[SheCollectsCards] Has the SPORTS CARDS Market hit bottom? Right answers only

[dream34]

This isn't going to go over well (especially here)...

I think they are ok and in general I think none of us have been fooled by them. Most of us could recognize right away the faults in their mostly well intentioned "advice". With the exception of just a few of them, I think most actually don't make much from it. Hanna in particular comes from a strong financial background and gets about 10k views per video. A google search says they get paid $18 per 1000 ads run. So even if she runs 2 ads per video that would only be $360 for every video she's creating. Hardly what you would consider sustainable, especially for the time put in to create them.

That being said, I think it's good they have passion for the hobby that we all grew to love. They are trying to use their skillset (marketing, data analysis) and trying to blend it with something that they enjoy doing (for the most part). Seems like somewhat trying to share a hobby with more people using the medium they are comfortable with.

I'll start my last part with a huge caveat that I don't know that much about the overall situation and if there is more to it. My understanding is that a lot of the recent boom can be attributed to the Lebron TC Gems taking off and therefore springboarding any and everything that could ever closely relate to it (Chrome, Prizm, MJ, Kobe, Brady, Messi, on and on...). I think Gary started out saying that it was a good long term buy when it was around 1k and that it would take some time but eventually should be worth more as time goes on, I doubt he anticipated that his guys would send that thing to 25k in a year. I've heard that he's even said that his following took it way out of hand. Unfortunately speculation does this everywhere.

Load your guns and fire holes away in everything. All I know is that I enjoy this hobby with a lot more people in it. A few years ago I would have to shyly say at parties that I am into sportscards and it's interesting and fun and get ready for some weird looks occasionally. Now, if I mention that I'm into sportscards the questions and interest is almost non-stop. We all just became high level experts overnight and it's been fun being able to give better advice than "well known" experts.

[brettmik59]

The true bottom will be in when nobody is talking about cards as investments anymore. This was the case as little as 5 years ago. Cards were a fun hobby, you could rip wax for affordable prices and maybe hit a big card, maybe not. And if you bought cards of key sets or HOFers, you could get your money back or maybe make a few bucks over time. It wasn't a get rich quick scheme like it is now.

[tjforce]

Originally Posted by KhalDrogo

CC2 is one of the absolute worst in the hobby.

Honest request: Can you please elaborate.

From what I know about the kid, he hasn't really been caught in the middle of any huge scams, other than being the guy ripping the fake 86 Fleer boxes.

There are a lot more egregious offenders out there as far as I know.

[ljandkg]

Originally Posted by dream34

This isn't going to go over well (especially here)...

I think they are ok and in general I think none of us have been fooled by them. Most of us could recognize right away the faults in their mostly well intentioned "advice". With the exception of just a few of them, I think most actually don't make much from it. Hanna in particular comes from a strong financial background and gets about 10k views per video. A google search says they get paid $18 per 1000 ads run. So even if she runs 2 ads per video that would only be $360 for every video she's creating. Hardly what you would consider sustainable, especially for the time put in to create them.

That being said, I think it's good they have passion for the hobby that we all grew to love. They are trying to use their skillset (marketing, data analysis) and trying to blend it with something that they enjoy doing (for the most part). Seems like somewhat trying to share a hobby with more people using the medium they are comfortable with.

I'll start my last part with a huge caveat that I don't know that much about the overall situation and if there is more to it. My understanding is that a lot of the recent boom can be attributed to the Lebron TC Gems taking off and therefore springboarding any and everything that could ever closely relate to it (Chrome, Prizm, MJ, Kobe, Brady, Messi, on and on...). I think Gary started out saying that it was a good long term buy when it was around 1k and that it would take some time but eventually should be worth more as time goes on, I doubt he anticipated that his guys would send that thing to 25k in a year. I've heard that he's even said that his following took it way out of hand. Unfortunately speculation does this everywhere.

Load your guns and fire holes away in everything. All I know is that I enjoy this hobby with a lot more people in it. A few years ago I would have to shyly say at parties that I am into sportscards and it's interesting and fun and get ready for some weird looks occasionally. Now, if I mention that I'm into sportscards the questions and interest is almost non-stop. We all just became high level experts overnight and it's been fun being able to give better advice than "well known" experts.

That's all well and good, it's just when the people who are new to the hobby...
- offer advice on what you should do.
- make money out of said advice.
- work for one outfit and slag off the competition. Whether this is part of their brief from said outfit or not.


And you can say it's up to the people being influenced to 'do their own research,' which is a regular answer on here, but it doesn't make any of the above right.

[1980bust]

Originally Posted by The_Reverend

Do your own research. Make friends in the hobby who you talk sports and cards with. Hobby first mindset will have you buying what you like and not what “they” say. I have seen far less content from influencers since the National. They say things were popping, but I had friends there who told me the real deal. The Pelican case guys were not having a good show at all.

