How many true collectors are there?
 

With cards being ubiquitous in the last couple years I'm interested to see what people think.

[B]Going to define a true collector as somebody who puts cards first and money second. They can sell a card, but mostly collect for the pure enjoyment of it. [/B]

[U]my guesses[/U]

Basketball: united states: 50,000 - worldwide 100,000
Football: united states: 75,000 - worldwide 100,000
Baseball: united states: 100,000 - worldwide 150,000

Here we go…

So you're asking how many hoarders of cards there are, with a preference to not cash in what they have to get new stuff, but just get throwing money into the pit?

Money gets cards gets money gets cards...

[QUOTE=1980bust;18310074]So you're asking how many hoarders of cards there are, with a preference to not cash in what they have to get new stuff, but just get throwing money into the pit?

Money gets cards gets money gets cards...[/QUOTE]

Before all this new money came into the equation, the hobby was about collecting. Which meant that most people used discretionary income to buy cards. Think about the people that collected exquisite cards from 2003/2004-2008/2009. It seems counterintuitive but the 'true collectors' probably had the highest gains out of anybody in how much their collections or (for lack of a better word), portfolios were worth.

I've always loved the game of buying and selling, probably even more than collecting. Sure I have my phoenix suns cards from the early 2000's, but I probably should've picked the lakers to collect if I wanted to make the most money.

So luck obviously is a factor as is your financial situation.

[QUOTE=1980bust;18310074]So you're asking how many hoarders of cards there are, with a preference to not cash in what they have to get new stuff, but just get throwing money into the pit?

Money gets cards gets money gets cards...[/QUOTE]

When I started in this hobby in 92 at the age of 7, we didn’t call it “hoarding”, just collecting. I don’t blame all the new people in this hobby who joined over the last couple of years when prices went crazy. Why not make some quick money? Although it’ll take a long time for a lot of those people to realize it was just a fluke, It’ll become mainly a hobby again at some point. I never bought cards because of how much they may be worth in the future. It’s always just been an enjoyable hobby for me and worrying whether or not I made a good investment or lost a bunch of money would take a lot of the joy out of it. All that being said, yes, I did sell a bunch of 92 Topps Shaq rookies from my binder for like $40-$50 a piece during the “boom”, but I immediately used the funds for other PC stuff. So yes, there are still collectors. We’re just laying low until there’s not so many 94 UD base PSA 10’s to drudge through while looking for PC stuff.

4…just 4

I've been buying and keeping solely Ersan Ilyasova for the past 17 years. What does that tell you?

[QUOTE=Boo;18310175]4…just 4[/QUOTE]

are those in the us or international?

I’m a hoarder because I didn’t need to sell to buy more. Maybe some people do.

The biggest losers in this hobby are the ones who feel compelled to incessantly distinguish themselves as collectors opposed to anything different.

[QUOTE=1980bust;18310074]So you're asking how many hoarders of cards there are, with a preference to not cash in what they have to get new stuff, but just get throwing money into the pit?

Money gets cards gets money gets cards...[/QUOTE]

Hoarders is exactly how I define "true collectors". I'd say 99% of people in the hobby are buyers who sell most of their cards and only keep the ones they like the most.

[QUOTE=oshmeehan;18310195]I've been buying and keeping solely Ersan Ilyasova for the past 17 years. What does that tell you?[/QUOTE]

you are the truest of collectors.

I invest in what I like. : ) Mostly an investor here. Small time collecting. I'm going to the national for the first time. I will say, been watching card shows on youtube leading up to the national. It is amazing to me the astounding amount of money that people blow on absolute garbage. Many cards in the 10-500 range, even post massive correction, could go to 0 in a blink. Especially in the ultra modern category. I mean this stuff is completely and utterly prolific. A bazillion patches, autos and parallels. And it is multiplying like rabbits. Hard to believe the interest can be sustained at this rate. All the new younger collectors too... if they have no interest in older players and they entered during this, at some point you think, "Why am I paying 400 dollars for a green clown disco prizm of Julius Randle when I'm a high school student?" Or young professional or college student or whatever. And who on earth is ever going to be the exit liquidity for my green clown disco prizm, especially 6 years from now? There is a strata of cards that are truly special from a number of eras (and there will be some from the ultra modern era too) but many many many cards from the last 5 years are nothing more than 500 dollar coffee coasters.

To me there is no definition of what a “true collector” is. There have always been flippers in this hobby and there are many different ways to collect, which makes it a very eclectic experience

I’ve been collecting Kris Humphries since 2005 and have acquired over 1000 autographs of him. I’m not in it for the money. I’m in it for the hunt and every step I can get closer to that 100% mark even if it is an impossible task.

