Hobby Observations

I may be fortunate in that there is no shortage of card shows or shops in my area.  In fact, they seem to be proliferating.  It is amazing to see the number of people collecting cards and how well some of these shows are attended.  There certainly is a lot of money flowing through the hobby, probably more so then at any other time in the hobby's history.  Dare I say this reminds me of the 80's before the 90's bubble burst?

I have attended many, many card shows over the years.  Some were crazy busy, others were void of traffic to a point where I heard some dealers complain they couldn't cover the cost of the rented space.  I feel confident that nowadays, dealers are not having any trouble covering their rental cost.  And in fact, I would venture to guess that we won't see any card shops closing up any time soon.   Every card shop I've visited this year seems to be busy enough that they are expanding.

So what is up with this hobby?  I think a rebirth in the hobby started in the early to mid 2000's but in recent times, I think the hobby has experienced a perfect storm.  The internet, online breaks, grading services, manufactured scarcity and even COVID seems to have contributed to an explosion not just of hobbyists, but of investors.  Collecting in general has become more sophisticated.

I hope you're wearing your seatbelt, because everyone from older hobbyists such as myself to those looking at sports cards as an "asset class" to kids just collecting for fun (do kids do that anymore?) are all along for the ride.

This past weekend, I attended a local card show (above) which was absolutely packed.  We may be in the middle of winter here, but dam it was hot in that gym.  Here are some thoughts from the show:

• Graded cards are everywhere.  I'm pretty sure everyone and their grandma is buying cards and sending those in for grading.  My friends and I (and many hobbyists) from way back then first heard of a grading company back in the early 90's and scoffed at the notion of a 3rd party grader.  After all, if they could grade something why couldn't we?  I mean everyone (even way back then) looked for another opinion on the condition of a card.  How does Crododile Grading sound?  :)
• Slabbed cards are contributing to "inflation" in the hobby.  Everyone seems to eye up a card and compare it to a grading level, then price accordingly.
• I'm starting to get annoyed with all the people carrying around luggage cases, especially hard sided cases.  They take up a lot of room, are a bit ostentatious, and I seem to have a penchant for running into them.
• I'm pretty sure SGC has the worst looking slabs.
• Has PSA lost their luster?  I'm seeing dealers price slabbed cards similarly, regardless of company.
• Kids.  Love mine, but others at a card show?  Oof.  Getting cut off by a kid wanting to dig in the same box makes me want to be 10 again so I can push the kid away.
• Speaking of kids, they are way more savvy and conscious of card values then when I was kid.
• I'm not sure why any card company bothers with low-end products.  No one is buying that stuff.

Ok, enough ranting.  You made it this far through the post...let's get to some cards!

Some how I made it through the crowd to pick up a couple of needs for my 1956 build.  The Mathews is rough, but good enough for me.

I also managed to pick up a few 1962 Post baseball cards.  The cuts on these are not perfect, but who expects that with this set?

More needs for my '62 Post set build.  

1973 Topps.  What represents this set better then this roller coaster of glorious miscuts?

That may be one of my longest posts ever.  Not only that but I'm waayyy over due for giving cards away.  I have an extra Topps Max Scherzer 70th patch card from the 2021 update series.  Want it?  Comment below and I'll draw a name.  It looks like this: