[jpleazme805]

don't want to get on the soapbox... but....

There was only one, maybe two companies, that produced basketball cards... or sports card in general... in the early years... pre 1980/1990's.... there were a lot less people living in the United States.. some could not afford TV's & did not watch much sports. Kids were busy playing sports in the streets & parks.. Not too many collected sports cards as a hobby back then.. they did it for fun, when their parents bought them a few packs here & there... they traded them, played with them, put them in the bike spokes like I did... I was born in 1980... got my first sports cards in 85/86... didn't know they were valuable until 1989... then I realized that all my cards were ruined & not worth anything... I found my first Baseball card shop in 1990, located in Santa Barbara, Ca... I seen card shops come & go.. at one time, there were 7 shops, now there is one, that is trying to close down or sell it off...

The United States is a vast market for sports cards.. unlike other countries. I understand Cricket & Rugby are very popular sports outside the US, but it is hard to compare to the sports industry in the US. The world has gone crazy of American Sports! Baseball was always huge, Basketball blew up with Michael Jordan... card companies came out of no where trying to claim a piece of the million dollar industry that it grew into...

but times have changed... there are less people collecting in the US & more collecting overseas... It is very expensive for overseas collectors to buy sports cards.. The internet has made it easier & cheaper in some ways, but still expensive... if you look at who is buying basketball cards the most.. I see Asian overseas collectors the most. I have only met a few basketball collectors in San Diego, Ca... that is out of a population of over 1.3 million people... there are quite a few card shops in San Diego & two major sports teams (wish we had a basketball team again), but Lakers are close enough.. I always liked Clippers too, but only because they are in LA.

Now, regarding card manufacturers... Americans are not spoiled for having multiple companies producing sports cards... Sports card are an industry.. there should be competition!!! At least two companies fighting to earn our money. that is what makes collecting fun. Two companies trying to make the most appealing & affordable cards... I like competition... it is everywhere... teams fight over draft picks & trades. Companies, contractors, Even the Government fight over money... our money!!

If there is only one company producing basketball cards (or any sport matter of fact).. they can manipulate the basketball card market. That's why they are charging high prices for their cards.. they say the cost of getting all those autos is expensive & they have to pass on the buck to "us collectors"... but come on... if the NBA regulates manufacturing of basketball cards.. they should be able to cut down those costs.. NBA players are already making millions of dollars... I hate the single Licence thing. I hate players that have a contract with one company to sign cards... Why is UD the only one allowed to produce auto cards of MJ & Lebron?? Kobe switched over to Panini, chasing the money... What if a player doesn't want to sign with Panini? Then, what? no autograph cards of his... that would kill the industry of today's market...

the 90's was overproduced.. we all can see that... but it got out of hand in the 2000's too... a ton of different products came out... some stayed, some were a bust... why couldn't the companies stay with a few products.. just change the design a little, or concept.. until they collectors tell them they like it or not...

Panini is releasing just about the same amount of products as UD did... they keep changing product names or releasing new product... PREFERRED? why couldn't they just keep the same product names...?? it's because they keep changing products to see if it will catch the collectors eyes & pocket books....

the lockout... it hurt the card industry, but not by a lot... not having ROOKIES hurt more.. then Panini comes up with a concept to add both this years & next years RC's into one product.. which is supposed to be low-end.... but this year's RC's redemptions are not numbered? not serialized? how many are they going to make..?? that's a lot of redemptions.. they don't even know who is going to sign with them or not....

I think this year's RC redemptions was the biggest mistake Panini has made!!

If either UD or Topps was able to come back & produce NBA cards.. I think Panini would change their marketing plan & try to complete for our business.... instead of just throwing us product after product.. that all look the same... Don't Gold Standard & Elite Black Box base cards look the same? just different colors... why do all their products have team logos/flag cards?? It it good to have them in 1 or 2 products, but just about every one... I don't like them!!

my comment is kind of rambling on... but back to my response on Americans being spoiled...

It is not just Americans that collect sports cards in today's world. Collecting cards is a Global Hobby & industry... there are millions of more people intoday's world that past generations... Population has skyrocketed throughout the last 3-4 decades... Collecting sports cards did not blow up until the 80's & got popular on the global market in the 90's.. We collectors (talking about worldwide collectors) are not spoiled.

Today's sports card market/industry calls for competition! It gives the card manufacturing it's checks & balances.. just like the Government has... It keeps prices low.. it helps stop corruption (well, maybe).. We all know UD was notorious for fraud & bad deals. Even Fleer when it was around... I am pretty sure Panini is doing the same thing... why keep "extra" auto cards in their volt.. that were not released in a product... just so they can turn around & use them as "replacement cards" for redemptions that they can not fulfill.

I hate redemptions & card companies bad practices producing them or fulfilling them... I am still waiting on 3 Redemptions from UD, that will more likely never be produced... also waiting on a redemption from Panini of an Elgin Baylor Elite Black Box "series" auto /24... that should of been made by now... since it's a sticker auto.. & Baylor's autos have appeared in Hoops, Preferred, and now Past & Present... why can't they fulfill old redemptions before creating new cards of future products.....!?!?