[OrangeBlooded31]

To me, the hobby is what you make it. If you're looking to make money off of this, then you are probably going to end up pretty disapointed. I agree with everything that Fred Bear said.

When I got back into the hobby, I was dissapointed to see so many insert sets and multiple expensive rookie cards of guys that have only played 5 minutes in a game. The market is now flooded expensive boxes with jersey cards, patch cards, or whatever the new trend is and takes away from what a normal jersey card used to be...the big hit!

The easiest way to enjoy this hobby, is to love the sport you are collecting. I collect goaltender cards because I've always loved goalies. When I bust a box, as long as I get a rookie goalie, or cool goalie insert, then I am happy. I then try to trade the rest for more goalies. This is what I enjoy though.

As far as the main question, I do think the hobby is in a slow decline. Because of my afforementioned thoughts of the types of cards that flood expensive boxes, I think one day you are going to see a hobby that is only fueled by the biggest superstar in the sport. IE, the only cards "worth" anything would be Crosby. We are already seeing the hobby head in that direction now. There's maybe what? 5 players that can pull big money easily, and one will always be the #1 draft pick that year.

But that's fine by me, makes collecting for me a lot easier! A hard signed Cam Ward card for only $20? That's a steal to me, and it means a lot more to me than that $20.

[Ducks_Fan]

For anyone who says lower tiered players don't deserve to have all the cards made of them is completely what is wrong with this hobby. I watch all sports, it basically consumes my life ever since I was a kid. Using a recent BIG example from a different sport, look no further than Tom Brady of the NFLs New England Patriots. Everyone wants to break the top end high drafted rookies from all sports. I personally am glad everyone gets their rookie cards made.

Would you rather have a Tim Couch or Jamarcus Russell RC or one of Tom Brady? At the time of production I bet people said Tom who?

For me, I horde as many RCs as I can. Be it the first pick in the draft or the last. It's what collecting is about - getting a card of a player and see where they go. Sure most will never be more than AHL players at best - but you never know.

A good friend of mine was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers - his name is Bryan Pitton. Many will ask who the heck is Bryan Pitton. I scan the web for any card I can get. Not because of worth, or potential worth - but because I know Bryan on a personal level and it's fun to collect guys you know.

I have been back and fourth between collecting and not. Price tags have skyrocketed - it really kills a lot the younger and middle class collectors. I can afford the bigger priced boxes - but when I don't get something I collect I look to move it. I'm a huge Ducks fan, if I pull something I know someone else can use I'll flip it. If it's unwanted by someone - I'll just horde it see where it goes.

The big companies do overproduce. Collecting sets used to be a huge thing. But when there's 100 different sets every year - good luck. To fix the hobby, you have to make it a hobby again. Produce less, lower price tags, and keep getting the fans closer to the action!

[stadium sports cards]

The hobby is about fun. Your frame of mind defines fun - not the card.

To me, the people make this hobby!

[bonnev659]

The hobby is about fun. Your frame of mind defines fun - not the card.

To me, the people make this hobby!

this

but some of the card companies are not doing there work or being lazy is sad in my mind too..

some great products are out there for the $$ and some other products are way overpriced for what you can get for them....

i go rule #1 collect what makes me feel like a kid. when helping others out in this hobby it is a great feeling.

[hckydv7]

One complaint I see all the time is RC for everyone no matter how little they played. So hear me out.

Lets take SP Authentic for instance.
Lets says 75 different rookies signed for the product at /999 cards each.
Some people would like to see that limited to the 10-15 best rookies for that year. To do that UD would have to have those rookies sign 6 to 7 times as many to have enough to have 1 or 2 or box. Or they could just make them 2 or 3 per case. Either way no one would be happy.
Would be hard to pull or numbered so high thye would be worth little.

---

And yes I am happy UD got exclusive back as they stuff holds value better and tends to be cheaper.

Also, because they keep the brand names going year after year, you have a pretty good idea what you will get in each box, unlike Panini which kept changing everything.

[ntgsportscards]

My hobby rant. parts may or may not make sense lol.

Around 99-00 I got my first part time job helping out at my LCS and it was great. All day kids would come in and spend the little money they had on cards of the players/teams they liked.

A few years later, i was taking business management in college and dedicated my year to making a business plan on running a card store. I would go back to the card store when i could, but instead of young kids spending their allowance, it was middle aged men dropping hundreds on serial numbered game used and higher end boxes. It occurred to me, that as a hobby, the industry was doomed going forward. People who collected because they just loved collecting certain singles/ players & teams were being replaced with people chasing the "big score" If people will continue to drop $150-300+ on a box, companies will fill that demand and pump out 10+ sets of the same over priced thing.

I collect rookies because, as DNJ said, you never know what a player may turn into. In the past, you could get rookies of all your favorite players, teams or whatever the case because the chase was fun and mostly affordable. I remember when Martin St. Louis went to TB and i thought he was underrated. One day i came across 2 of his Crown Royale Rc's for $1 each at the LCS and scooped them up. In today's hobby, a player who plays 1 NHL shift is guaranteed 3-10 cards and 2-3 Auto/Mem cards.

I still remember waiting every year for the beckett rookie checklist issue and 1 in particular stuck with me. Under Kelly Fairchild's future outlook, they wrote "he belongs on an NHL card as much as Morgan Fairchild" If he started in today's NHL, i'm pretty sure he'd have at least 10 Rc's starting between $6-20.

