Observations on the current state of the hobby from a show this weekend

[KhalDrogo]

Originally Posted by Galileo77

In my 1 person experience (N==1) this year compared to past years, I think buyers are more cautious in terms of offers sent to me and purchasing than years before. That said it may be explained by many factors other than the economic climate. Buyers may be smarter and less influenced by external hype, my lack of offering auctions, my prices etc. etc. but i have noted a small difference none the less

Depends on what you’re selling. There’s no way to truly calculate the hobby spend, but if you include TCG, there is no way that the card hobby isn’t at an all-time high right now. The money being thrown around is unbelievable. And I think that’s largely due to crypto.

[anusinha]

Originally Posted by KhalDrogo

Depends on what you’re selling. There’s no way to truly calculate the hobby spend, but if you include TCG, there is no way that the card hobby isn’t at an all-time high right now. The money being thrown around is unbelievable. And I think that’s largely due to crypto.

Btc is over 110k, whenever that booms you see a burst of activity in the tcg world. Alpha Rudy says people contact him to buy pallets of mtg or pokemon with btc, probably to launder the earnings.

[Galileo77]

Originally Posted by PuddleMonkey

You guys might not want to admit it but you're all going to miss my optimism when I die.

Please do not i enjoy your sarcasm, wit, i think it is often tongue in cheek but it is a nice break from serious

[Galileo77]

Originally Posted by KhalDrogo

Depends on what you’re selling. There’s no way to truly calculate the hobby spend, but if you include TCG, there is no way that the card hobby isn’t at an all-time high right now. The money being thrown around is unbelievable. And I think that’s largely due to crypto.

thank you for the reminder very important point i failed to mention my focus is purely baseball

[livfreely]

Originally Posted by PuddleMonkey

You guys might not want to admit it but you're all going to miss my optimism when I die.

Don’t you die on me puddle…don’t you dare


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[PFF100]

Originally Posted by PuddleMonkey

You guys might not want to admit it but you're all going to miss my optimism when I die.

That’ll be the day someone can collect harder then you


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[KhalDrogo]

Originally Posted by anusinha

Btc is over 110k, whenever that booms you see a burst of activity in the tcg world. Alpha Rudy says people contact him to buy pallets of mtg or pokemon with btc, probably to launder the earnings.

A great way to wash your crypto gains. The irony is that these people are better off just holding the crypto and paying the taxes when they need the cash for something more necessary.

[jkampis]

Originally Posted by Galileo77

Please do not i enjoy your sarcasm, wit, i think it is often tongue in cheek but it is a nice break from serious

Mostly so tongue in cheek that he’s made a hole in his cheek.

[pinnacle06]

Went to the front row card show in San Diego today. It was wildly packed. I could not walk down the isles. Much different than the shows I attend in Ma in terms of turn out. It was difficult to really dive into the tables. I would say about 50-50 TCG vs Sports. TCG tables were jammed. Interestingly it looked like less super modern sports to me than I am used to and had a number of tables with a strong vintage presence. I hope that is a trend.

[ELM2011]

Originally Posted by pinnacle06

Went to the front row card show in San Diego today. It was wildly packed. I could not walk down the isles. Much different than the shows I attend in Ma in terms of turn out. It was difficult to really dive into the tables. I would say about 50-50 TCG vs Sports. TCG tables were jammed. Interestingly it looked like less super modern sports to me than I am used to and had a number of tables with a strong vintage presence. I hope that is a trend.

It was a good show, the largest I've ever been to before, hopefully they continue to do more down here. The one at the Handlrey hotel is much smaller, but just as packed and I would say closer 70-30 tcg-sports. Unfortunately I've not been able to find anything I want at an affordable price at either...

[theshowandme]

I always thought the San Diego Convention Center would be a great place for a card show.

I hope that comes true some day.

[hammerva]

The more I see videos of the new Burbank Card shop (that is apparently opening tomorrow for a VIP), the more it bothers me that it is about 3000 miles away because their set up is basically what I wish the hobby was with all the singles and the organization of it

[PuddleMonkey]

Card shows and dealers shifting to TCG, sports singles market nothing more than a carcass being propped up by pumpers and shills, Judge and Ohtani can't keep you afloat forever boys. Just wait until the gamblers move over to TCG and Fanatics follows. There's no licensing fees to pull imaginary characters out of your a_ss. Don't let the fear of bankruptcy stop you from chasing those unlimited unnumbered SSP's!


Just finished another set, you'd better hope all my predictions don't come true & I collect harder than you.

[Archangel1775]

I'm seeing a rise in interest of International Players. From both the present and past. I actually dug out a few cards from a collection due to it.

[KhalDrogo]

For the most part, current player markets suck outside of Judge and Ohtani. Really uninspiring first two months for a lot of big names in the hobby.

Soto, Tatis, Julio, Carroll, Gunnar, Holliday, Elly, Vlad, Langford, Chourio, Trout, Witt, Caminero, Jasson, etc. A few guys maybe coming around, but a lot guys with hot starts have completely fallen off.

