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Sports Collectibles Newsletter |
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Issue 15, 11/5/2005 |
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Since 1971 Doc's Sports has been recognized as one of the leaders and most trusted names in sports handicapping information. Get a FREE week of Doc's member football picks. All college and NFL picks with detailed analysis. Send an e-mail to service@docsports.com with "SportsLizard Special" in the subject line. |
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The Internet is Responsible for the Resurgence of Sports Cards and Collectibles By Adam McFarland |
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In recent years there have been discussions among collectors suggesting that the internet may actually be hurting the sports cards and collectibles hobby. They point to decreased card show attendance and the struggles of brick and mortar stores as evidence of the demise of the hobby. I am here to tell you that they are wrong. Not only was collecting not ruined by the internet, it was saved by it. That’s right, the internet saved sports collectibles. There is more money in the hobby now, consumers have more buying options, and it is easier to start a business than ever before. Those things are good for everyone involved. The ‘Golden Age’ of Collecting Within the last 15 years we have seen the sports cards and collectibles market fall from grace only to rise again to it’s current form. Most collectors and business owners over the age of 20 will point to the late 1980’s and early 1990’s as the best time to be a collector and the best time to be a dealer. Up until that point the sports card hobby had grown steadily from the 1970’s, when shops started popping up around the country, in to a $1.4 billion a year national pastime in 1992. Card shows were packed with dealers selling top notch memorabilia, signature prices were still reasonable, no authentication was necessary because counterfeiting was minimal, and card shops were able to thrive with loyal customers who were begging to spend their excess cash in their stores week after week. And I don’t disagree with any of this – those truly were great times to be a collector. But factors out of collectors and dealers control would cause the ‘golden age’ of collecting to come to an end. All Good Things Come to an End As the US entered recession in the early 1990’s the hobby crashed. Couple economical problems with a hobby oversaturated with companies trying to capitalize on collectors by overproducing (and thus devaluing) their product, and we were left with a hobby on life support. Americans gravitated towards spending their money on other things and card sales plummeted to $400 million in 1999. Failure was inevitable and neither the collector nor the business owner could do anything about it. [read more] |
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Last week Wheaties announced that they will honor the 2005 World Series Champion Chicago White Sox with a special-edition box featuring Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle. Buehrle will be displayed prominently on the front and back of the package, which will be available nationwide in mid-November. Every time Wheaties produces a special-edition package it brings up the same question - how many people that buy the box actually eat the cereal? Those who don't will probably keep it for years. Does cereal go bad? Do people ever get hungry and bust the box open and try it? I'd pay $20 to see someone eat one of those Wheaties boxes from 1940 that you can find on eBay. [read official release] |
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FEATURED ITEM: Mario Lemieux Autographed Wall Plaque |
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This is a beautiful Mario Lemieux autographed wall plaque, which features the autographed Penguins photo mounted on a piece of 12X15" Black Marble wood. The plaque also includes 2 cards as well as a custom nameplate with gold lettering. This 8X10 photo was signed on November 14th, 2003 as the GREAT Mario Lemieux and the Penguins were in Buffalo, NY to play the Sabres. There is no reserve on this item!! Each autographed I sell comes with a COA from Adams Allsports Collectibles. COA comes complete with matching serial numbered holograms to coincide with hologram on the autographed item, as well as an item description and date that the autograph was obtained. Check out more great stuff at www.sportslizard.com and click on the Adams Allsports Collectibles link, or you can vitit my ebay store. [More Details] |
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A few weeks ago McFarlane unveiled photography for the Sports Picks NHL Legends 3 series. Figures include another Wayne Gretzky (it will be a story when McFarlane DOESN'T include Gretzky in one of their hockey lines, this is like his 23rd figure), Don Cherry, Tony Esposito, Bobby Orr, Marcel Dionne, and Pete Mahovlich. That's right, I said Don Cherry. For those of you who don't know Cherry, he's Canada's answer to Steven A. Smith, famous for his "Coaches Corner" segments during Hockey Night in Canada broadcasts. I sort of get that he's a "legend" and that's why he was included in the series. If I can get past the fact that he was a bad player, I can't get past the fact that the figure includes his dog Blue. Someone explain that to me, please. [read official release] |
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