My goal at one time was to collect every rookie from 1980 until whenever i stopped collecting. The days of affordable collecting are being phased out by the guys buying boxes; not for the love of the game, chase, hunt, etc.... but by the guys looking to make a score on ebay or the guys hoarding cards for future investment. There's a Crosby rookie on ebay for $200,000 as an "investment" By the time that card's worth that much, humanity will have wiped itself off the planet lol.

I remember one day when I was younger and still working at the LCS; I splurged and bought a pack of 00-01 Private Stock for $30 (high end at the time) and pulled an Oli Jokinen GU plain white stick card. I think I just about cried with disappointment. Just because it's expensive, doesn't mean it's good. (words to live by)

Years ago, if you pulled a card numbered to 10 or 25, you'd jump for joy, but the more common they become, the less value they demand. That's a lot of the issue with the hobby today. It's not as it was with Pro Set, where the sets were so mass produced, they became worthless, it's that there's so many sets of the same thing with high BV, it's a matter of time before it bursts.

I love collecting and chasing the cards i want/need, but the more money it costs me to get, the less i can chase and that takes some of the joy out of it.

[arena_guy]

Your question can be approached from two perspectives: collector versus business person. I will address both:

Collector: I enjoyed going to the LCS as a kid and developing a rapport with the owner. Those were really fun times. I remember when Be A Player came out and a signature in every pack was mind-blowing. With that said, it would've been neat to have YouTube, or this forum for example, to connect with others in such a niche hobby like this. Seeing what other people pull in box breaks is fun. Certainly, everyone wishes box prices were cheaper, but I have to say, I really enjoy the high-end breaks, and they're basically the only reason I am still in this hobby. As much as I want to support my LCS, mine never stocks the high-end stuff. I have been to other cities with a card shop and they did carry some of the high-end products, so it could be market-specific. At my nearest LCS, there is a popular hockey product that I've never liked that the owner has said sells like hot cakes. So, 10 boxes or more on display of that, and none of the high-end. Thankfully, I can order from several of the major online retailers, as well as eBay. I can sell off cards I don't want, whereas it might be more difficult to move certain cards at local conventions, and your LCS might not want them. Selling off cards is as simple as logging onto your computer, snapping a few photos, and getting what you can for your cards. Sometimes, you will even come out ahead on your breaks and make some profit. In just speaking in the collector mindset, i.e., not being in it for the money, then there isn’t a problem. Fees and such don't matter as much.

Business person: I have looked into this aspect of the hobby, and that part of the hobby ended up being too restrictive for my personality. I wanted something a lot more nimble, but the card companies have a number of restrictions for what they want their card shops to be to the public (have to be a brick and mortar, store has to be X% of this, and X% of that, etc.).

There are other facets in regard to regulations that aren't related to the card companies or the industry, such as business licensing, tax reporting/accounting, zoning, and so on…no need to go into detail...even though there are emerging business models that are just as effective in moving product. On the one hand, you want to make sure that operations aren't "fly-by-nights," but at the same time, it hurts those who want to be efficient, focus on growth, and do something different.

The card companies seem to be aware the growing phenomena. Beckett addressed the growing nature of group breaks in this article:

http://www.beckett.com/news/2014/05/manu...-breakers/

“We don’t have anything in terms of giving (breakers) special pricing,” Reel said. “We allow them to be competitive, but we have our distribution network and manage that. They know our objective is to sell to brick and mortar primarily.”

I’m sure a lot of us have had the dream of running a card shop one day, but a somewhat unspoken known/unknown is that you’ve got to have some hussle to be in any kind of self-owned business. I wanted something I could do on the side, but it got to the point where I was spending way too much time on things other than cards, to the point where it wasn’t fun. I came to the conclusion that it should stay a hobby for me, particularly because it was a side project and not a full-time thing. It is good to test yourself like that to the max point you can. Other people might find this part of the process exhilarating. They’re the ones running a card shop right now.

[rippinwax]

Oh look, I think the cows are coming home, lol.........

[tomeseip]

I posted earlier, but I have to say. I too enjoy the opening a box of cards, doesn't really matter which sport. The hobby will still be here if I quit buying.

[thelegendjerryrice]

For anyone who says lower tiered players don't deserve to have all the cards made of them is completely what is wrong with this hobby. I watch all sports, it basically consumes my life ever since I was a kid. Using a recent BIG example from a different sport, look no further than Tom Brady of the NFLs New England Patriots. Everyone wants to break the top end high drafted rookies from all sports. I personally am glad everyone gets their rookie cards made.

Would you rather have a Tim Couch or Jamarcus Russell RC or one of Tom Brady? At the time of production I bet people said Tom who?

For me, I horde as many RCs as I can. Be it the first pick in the draft or the last. It's what collecting is about - getting a card of a player and see where they go. Sure most will never be more than AHL players at best - but you never know.

A good friend of mine was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers - his name is Bryan Pitton. Many will ask who the heck is Bryan Pitton. I scan the web for any card I can get. Not because of worth, or potential worth - but because I know Bryan on a personal level and it's fun to collect guys you know.

I have been back and fourth between collecting and not. Price tags have skyrocketed - it really kills a lot the younger and middle class collectors. I can afford the bigger priced boxes - but when I don't get something I collect I look to move it. I'm a huge Ducks fan, if I pull something I know someone else can use I'll flip it. If it's unwanted by someone - I'll just horde it see where it goes.

The big companies do overproduce. Collecting sets used to be a huge thing. But when there's 100 different sets every year - good luck. To fix the hobby, you have to make it a hobby again. Produce less, lower price tags, and keep getting the fans closer to the action!

I would have to agree with the first part of this post.
So many "TOP" rookies do not pan out. So having a large array of choices is better. I do agree that to much is produced. I also have been in and out of the hobby for YEARS....