Loved his take on the randomness of PSA grading. Congrats to Craig for dealing in raw cards, and avoiding the TPG scam. I love dealing with these hobby vets who focus on the card rather than the holder!
That interactive map is fantastic - esp. for those wishing to seek out a specific vendor! Certainly very handy for huge and overwhelming conventions such as the National. Wishing Craig, and all those setting up at the National, some great sales. 👍
I know the national is right around the corner when you have Craig on your show! Mike, you are a fantastic interviewer! I’m not just saying that because you’re such a great guy! However, the only reason I wrote my last sentence is because you are such a great guy! 😂👊 looking forward to seeing you soon!
Everything you say about Craig is true Went to the Nashville show in October , and the best part of the show was upgrading my 56 and 71 sets at his table, and talking cards and life with Craig and his wife
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.
My last National was in AC and I did not make it a point to go find Craig and Holly. I am going to change that this year. Great interview again Mike, thank you.
The end of the Topps monopoly and the introduction of update sets plays a huge factor in determining the end of the vintage era and the beginning of the modern era. These factors should be a part of every discussion. Make it a part of your's moving forward. Conventional nomenclature of other hobbies do not apply to ours as it is unique to itself.
Always enjoy these and to hear Craig talk about pricing those low grade centered gems was awesome because as a buyer I find myself just paying whatever I feel Its worth and completely disregarding the grade. Sounds to me the hobby or vintage guys anyways are becoming more and more number blind. I also notice a big trend in modern guys forgetting the grade when it comes to the low numbered cards. Fun conversation and cant wait to check his table out 👊🤙🤙
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.
I support defining eras rather than saying something becomes vintage with age. If I was the hobby czar I would declare: Tobacco era 1887-1911. Pre War obviously ends in 41. Vintage ends with the Topps monopoly (1980). I use “Mass” or “Max wax” era over “junk wax”. 1981-1994 (bb strike ends). Then “Millenium era”1995-2019 which brings us to the current “modern era.” Which began with the rekindling during the pandemic lock down. Modern is always the current era until has a defining moment to end it. Just like we do with our generation monikers.
I agree with your era’s. Nice list! I think the word vintage can be used for different eras as a blanket. To Mike’s discussion point in the video, I think we are now getting to the point where we could call the “Production Era” (1981-1995) as vintage.
Pre-War (1880s-1941), Golden Age (1948-1956), Silver Age (1957-1980), Junk Wax Era (1981-1992), Innovation Era (1993-2001), Millenium Era (2001-2011), Prospecting Era (2012-2024)
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.)
Cranky collector alert: I guess I don't get RU-vidrs' obsession with and fanatical countdown to The National. It's just a really big card show, right? What does it mean for the 99.5% of viewers who aren't going? I guess seeing all the grail cards being shown off prior to auctions is entertaining. The kumbaya bromances among RU-vidrs doesn't do much for me. Cranky collector rant over. 😂
