Is all the short-print just way TOO short ??

[altaeria]

So, in theory, the whole concept of "short print" cards
makes a handful of cards more rare and, therefore, more desirable.

And collectors scramble to chase after these cards.

But at what point does the whole exercise become completely frustrating, downright tedious, or both?


Are we all resigned to the fact that we won't acquire a majority of the cards that we'd really like to collect?

I'm not talking about vintage cards that are naturally difficult to come by.
I'm talking about the countless new issues with ridiculously contrived 1/1 or 1/5 and 1/10 print runs.

How many of us methodically check eBay every stinkin' day
hoping that maybe, oh maybe, one of these precious white whales
will finally pop up today after 3 years of looking? or 5 years??

Then you gotta sweat it out until the last minute to bid
after a handful of knuckleheads jack up the price two days early.

And then somebody outbids your seemingly ridiculously high bid anyway
...so now you're resigned to wait another 3 years. or maybe 5.


In the end, maybe there is one happy guy somewhere with a 1/1,
three or four satisfied fellas with some of the /5 and /10 cards,
and then a few hundred (maybe more) other unhappy customers
wondering where the remainder of that print run is hiding.

Did somebody already find them? Are they in sealed boxes?
Sure, you'd like to buy some boxes to break...
but they are just way too overpriced for the likely return. Ugh.

Why can't they throw collectors a bone and keep the print runs realistically accessible to more than just two or three people?
I would buy boxes if I thought I had a decent chance to pull more than filler.


So at what point is all the short-print TOO short?
:rolleyes:

[chitownbears22]

It is false scarcity. It is a sign of over production. In fact, you can tell the market is frustrated by this. Sales for sets that aren't hobby staples are down (in my opinion). Even NT has been watered down. Every player has about 40 variations of their base rookie. There is the base, gold, emerald, nfl logo, Nike Logo, etc. Then the patches are all super-mojorific. So for group breakers, it is great, they get to show off all of these super-d-duper patches, but then you look at sales and ?!?!

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[49erRCCollector]

I collect base exclusively. I thought Exquisite's /65 was pushing it, Definitive's /50 definitely was. Below that it becomes uncollectible to me because not enough will be traded to matter. Below /50 is where I draw the line for base.

Paralells? That's for the chase, if you wish to do it.

[SelfDestruct808]

I don't mind honestly. I don't always like having stuff that everyone owns. Plus, even if SP are more ssp, they make it up by adding more sets to the products.

[Coventry6546]

For the most part, it's the reason I have lost almost complete interest in the hobby. I use to enjoy going after base runs of my "PC" player, but when Spectra came out last year I slowly dwindled down my collecting habits only picking up those sets/cards I like.

My last card purchase was June 10th.

It was one thing when the base run had #/1, /5, /10...jersey #...etc, but when they started doing it for every insert too...that's when I stopped.

It's manufactured scarcity and also the reason base and even higher # parallels sell for peanuts now. Who wants to buy into a case break for an opportunity to hit one gold when the checklist has almost 1,000 different gold cards x 10! This equates to a flooded market and nobody (not even Breakers) are busting a ton of wax.

Here is my old PC buckets (wow...ads have gotten bad!)
Andrew Luck 2013 by Coventry6546 | Photobucket (http://s1282.photobucket.com/user/Coventry6546/library/Andrew%20Luck%202013?sort=9&page=1)
Andrew Luck 2014 by Coventry6546 | Photobucket (http://s1282.photobucket.com/user/Coventry6546/library/Andrew%20Luck%202014?sort=6&page=1)

I have some 2015 and even some 2016, but haven't even taken the time to upload.

[jasonm2121]

There are certainly too many variations within the same releases it seems. I cannot speak to it directly as I pretty much only collect Brady, but man, if you collect a top draft pick good luck getting those cards. My route is expensive but there are pretty much very few cards to get and most are /25 and less. I have recently stopped buying anything with a sticker auto which has helped lower the amount I need by a fair amount. But, it takes a lot of time and frequent ebay searches to find the cards as they do not last long once listed, unless the price expectation is unrealistic.

[mike1498]

Maybe I'm not understanding the post but are you saying they should add more "rare" cards so its more accessible to consumers? If so, I will have to disagree because once they do that nothing is going to be rare and evertythings going to be worthless

[Gustomania]

I actually moved to vintage because of this reason. I thought the chase would be fun with all the parallels, etc, etc but it just wasnt for me.