Agreed. I dgaf at all about these "influencers". I've honestly never watched a single one of their videos, because I'm not into collecting the type of cards they focus on. SO I've managed to come through the Pelican Bro period unscathed.

The only research I need to do is on a card that I'm interested in, and how to find it for my PC

[AutoPatchRookie]

Originally Posted by elontusk1119

Added to my playlist of "dumbfounded Asian people staring at stock charts"

[Lone Wulf]

Originally Posted by tjforce

Honest request: Can you please elaborate.

From what I know about the kid, he hasn't really been caught in the middle of any huge scams, other than being the guy ripping the fake 86 Fleer boxes.

There are a lot more egregious offenders out there as far as I know.

Yeah I was wondering this as well. The only bad situation I am aware of actually made him look like a better person - he was one of the people that used Marx Cards to group submit to PSA, and after that whole scenario went down he allegedly paid PSA out of pocket to get things settled and make sure his orders didn't get held up or sabotaged. Unless I am mistaken with any of that, just reciting what I recall about the situation.

Semi-tangent here, but I have been thinking lately that CC2 has one of the biggest advantages in the entire hobby right now. He has a modern store presence with trade nights and social media, he goes to shows and records a lot of content, he has athlete appearances on his platforms (like Trevor Lawrence and other players talking about cards), he has a huge following, and the younger hobbyists absolutely love him. It really hit me when his latest National youtube video content shows people lining up and filtering into his booth all day to sell their cards to him for steep discounts, along with just gifting him free cards, all because they love him so much. It's insane lol, people just willingly give huge discounts on sales to have the honor of dealing with him. He has it made right now. It wouldn't surprise me if he was one of the first people Fanatics partners with as part of whatever new movement they decide to go with.
In general CC2 does seem very charismatic, nice, and has a positive vibe in his content with all the interactions he has with his followers or people he deals with. The only thing in question to me is how much of his influence he uses/abuses in those deals - yes, no one has to buy cards from him or sell their cards to him, all of these people willingly walk up and accept those deals, but it seems like a lot of people are out there at shows and his store giving him a mega advantage because of the influence he has.

[duron]

I thought the whole issue with CardCollector2 was that he was sending cards off to a bulk submitter (Marx) without ever disclosing it. I’m aware he paid off what was owed, but you should probably still be transparent about what you’re doing with people’s cards.

[tjforce]

Originally Posted by duron

I thought the whole issue with CardCollector2 was that he was sending cards off to a bulk submitter (Marx) without ever disclosing it. I’m aware he paid off what was owed, but you should probably still be transparent about what you’re doing with people’s cards.

That's my understanding. He essentially was acting as the middleman to the middleman without letting people know.

On top of that he was the one of opened the repacked 86 Fleer box for whatnot at the National.

He was also part of the WhatNot LeBron Triple Logoman Ferrari chase.

So I can see that there's a pattern of him associating with some shady people, but I don't know that it call it as egregious as many of the other scams we've seen over the years

[Deadshot]

CC2 has done a lot of good for this hobby.

Putting people on a list of questionable people just because they're "known" in the hobby is not fair.

[mkebucks2001]

Originally Posted by AutoPatchRookie

Added to my playlist of "dumbfounded Asian people staring at stock charts"

Very odd comment + not sure why her race matters...

[TimmyWeiss]

What the hell happened to this breaking industry. I assume it is all covid / pandemic related.

I had stopped doing any major collecting/breaking back in 19, and I just got the itch again. I come back and see that where there used to be about 10-20 regular breakers on EBay, there are now 100s. Instead of half case or whole cases of hobby / deluxe panini, i see guys putting together 1 box breaks and mixes with blasters....blasters!?

I have to assume the price gauging by Panini and everyone pushing for a quick buck, or...godforbid...the idea that this hobby can sustain a living over 10 years, has caused this whole hobby to blow up.

With that said, just by looking at the vid and title, we are no where near rock bottom. Once the breakers are reduced by 70% and the influencers stop posting vids about the 'current market', only then are we at bottom.

[coltsfan23]

Originally Posted by dream34

That being said, I think it's good they have passion for the hobby that we all grew to love. They are trying to use their skillset (marketing, data analysis) and trying to blend it with something that they enjoy doing (for the most part). Seems like somewhat trying to share a hobby with more people using the medium they are comfortable with.

She isn't using her skill-set, though, at least to 'better' this hobby. If anything, it could be longer-term negative as people continue to write off all 'data analysis', because of her hack usage of it (and others). For example, there is value in charts and data, but influencers have already ruined a lot of it and now people roll their eyes.

[coltsfan23]

Originally Posted by dream34

This isn't going to go over well (especially here)...

