Card collecting 1980-2013

Sports card stores were popping up everywhere back in the 80’s.

Old product was selling like hotcakes and new product was flying off the shelves because everyone wanted the next big rookie card.  And there were plenty of hot cards....Strawberry, Boggs, Ripkin, Clemens, Gooden, and Hernandez.  Defunct gum and card companies like Fleer, Bowman, and Donruss climbed out from under a rock and new card companies such as Upper Deck emerged out of thin air.  By the time the early 90's came around there was so much product and so many variations from each manufacturer, that no one collector could keep up. 

I used to go to card shows at the Fairgrounds in St. Paul, MN.  I remember looking longingly at a 1960 Topps set, complete, for $250.  I can picture the sticker price on the box.  1961-65 were cheaper.  I could kick myself now for not buying, but I had a baby on the way, a mortgage, and was not earning all that much early in my career. I bought a few cards, if anything, and left unfulfilled.  New product was there for the taking – and was being bought up quickly.  The dealers at these shows were a good place to find the cards you needed to complete a set - - or just buy the entire new set on the spot. 

I don’t understand the economics of the new card market demise.  If supply increases, then prices go down.  But if the supply of something increases with many manufacturers and the manufacturers just keep making new and different products….is there a law of "un-scarcity?"  Simply, the casual collector was driven out of the market.  No longer could you hope to find a rookie card that would increase in value over time.  There were so many cards of each player, stars and rookies included, that it became meaningless.  Further, no one really knows how it was determined which rookie card, from which manufacturer, from which set, was considered the valuable one…..and you would only find out after it had gone up in value.  Again, you had to collect all the manufacturers and their multiple sets.  There were traded sets, tribute sets, reprint sets, and premium sets. They made cards with holograms.  They made cards that were perfectly centered. They used a card stock that was stiffer, more resilient so each card would be in mint condition, or at least nearly mint condition. Then they invented chase cards to keep people attracted to the hobby.  Knowing that the regular issue sets were nearly worthless, the manufacturers produced cards that were intentionally short printed, inserted them in regular packs, with the hope of driving up sales.  The set most people wanted was the set of chase cards – which can be extremely expensive. I would think the card industry would make an interesting business school case study – perhaps it’s worthy of a dissertation.

Around the time my daughter was born in April 1985, card shops were opening, it seemed, everywhere.  I lived in St. Paul, MN at the time and a store opened up on Grand Ave (on the south side, between Hamline Ave. and Syndicate St.) about three blocks from my house. I had not been to the store yet because with a new baby things had been kind of crazy around the house. Finally one Saturday, I put her in a carrier (Snuggie?) that held her on my chest.  I got about two blocks from home, looked down at her and her eyes were closed.  Then I panicked; it did not seem like she was breathing.  So I turned around and ran home – nearly in tears with fright.  My (ex) wife took one look at the baby and started laughing – the kid was fine. I had over-reacted ... quite a bit.  It was a couple of more months before I finally got to the store. I did some horse trading – mostly working on the 1966 Topps set.  I had a lot of duplicates from 1966 and traded him to fill my want list.  Deals were not always cash back then – trading was perfectly legitimate.

My daughter 1986 (age 2)

I stopped buying new product in 1992.  I kept the 1989 and 1990 Upper Deck sets and the 1980-1992 Topps sets.  I kept the Topps sets because that is the manufacturer I collected back in the 60's.  I kept the Upper Deck sets because of Ken Griffey Junior….and that’s about it.  The 80's sets are barely worth what I paid for them when they were hot off the press.  And I gave away any Fleer, Donruss, and Bowman product I had collected. I had dreams about card collecting with my son, who was born in 1990. But I lost interest in new product and he was more interested in Magic and Pokemon cards than baseball cards.  He loves baseball, played all the way through high school, but he had no interest in card collecting.  Neither did I – at least not the new stuff.  I hate coming off as a throwback, an old guy that doesn’t keep up with the times, but the fact is I am not alone.  New card sales have dropped off significantly and the vintage product has leveled off in price.  There are, in fact, new wrinkles in the vintage card market: grading and on-line auctions. And this has been very good for the older card market. 