When I was a kid in the 90’s I wanted to release my own Beckett like magazine only with pictures of every base card/insert set for reference with a rated description of the set. (1992-93 Fleer Total D was a Five star set, for example…1991-92 Fleer Base was a One star set). It was my own little virtual encyclopedia of releases. Of course, when 1/1 sets and 1997-98 UD jerseys came around I had to scale back what I could get as even common players in the law sets were very pricey. I used disposable cameras and taped a photo of the card into my hand written magazine. I’ll have to find them one day. Pretty sure they are still at my parents house.

Sorting out cards is like therapy for me. I love reading card backs of the older sets and learning fun facts like in 1992-93 Skybox…where it’s revealed that Rodney McCrays favorite movie is How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I don’t collect baseball but I buy the flagship factory set every year because I adore their write ups on the back for nobody prospects and how they have something nice to say about every player. Even the scrubs of scrubs. It’s endearing.

We all have different collecting journeys and stories. Some things are best not to be applied with a label.

I held on to my 1990 Hoops commons for 30 years and cashed out a dozen Marc Jackson cards in 2020. Does that not make me a true collector anymore? If I lose that title
, I’m going back and buying a case of 1990 Hoops to make up for the shame :)

[QUOTE=clocsta2323;18310376]The biggest losers in this hobby are the ones who feel compelled to incessantly distinguish themselves as collectors opposed to anything different.[/QUOTE]

I'd say the biggest losers are the cynics like this guy.

Even the purest of heart collector knows that the hobby companies and dealers are in it to make money, but nobody has to be [I]happy[/I] about all shenanigans recent years have brought.

[QUOTE=boxbuster7;18309880]With cards being ubiquitous in the last couple years I'm interested to see what people think.

[B]Going to define a true collector as somebody who puts cards first and money second. They can sell a card, but mostly collect for the pure enjoyment of it. [/B]

[U]my guesses[/U]

Basketball: united states: 50,000 - worldwide 100,000
Football: united states: 75,000 - worldwide 100,000
Baseball: united states: 100,000 - worldwide 150,000[/QUOTE]

Do we really think Football has more collectors than Basketball in the US?

I am guessing you are eliminating the "non collector" flippers but there are just as many of them in football if not more now.

Hello, I've been collecting since 1998 and while I agree times have changed but those who been collecting over 18+ years are collecting for items they love. I have not sold a single thing YET :) but passing it down to my kids - I'm not sure if I would sell to get college funds started

Probably 400-500 tbh

The only true collector on this planet is Boo.







He doesn’t only collect cardboard, either

If we're defining collector as "someone who has purchased a card or a pack of cards in the past year for the purposes of collecting and not business," then I'd say it's easily at least a million. That would only be 1 out of every 330 Americans. Roughly 1 in 2 Americans will pay to attend a professional sporting event in a given year, so the idea of 1 in every 165 event-attending sports fans also enjoying cards seem like a pretty safe bet.

Now if we're defining "collector" as someone who checks eBay daily, attends card shows, and is a member of Blowout......yeah, it's going to drop down to the 10,000-50,000 range.

[QUOTE=boxbuster7;18309880]With cards being ubiquitous in the last couple years I'm interested to see what people think.

[B]Going to define a true collector as somebody who puts cards first and money second. They can sell a card, but mostly collect for the pure enjoyment of it. [/B]

[U]my guesses[/U]

Basketball: united states: 50,000 - worldwide 100,000
Football: united states: 75,000 - worldwide 100,000
Baseball: united states: 100,000 - worldwide 150,000[/QUOTE]

I collect basketball , football and baseball.

But the family collects Pokemon.

Pokemon: United states : 2,000,000 worldwide 100,000,000 :doh:

[QUOTE=Kobe101;18311007]Do we really think Football has more collectors than Basketball in the US?

I am guessing you are eliminating the "non collector" flippers but there are just as many of them in football if not more now.[/QUOTE]

I was judging it based on the popularity of football. I'd say basketball has the most dedicated collectors.

I don’t think the number of worldwide collectors of NFL is right. Not many people watch American football except Americans. I think most ppl collect basketball card, then baseball… baseball is also not that popular, Only US, Canada, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Some latin American countries care about baseball.

No disrespect to the OP, but this thread makes no sense to me. :confused::confused::confused:

First of all, the definition of a "true collector" is something that can be debated for weeks. How can you put cards first and money second? I think everyone puts both of them first! Anyone who says that he loves his cards so much and doesn't care if they lose 90% value is full of crap!

Secondly, how do we come up with numbers here? :confused: For example, United States = 50,000 and the world = 250,000. There are people who own stuff, but are taking a break from the hobby. There are people who attend card shows and only purchase $5 cards. There are investors who come in and out, etc. How do we even come up with these numbers? That's like me trying to figure out how many men in the USA like blonde-haired women and how many men in the world like blonde-haired women. Maybe all of them? Dunno! :cry: