In this episode, Ryan Cracknell, Hobby Editor for Beckett Media and I discuss answers to the following questions:
- What’s one card from the 1990’s that stands out, or with which you have fond memories?
- Between Pack Wars, Opening Day, and Bunt, how else might card companies attract kids to card collecting?
- What does the future of the hobby look like?
What are your answers to these questions?
To see what’s currently on eBay from Topps Opening Day, click here.
1. I was a huge fan of 1994 Pinnacle baseball. I pulled a Museum Collection Jeff Bagwell (his MVP year) as well as a Museum Collection Don Mattingly that summer. Loved the photography of that set.
2. I like Ryan’s suggestion of not trying to overly direct sets at kids. Also, keeping adults/parents interested is key. If parents enjoy cards, their kids (at least some of them) will grow up enjoying cards as well. If adults get turned off by the sports card industry, kids will follow their lead.
3. I think the future of the hobby will be more international in flavor. Their are collectors in many parts of the world now, and I hope that this trend will continue to grow. Just like the movie industry is starting to care more about worldwide box-office (as opposed to only the USA) totals, I think card manufacturers should be trying to gradually promote their products on a global scale. In other words, maybe in the future, their will be fewer American/Canadian collectors than in the past, but if there are more total collectors world-wide, that could be very interesting and healthy for the hobby. For example, the NBA is already big in China. What if Panini cards also become big in China? That would be great for the hobby. In short, if the major sports in the USA continue to gain worldwide traction, perhaps there is a huge amount of would-be “international” collectors out there as well.
Hi Brian,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the posed questions. You bring up some good points on the question of attracting kids. I also think that more global exposure can only help the industry. Topps has done some Asia Exclusive parallels and sets (Topps Supreme), which has been nice to see. Great thoughts! Thanks again.