I started reading a book called Mint Condition. It's about the rise and fall of baseball cards in the 80's and 90's.

 

It's interesting to me as I was one of the suckers that spent money loading up on cards of guys like Frank Thomas, Ken Griffey, Juan Gonzalez and Dave Justice thinking they would someday allow for an early retirement for me.

 

I was still pretty young then so the money I spent was usually money my grandparents had sent me for a birthday or the buck or two I could get out of my dad. But those resulted in what are now boxes and boxes of worthless pieces of cardboard.

 

I remember the 1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey #1 card being the Holy Grail of modern baseball cards. It would be our generation's Honus Wagner card. It was a hot item. Now it can be had on eBay or under $50. And that's a lot for a card from that time. Most cards from that time can't be given away.

 

Anybody remember looking for things like Complete Sets and Uncut Sheets? Great baseball card buzzwords. I spent many Saturdays walking through shopping malls looking at tables and tables of cards (grab bags!) being sold by overweight middle aged men. I am sure at one point in 1990 I stared in amazement at that Kevin Maas card in the glass case. Wishing that I had $50 to buy it and then sell it one day to buy a new car.

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I do. I spent a lot of money summer 2000. I had a great time collecting, but yeah, disappointing they aren't worth much. Hopefully everyone thinks they are worthless, throws them away and drives the prices back up!

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Collected BB Cards in the 60's and 70's,,,,, Had all the greats, Brooks Robinson, Roberto Clemente, Catfish Hunter, and so on........

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You know trouble is right around the corner when your best friend tells you to hold his beer!!

I'm sitting on about 20,000 cards including football basketball and Olympic trading cards. The vast majority are baseball with more than a few rare gets. Unfortunately they aren't worth much murder than the cardboard they are printed on.


Such is life.

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Signature goes here.

I had one on my bicycle spokes that made those motor noises.  The name got wore off after a while and I couldn't read it all, but it was some guy Honus Wa____...something. (shrug)

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I have fond memories of buying packs and hoping I got my favorite players. I never really got into collecting for money reasons. At that time I was a baseball addict and was more into collecting my favorite players. Now having said that, I do still have quite a few boxes of cards from the 80's and 90's.

 

I flip through the albums I have every now and then and get a chuckle from some of the players I had forgotten.

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My brother has made a lot of money wheeling and dealing in BB cards over the years....selling a buttload of em on EBay.

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What in the Wide Wide World of Sports is agoin' on here???

I stopped collecting around 1997/98. Probably into it for a solid 10 years. Have thousands of baseball, basketball, and football cards. My sin is now starting to get into football cards.


Enjoyed while I was doing it. Been a while now though.

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TravC59, aka JacksJags. @TravC59 on Twitter
;
; "This is really good, you want a bite, Honey?"

I started reading a book called Mint Condition. It's about the rise and fall of baseball cards in the 80's and 90's.

 

It's interesting to me as I was one of the suckers that spent money loading up on cards of guys like Frank Thomas, Ken Griffey, Juan Gonzalez and Dave Justice thinking they would someday allow for an early retirement for me.

 

I was still pretty young then so the money I spent was usually money my grandparents had sent me for a birthday or the buck or two I could get out of my dad. But those resulted in what are now boxes and boxes of worthless pieces of cardboard.

 

I remember the 1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey #1 card being the Holy Grail of modern baseball cards. It would be our generation's Honus Wagner card. It was a hot item. Now it can be had on eBay or under $50. And that's a lot for a card from that time. Most cards from that time can't be given away.

 

Anybody remember looking for things like Complete Sets and Uncut Sheets? Great baseball card buzzwords. I spent many Saturdays walking through shopping malls looking at tables and tables of cards (grab bags!) being sold by overweight middle aged men. I am sure at one point in 1990 I stared in amazement at that Kevin Maas card in the glass case. Wishing that I had $50 to buy it and then sell it one day to buy a new car.

