Wednesday, March 28, 2012

CBS News Says the Hobby is Dying...

This is a piece that CBS News ran over the weekend about our hobby:



I don't entirely agree with the piece. I definitely don't see it in a "death spiral" like the one mentioned there. In fact, I see the "action" has moved away from the shows and on to Internet arenas that allow for a better chance for a collector to find something on his or her wantlist, rather than the show...where a seller has to pay for a table, lug a large inventory that may or may not sell and then haggle over "book" prices we all know are inflated.

Of course, this piece shows absolutely nothing about Online stuff, or auction houses (still doing very well, by the way) or the effect that graded material is having -- SGC is right down the road from where the show in the video above is being held. And the idea of mentioning how the hobby has changed since the early 1990s immediately loses its luster when it ends with a graphic about a card selling for millions just a few years ago (not to mention that another one is currently up for auction).

And I don't know about you, but calling a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle a "rookie" immediately causes me to discard anything you say after that. CBS's producers shouldn't have to look real hard to find that Mantle was on a nationally-issued card in 1951.

Feel free to comment below about the state of the Hobby.
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  1. dealMarch 28, 2012 at 8:43 AM

    perhaps they should have named the segment death of the card show - which isn't that much different then death of the book/record store. all are products that are more often bought/sold online and packaged in updated formats.

    Big shows are still big and there is a place for them. not sure who goes to the smaller shows, but I am glad they are still produced for me locally.

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