1981.
I was 11 years old and had recently discovered baseball cards. Growing up in a small (less than 2000 people) town, there were only four of us collecting cards. That might have been because only one small mom and pop shop ever had any cards and the four of us nearly killed each other to buy what cards were available. Whenever one of us would go out of town, we would get cards if we could and come back acting as if we were returning from the Crusades, showing off our new treasures. I think we started trading cards instinctively. It was just natural to trade doubles for cards we didn't have. Whenever one of us was able to get our hands on pre-1981 Topps cards it was like a feeding frenzy to trade whatever we could to get them. They didn't have to be stars, we were just amazed at how "old" they were...as if 1979 Topps cards were that much older than the 81s we were opening.
One day, one of us ended up with one of those chunky little Beckett Price Guides that came out each year. That ruined our trading. Suddenly, it didn't matter if you needed or wanted a card as much as it mattered that the trade was even based on the card value. Or should I say "supposed" card value. Within a few months we quit trading altogether. It wasn't fun anymore. I don't blame Beckett, they were just a company with an idea and it led to much success and money for those inside the company. Even today, all these years later, Beckett is what it is. Some people don't like Beckett and have very valid reasons for their opinions. Pricing is too subjective and in Beckett's case their prices oftentimes don't seem to be based on reality--what a card is worth is what it sells for and Beckett doesn't reflect that accurately. Beckett, to me, is like some of the card manufacturers...you like them or you don't. Obviously, I strayed from the subject of this post (I tend to do that). Thanks to that price guide, our trading came to a halt and my interest in collecting dropped off quite a bit. Fortunately, all these years later, I've rediscovered the joys of trading, but that's another post.
That title scared me for a minute...
ReplyDeleteYeah, I loathe the day price guides found their way into my town, school and life. It really did ruin everything... Great post!
Hey, a good reason to be older! When I was a kid, there were no price guides. Price guides didn't show up until I was a teenager and I wasn't trading anymore. So none of that ugliness entered into my early trading days.
ReplyDeleteI should have been clear that we did have a couple of good trading years since we didn't get the price guide until '83 or '84.
ReplyDeleteThat's pretty much what happened to my little trading crew in 1987!
ReplyDeleteI think I bought my last pack of cards circa 1988 and I never purchased any until the Summer of 08.
Yeah, price guides are the bane of any true collector. How much can I get for this? Ruined the whole thing, I'd rather give a dozen cards to someone that they'd enjoy, sometimes for nothing in return. Yeah, occasionally it's nice to hit something rare and be able to sell for a bundle. But it's also not so cool. I'm real glad I've not hit a super-rare, ultra nice Phillie, cause I can't necessarily afford to keep something that would bring me a couple hundred bucks or so that I could pay a bill with, or buy some shiny for my Sportster.
ReplyDeleteI'm in!!!!
ReplyDeleteyep, been there, done that... opened the first series of The Big Bang Series, hit an autograph that was worth to much to keep. Luckily I decided to sell it BEFORE I told my wife. Of course I had to let the surprise hit, telling her I should be able to get $40-$50 for it when I knew it would go for 3 to 4 times that!!
ReplyDeleteand I'm still waiting to hit that super-rare, ultr-nice Phillie...
Beckett has its place, but it is not in the hands of kids or passionate hobbyists. I have one now, but I'm only going to use it to price cards on COMC (significantly lower than the HI column). Other than that I rarely crack it.
ReplyDelete