A little over a week ago I posted on a trade with Greg of Plaschke, Thy Sweater is Argyle. His cards haven't arrived yet, and I fear the worst for them. They were supposed to go from northern California to southern - not exactly a two-week trip. Maybe they're going the long way via Montreal, but I think they've been lost.
I'm going to see that Greg gets what he deserves for the trade, but I'm posting this for your help. I doubt this is the case, but if for some reason I put the wrong address on the envelope, and you ended up with a bunch of Dodgers cards including a Russell Martin jersey, please let me know. I'll pay you in cash or trade to forward the cards along.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Friday, April 15, 2011
Going Postal 4: A Bunch of Firsties
I watch too much G4. About an hour a day - Candace Bailey and that guy on Attack of the Show. And I watch Web Soup. That's enough G4. If you watch G4, especially Web Soup, you know where that term comes from.
It's appropriate because this week marked several firsts in the arrivals bin of my garage door.
My first tint variation from Heritage. It's green, and for a team with green colors. How appropriate. This came from the Bay.
And my first Then and Now from 2011 Heritage. (And what should be my only.) This came today courtesy Derek of Tomahawk Chopping, but it wasn't my first trade with him. It is, however, the first time I've received a trade before I had a chance to mail my side of the deal. Let's hope that doesn't become a trend. Derek, thank you very much, and your goodies will go out tomorrow! (He doesn't know what he's getting yet, so I'm going to let it be a surprise. Hopefully he likes it!)
My first prize arrival. From The Adventures of Napkin Doon - that was a really cool contest and I hope I can play again! It's coming up on the time for me to do my first contest. I think that'll happen next month... I should have traded for the autograph or picked a different number. These are great cards, but I missed out on an awesome HD die cut card. And I don't think I need them, so they will unfortunately have to be trade bait. Unless I decide to frame them and put them on the wall. I do like leaping Ozzie.
My first (and only) autographs of these guys: Ryan Sweeney and Daric Barton for the A's collection, and Pat Burrell for the Giants collection. I used to dislike Burrell because he played for the Phillies and I'm a Braves fan. I think he hit a home run or something against us once. But here he is, now, in my autograph collection. Go figure. All these are eBay finds.
My first Blue Jays team issue cards. I picked up a lot of these 1993 McDonalds cards. Most of them feature Great Moments, and most of those feature the 1992 World Series win over the Braves. There are some player specific cards like the Olerud too. I like the McGwire-cameo card. It looks like Stretch Armstrong there is punching the catcher in the face. While on his knees. McGwire's a big guy. And that catcher is tiny. Sorry, I'm not a Jays fan so I don't know who that is. I only really want one of the cards for the collection - I'll keep the McGwire card, so the rest are for trade, Blue Jays fans! I know you're out there somewhere. Watching. Waiting.
My first Joe Buck card. I guess I'm stretching the theme here, but Joe Buck finishes my "non-player" collection from Fan Favorites '04. I picked this up while working towards finishing my '06 and '99 UD sets on Sportlots.
My first 1994 Topps Pre-Production cards. Again, stretching a good bit here. I would have said "my first Topps Pre-Production set" but I'm missing Wade Boggs and Nolan Ryan. There are actually three Nolan versions based on orientation and card number in this set. So I'm four cards away from a master set. Whoop-dee-doo!
My first completed parallel rainbow. All the other cards are in a box in Georgia, but this Carlos Lee #/5 finishes the 2006 Co-Signers rainbow. There are 12 cards to the rainbow, not counting the fact that each card has three variations (based on the second player). Not all the cards are Carlos Lee, in fact, I'd be surprised if I have two of the same player. Someday I'll put together a nice rainbow of a single player.
Last, my favorite arrival this week. My favorite collection is the one that contains my autograph and relic cards. I don't talk about the non-baseball side much. I have 138 relics and autographs from movies and women in sports, ranging from Alicia Silverstone to Drew Barrymore. In fact, I also have several complete pieces of wardrobe (tops, jeans, full outfits) from several celebrities. One very elusive celebrity has been this elfish darling I've been a fan of since I was a kid - Natalie Portman. I know she's had some cut autographs in a couple releases, but this is her first attainable relic, from the movie Thor.
Left on the movie want list without cards is Jennifer Connelly, Rachel Bilson, Zooey Deschanel, Kate Hudson, and Reese Witherspoon. On the sports side with cards is Sasha Cohen and Nastia Liukin (she's on the list just because she has a card). And on the actor side (Pop Century cards) - I'm listing them here more for myself than anything else - Jack Black, Tom Hanks, Dustin Hoffman, Bill Murray, Adam Sandler, Lea Thompson (autograph), and Wierd Al Yankovic (autograph). Elizabeth Banks was in Spider-Man 2's autograph list but usually goes for way more than I'm willing to pay.