 

The late 80s/early 90s bubble is why I loathe cards to this day.

 

They did a brilliant job of marketing cards then, just as truly collectible and rare cards were making news.  A "Holy Grail" card or two would pop up as families found shoe boxes or cigar boxes containing long forgotten cards they happened to stow away.

 

Topps struck hard and fast, overproducing and flooding the market.  Next came Fleer and Donruss, where collectors began to hoard as well since they weren't as initially easy to find.  But soon after, they too gave in to demand and mass produced.

 

One thing the "boom" did was change the quality of cards.  Upper Deck emerged as a "premium" alternative, so others followed in place with their own premium brands and/or random inserts, etc.

 

That bubble was the precursor to phenomenon of gaming cards much later on (Pokemon, Magic, etc.)

 

Sports memorabilia has since moved on to autographs, etc... but those, too have become somewhat saturated even though there are  a handful of athletes that are hard to sign (or don't.)

 

In both cards and autographs, what was once something magical in a child's eyes has become tainted by adult greed.  It's a shame, too because I know my kids won't experience them as I did.  But then, with the nature of the business today (and it is a business more than it is an enjoyable hobby as it once was) that's not necessarily a bad thing.

 

I've got a handful of memorabilia I'll be handing down one day, but it isn't anything like what my dad handed down.  The irony of the whole situation is that what's valuable today is what folks weren't holding onto back in the day.  If people are collecting it today, then it isn't rare today and won't likely be rare (also meaning not likely to be valuable) tomorrow.

 

That being said...

 

The meaning of memorabilia disappears when you look at it in terms of value.  As long as it has meaning to you, that's what's truly priceless.  There must be something special, something truly tangible about the item... especially on a personal level.  Otherwise, it's just a bunch of junk, no matter how valuable it might be.  And that's exactly what I'm teaching my kids about it.

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"You do your own thing in your own time. You should be proud."

I have too many....who knows, they may pop back up again in 20 or 30 years.  Doubtful with technology changing, but they still bring good memories.

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I had some good ones growing up.  Cal Ripkin Jr. Rookie, Ricky Henderson Rookie a few others.  I loved it when I was little.  Every year for my birthday my grandma would get me a whole box of cards and I would go to town.

 

I still have a handful of old ones and sentimental favorites (Tony Pena 1984 is the first Pirate I remember getting in a pack)!

 

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“It is the job of thinking people not to be on the side of the executioners.”
― Albert Camus

My brother has made a lot of money wheeling and dealing in BB cards over the years....selling a buttload of em on EBay.

 

You do realize that a buttload of baseball cards isn't really all that many, right?

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If something can corrupt you, you're corrupted already.
- Bob Marley


 

I guess some of y'all would appreciate this then:


http://m.ebay.com/itm/291018621765?nav=SEARCH

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"Before you criticize a man, walk a mile in his shoes. That way, if he gets angry, he's a mile away and barefoot."

I have a bunch of football cards.. Think I even have a jimmy smith rookie card. Pretty cool looking back.

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I recently inherited a bonus room full of them.  Boxes stacked on boxes of mostly 70's-mid 00's cards, autographed HOFer balls, signed baseball themed "art", and a very annoyed wife.  

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Kaishakunin for hire.

* (disclaimer) If you think I'm serious, hit yourself in the face w/ a hammer.

 

You do realize that a buttload of baseball cards isn't really all that many, right?

Depending on the butt I guess...and how many loads. :thumbsup:

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What in the Wide Wide World of Sports is agoin' on here???

Depending on the butt I guess...and how many loads. :thumbsup:

 

I don't even want to know I live in a world in which a butt capable of accommodating a significant number of baseball cards exists.

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If something can corrupt you, you're corrupted already.
- Bob Marley


 

I don't even want to know I live in a world in which a butt capable of accommodating a significant number of baseball cards exists.

There are movies out there that show just how capable some are.... :whistling:

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What in the Wide Wide World of Sports is agoin' on here???