Conference school::sports_memorabilia

    Let's face it,  when boxes used to cost 14-15$ a box and dealers
    starting charging 40-50$ a box for hyped products,  I'm sure the
    card companies took notice and decided if the dealers can charge
    that much they should be able to raise their prices to get in on
    the action.  Of course dealers  aren't  all to blame, because we
    were willing to pay those prices so we wouldn't get shut on that
    hyped product.
    
    I really don't see how any kid could afford to buy anything.  At
    times you wish it was like the old days  when there was only one
    company, seven series, wax packs  were  a  nickel or dime. You'd
    scrounge for soda bottles, mow lawns etc.  so  you could go down
    to the local Mom and Pop store to buy a few packs. You'd open up
    a fresh pack of 1963 Topps, stuff the gum in your mouth, look at
    that card with four rookies on it  and  some guy named Pete Rose
    and put that one in your bike spokes.
    
    Okay, Mike you can give us your turnip truck recording now ...
    
    John

    I always thought that that Yaz Rookies made better noise. He
    replaced Carol Hardy who had replaced Ted Williams. I liked Carol Hardy
    better, so I used Yaz's for the bike 8*)
    
    

    Insert turnip truck message here.  I'm really confused.  This is
    turning out the way you hoped and still......complaints.  What did you
    hope for?  All of those shylock dealers get forced out of business
    because they made 300% profit.  That the card companies would wise up
    and use some of that high tech stuff to make better quality cards, 
    more pictures, more subsets, thicker stock and a set in every box.
    
    Yippee-----This IS the promised land.
    
    Or is it?
    
    Here we are. Packs are 5.00 each. And the dealers are dropping
    like flies.  The card companies now see the opportunity to deal
    direct or through low overhead wholesalers and reap large profits.
    
    What have we lost.

    It may be forcing out shylock dealers and investors,  but it's also
    forcing out some of the good dealers too. I wonder how long it will
    take before the card companies realize this.  Maybe in the long run
    they're looking at dealing only with major wholesalers such as BJ's
    and so forth.
    
    As far as card companies using high tech stuff, more pictures, sub-
    sets etc. they may be of nice quality,  but for the most part a lot
    of the designs are getting pretty boring. Fleer Ultra is a good ex-
    ample and I wouldn't say Stadium Club has exactly deviated from the
    initial design.
    
    While there have been a few nice  designs  that  have come out over
    the last couple of years,  I can think of lots  of  Topps sets from
    years past that I like a lot better.
    
    When you  say  more  subsets,  sure some companies include a lot of
    subsets such  as  Upper Deck,  but almost all the premium sets have
    players only.  They no longer have team cards, "good" leader cards,
    highlight cards  like  before.  I'd like to see Topps come out with
    some subset cards like "Fisk's Homer Wins It For Sox" like they had
    in the 1958 set. Cards that can educate kids on baseball's past and
    not just cards that kids scramble  for  because it's worth X amount
    of dollars.
    
    John

    
>    It may be forcing out shylock dealers and investors,  but it's also
>    forcing out some of the good dealers too. I wonder how long it will
>    take before the card companies realize this.  Maybe in the long run
>    they're looking at dealing only with major wholesalers such as BJ's
>    and so forth.
    
    Do the BJ's and the like even really carry cards anymore?  Last time I
    was there (Nashua) I didn't see much at all.  I think there's got to be
    a problem coming for the manufacturers when the casual collectors (like
    me) no longer even see cards in stores, regardless of price.  Is there 
    even such thing as the casual collector anymore?  I know that being 
    something of an impulse buyer, I used to occasionally pick up a couple
    of boxes at places like BJ's if I came across a set that appealed to me, 
    but I rarely have gone to dealers or shows looking for something.  Is
    this market just pretty well gone, or unprofitable?
    
    glenn
    

    
    BJ's still has cards, they have just moved them (and the books)
    to the front of the store.  Alot of issues don't sell (like Ultra)
    and you can find quite a bit laying around at BJ's, etc.
    
    John and I agreed somehwere else in here about the more educational
    aspects of cards in previous years.  Some of my favorite football
    and baseball cards from my youth were the team leaders or world
    series game 1-7 type cards (escpecially remember the 72 orioles,
    brooks making a series game saving stab at 3rd).  These would be
    welcome as something more interesting to read for my kids, makes
    a set more fun.  Lately we've been considering a hobby switch to 
    model trains...
    

    re -1:  let me tell you about trains.......  just as bad as cards. 
    I've got tons.  I like them better than cards, except for the ND guys.
    
    
    Come on in, the waters fine!
    
    Dick

    In the past year there have been three card stores  in the Leominster
    and Fitchburg area that have closed.  One of the stores re-opened un-
    der another dealer, but this guy won't last long. I went in and asked
    if he had Fleer and Score baseball. While he had some unopen packs of
    Score, he said he didn't open any and he wasn't buying Fleer baseball
    since it's not a good investment  for  his  customers. He said he was
    sticking mostly to basketball. I told him I  wasn't  buying it for an
    investment, I just wanted to finish the sets I was collecting.
    
    There also used to be several shows in the area,  but they don't seem
    to run them anymore.  I've noticed that attendance was slowly decrea-
    sing over the last year.
    
    In SCD, Tuff Stuff etc. they have quotes  from  dealers and companies
    that collector's want scarce products.  I don't know about you, but I
    could care less if it was scarce.  To me scarce translates to jacking
    the prices up even more.
    
    John

    re Education.  Conlon Cards tell great stories.  As far as BJ's ect.
    They are backing out, WHY ? another retailer has taken their place,
    it is the cable sales programs like HSN.  
    Mike

    
    	I went to BJ's yesterday after work and while there, looked for 
    	boxes of cards.  Couldn't find a one.  This BJ's is in Leominster/
    	Fitchburg.  Has anyone seen cards there?
    
    	Hal

    
    	BJ's in Leominster
    		All cards are in the front of the store next to the Lottery
    	tickets.
    
    
    							Joe

    Same for the BJ's in Danvers.
    Spags has some reasonably priced stuff also.
    Mike