I'm about to grab dinner (it's 9pm) and get back to this list of stuff to get done by the end of the day tomorrow. Have a good night!
It's appropriate because this week marked several firsts in the arrivals bin of my garage door.
My first tint variation from Heritage. It's green, and for a team with green colors. How appropriate. This came from the Bay.
And my first Then and Now from 2011 Heritage. (And what should be my only.) This came today courtesy Derek of Tomahawk Chopping, but it wasn't my first trade with him. It is, however, the first time I've received a trade before I had a chance to mail my side of the deal. Let's hope that doesn't become a trend. Derek, thank you very much, and your goodies will go out tomorrow! (He doesn't know what he's getting yet, so I'm going to let it be a surprise. Hopefully he likes it!)
My first prize arrival. From The Adventures of Napkin Doon - that was a really cool contest and I hope I can play again! It's coming up on the time for me to do my first contest. I think that'll happen next month... I should have traded for the autograph or picked a different number. These are great cards, but I missed out on an awesome HD die cut card. And I don't think I need them, so they will unfortunately have to be trade bait. Unless I decide to frame them and put them on the wall. I do like leaping Ozzie.
My first (and only) autographs of these guys: Ryan Sweeney and Daric Barton for the A's collection, and Pat Burrell for the Giants collection. I used to dislike Burrell because he played for the Phillies and I'm a Braves fan. I think he hit a home run or something against us once. But here he is, now, in my autograph collection. Go figure. All these are eBay finds.
My first Blue Jays team issue cards. I picked up a lot of these 1993 McDonalds cards. Most of them feature Great Moments, and most of those feature the 1992 World Series win over the Braves. There are some player specific cards like the Olerud too. I like the McGwire-cameo card. It looks like Stretch Armstrong there is punching the catcher in the face. While on his knees. McGwire's a big guy. And that catcher is tiny. Sorry, I'm not a Jays fan so I don't know who that is. I only really want one of the cards for the collection - I'll keep the McGwire card, so the rest are for trade, Blue Jays fans! I know you're out there somewhere. Watching. Waiting.
My first Joe Buck card. I guess I'm stretching the theme here, but Joe Buck finishes my "non-player" collection from Fan Favorites '04. I picked this up while working towards finishing my '06 and '99 UD sets on Sportlots.
My first 1994 Topps Pre-Production cards. Again, stretching a good bit here. I would have said "my first Topps Pre-Production set" but I'm missing Wade Boggs and Nolan Ryan. There are actually three Nolan versions based on orientation and card number in this set. So I'm four cards away from a master set. Whoop-dee-doo!
My first completed parallel rainbow. All the other cards are in a box in Georgia, but this Carlos Lee #/5 finishes the 2006 Co-Signers rainbow. There are 12 cards to the rainbow, not counting the fact that each card has three variations (based on the second player). Not all the cards are Carlos Lee, in fact, I'd be surprised if I have two of the same player. Someday I'll put together a nice rainbow of a single player.
Last, my favorite arrival this week. My favorite collection is the one that contains my autograph and relic cards. I don't talk about the non-baseball side much. I have 138 relics and autographs from movies and women in sports, ranging from Alicia Silverstone to Drew Barrymore. In fact, I also have several complete pieces of wardrobe (tops, jeans, full outfits) from several celebrities. One very elusive celebrity has been this elfish darling I've been a fan of since I was a kid - Natalie Portman. I know she's had some cut autographs in a couple releases, but this is her first attainable relic, from the movie Thor.
I'm about to grab dinner (it's 9pm) and get back to this list of stuff to get done by the end of the day tomorrow. Have a good night!
Why are cards so expensive now?
I feel like I've said this before, but maybe it's just been running in my mind for a while. I apologize if you've seen me write this already.
Prices on cases, boxes, and cards are higher this year than last year, and in fact seem to be at their highest since I returned to collecting in 2003. (When I collected before that, there was no eBay or major trading card sites.) Some people point to the Topps monopoly as the cause for this.
I don't think the monopoly, specifically, is the cause for higher prices. I think we're seeing a few things coming together at the right time.
Rookie and player interest is growing - Strasburg, Harper, Posey, Belt are all big names in the past couple of years, which we haven't seen in a little while. And with teams other than the usual suspects in the World Series this past year, there's probably a bit of growth in that area.
I think we're also seeing some of the people my age return to collecting from their childhood. It's the same This will increase demand.
There are signs that the economy is getting better, and people feel safe in spending more disposable income in cards. Again, this increases demand.
