Does A MLB License Still Matter?

 I was wondering has the loss of a major league license really hurt the competition or has it caused the competition to become more creative with their products?  Upper Deck tried to test the waters in 2010 after losing their MLB License, and ended up getting an "upper" cut from the MLB lawsuit.  So card makers had to go about things differently, focus had to be less on making an active player base set, to making a prospect base set with star players posing (such as in the newest Panini product below and without using airbrushing.)

So no more can an active player be photographed and have an airbrushed out logo, ONLY Topps will be able to airbrush (and we know they are the best at airbrushing!) .  So hold your breath baseball fans, this means again, ONLY Topps is aloud to airbrush Major League Baseball cards...such as below from the 2011 Alex White example where they airbrushed the front but left the orginal photo and team on the back.

-OR-

How about in 2012 Topps airbrushing a Pujols in Angels uniform before he ever wore one.  Not hating on Topps, but airbrushing has been a common place since the start of Topps.  After Topps buying out Bowman in 1955, between 1956 thru 1981 only a few non main stream card makers were around, Fleer for a few years, POST, and Kellogs were just a few.  Other than Fleer in 1963 no real challenge came until Fleer filed suit against Topps in 1975 and finally won.  

Last month Panini released a product for the common collector at retail level, that was the Triple Play baseball card to compare in price with Topps Opening Day.  Triple Play retails at 99 cents, where as Topps Opening Day has raised 10 cents to $1.09 retail.

Players like Albert Pujols still sign for non-MLB authorized sets, and even Ichico who has only signed on three sets of cards since 2004.  Now he has an exclusive contract to sign for a non-MLB product.  This proves that the days of having an MLB license doesn't really matter anymore.  Topps may have the stamp that states it has an "exclusive MLB license" but even if the MLB or Topps likes it or not, there will always be other products for us collectors to collect! 

Topps may have Bowman Draft Picks (which carries an MLB logo), Panini (Donruss) also has their own draft pick sets each year.  Donruss right now still uses sticker autographs, Leaf Metal uses on card signatures, and Topps has been trying to use more on card autographs, but largely still uses sticker autographs for most products.  If Topps was allowed to once again be the one and ONLY card maker, we would have every product look exactly the same...hint...hint...

In conclusion, I think having an exclusive product does hurt collecting, but I am glad to see there are still card makers that try to still put out a quality product.  After a few years of showing the MLB that a card company can still survive making non-MLB baseball cards, they may actually find out that they are losing money by not giving other companies licenses.  It is known that Upper Deck took a pretty hefty hit after the MLB hit them with a copyright infringement, but Upper Deck still puts out quality sport related products like Goodwin Champions that have cards from all major/minor sports.  Competition is great for the sport, it gives us collectors something else to buy at a hobby store, and when you have over a dozen products a year come out, you pose the risk of using the photo multiple times.  As someone who enjoys cards, a logo or a team name on a card doesn't make a card, it is the quaility or design.  Again, this is no hate to Topps, I think they do quite good work, but some not so great work.  In my educated opinion I think having more choice is still good for the hobby.  I would rather have many companies, but limit the sets, or subsets they create.  Don't do what Donruss did in the mid 2000s and make one set, but have one hundred sub sets 1/1 and parallels.  Instead say Donruss can have two sets, each set can only have four subsets.  One subset could be a parallel version, one relic, one auto, and one auto relic.  Taking the quote from my movie Tommy Boy and reworking it into baseball terms:

"I can take a dump in a box, stick an MLB logo on it, and sell it to a collector, it may stink, but they'll still buy it"

Thanks for reading, comments always welcome!

Jason

1991 Stadium Club (A MUST HAVE) but....

Any one who collected in the late 80s and 90s would tell you that this set was the set to have!  I remember going to card shows when this card came out and the tables that had any packs were lined up with people wanting them.  I was only 12 at the time and I went to a show with my dad in St. Louis.  My dad didn't know much of anything about cards, he was just there to supervise me.  I remembered at that time Series I packs were going for $4 a pack!  I had brought with me $20 and a 1969 Topps Nolan Ryan if I found someone to trade with me. I ended up trading my 1969 Topps Nolan Ryan (valued at that time at $400) for a box of Series I Stadium Club!  I opened the first pack and it was a smell I would never forget.  The smell of freshly coated baseball cards (yes, I sniff my cards) was amazing, and it was my first truely big buy in my collecting life.  After the year ended the Stadium Club fad started to go away.  Fleer Ultra began to coat their cards and add more inserts.  The values for the set at the end of 1991 was $200 for 600 cards. 

 Above is from the July 1994 Beckett, which the 1991 Stadium Club went from $200 to $135 and is still going down in price.

Today (Sept 2012) the 1991 Topps Stadium Club is now $60.  Remember how many adults and kids were thinking that I need to buy these cards, they are investments, etc.  I now wish I didn't trade my 1969 Topps Nolan Ryan for a box of Stadium Club Series I.  The total price drop in 11 years is $140!

Because cards started out priced so high, and every year the cards go down, down, and down some more, it becomes hard for hobby shops to make any money.  So having so many high priced cards and packs that hobby stores had to buy suddenly in the mid to late 90s crashed and these investments turned into trash.

Even though Stadium Club lost $130 over its life it is still a really good looking set and for the first time Topps really was spot on in their photography.  This set was able to get Jeff Bagwell and Luis Gonzalez as rookies, but it would have been an even bigger hit if it had Jim Thome, Mike Mussina, Chipper Jones, and Ivan Rodriguez.  That would have been one hell of a set of cards! 

