Bi-Weekly Market Report - December 27, 2006
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| Trading Card Market Saw Tremendous Kids Growth In 2006 |
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From Beckett: "The battle cry for the trading card category in 2006 was "Bring back the Kids" and it appears to be working! Top card manufacturers – Topps and Upper Deck – spent unprecedented marketing resources to attract kids to card collecting and youngsters have responded positively. According to the KidSay tracker, a reputable marketing research company that tracks kid's attitudes and behavior, 28% of boys 8-11 collected sports cards in 2006 vs. 9% in 2005. Consistent with these results, 23% of boys 12-15, collected sports cards in '06 versus just 8% in 2005." My take: Everyone recognized that the hobby wasn't attracting young collectors the past 5-10 years. Everyone knew that the hobby would die a slow death if this generation didn't embrace cards like the past few. I commend the companies for trying, but I'm honestly surprised at HOW MUCH of an improvement Topps and Upper Deck were able to swing. As much as I wanted to believe that cards had a place with today's youngsters, I thought that the video game/text messaging/MySpace generation had little use for pieces of cardboard with their favorite players on them...apparently not. Good work guys.
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| Yankees and Cubs McFarlane 3-packs |
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From McFarlane: "McFarlane Toys steps up to the plate and gets ready for another season as part of the MLB Opening Day campaign at Toys R Us. For the second straight year, we'll be offering exclusive MLB Sports Picks at Toys R Us to help kick off the 2007 baseball season. Toys R Us will be the sole source of MLB 17, the 2007 3-inch MLB lineup, as well as a pair of team-oriented three-packs showcasing two of the most popular teams in baseball, and including the 2007 lineup of 3-inch MLB figures as well." My take: The Yankees three pack includes Jason Giambi, Derek Jeter, and Bobby Abreu, while the Cubs three pack includes Greg Maddux, Carlos Zambrano, and Derek Lee. Maddux is now a Padre so I doubt Cub fans will be interested in purchasing a three pack that includes 1/3 Padres. That said, it does include Zambrano and his absolutely sick goatee, and that may be enough to persuade any collector into picking up a Cubs set.
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| Stolen Ruth-signed ball returned to Ted Williams family |
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From Tuff Stuff: "A single-signed Babe Ruth baseball reputed to be the only autograph Ted Williams ever pursued in his life was returned to the Williams family last week after his daughter, Claudia Williams, filed a lawsuit to have it pulled from the December Mastro Auction." My take: This is a great story. Apparently Williams expressed his affection for the missing ball in an interview, and even used the phrase "my pal" when signing balls for fans because he loved how Ruth used it when signing the ball for him. It's good to see the Williams family get their ball back. What I wonder is if they will be able to trace the sales of the ball back to the guy who originally stole it? Hopefully the fool will get what he deserves.
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