say that there are cards that trade in that range.

But, sorry to be obtuse, the point of your post is?

My point is I agree with the OP that Collectors are striking out with baseball cards. They, compared to comic books.....S....U....C...K. Thats my point

Ah, the always popular "what i collect is awesome and what you collect su cks" argument. Always trotted out by the small minded and those who take someone else collecting something else as a personal affront.

Cards are not striking out. There are shows all over, about 4 this month just in my state of NC, shops that are still open (my local card shop does a booming business and you should see the nights they have pack wars and trade night, and they are geared to kids as well) and a thriving community on eBay. Oh, and there are about 5 major message boards as well that are always active.

But, lets not let facts stand in the way of a good argument doucher.

 

So what goes on in NC is indicative of the overall hobby? Can you say that the hobby is as strong across the country?

 

There are other facts in play here. Those facts are that in general the collectible sports card market is a shadow of what it was 20 years ago. Cards were massively overproduced, values plummeted. Here in CT, I watched at least 5 local stores go out of business when sports cards collapsed in the 90s. In the late 80s/early 90's I used to be able to go to to at least one to two card shows every month. That just isn't the case here anymore and I do not believe your example in NC is the norm. The hobby is depressed right now. I wish it weren't

[Junkdrawer]

Sorry if this has been said before. I watched the OP's video and my thoughts on this are that comic characters are more eternal.

 

There is only 1 spider-man, and he has been in comics for the last 50 years. The average athlete's career isn't more than 10 years.

 

Sports is a business of "what have you done for me lately." Players are VERY easily forgotten. Unless you have vintage rookies of legends expect the market to fall through very soon.

 

I was collecting a lot of Broncos and Spurs players autographed card and recently sold my entire collection on the bay because once those players retire or get traded the market for them will be gone.

 

I think the vintage comic market is much stronger, and the sports fad is much more comparable to the modern comic/ variant market.

Babe Ruth is eternal. Mickey Mantle is eternal, Sandy Koufax is eternal, Roberto Clemente is eternal. There are just as many immortals in baseball, probably more, as in comics.

I assure you, people have not forgotten about Whitey Ford, Bob Gibson, Honus Wagner, Eddie Collins, Christy Matthewson, etc.

Yes, cards do tend to take a hit after the shiny and new wear off. But what collectible in todays market doesnt?

The maxim is the same: Collect what you love, love what you collect, and if there is any money left in them then that is a bonus.

But how many baseball cards have sold over $10k vs comic books...lets say after 1950

I dunno. But I would say that there are cards that trade in that range.

But, sorry to be obtuse, the point of your post is?

My point is I agree with the OP that Collectors are striking out with baseball cards. They, compared to comic books.....S....U....C...K. Thats my point

Ah, the always popular "what i collect is awesome and what you collect su cks" argument. Always trotted out by the small minded and those who take someone else collecting something else as a personal affront.

Cards are not striking out. There are shows all over, about 4 this month just in my state of NC, shops that are still open (my local card shop does a booming business and you should see the nights they have pack wars and trade night, and they are geared to kids as well) and a thriving community on eBay. Oh, and there are about 5 major message boards as well that are always active.

But, lets not let facts stand in the way of a good argument doucher.

I collect other things besides comics such as old toys, bikes, coins etc. I have dumped tons of money into sports cards, possibly more than comics and I certainly can speak from experience as well as point out facts. I do own a pallet of cards

Then why the need to tell someone that their hobby stinks and yours is better?

I have just one comic book, so once again you are putting words in my mouth about how I am saying something about what I collect is great and what everyone else does is not I will have to ask you to stop that.

[Prince Namor]

Really, Baseball Cards are pretty useless when you think about it.

[ComicConnoisseur]

Sorry if this has been said before. I watched the OP's video and my thoughts on this are that comic characters are more eternal.

 

There is only 1 spider-man, and he has been in comics for the last 50 years. The average athlete's career isn't more than 10 years.

 

Sports is a business of "what have you done for me lately." Players are VERY easily forgotten. Unless you have vintage rookies of legends expect the market to fall through very soon.

 

I was collecting a lot of Broncos and Spurs players autographed card and recently sold my entire collection on the bay because once those players retire or get traded the market for them will be gone.