[Chicosbailbonds]

Originally Posted by PuddleMonkey

Card shows and dealers shifting to TCG, sports singles market nothing more than a carcass being propped up by pumpers and shills, Judge and Ohtani can't keep you afloat forever boys. Just wait until the gamblers move over to TCG and Fanatics follows. There's no licensing fees to pull imaginary characters out of your a_ss. Don't let the fear of bankruptcy stop you from chasing those unlimited unnumbered SSP's!


Just finished another set, you'd better hope all my predictions don't come true & I collect harder than you.

What set?

[Akphillips86]

Originally Posted by KhalDrogo

For the most part, current player markets suck outside of Judge and Ohtani. Really uninspiring first two months for a lot of big names in the hobby.

Soto, Tatis, Julio, Carroll, Gunnar, Holliday, Elly, Vlad, Langford, Chourio, Trout, Witt, Caminero, Jasson, etc. A few guys maybe coming around, but a lot guys with hot starts have completely fallen off.

Truth.

I think for everyone not named Judge or Ohtani, they really needed to come out surging and stay hot to pull enough hobby attention away from the dynamic duo. Instead, Judge and Ohtani are killing it and virtually everyone else in the next tiers down aren’t stepping up.

This could result in a really interesting market going forward. And by interesting I mean Judge and Ohtani are going to progressively skyrocket.

Side note: Acuna has came back blazing, but what will it take from him at this point to see a significant rebound? I love watching him play, but I think he’s facing an uphill battle value-wise.


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[KhalDrogo]

Originally Posted by Akphillips86

Truth.

I think for everyone not named Judge or Ohtani, they really needed to come out surging and stay hot to pull enough hobby attention away from the dynamic duo. Instead, Judge and Ohtani are killing it and virtually everyone else in the next tiers down aren’t stepping up.

This could result in a really interesting market going forward. And by interesting I mean Judge and Ohtani are going to progressively skyrocket.

Side note: Acuna has came back blazing, but what will it take from him at this point to see a significant rebound? I love watching him play, but I think he’s facing an uphill battle value-wise.

Acuna will have a hard time attracting outside money, same way Tatis does. If you’ve collected Acuna or are a Braves fan, you’re probably still doing so. If not, there’s too much injury risk and he’s lost too much time for people to jump back in right now. He needs sustained health and success.

The reality is that Judge and Ohtani are setting us up for a summer like 1998. They are so far above everyone else on the field and in the hobby that dollars will struggle to go anywhere else. Soto could turn it around and hit 45 HRs and his cards won’t budge.

[solt0131]

I just love the June panic. I look forward to it every year. With the market in such bad shape and tanking so quickly, one wonders if anyone is going to show up to The National this year in Chicago? I guess a lot of people aren't going to have the money, right?

[ThoseBackPages]

if you are a collector everything (as it always has been) is fine.
if you are a dealer and are not doing well, you are not doing your job properly.

Ohtani and Judge will continue to "pull away" from the pack.
i would guess this will be the case for the next three to five years.

if you enjoy speculating then figuring out who takes the baton from
them is your challenge

[Twalk1975]

The two weeks or so on either side of the All Star Break has always been a good time to move cards for me. June 1st marks the time to start digging out guys like PCA and Cal Raleigh that I've got sitting in boxes.

[tconte]

Buy vintage top tier boys!


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[ThoseBackPages]

Originally Posted by tconte

Buy vintage top tier boys!


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sure, but buying mainstream vintage is easy (just costly) and pretty bland over time

[tconte]

Originally Posted by ThoseBackPages

sure, but buying mainstream vintage is easy (just costly) and pretty bland over time

With vintage, there are lots of fun options and different ways to collect.
Bland to some is colorful and exciting to others. Great way to learn the
history of the game too!

What's mind bogling and bland to some is the mountains of new issues
and parrallels of colors or variations. Not sure what a zebra or blue wave
even is anymore. Some might find it liberating to set themselves free from
the mountains of SP's, SSP's, SSSSSSSSP's, variations, and colors. The
cost is a headscratcher too. Also, I heard in a youtube video that Soto had over
2000 different 2024 issues while Cal Ripken had ten from 1991 or something
to that effect. Sounds like a money grab. But if today's cards and chase is your
thing then go for it! Having fun is key! Keep a budget.

I would rather save the cash and buy a 1955 Topps Jackie or a 1968 Topps Hank Aaron
or Mantle. They are not too pricey for most participating in the hobby today.

Anyhow, not to go off topic, I will just say I agree with PuddleMonkey's
last post. TCG is charging fast. My opinions of the ultra modern sportscard market is
not a favorable one.

[Scottish Punk]

Vibe check from Detroit Sport Spectaular. It looked pretty busy. More vendors than last year and seemed stuff was moving. Saw plenty of kids which was a good sign. I like to take a graded card feel. Tons of PSA obviously. I saw a lot of SGC. Very little Beckett - some 90's basketball and some BAS authentic cards. One table had CGC and it was exclusively Pokémon. I saw one table with a bunch of gem?, some off brand graded cards. No TAG, Arena, or HGA. This was overwhelming sports, definitely graded is really just PSA and SGC. Some more good news, I saw a lot raw. Not just $1 boxes, full vintage dealers with raw. Bad side was that the raw vintage was priced at or above graded prices. Meaning a card priced at 6 raw when it doesn't even look like it would grade a 6.