A 'Hobby' that has lost its way.......

Sanctum · Aug 30, 2011

Not sure I'd consider all the money I've spent on past girlfriends meaningful life adventures, I guess if money could talk it would say it had a blast though.

GarnettFan4Life · Apr 11, 2014

Bump for this thread I came across searching for an old thread where I posted scans of old basketball packs and mags

drobfan8 · Apr 11, 2014

After reading the initial post, it always makes me laugh when guys bust a case or some even bust 3 or 4 and then complain.

It is different when you're a kid, but we used to buy a pack, hoping to beat the odds and pull a Jordan or whichever top star. Now guys are busting a box and hoping to pull that big card. Some are busting a case and hoping for that big card, not realizing that within their 12 box case were probably 3 or 4 boxes that paid for that individual box, but they never got the real big one.

The question is, are you spending too much on your hobby?

The old saying is, never gamble what you can't afford to lose.

Basically, I would love to bust cases, but I can't afford it.

We all collect some cards that we know will drop to .10c as soon as we pay for the $50 card.

But mostly I try to buy/collect things that I think will retain some type of value, even if it's not much.

But we do need the case breakers and resellers, that's how most of us grab the cards we need.

In saying that, there should be some kind of value or promise in each box. In the 90's if you bought 2 boxes, you knew you were a chance at a Jordan insert, instead you most likely got an Abdur-Rahim from the set, but it was clear, the odds were on the box.

The problem now, instead of having an insert set with the best 20 guys, they have 100 and a lot of terrible players that you don't even know, just so they can say 4 autos per box.

I think mainly Panini need to keep high end names in their high end boxes.

mat2323 · Apr 14, 2014

To me I think what's messing up the hobby is panini are pricing out the average joe who wants to bust a box, not everyone can afford to bust a box or case worth a lot of money when theirs bills to pay and kids to feed. I can't buy packs because no shops stock nba cards so I have to order a box online to make it worth the shipping and not everyone can afford $200 or $300 on even what they call the cheap products for only 8 cards in some boxs, I love collecting and I don't even care about the value of the cards I bust because I'm just a pure collector in it for the love of it, but a lot of the times when I'd love to bust a box but it's going to cost what it does, I just think to my self I really can't afford it, dropping $20/$30 on some packs of cards at a hobby shop I don't mind, panini need to get their products back into the supermarkets again, for the everyday collector

wolvesjr34 · Apr 14, 2014

It has certainly lost its way for me.... I'm about to dump a heap of my cards and stick to 5 players and thats that. No more team collecting for me. No more a lot of things, just can't afford to keep up when it is so hard to get a trade going these days.

ozballer23 · Apr 14, 2014

I'm actually quite enjoying the hobby. I have accepted the fact that I'll never be able to get all the new JR's that hit the market, so I can pick and choose the ones I want. Since I have my pc the way I want it, I can now take my time to fine tune it. I surf the web most days just to look at what people have picked up, see if I can pick up a bargain or two on ebay, and I love watching group breaks on cherry. I pick up a lot of lower end cards for trading, just so I can do my part to keep the hobby alive.

ozballer23 · Apr 14, 2014

And with the trading part of things, ppl aren't willing to take a loss of any sort to get a card they need. I've lost count of the amount of times I've given up more than I need to to get a deal done, yet that same person won't budge by a few bucks the very next time when the shoe is on the other foot.

muzikandme · Apr 14, 2014

I don't know how many losses I've taken on cards lately, I think panini has over flooded the market to a certain extent. That doesn't make me angry though because sales have helped me get cards I never thought I would be able to own. I keep thinking of picking up other things then silhouettes but there's still so many I need and the chase is still well alive, at the end of the day my love for basketball is greater then my love for cards. I could probably talk about it all day and nothing is better then just putting up some shots or playing.

drobfan8 · Apr 14, 2014

ozballer23 said:
I'm actually quite enjoying the hobby. I have accepted the fact that I'll never be able to get all the new JR's that hit the market, so I can pick and choose the ones I want. Since I have my pc the way I want it, I can now take my time to fine tune it. I surf the web most days just to look at what people have picked up, see if I can pick up a bargain or two on ebay, and I love watching group breaks on cherry. I pick up a lot of lower end cards for trading, just so I can do my part to keep the hobby alive.

That's awesome Norm.

I'm loving the Hobby at the mo also, even though Panini are not meeting my collecting needs, and there's not enough of the cards I'm chasing turning up on ebay

Collecting one player is hard work, where do you draw the line? Go after everything or just certain cards? You've made the right choice in picking and choosing.

drobfan8 · Apr 14, 2014

ozballer23 said:
And with the trading part of things, ppl aren't willing to take a loss of any sort to get a card they need. I've lost count of the amount of times I've given up more than I need to to get a deal done, yet that same person won't budge by a few bucks the very next time when the shoe is on the other foot.