 

I think the vintage comic market is much stronger, and the sports fad is much more comparable to the modern comic/ variant market.

Babe Ruth is eternal. Mickey Mantle is eternal, Sandy Koufax is eternal, Roberto Clemente is eternal. There are just as many immortals in baseball, probably more, as in comics.

I assure you, people have not forgotten about Whitey Ford, Bob Gibson, Honus Wagner, Eddie Collins, Christy Matthewson, etc.

Yes, cards do tend to take a hit after the shiny and new wear off. But what collectible in todays market doesnt?

The maxim is the same: Collect what you love, love what you collect, and if there is any money left in them then that is a bonus.

 

Big difference though is I could find some kid in the middle of any country in the world and chances are excellent that they have heard of Spider-man, Superman, Batman etc.

 

What kid in Pittsburgh has heard of Clemente? Or a kid in LA heard of Koufax? My son probably has no idea who many of these guys are. (Strangely enough, he did some report last year about Hank Greenberg. No idea where that came form.)

 

Go ask your average HS kid in anytown USA about Whitey Ford. Dollars to donuts says you will be lucky if some of them think he was the President at one time.

 

I love baseball. I know who all these guys are and I even appreciate the guys that I have never seen play but they all have a shelf life in the consciousness of the public. Most of them have passed the expiration date.

 

If I asked my son's (10 years old) class tomorrow who has heard of Iron Fist and who has heard of Sandy Koufax, I would be quite surprised if any of them have heard of Koufax. I would also say that more would have heard of a run of the mill B list Iron Fist.

And those kids will have read exactly how many Spidey/Supes/Bats comics?

Combined more kids will watch Jeter and Ortiz play Baseball next year, then read comics.

Is this one of those Stanford studies?

If you think about it most comic books after 1985 are worthless as well.I see both baseball cards and comic books as both great hobbies, and hobbies that can learn good knowledge from one another.

[Shootydog]

Really, Baseball Cards are pretty useless when you think about it.

 

I love baseball but never got into cards. They are pictures of dudes.

 

 

[bass4punk]

Sorry if this has been said before. I watched the OP's video and my thoughts on this are that comic characters are more eternal.

 

There is only 1 spider-man, and he has been in comics for the last 50 years. The average athlete's career isn't more than 10 years.

 

Sports is a business of "what have you done for me lately." Players are VERY easily forgotten. Unless you have vintage rookies of legends expect the market to fall through very soon.

 

I was collecting a lot of Broncos and Spurs players autographed card and recently sold my entire collection on the bay because once those players retire or get traded the market for them will be gone.

 

I think the vintage comic market is much stronger, and the sports fad is much more comparable to the modern comic/ variant market.

Babe Ruth is eternal. Mickey Mantle is eternal, Sandy Koufax is eternal, Roberto Clemente is eternal. There are just as many immortals in baseball, probably more, as in comics.

I assure you, people have not forgotten about Whitey Ford, Bob Gibson, Honus Wagner, Eddie Collins, Christy Matthewson, etc.

Yes, cards do tend to take a hit after the shiny and new wear off. But what collectible in todays market doesnt?

The maxim is the same: Collect what you love, love what you collect, and if there is any money left in them then that is a bonus.

But how many baseball cards have sold over $10k vs comic books...lets say after 1950

I dunno. But I would say that there are cards that trade in that range.

But, sorry to be obtuse, the point of your post is?

My point is I agree with the OP that Collectors are striking out with baseball cards. They, compared to comic books.....S....U....C...K. Thats my point

Ah, the always popular "what i collect is awesome and what you collect su cks" argument. Always trotted out by the small minded and those who take someone else collecting something else as a personal affront.

Cards are not striking out. There are shows all over, about 4 this month just in my state of NC, shops that are still open (my local card shop does a booming business and you should see the nights they have pack wars and trade night, and they are geared to kids as well) and a thriving community on eBay. Oh, and there are about 5 major message boards as well that are always active.

But, lets not let facts stand in the way of a good argument doucher.

I collect other things besides comics such as old toys, bikes, coins etc. I have dumped tons of money into sports cards, possibly more than comics and I certainly can speak from experience as well as point out facts. I do own a pallet of cards

Then why the need to tell someone that their hobby stinks and yours is better?

