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And then the GOAT Shawn Bradley took over the league , he couldnt be stopped, a dual auto with him and Robert Swift easily goes over 1 million sighs i mean laughs i mean uppercuts , i mean sax of illegal stuff , lol
I think most of the guys that complain about not taking low offers are straight flippers. Collectors and collectors who occasionally sell never mind paying close to what a card is worth, because they're not trying to make an instant buck. They may sell the card later, but only after they've enjoyed it for a bit.
Mike, loved the Sketchers advice! I'll be 50 in Sept, and that just spoke to me lol. My 13 year old son and I are going to our first National this year, and we just got back from Sketchers with matching shoes. We're all set!
John Keating nails what the hobby should be all about. Love the Greg Mintons, Don Mossis, Lowell Palmers. Those cards elicit a wonderful sense of nostalgia in me. I despise the new shiny stuff, somewhat because of the looks, but mostly because new collectors see only dollar signs in them. My Tigers team set collection is getting back into the early 1960s now. I’m hitting peak Don Mossi goodness!
Excruciating listening to the GOLDEN Age of Cardboard and trying to come up with a name for the GOLDEN Era of Sports Cards - 1948-1980. So that leads us to the macro Eras (note eras have sub-eras like Tobacco, Junk Wax, : Pre-war (1947 and below) Golden Era (1948-1980) Modern Era (1981 where Donruss and Fleer enter, to 2011) Ultra Modern Era (2012, when Panini enters, the first year of Prizm, etc., to 2025) Fanatical Era, aka Fanatics Era (2026, where Fanatics has all three major leagues, NFL, NBA, MLB, production rights.)
There's a difference between recent prices paid on auction and recent for But It Now. I think most vintage buyers consider the auction price its true value
Why use the Best Offer option on eBay if you don't want to deal with the Best Offer hassles? More card viewing options / selling opportunities for your listings?
I buy from certain card shops and card show dealers that I buy a lot of cards from. Because i do buy a lot from certain sources they sell me cards below sticker price without me offering a below sticker price.
Started going to shows in 1982 but the collecting changing moment for me was the Topps book with photos for all the cards. My brother and I sat on the living room floor paging through and making our want lists. We wanted to get the best looking card of the players we targeted. Crazy some of the cards from way black then I never found nice in the pre internet era and have bought fairly recently - like a ‘66 Mays. Agree on fatigue - Olivo, Minosos and Kaats excites me more than they should bescause as a HOF collector haven’t been looking at those for decades. Curious Mike what would you offer on the ‘72 Mays that a dealer offered to you at $1400? I know you would never buy in that grade. I love football and hockey but collect 99% baseball though at some point I will start going after Blackhawks and Bears HOFers. Have a few and cannot believe the price difference between baseball and football. As the old man in the hobby what is strange to me is how many people have their entire collections are always for sale. Walking around with a huge expensive card suitcase and being willing to trade or sell any card is my old man thing. What is the point? I always say collect how you want but that is where I struggle to understand.
Happy 4th, Gents! Love live the hobby...grumpy folks, cynics, negotiators, set builders, 1/5 seekers, base card lovers, young folks, old folks, and all the others in-between! 🙂 Looking forward to the National!
Enjoyed the conversation. I've been referring to myself as the grumpy old man lately, both in the hobby and in general. I am pretty sure I agreed with every point you guys made. What would be fun would be having this discussion in more of a roundtable format, and for guys that collect differently than vintage baseball.
Connected with him through Mike and his channel a while back. Great guy and always has a large variety of cards and condition. He helped me a lot on many sets. I was gonna reach out before the National, but I know he will have the goods. In addition to binders, he will have stacks in the case of so many years. This will be my 1st stop at this years National. I do believe it means more knowing where the cards come from. Looking forward to it.
It's because the hobby changed basically overnight. Covid has nailed the coffin shut, even though most don't see it yet. It is now full out casino with casino mentality. Breakers, re-packers, 10 year old's with clamshells thinking they are business men, influencers and then of course the sports themselves. It's ALL changed. Collectors are few and far between. Prices are falling on the majority and only the high dollar hype trash keeps getting record numbers as the rich fools have a new bragging tool. It's got farther to fall without a doubt. Most collectibles are in this position now. "Vintage" BMX, vhs, action figures and whatever else went up during covid is still coming in for a hard landing. FOMO! Now it's all dumpster divers, looking for quick flips. Players that take days off left and right for runny noses. All the longevity based records will never be broken as no one plays long enough. So, yeah. Add this 50something guy to your grouch list.
Great Think Tank episode! I was 40 years old when I got back into the hobby and opened a ton of modern baseball. However, I finally saw the light and started collecting vintage. Best decision I’ve made! Take care, guys!
Olive Garden? Can't take nothing serous with that. It's the McDonald's of Italian food. 😂 I say Jokingly. Great conversation with no taste buds😂 You guys are like fine wine you get better in time. It is great information for the new guys like myself. I'm a older Italian gentleman and I enjoy your content. Someone that loves baseball, stats and collecting cards. That I found later in life. Also it is great for the younger persons such as my Grandkids. It is like good medicine and the fountain of youth. I hope you understand my humor about Olive Garden just a joke. Thanks for all you guys do It is always great entertainment yes I am a fanboy. Happy 4th of July. Cheers
Today’s how Hobby New Bloods are tomorrows Old men. Just like we were once the New Bloods that the then old men complained about. Now I realize they were largely right as Experience brings wisdom.
I say hold your prices. What a lot of these guys do is low ball and then you will see the card on another marketplace selling for the price you were trying to get originally.
Great conversation, fellas. I enjoyed it tremendously. I feel like I'm an old man in the hobby more and more every day. It's funny that it started to shift as I started focusing more on vintage. I found a little humor in Mike talking about some of the offers he's received for cards on eBay. Mike, does this change your mind about never paying sticker?
Nice watching a couple young men thinking they are old men, says the crotchety old man. I remember being at your stage, sometimes I still am. Mostly I'm in the I don't care phase. National was easy to go thru last year, just looking for Exhibits and non-mainstream cards. Love the episode.
Does the carpet match the curtains? I never would have guessed hearing that question in a baseball card video. 😂 I know “I’m an old man in the hobby” because my refusal to buy into breaks, modern cards, & can’t stand the MLB extra inning rule. Plus I cut the lawn white solid white new balance sneakers By the way, I still watch the Golden Girls. Crazy how they were 4 old ladies in the 1980s & now starting to look young. 🤣
Interesting and cool conversation JT and Mike. I'll be curious to see at the National how much vintage flipping will be going on. I've noticed a big uptick at the last two National shows that there is a good deal of the cards at the trade nights or pop up trade nights tend to be vintage, along with a strong showing of modern as well.
I don't think we need new names for the eras. They hobby has already named them. Pre-war, vintage (1948-80), junk wax (1981-1993), modern (1994-2017), ultra modern (2018-present). Seems we can use the era model alongside the same names everyone uses.