Trading is getting harder and harder.

I have taken some huge hits on trading for a card I really want and had the same thing as you.

I guess nowadays, we know what we want and are being very selective.

I used to pay $3.50 for a pack of 95/96 Fleer out of a vending machine in 1995, if we do the math, it's over $100 for a box. Now the best card in that set is probably the Shaq Franchise Futures or Jordan Total D, both you can get for about $1 now, ha ha.

Now at least if you pay $100 for a box with Panini, you're a chance at a Kobe Auto, although, even they may end up being worth $1 at this rate

xavierty · Apr 14, 2014

ozballer23 said:
And with the trading part of things, ppl aren't willing to take a loss of any sort to get a card they need. I've lost count of the amount of times I've given up more than I need to to get a deal done, yet that same person won't budge by a few bucks the very next time when the shoe is on the other foot.

im with u norm , its funny when you come across an easy trade , and its like wow that was way to easy , it doesnt happen much but when it does it keeps me in the hobby. i get were your comming form ive been in that spot to many time .....

shrimpynz · Apr 14, 2014

Great right up mate and excellent follow up from Matt!!!

Heafy83 · Apr 16, 2014

WOW this is a blast from the past. Thanks to Matt for bumping the thread and giving us all a timely reminder

Sadly I have basically stopped collecting due to financial constraints. However I do like stopping by this awesome site every couple of weeks to keep in touch. I came on today to find 5 new alerts for this thread. I re-read what I had written and find that every word still rings true.
Take me back to the days when an MJ base could be valued at $4-$6 and we all thought it was a great get. I still venture onto the Panini Blog most weeks and actually think they have improved ten fold. I like the direction they are taking with the really rare inserts, use of foil on cards and the Prizms. There are pumping out better looking cards with better action shot photos.

Anyway I am always around here at some point. May start collecting next season after we know the new set of rookies. Chicago will have 2 mid first round picks so should pick up a decent rookie or two that I can put some money into. Unless we trade away those picks for Melo

Shoot me a PM if you ever want to chat. I'm never far away.

cherrycollectables · Apr 16, 2014

I shared these with @ozballer23 the other day. They are screen grabs from a distributor forum that many large companies use to acquire boxes/cases on the secondary market. The forum allows distributors to highlight products which are, or are not, doing well.

I think this debunks the myth of Panini releasing product that customers don't want 'more' than previous custodians of the licence. It is also easy to look back with rose-coloured glasses at amazing sets, among sets.

I agree with everything @Heafy83 says, the hobby has to be about much more than 'market value' and I personally don't enjoy price updates during our breaks - but they are part and parcel with collecting these days, be it cards or anything else (thanks eBay).

Here is a look at what distributors thought of 2007-08 (thumbs up = customers receiving product well, thumbs down... do the math):

And in comparison 2012-13:

Just my two cents.

Heafy83 · Apr 16, 2014

So @cherrycollectables these are votes from fellow distributors basically saying what products are selling well for them and which are not?

ooneil · Apr 16, 2014

Well I dont think that really tells any real story at all. Why do so many Panini products have no rating next to them??

I only dabble in the odd NBA product once or twice a year but even a rank amateur like me knows that Panini is flooding the market with different products. Its definitely keeping me out of the market in recent times.

cherrycollectables · Apr 16, 2014

@Heafy83 Yes you are correct.

@ooneil If there is no icon then the balance of votes is not significantly different or there has not been enough votes made.

The story is in the thumbs up and arguably the amount of products, specifically well received products. There was never more than 5-6 standout products a year in a sales sense and to that effect there still is.

I personally would love competition in the marketplace but I feel Panini get a lot of flack for an issue they didn't create (meaning 20 'filler' products per year or thumbs down as they are displayed).

Reignman40 · Apr 16, 2014

After coming back to the hobby, I have kind of enjoyed the stuff Panini have come out with, and to a lesser extent Upper Deck...

Here is my reasoning. They have come out with autos of players and teams that have ignited some different thoughts.

For example, I have been able to collect some autos of not only other Sonics greats (Gus Williams, Spencer Haywood etc) but also been able to expand my Oregon State player collection by adding autos of AC Green and Lonnie Shelton courtesy of the latest Upper Deck releases.

I do however find the slide of sale values of older stuff hard to swallow as mentioned drobfan8. Cards of yesteryear that would have held sway (refractors and holograms come to mind) simply seem to be falling away and you can get some of them a lot cheaper than they used to be. But thats something that an old fuddy duddy like me will ahve to get used to.

Kreative666 · Apr 16, 2014

I think its a shame that Panini do all the NBA basketball cards. Having some different brands such as Topps, Upperdeck would bring some new ideas into basketball cards.

It's just all marketing by Panini, competition is usually best for the consumer.

A 'Hobby' that has lost its way.......

Sanctum

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