I see these wax boxes on ebay or Dave and Adams for around $25, if you don't have any or many of them, it is a fun open!  Series I has more value in players, but Series II has the rookies like Bagwell.

Overall, a cheap very attractive card!  Don't buy to expect the values to increase, unless Bagwell goes into the hall of fame.

- Jason

TTM HOF!

Last year I sent out roughly about 100 cards to be signed to a variety of baseball, football, and hockey players, in those 100 I would say I have only got 60 back thus far from that 100.  Last week I got this in the mail from Todd Helton/Colorado Rockies:

Okay, here is my thoughts about this.  I first have no problem sending in a donation, I think I am a pretty giving person for the amount of what I make in a year.  During spring training I sent requests for autos from the following Rockies players: Todd Helton, Carlos Gonzalez, Michael Cudyier, and Dexter Fowler.  I was SURPRISED when I got my 2008 Tristar Cargo card signed also a thank you for my Rockies support.  I looked like a kid on Christmas!  But last week I got a letter from Helton and Cudyier stating in order to get an autograph to enclosed $25 check.  Again, I have no problem with donating, but $25 I can get Helton and a Cudyier certified autograph, and still have some money left.  So I got this and decided to pass, I think it should be any donation made $5 or more for us people who may not have as much as others.  The Colorado Rockies have been the only team that has ever sent these letters back (or has anyone else get something like this from another team), plus the returned cards weren't even the same.  But I understand that is my gamble.

On the flip side, a few months ago I got a card that was sent out over a year ago and I figured it was a loss.  I sent two cards to Roberto Alomar (2011 Hall of Fame Inductee) and I got both cards back, and one of them was signed in a very great looking blue sharpie!  I sent him a 1987 Las Vegas Stars Minor League Card, and a 1992 Donruss.  He signed the 1992 Donruss card) 

So it got me thinking of what are some of my better TTMs that I got back.  I have over 100, but many are minor league or common type players.

• Roberto Alomar
• Bobby Bonillia (2 Cards signed)
• John Olerud (2 Cards signed)
• Sid Bream
• Shauan Dunston (2 Cards signed)
• Whitey Herzog
• Stan Musial
• Carlos Gonzalez
• Lonnie Smith
• Tom Henke
• Aerenas Williams (2 Cards signed)
• Fernado Velenzueva (2 Cards signed)
• Jim Tracey (2 Cards signed)
• Kevin Mitchell (4 Cards signed)
• Pat Listach
• Eric Karros
• Rex Hudler
• Tim Raines
• Tom Brunansky
• Wally Backman

If you haven't ever gotten an autograph by mail or don't know how there are several ways of going about it.  Usually you don't send a card that is something you can't live without, because my experience 1 of 3 don't ever come back.  Find a card you have doubles of, or something that would look good signed.  For example above is a Jim Tracey card, though he is on the Rockies, the card I had was too dark and wouldn't look good, so I used his Dodger card, which looks great!

Most ball players you send directly to their stadium or spring training stadiums.  Make sure to mark ATTN: players name!  Always have a return address in case it gets lost, maybe you can at least get your cards back.  If it is a retired player, some still are coaches, managers, or holding a baseball staff position.  A simple google search of the retired player will let you know if they are still in baseball or not.

Always send with a letter of who you are, why you would like to have their autograph, and make sure to thank them for their time!  Also, always place a stamp envelope with your address so all they have to do is seal and send.   About 25% of the time I got the cards back in about 3 weeks, some months, and one or two have been a year.  I guess with those players they let it pile up and then all on one day they do a mass signing.  Below are just a few of the many TTMs I have gotten over the years!

Tom Brunansky sent me this card personalized, it was awesome!!!  If you can't see it clear it says "Jason-Thank you for your service, you are the true stars!"  AWESOME TOM!!!!  So if anyone is wanting to send directly to the Rockies, look forward to having to mail in a check of $25.  Are there any other players or teams that require this too?  Let us know!

Has anyone had any huge success from TTM or have any other pointers, please post!!!  -Jason

Please Look at Trade Bait Page!

Make sure to look daily at my trade bait page.  I will be adding stuff daily!  See something you like, make me an offer!!!  I usually only trade my doubles but if you see something you really need you can try to offer me a trade and I will consider it. 

I have a graded Pippen rc and Strasburg Topps red hot rookie...these are just a few.  If a card has been traded will delete or cross through words.

I have thousands of star basketball and hockey cards.  I'm not a real basketball and hockey collector anymore, (love football baseball) but let me know if you are!

A low blow to us bloggers...

Hey everyone, I hope you are all having a very good holiday weekend and being safe!  I was not going to post this weekend, but I opened up my newest Beckett 9/12 edition and read something in the Q and A section that rubbed me wrong.  First here is the post below:

The post is from "JeffNSU" so if "JeffNSU" is reading this...sorry this is for you!  First, we ALL have a freedom of speech and expression.  We who blog are ones who love the hobby!  Unless some other blogger is making "JeffNSU" read their blog, there are billions of other places that "JeffNSU" can go to get his information.  Second, as for our "awful" blogs, I know I'm not doing my blog for the money, but to write about what I like and don't like.  Beckett and other websites can give their views, why can't us who blog too?  For example, most of blogger in my circle are middle class hard working people, we look out for each other in hopes of saving the other some money or helping in trades.  I don't expect high end collectors or hobby store owners to like my blog, thus my name "Joe Average Collector".  I don't always trust a review done on major websites, but even before I began to blog, I always looked at the common collectors.  I like to know how a common collector feels after spending $50 on a product vs. someone who was given a product for free to review in a magazine.  Plus without us whiners we wouldn't have message boards or blogs!  Okay, I'm going back to inventorying my cards in the 1960s!