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Well, after more than 3 months, I'm finally going to post again. No promises this time about regularity, but I'm hoping that I will be back with some regularity.
So where have I been, that has prevented me from posting on my football card blog during the football season?
The 2008 football season got under way this past weekend. Huh?
Adam McFarland at SportsLizard.com posted a blog today about 'How [He] Thinks the Card Industry Will Be Saved' - and I just wanted to post a link to it, just in case there is anyone who happens to read this blog who hasn't yet stumbled across his.
And it isn't just because he lists my little old site as one where collectors may end up turning for "real" opinions (although, I do appreciate the mention).
I just want to link to it because I think he hit it right on the head--blogs may not be the total solution to what many view as a somewhat (or more than somewhat) screwed up indistry, but I believe they can be a huge part of it.
As I mentioned in my comment on Adam's site, companies bigger than Beckett (and even Topps and Upper Deck) have suffered some serious ramifications when bloggers have called "Shenanigans" on them. They may not be put out of business, but they certainly can get knocked down a few pegs--and with smaller companies, that can be fatal.
So, when the big names in the card world do things that don't make sense, or do things that might be considered a slap in the face of some of those people who are raising legitimate questions about the business model, they should expect to be called on it. And as the card blogging world grows, and more collectors find that there is a huge community of people talking cards on the interweb, they can only expect more and more scrutiny and criticism.
So go check out Adam's post if you haven't already. And if you've been thinking about it, start a blog about your collection. If you need help, or some pointers, just ask--there are a ton of great resources in the community. And then you too can be a part of the solution. Whatever that solution may be.
Just came across a post on Sports Cards Uncensored, responding to a post on The Baseball Card Blog, regarding the state of price guides in the industry. I started to leave a comment on SCU, but when I saw how long my comment was, I decided maybe it was worth a full post.
I actually don't mind the price guides, although, their proliferation into side businesses--grading, selling, marketplace, etc--is annoying, and an in my opinion a blatent conflict of interest, even though they deny deny deny. Not the first company to profit off of a conflict of interest, not the last.
I know that the price guides don't provide a "true value," of a card, but at least it gives me some comparative indication into what I can start to expect if I wanted to list a card on eBay, or what to ask if I am at selling it at my local card shop, or what to offer if I was at a show. Of course, I can do all that research on eBay too, but the price guide can save me some initial legwork, and is more portable than a computer (for now).
I don't think price guides are killing the industry, though--at least not directly. Price guides have existed for well over 20 years--it's just the last 25-30 that they've turned into monthly publications rather than yearly books.
I think the single most destructive thing in the industry is the card manufacturers themselves, and their inability to do anything in moderation.
They hear a handful of people say "That's kind of cool" when they see a game used jersey card from a superstar, and next thing you know, I'm pulling a game used Nick Punto patch as a "hit" from a box. Then, in order to make more memorabilia cards, we start having 'event worn' cards, and 'was in the same room as this jersey card' cards, and 'personal assistant opened and tossed the unsolicited invitation to event where the jersey was' memorabilia cards.
And then no one wants to buy big bucks for them, and the industry suffers.
Of course, one could argue that the price guides listing those cards as 'valuable' is what made the manufacturers overproduce them in the first place--but if people hadn't started buying cards on the secondary market in the 50's/60's/70's, proving that cards had value beyond use in bicycle spokes or card flipping games, we never would have had the price guides in the first place.
Regardless, whether you love the price guides or hate them (or, like me, not really care that much, other than when your issue is a week late), they certainly aren't going away any time soon. At least until eBay starts putting out their price guide... (talk about conflicts of interest)...
Well, Topps has gone and done it now--used to be, I pretty much just disliked Upper Deck--and even that was only after a couple of the stories I heard, about their response to Hurricane Katrina and about how they've treated my local card shop as he tries to get up and running.
But now, I have to start considering adding Topps to my list too. What crime did they commit?
After the kerfuffle over the Beckett Video Box Break of two boxes of Upper Deck Exquisite, one would hope that Beckett would tread very carefully with their next round of box breaks. And while they do play it somewhat safe, by opening a box of 2008 Press Pass, which is significantly less impactful on the wallet than Exquisite, and point out explcitly that it was taken "off the production line at the printing facility north of Dallas," some people may still ask a few questions...
The first question someone may ask would be on the timing--Press Pass isn't shipping until next week, but they get the box to open early. Doesn't particularly bother me, as they're in the press, and it's a good move by the Press Pass folks to build some buzz early. But given the kerfuffle, I am a bit surprised that they went for a break of product that won't hit the public for a bit yet.
The second question is that of star player cards--a question that will likely be asked of every single future Beckett Box Break, given the Adrian Peterson 1/1 pull. In the box of 2008 Press Pass, they pulled two Matt Ryan parallels (one #'d to 500), a Matt Ryan jersey (#'d to 150), and a Darren McFadden insert, along with a handful of other likely first round picks.
Given Matt Ryan's status as likely being the first QB taken in the draft, some might raise eyebrows at this. Of course, in a product like Press Pass, it's tough to say that's not somewhat normal.
In the end, I'd say this break shouldn't raise too much of an uproar. But there will likely be some collector's who disagree...
Of course, the much bigger news out of all of this in my eyes is that the 2008 Football Card Season is just around the corner!
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