What killed the hobby in the 90s
- Thread starter biggi5malls
- Start date
WhiteyTheCelticsFan
Footy's Back!
That would be awesome, I wish I could see him play in his prime rather than see highlights
biggi5malls
Ibaka collector
I get the MJ thing but we have LBJ , Durant , D Rose , D Wade and loads more superstars and rookies
hegotgame15
90's MJ collector.
The Hobby will never be as good as it was in the 90's....
The hobby died in 1994-95 when MJ retired, there was no-one else at the time that had a big enough following to keep the hobby alive...Shaq was the next superstar at the time.
By the time MJ came back, most of the card shops had went under.
So the people that wanted to keep/restart collecting had nowhere to buy sell or trade packs,boxes or singles....
Cards nowadays are too easy to obtain, i remember it took me 6 months to put together the 1993-94 Upper-Deck Mr June MJ set back in the day..
You can buy that set whole or put it together in minutes via ebay now....
Ebay is the only way to keep the hobby alive and i don't think that will change anytime soon...
The only way we would ever see card stores open and the hobby to be as popular as it was, would be to have a player enter the league and totally dominate!
Kobe,Lebron,Durant etc...Are all great players, but MJ was in a different class all of his own, until someone comes along (it will happen) that can do what MJ did and be the superstar he was, we wont see the hobby take off again and card shops will always be a thing of the past.
The hobby died in 1994-95 when MJ retired, there was no-one else at the time that had a big enough following to keep the hobby alive...Shaq was the next superstar at the time.
By the time MJ came back, most of the card shops had went under.
So the people that wanted to keep/restart collecting had nowhere to buy sell or trade packs,boxes or singles....
Cards nowadays are too easy to obtain, i remember it took me 6 months to put together the 1993-94 Upper-Deck Mr June MJ set back in the day..
You can buy that set whole or put it together in minutes via ebay now....
Ebay is the only way to keep the hobby alive and i don't think that will change anytime soon...
The only way we would ever see card stores open and the hobby to be as popular as it was, would be to have a player enter the league and totally dominate!
Kobe,Lebron,Durant etc...Are all great players, but MJ was in a different class all of his own, until someone comes along (it will happen) that can do what MJ did and be the superstar he was, we wont see the hobby take off again and card shops will always be a thing of the past.
Mr Paparazzi
Adelaide's MOJO maker
When I had the hobby stall I ran into old collectors all the time. Couple I managed to get re-interested in the hobby again.
But like with Internet, cheaper market overseas made it hard for me even renting a small stall.
I had my regulars like yourself Biggie and my passion for the hobby. Some Sundays I would only make about $50-80 profit and that involved getting up before 5am and finishing at 1-2pm after i unloaded. People will always say they will support locals but $$$ do talk.
I would love to open up a full time hobby store but prob need another 30-50 regulars to make it viable. I do miss the market stall but not the early get-ups.
I will be running a few more case breaks and trade days in future so hobbyists can catch up with each other in Adelaide.
But like with Internet, cheaper market overseas made it hard for me even renting a small stall.
I had my regulars like yourself Biggie and my passion for the hobby. Some Sundays I would only make about $50-80 profit and that involved getting up before 5am and finishing at 1-2pm after i unloaded. People will always say they will support locals but $$$ do talk.
I would love to open up a full time hobby store but prob need another 30-50 regulars to make it viable. I do miss the market stall but not the early get-ups.
I will be running a few more case breaks and trade days in future so hobbyists can catch up with each other in Adelaide.
Agree with most of the above. But I'd add the strength of the domestic comp as well. Basketball was huge mid 90's in Aust. The NBL was getting 15,000 people to games! The decline in the hobby almost paralleled the decline in the NBL's popularity, which started when all the good players started going overseas. Longley opened the door, now anybody with talent ends up in Europe or the US and we're left with the guys who didnt "make" it. Same as the A-League.
The NBL needs to get more Jonny Flynns, or bust their guts to get the likes of Bogut and Mills back here in their early 30's....before they're over the hill and on the decline.
Internet certainly effected the hobby stores, but back then, the big retailers were selling cards/boxes too. Big W, Kmart etc. all stocked sport and non-sport cards. That would be the most cost effective way of getting it back to mainstream.
They dont even stock AFL/NRL anymore...surely there's a market for Retail boxes in Aus? Start with that then expand to international again!
The NBL needs to get more Jonny Flynns, or bust their guts to get the likes of Bogut and Mills back here in their early 30's....before they're over the hill and on the decline.
Internet certainly effected the hobby stores, but back then, the big retailers were selling cards/boxes too. Big W, Kmart etc. all stocked sport and non-sport cards. That would be the most cost effective way of getting it back to mainstream.
They dont even stock AFL/NRL anymore...surely there's a market for Retail boxes in Aus? Start with that then expand to international again!
When I had the hobby stall I ran into old collectors all the time. Couple I managed to get re-interested in the hobby again.
But like with Internet, cheaper market overseas made it hard for me even renting a small stall.
I had my regulars like yourself Biggie and my passion for the hobby. Some Sundays I would only make about $50-80 profit and that involved getting up before 5am and finishing at 1-2pm after i unloaded. People will always say they will support locals but $$$ do talk.
I would love to open up a full time hobby store but prob need another 30-50 regulars to make it viable. I do miss the market stall but not the early get-ups.
I will be running a few more case breaks and trade days in future so hobbyists can catch up with each other in Adelaide.
If you can fly me over in your helicopter I will be a regular..
Billyhoyle
Im Not Juan Garcia
got me thinking, vague memory of a similar thread somewhere.
Couldn't find it but this is similar:
http://www.ozcardtrader.com.au/community/threads/what-would-you-like.531/#post-3380
and this
http://www.ozcardtrader.com.au/community/threads/a-hobby-that-has-lost-its-way.104713/
http://www.ozcardtrader.com.au/community/threads/is-gu-dead-and-are-we-oblivous-to-us-trends.103/
Things I think hurt -
Couldn't find it but this is similar:
http://www.ozcardtrader.com.au/community/threads/what-would-you-like.531/#post-3380
and this
http://www.ozcardtrader.com.au/community/threads/a-hobby-that-has-lost-its-way.104713/
http://www.ozcardtrader.com.au/community/threads/is-gu-dead-and-are-we-oblivous-to-us-trends.103/
Things I think hurt -
- 90s was really the first globalisation of the game
- Overdone inserts. Once upon a time (see 1990 and before) it was all about colelcting sets and pulling the card of your favourite player or team was the highlight. Now most people don't even care about base, just looking for inserts/autos/memorabilia.
- Inserts that were inserted, were damn hard to pull. None of this 1:1, 1:2, 1:4 rubbish.
- Internet - definitely hurt retail shops
- State of the game in Australia. NBL is a shambles. NBA gets no coverage (other than paytv). Back in the 90s the NBL was strong and the NBA was getting shown on free to air tv and also NBA Action being shown.
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