I would prefer if a product like contenders would have just the rookie ticket, playoff/100 and Super Bowl 1/1. No extra paralells and certainly not three 1/1's, that's ridiculous.

Its what makes cards like the Brady Playoff desirable. I have no idea what 10 years will look like for stuff from today's world.

At least with vintage I'm only dealing with grade on one card.....I like it simple :)

[jasonm2121]

I actually moved to vintage because of this reason. I thought the chase would be fun with all the parallels, etc, etc but it just wasnt for me.

I would prefer if a product like contenders would have just the rookie ticket, playoff/100 and Super Bowl 1/1. No extra paralells and certainly not three 1/1's, that's ridiculous.

Its what makes cards like the Brady Playoff desirable. I have no idea what 10 years will look like for stuff from today's world.

At least with vintage I'm only dealing with grade on one card.....I like it simple :)

good input, I have put most of my efforts and money towards PSA Rookies in top grade, def easier, although can be pricey but they all seem to increase almost always

[Slette]

I collect base exclusively. I thought Exquisite's /65 was pushing it, Definitive's /50 definitely was. Below that it becomes uncollectible to me because not enough will be traded to matter. Below /50 is where I draw the line for base.

Paralells? That's for the chase, if you wish to do it.

Your sig tells me otherwise:

"Buying 2016 Score Garrett Celek Paralells and 2016 Gabbert autos and 1/1, lowest-numbered cards."

[Grid]

It is false scarcity. It is a sign of over production. In fact, you can tell the market is frustrated by this. Sales for sets that aren't hobby staples are down (in my opinion). Even NT has been watered down. Every player has about 40 variations of their base rookie. There is the base, gold, emerald, nfl logo, Nike Logo, etc. Then the patches are all super-mojorific. So for group breakers, it is great, they get to show off all of these super-d-duper patches, but then you look at sales and ?!?!

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What he said!

I remember chasing 1/1 NFL logo's from 2003 Leaf certified. They were the only true 1/1 NFL logos ever inserted in packs at the time (they made a complete set of 1/1 logos in 1999 Certified and auctioned it off).

I remember someone on the old Beckett forums posting the "steal" they got when they picked up a garbage player from the Lions (I think Scotty Anderson, maybe James Stweart) and landing it for under $300.

Now nearly every single set has a 1/1 NFL logo, mostly rookies, and I see these cards not sell on eBay for $20.

[chitownbears22]

What he said!

I remember chasing 1/1 NFL logo's from 2003 Leaf certified. They were the only true 1/1 NFL logos ever inserted in packs at the time (they made a complete set of 1/1 logos in 1999 Certified and auctioned it off).

I remember someone on the old Beckett forums posting the "steal" they got when they picked up a garbage player from the Lions (I think Scotty Anderson, maybe James Stweart) and landing it for under $300.

Now nearly every single set has a 1/1 NFL logo, mostly rookies, and I see these cards not sell on eBay for $20.
Look at that 03 set. It was perfect. Rookie auto material cards (helmet, pants, Jersey, Shoe) for base rookies. Base, mirror red, mirror blue, mirror Emerald and black (with each variation having something unique to distinguish it from the others). Fabric of the Game set was beautifully done, with great patches and design. Veteran Jersey, patches and shields (reflecting their variation and with the nice pieces going to the limited versions).

All around great set. Nothing like that is coming out. There are shortfalls in every set. And that is happening because people want the mojos in every box.

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[Gustomania]

Thanks

Yeah, I'll be honest, give me a nice $500 - $1000 vintage graded rookie once a year and I'm good.

good input, I have put most of my efforts and money towards PSA Rookies in top grade, def easier, although can be pricey but they all seem to increase almost always

[RogerGodahell]

There are certainly too many variations within the same releases it seems. I cannot speak to it directly as I pretty much only collect Brady, but man, if you collect a top draft pick good luck getting those cards. My route is expensive but there are pretty much very few cards to get and most are /25 and less. I have recently stopped buying anything with a sticker auto which has helped lower the amount I need by a fair amount. But, it takes a lot of time and frequent ebay searches to find the cards as they do not last long once listed, unless the price expectation is unrealistic.

I know collecting Winston definitely hasn't been cheap. Im glad im only collecting his rookie cards. I don't know exactly how many i have but it's over 60 autos. I know i'll never have all of them, but im ok with that.

[IpcSteveYoung]

For me it has an exhausting task of trying to keep up with numbered variations and the guy I collect has been out of the league for over 15 years...