I have just one comic book, so once again you are putting words in my mouth about how I am saying something about what I collect is great and what everyone else does is not I will have to ask you to stop that.

 

The highest fetching card I can think of to date, would be Albert Pujols 2001 Bowman Chrome Auto BGS 9.5. That card was routinely hitting 10k plus, and copies sold for 20k back in 2005-2006. Strasburg's Bowman Chrome Superfractor 1 of 1 was also in that range, and his rookie card was in 2010 With sports cards, they have serial numbered cards that range from 1 of1 to 1 of 5, etc. Prospectors in that field aren't scared to throw around some serious dough for the next big thing. With packs ranging from $4 to $200, it's just not a kid friendly hobby anymore, and the growing trend is producing elite sets with very limited print runs (1000 or less). I still collect vintage cards of my favorite players, but I steer clear from the modern stuff. They have enough variants in a year to drive a collector nuts

[mrmyst]

Funny, I've been collecting Golden Age comics for 25 years. Recently I started collecting the 1933 Goudey baseball set; several cards from this set were pictured at the start of the news report the OP posted to kick this thread off. I'm now almost as hooked on this set as I am with GA comics. I never collected cards as a kid although I was active in sports. Yet now I'm completely taken by this vintage set. I don't care for the photo cards, but these drawn cards are beautiful, with amazing color and very attractive design. I show them to my 8 yr old son and he at least says he thinks they're cool. He likes new cards but, geez, they are so expensive. Anyway, the '33 Goudeys sure are nice.

[bug33fouf]

Really, Baseball Cards are pretty useless when you think about it.

 

I love baseball but never got into cards. They are pictures of dudes.

 

 

[Prince Namor]

If you think about it most comic books after 1985 are worthless as well.I see both baseball cards and comic books as both great hobbies, and hobbies that can learn good knowledge from one another.

 

Baseball Cards have no function other than as a collectible. None.

Comics tell a story through words and art. Regardless of how anyone feels about the quality of storytelling from 1985 on (and really, there's just as large amount of questionable art and storytelling pre-1985 as post), the majority of tpb's sold each month is easily from the modern era of comics, so obviously there's interest.

Now from a monetary value standpoint, the modern era of comics seem less valuable, but even that can be deceiving. Keep in mind that by 1985, the secret was out, and the majority of comics were bagged and boarded and protected; increasing the amount of high quality copies available.

Which has more to do with the lower selling prices than any perception of worthlessness.

 

Sure, Comics and Cards can learn something from each other, but there is a difference there that is apples to oranges.

[cbcnow]

Although this is not a baseball card but somewhere around 2000 or 2001 a 1996 Sports Illustrated for kids Tiger Woods rookie PSA 10 brought somewhere in the neighborhood of $125,000! The card was only 4 or 5 years old.

 

From what I have heard these Sports Illustrated for kids magazines were subscription only and most of them were folded in half to fit into mailboxes. The Tiger Woods card was one of I believe nine cards on a perforated page and the card was in the middle of the page. So once the magazine was folded in half there went any chances of the card grading high. Also, even if the Tiger Woods card did not have that subscription bend down the center many believed it impossible that a perforated card could receive a 10.

 

After a short period of time one of those Sports Illustrated Tigers Woods cards actually received a 10. After all was said and done I believe two 10`s were graded.

 

At least one sold for $125,000 and I am assuming the other may have sold for more?

[Brian48]

Although this is not a baseball card but somewhere around 2000 or 2001 a 1996 Sports Illustrated for kids Tiger Woods rookie PSA 10 brought somewhere in the neighborhood of $125,000! The card was only 4 or 5 years old.

 

From what I have heard these Sports Illustrated for kids magazines were subscription only and most of them were folded in half to fit into mailboxes. The Tiger Woods card was one of I believe nine cards on a perforated page and the card was in the middle of the page. So once the magazine was folded in half there went any chances of the card grading high. Also, even if the Tiger Woods card did not have that subscription bend down the center many believed it impossible that a perforated card could receive a 10.

 

After a short period of time one of those Sports Illustrated Tigers Woods cards actually received a 10. After all was said and done I believe two 10`s were graded.

