Do People Still Collect Baseball Cards?

[jtur88]

When baseball cards started showing up on the Home Shopping Network, you know they had crossed the line from Collectibles to Marketables.

[LeisureMan]

I collect. Just the standard Topps MLB Series 1, 2 and Updates. I've been at this since the 2010 season, and before that, I randomly bought cards as a kid.

I agree with those who bemoan the overabundance of brands that flourished in the late-80's, plus Topps over-producing every year since what seemed like the 1984 set, and the current abuse of inserts. Jesus, enough of that already.

Topps in 2010 and 2011 had a killer redemption code thing going where you would win past cards. That gimmick enabled me to win some pretty sweet cards of years gone by. I wish they would do that again.

[John23]

I was pretty hardcore into collecting cards as a kid, from about 1986/87 to 92 or 93.

A. Baseball was the undisputed National past time. The NFL and NBA weren't what they are now. You didn't have the X games, UFC, golf was smaller pre Tiger Woods. Do you remember many people under 25 or 30 interested in golf in the late 80's or early 90's? Not many.

I think what worked for baseball cards were the stars.....real heros and people you wanted to be like....Ryne Sandberg, Ripken, Boggs, Gwynn, Nolan Ryan, etc. Remember how big Bo Jackson was?

-The problem is, the sport kind of unraveled after that...94 strike, growing disparity of incomes. I remember when guys like Dave Winfield would make $1.5 million a year, and that was almost the top of the league. Who can relate to players now making 10x that.

I still buy boxes of things I didnt have as a kid....i.e 85 Donruss, 85 Topps, 83 Topps. I want to buy an 84 Donruss box one of these days. Never broke one of those as a kid.

I'm not too big into the modern graded market....PSA 10's of 80's cards. Would rather have them, mint, raw from a box. I also like basketball, football and hockey cards.

[NJ2MDdude]

I used to buy baseball cards in the 1970s. During the summer months, the neighborhood kids would engage in a flipping tournament. The winner usually took all, which amounted to a garbage bag full of baseball cards.

[LeisureMan]

Originally Posted by John23

I was pretty hardcore into collecting cards as a kid, from about 1986/87 to 92 or 93.

A. Baseball was the undisputed National past time. The NFL and NBA weren't what they are now. You didn't have the X games, UFC, golf was smaller pre Tiger Woods. Do you remember many people under 25 or 30 interested in golf in the late 80's or early 90's? Not many.

I think what worked for baseball cards were the stars.....real heros and people you wanted to be like....Ryne Sandberg, Ripken, Boggs, Gwynn, Nolan Ryan, etc. Remember how big Bo Jackson was?

-The problem is, the sport kind of unraveled after that...94 strike, growing disparity of incomes. I remember when guys like Dave Winfield would make $1.5 million a year, and that was almost the top of the league. Who can relate to players now making 10x that.

I still buy boxes of things I didnt have as a kid....i.e 85 Donruss, 85 Topps, 83 Topps. I want to buy an 84 Donruss box one of these days. Never broke one of those as a kid.

I'm not too big into the modern graded market....PSA 10's of 80's cards. Would rather have them, mint, raw from a box. I also like basketball, football and hockey cards.

Wow. Where do you find boxes of 1983 Topps or Donruss from that era?

[John23]

Originally Posted by LeisureMan

Wow. Where do you find boxes of 1983 Topps or Donruss from that era?

You can buy them online.

The baseball card exchange is a pretty reputable dealer of unopened wax. Dave and Adams card world is another big dealer. On ebay, higbees.com. Pittsburgh wholesale is another one.

Buying single packs or boxes on ebay from random sellers is kind of iffy. I would only buy a low dollar pack, $10 or $15 from someone I don't have any experience with. Even with high feedback, you never know.

Favorite packs I've opened in the last 3-4 years.

80/81 Topps hockey. Pulled 2 Gretzkys out of maybe 6 packs.

81/82 OPC hockey. Never opened before. But a lot of good cards in that set. Have only bought one pack so far.

89 Upper Deck and 90 Leaf are fun. They bring back memories.

The worst is probably 86 Topps football. Haven't pulled anybody. Have about 300 commons. The marino, reggie white, and a few minor stars have been it. From a combination of wax, rack and cello.