With this increase in demand, there has been a drop in supply. The latest downswing hit hard starting around 2005, between the economy and overproduction. After the mess that was 2005, with the end of Fleer and the removal of Donruss from baseball, there was a return to normalcy. Remember 2005 Donruss Champions? Eight hits per box, for about $80. That's crazy. While Donruss was essentially dumping its excess relic/autograph stock, it's not too far off from the norm for the past couple of years before it. For $20, you could buy a blaster box and be guaranteed a hit. (Okay, so 2011 Topps blasters had a manupatch. It's not a hit. Sorry.)
I saw a rise in prices in relics and autographs a couple years ago, when Upper Deck and Topps were the only companies making products. Both companies really haven't focused on large numbers of hits per box (excluding those high-priced products like Tribute and Triple Threads).
These past two years have seen about half as many releases as the previous years. Even more so this year. While the removal of Upper Deck from the picture created a monopoly, the real issue is a decrease in available product. People went nuts for the flagship Topps because there is no Upper Deck. Tribute is doing so well because there is no Ultimate Collection, SP, or Sweet Spot. There's no Masterpieces, Goudey, OPC, or Goodwin Champions to go up against sets like Heritage, Gypsy Queen, and A&G. So even if there weren't more collectors or more puchases by collectors (maybe there isn't), there is less to buy.
Does Topps need to up production to meet demand? Why? If Topps ups the production run per set, it'll have the same problem we saw in the mid-80s. If they increase the number of sets produced, it is a repeat of the mid-90s. If they add more relics and autographs, it repeats the problems of the mid-00s.
Do we need another manufacturer again? Perhaps. But who? Upper Deck, for all its great photography and innovation, has many enemies. Panini has done some good things lately, and many fans, but they bring the Donruss/Leaf/Playoff legacy with them - including the designing of sets purely as relic holders. (Again, 2005 Donruss Champions.) I would like to see a new company. Regardless, the number of releases needs to be limited, as I think we're just a little lower than is right for the hobby. Take some releases away from Topps - in fact, allow each company to release 12 sets. That would provide two releases per month. And I would require at least two of them to be a multi-series set (in other words, Topps' flagship might be considered three releases). On second thought, Topps would do so much better with almost-monthly series updates to its base set, much like its vintage days with six or seven series. I guess Topps is still printing on 110-card sheets, so maybe a 990-card release spread out over the season would work. Think of all the lame insert sets Topps could create for that many sets!
Am I angry that cards are expensive? I wish I could find some cheap pickups. I haven't touched a single Tribute card, and I'm having a hard time getting the Heritage hits for my sampler collection. But rising prices are signs that the hobby is growing again, or at least doing something right.
 |
| 2011 Topps Tribute |
I don't think the monopoly, specifically, is the cause for higher prices. I think we're seeing a few things coming together at the right time.
Rookie and player interest is growing - Strasburg, Harper, Posey, Belt are all big names in the past couple of years, which we haven't seen in a little while. And with teams other than the usual suspects in the World Series this past year, there's probably a bit of growth in that area.
 |
| Never mind Brandon Belt, where's the card for the person sitting on the bench? |
There are signs that the economy is getting better, and people feel safe in spending more disposable income in cards. Again, this increases demand.
With this increase in demand, there has been a drop in supply. The latest downswing hit hard starting around 2005, between the economy and overproduction. After the mess that was 2005, with the end of Fleer and the removal of Donruss from baseball, there was a return to normalcy. Remember 2005 Donruss Champions? Eight hits per box, for about $80. That's crazy. While Donruss was essentially dumping its excess relic/autograph stock, it's not too far off from the norm for the past couple of years before it. For $20, you could buy a blaster box and be guaranteed a hit. (Okay, so 2011 Topps blasters had a manupatch. It's not a hit. Sorry.)
I saw a rise in prices in relics and autographs a couple years ago, when Upper Deck and Topps were the only companies making products. Both companies really haven't focused on large numbers of hits per box (excluding those high-priced products like Tribute and Triple Threads).
These past two years have seen about half as many releases as the previous years. Even more so this year. While the removal of Upper Deck from the picture created a monopoly, the real issue is a decrease in available product. People went nuts for the flagship Topps because there is no Upper Deck. Tribute is doing so well because there is no Ultimate Collection, SP, or Sweet Spot. There's no Masterpieces, Goudey, OPC, or Goodwin Champions to go up against sets like Heritage, Gypsy Queen, and A&G. So even if there weren't more collectors or more puchases by collectors (maybe there isn't), there is less to buy.
Does Topps need to up production to meet demand? Why? If Topps ups the production run per set, it'll have the same problem we saw in the mid-80s. If they increase the number of sets produced, it is a repeat of the mid-90s. If they add more relics and autographs, it repeats the problems of the mid-00s.
 |
| 2005 Donruss Champions |
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| 1973 Topps High-Number Wrapper |
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