 

At least one sold for $125,000 and I am assuming the other may have sold for more?

 

No. Actually the Woods card plummeted in demand over the last few years. Still a very pricey card, but no where near the high price that it sold for.

 

If I had to have one card, it would be the '67 Topps Bobby Orr rookie. The only PSA 9 example sold for about $47,600 back in '07 and hasn't been seen ever since. I'd pick this card over the PSA 10 OPC Wayne Gretzky that went for $80,000+ a couple of years back.

[TheShadowKnows]

The market for older cards is still red-hot. Shows like the one seen are obsolete. Why go to a show when anything you want is on the internet.

.Last year I sold an almost complete set of 1965 to 1969 Topps and got well above guide for it from a dealer. Had I broken it up and sold the sets by the year, I'd have gotten much more, but I needed to raise fast cash, and had bought it for a pittance just a few months earlier.

Post 1980 baseball cards are worth as much as 1990s comics, but 1940s thru the 1970s still sell. I have no idea if cards or comics will be worth anything in fifty years, but I'm fairly sure I won't be very active in the hobby by then anyway.

Its strange the way things are in the shop these days.people coming in to buy late eighties cards to fill sets.reliving their childhood.this hobby is still strong in my neck of the woods.

 

[bababooey]

+ 1 on the Bobby Orr card but I'd prefer the O-Pee-Chee version

[TheShadowKnows]

How's the market these days for the rarest cards ? The Honus Wagner, Mickey Mantle rookie card, the Shoeless Joe etc... Have those values tumbled as well, or are the very best cards still holding their own ?

Honus just sold for 2.2.Nicest Mantle sold years ago for 1.1.

[cbcnow]

I am aware that the Woods card did plummet in value years ago. I was commenting on a previous posting where someone was asking what were some of the most expensive card sales after 1950.

[cbcnow]

Regarding the Honus that just sold for 2.2 can you give more details on that sale?

Also which Mantle are you referring to that sold for 1.1?

Thanks

[Brian48]

+ 1 on the Bobby Orr card but I'd prefer the O-Pee-Chee version

 

There is no OPC version. OPC didn't officially start producing sets until the '68 season. The Topps version is actually printed in Canada and is the most common. There is a Topps USA "test issue" version that is much more rarer than the regular Topps and commands a premium, but I'd much rather have the regular version.

[TheShadowKnows]

I remember the 1991 National Sports Collectors Convention in Anaheim. It took me seven hours to get in the front door. I sold 12 cents worth of football cards for $300 to pay for my hotel room and gas. It was down hill for sports card from that high point. Card companies started packaging used sports memorabilia with cards in a lottery-like system. Card packs cost more than a comic book. I feel sorry for all those amateur investors who were expecting to send their kids to college with all the sports card that they bought.

 

I was there too! My friend and I were in line,and I had a briefcase full of rookie cards from Sandy Koufax,Nolan Ryan,Johnny Bench to the current batch of rookies at the time.I think one big one that year was Ken Griffey Jr.Just Like with my comics I was a completist,and had every rookie card from the 60s on,and was showing them to the guy ahead of me in line.Up walks a man,looks over my batch of cards and wants to buy the whole lot.I gave him a price and he pulled out 15 thousand dollars out of his briefcase.I was floored just like that! in ten minutes I was 15K richer.Then he asks if I had more cards like this at home,I said yes.He came over that evening and cleaned me out with another 10 thousand dollar purchase.That was the last time I had baseball cards.

Oakman making money

[HOTFLIPS]

Regarding the Honus that just sold for 2.2 can you give more details on that sale?

Also which Mantle are you referring to that sold for 1.1?

Thanks

 

Im pretty sure the Honus (Gretzky card) sold for $2.8 million. Unless it sold again for less, but i never read that.

[cbcnow]

Regarding the Honus that just sold for 2.2 can you give more details on that sale?

Also which Mantle are you referring to that sold for 1.1?

Thanks

 

Im pretty sure the Honus (Gretzky card) sold for $2.8 million. Unless it sold again for less, but i never read that.

 

That is correct it did sell for $2.8 million. Someone posted it just sold for 2.2 I was wondering if that was another sale or were they speaking of the $2.8 million sale?