I think they are ok and in general I think none of us have been fooled by them. Most of us could recognize right away the faults in their mostly well intentioned "advice". With the exception of just a few of them, I think most actually don't make much from it. Hanna in particular comes from a strong financial background and gets about 10k views per video. A google search says they get paid $18 per 1000 ads run. So even if she runs 2 ads per video that would only be $360 for every video she's creating. Hardly what you would consider sustainable, especially for the time put in to create them.

See, I started out by thinking she is well-intentioned. I don't think she's intentionally destructive, but at some point, it's hard to excuse the sheer massive amount of incompetence. She isn't doing this for the money; she's doing it for the clout.

Now, her business background is no excuse for her incompetence in this space. She has more of a business analysis background than a pure financial background (i.e. she doesn't have Wall Street experiences), so she cannot lean on that as an edge. And she absolutely has very little cards-relevant experience on to lean on either. So she has nothing to really say she's an 'expert', yet aggressively tries to portray as such.

So the main question is: Why?

Why does she continue despite being proven wrong over and over and over again?

And why does this industry reward these people consistently?

[duron]

Originally Posted by tjforce

That's my understanding. He essentially was acting as the middleman to the middleman without letting people know.

On top of that he was the one of opened the repacked 86 Fleer box for whatnot at the National.

He was also part of the WhatNot LeBron Triple Logoman Ferrari chase.

So I can see that there's a pattern of him associating with some shady people, but I don't know that it call it as egregious as many of the other scams we've seen over the years

Originally Posted by Deadshot

CC2 has done a lot of good for this hobby.

Putting people on a list of questionable people just because they're "known" in the hobby is not fair.

100% agree that he has done a lot of good for the actual hobby and is nowhere near some of these other characters, but I’ve noticed tons of people still in the dark about dealing with Marx without disclosure. What Marx did is the very reason why you have to be transparent.

[SupermanBrandon]

If you're cool w/ CC2 lying to his customers and not telling them that he was using a middle man to both handle their cards and their money...ooof! But hey, he's got a nice smile.

[mfw13]

I always laugh at anybody who talks about the "sports card market" because there is no such thing.....there are hundreds and thousands of smaller markets that often behave in widely varying ways, but there is no overall market in which everything behaves the same way.

[mc1]

Originally Posted by mkebucks2001

Very odd comment + not sure why her race matters...

Shes Asian, right?
Its not that deep.

[mkebucks2001]

Originally Posted by mc1

Shes Asian, right?
Its not that deep.

lol. Thank you. Glad to know it’s not that deep.

[mkebucks2001]

Originally Posted by mkebucks2001

lol. Thank you. Glad to know it’s not that deep.

Originally Posted by mfw13

I always laugh at anybody who talks about the "sports card market" because there is no such thing.....there are hundreds and thousands of smaller markets that often behave in widely varying ways, but there is no overall market in which everything behaves the same way.

100% agreed. But there’s an audience for this type of content because people love to try to predict the unpredictable.

[SupermanBrandon]

Originally Posted by mkebucks2001

100% agreed. But there’s an audience for this type of content because people love to try to predict the unpredictable.

It’s the ole: If you’re so smart and in tuned, then why are you telling people how to make money? Why not keep it to yourself and make all the money? It’s because you in fact don’t have the answers but you’ve found a way to make more money by selling the “answer” to the morons. Some of these guys are making more on subscriptions and YouTube views than they are on cards. Not to mention the money they are making on the cards they are pumping.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[bmf]

Originally Posted by brettmik59

The true bottom will be in when nobody is talking about cards as investments anymore. This was the case as little as 5 years ago.

You must be kidding. This is the most dead-wrong statement in this entire ridiculous thread.

And the chances of this ever happening are zero.

[mindcycle]

Originally Posted by SupermanBrandon

It’s the ole: If you’re so smart and in tuned, then why are you telling people how to make money? Why not keep it to yourself and make all the money? It’s because you in fact don’t have the answers but you’ve found a way to make more money by selling the “answer” to the morons. Some of these guys are making more on subscriptions and YouTube views than they are on cards. Not to mention the money they are making on the cards they are pumping.

Cue Gooff the investor. Bought all of his LeBron refractors at peak and paid over half a mil for his Jordan RC.

I’m sure he makes a killing on his videos talking about these “investments” tho..

[jfan2024]

"If stock market experts were so expert, they would be buying stock, not selling advice"
- Norm Augustine

Same applies to cards and other arenas. If you're taking advice from influencers on the internet, you're already the idiot and have already lost

[HeyRelaxGuy]

I always LOL when people on here state that they don't use social media. Here, I looked up the definition for you guys:

so·cial me·di·a

websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking.

Does this above definition not remind you of anything? Here is a hint: you're on it right now!