These days, I will not buy a card for more than $100….perhaps even $50…unless it is graded.  Collecting cards is entirely hobby oriented for me.  I have no desire to sell anything in my collection and plan to keep it until I die, passing it on to my son. (My daughter isn’t interested, that’s probably why she fell asleep that day.)  Since my son may not want to keep the cards, there is every reason to take precautions, ensuring he’s got something of value he can put up for sale.  My focus for the past 10 years has been on completing the sets I started as a child: Topps, 1965-1969.  In the winter of 2013, I completed the Topps 1969 set (no white letters).  Prior to that I completed: Topps 1967 (the hardest by far - high numbers are a pain to collect), Topps 1965, Topps 1966, Topps 1973, and Topps 1968 (the easiest by far).  

My son 1992 (age 2)

 
First of all, as I said in another blog entry, I prefer material graded by PSA (Professional Sports Authenticators). Since I had many of these cards from my childhood they were not in mint condition, and I have no desire to spend the kind of money needed to put mint sets together.  That leaves me, on average, in the EX market (Grade of PSA 5).  That is a good spot to be in terms of cost.  When graded, these cards are reasonably priced.  They are objectively in Excellent Condition, and are verified to have no alterations to the card.  A couple of cards I needed were Tom Seaver’s rookie card from 1967 (hi # 581) and Mantle’s last card from 1969 (# 500).  Would I want to pay thousands of dollars for mint versions of these cards?  No. I am not going to spill the beans here, but I paid a very reasonable price for Seaver’s card (PSA 6) and Mantle’s card (PSA 5) and was able to complete the sets at a reasonable cost. 

Cards I bought on line (eBay)

I like, and trust, eBay.  I always search for star cards on eBay to get a feel for scarcity and price.  For the most part, that’s also where I make my purchase.  I attend 4-6 card shows a year in the North Carolina area, but table prices are always marked up in anticipation of haggling.  I don’t like to haggle – but when I do, I’ve done my homework and have a firm price in mind knowing the price I can pay on-line.  eBay is tricky and I have been burned, but most of the time it’s because I was hasty or not thinking objectively. 

In addition, I have an acquaintance who is a member of PSA.  So he has sent several of my older cards off for grading.  My 1968 Nolan Ryan rookie card came back as a 5.  My 1966 Jim Palmer rookie card came back as a 6.  And my Rod Carew rookie card came back as a 4 (VG-EX - not too bad). So, the expensive cards in my collection have been authenticated and graded – adding value as well.

Cards of mine that I got graded

Last, there are just some cards that I have that need replacing.  My 1966 Mantle had a thumbtack hole from keeping it on my wall by my bed as a kid.  See my other blog posts about the 1966 Koufax card that I carried around all summer in a plastic wallet. I have a 1969 Reggie Jackson rookie – great shape, the real deal – but there is a printing defect on the back.  I didn't send to get graded because I will be better off just replacing it one day. 

Recently, I started working on completing a Topps 1964 set. While this is a work in progress, it is primer on how to put a set together.  Started off back in 1985 – I traded with a guy I was working with at the time: 1965 Carlton Rookie (I had two) for any commons from his duplicates 1959, 61, 62, 63, 64 that I wanted.  Wound up with several hundred cards – I honestly think I get the better of the deal.  Anyway – the pickings from 1964 were slim and I only got about 50 cards.  Flash forward to July 2013 at a card show in Raleigh, NC – I stop by a favorite dealer's table and pick up about 50 more cards….but this is expensive and going way too slow.  So I look to eBay for “lot sales” of 1964 Topps baseball cards and I see one – 465 cards in total.  My bid won at under 75 cents per card and includes Frank Robinson (low quality) and Brooks Robinson (high quality). That was my birthday present! Then I went to an on line in September and found a PSA 5 1964 Koufax and bought that for less than my high bid – also on auction.  The set will be completed as follows:  I will find most of the commons and lesser star cards at shows.  The superstar cards will likely be found at eBay auctions.  I will be done in a year, maybe longer. 

1964 Sandy Koufax PSA 5

1964 cards I bought in an on line auction (eBay)

I think that grading and eBay have pretty much killed the mom/pop stores that were selling cards in the 1980’s.  On eBay, I have the entire country (actually the world) to look for cards I need. The corner store is pretty limited in what it can afford to buy and keep in stock.  For that reason, eBay may very well me keeping the hobby alive.  With card grading, there is very little to worry about when you are making a star card purchase on line.  I don’t worry about common cards too much because those are not forged or altered. You can pretty much count on them being fraud-free either on line or at shows. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/01/sports/baseball/fewer-are-investing-hearts-and-money-into-collecting-baseball-cards.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0