Fill in the blank: Fanatics will ________ the sportscard industry.

[The_Reverend]

Originally Posted by mnvikingstwins

ruin.

Exactly!!!!

[ewokpelts]

Originally Posted by Kabuki

Ok...have been busting Topps packs and boxes since 1971. I also bought packs/boxes from Fleer and Upper Deck.

I stayed away from Panini when they started to raise the price of Prizm over $200.

Now I see the same trend. They will cater to breakers and will try to maximize profits very fast to make up for the lost profit and interest of buying lisenses.

Fanatics will BE the breaker.

[mfw13]

Originally Posted by YouTheManNick

Seems like they're trying to become something of a governing body.

An all consuming corporate conglomerate heck bent on sterilizing and standardizing card collecting in the name of maximizing profit.

Want to bring everyone to heel and get a piece of as many transactions as they can.

I imagine they envision a future where anytime money is transacted on cards they collect a Fanatics tax.

The National: A Fanatics™ Event.

Your Local Card Show: A Fanatics™ Event

COMC: A Fanatics™ Corporation

Blowout Cards (and forums): A Subsidiary of Fanatics™

(Insert your favorite Podcast or YouTube Channel): Sponsored by Fanatics™ to deliver Fanatics™ sanctioned information

Your Local Card Show: A Family(Scratched Out) Fanatics™ Owned "Local" Business.

Ebay Cards: A Fanatics™ Partnership

and on and on and on until "The Hobby" is officially what the powers that be want it to truly be: A Business.

The problem is that this is NOT what most of their customers want....and as anybody who has any business experience can tell you, you don't get very far by alienating your core customers.

[astudillodude64]

This used to be a hobby, now it’s a business.

[callou2131]

Suck the fun out of

[SupermanBrandon]

Originally Posted by astudillodude64

This used to be a hobby, now it’s a business.

Its been a business for every single entity (except for one) since it started.

Businesses:
Fanatics
Topps
Panini
Printers
LCS owners
Walmart
Target
Blowout
eBay
PWCC
Goldin
Heritage
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter
WhatNot
Dealers
Distributors
Supply dealers
Flippers
Show Promoters
...etc

Hobby:
Collectors

[OhioLawyerF5]

Originally Posted by Cowboy85

This is a perfectly cromulent response.

Just remember that a noble spirit embiggens the smallest man.

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[fabiani12333]

disrupt

For good or bad, they are disrupting the hobby. There are plenty of people in the hobby who are anxious or upset about the changes occurring. But as a hobbyist, I'm interested in following what happens.

[tnj0426]

Manipulate and control the hobby market.


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[fabiani12333]

Originally Posted by tnj0426

Manipulate and control the hobby market.


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So replace the existing manipulators and controllers of the hobby?

[Archangel1775]

As a collector, I'd like to see what happens. People complained about dutch auctions but they've been going on for some time with Panini. People complain about Topps/Fanatics initial pricing on their website but that was already happening, as mentioned above, by distributors. We've had over a year to prepare for changes. Let's see what shakes out of this.

[cardsin47]

“Fill in the blank: Fanatics will ________ the sportscard industry”

Insert: stabilize

Good or bad, a company as large and financially sound as Fanatics will ( in theory ) add lasting stability to what is typically an unstable industry ~ Collectibles.

[bmann33]

ratfu**k


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[Ianhatcher]

It's been ruined for some time so it really doesn't matter at least for collectors anyway. The days of collectors ripping wax and grading cards to fund their collection are over so it effects every area in the hobby.

The only people winning in the hobby now are the card manufacturers, grading companies, distributors/resellers, breakers and auction houses.

Instead of having a cyclical hobby where collectors were able to buy and sell and put money back into the hobby they took all the profits and they aren't going to give them back.

[SupermanBrandon]

Originally Posted by cardsin47

“Fill in the blank: Fanatics will ________ the sportscard industry”

Insert: stabilize

Good or bad, a company as large and financially sound as Fanatics will ( in theory ) add lasting stability to what is typically an unstable industry ~ Collectibles.

This is a great post. "Stabilize" is a great word for what they will do/bring. Wether its seen as good or bad by individual opinions, they will bring consistency. Again could be good, might be bad. But they will stabilize the market. They will stabilize and remove some of the shadiness. They are a giant corporation with a ton of money on the line and big board of financial partners. They wont be running around like chickens with their heads cut off like most businesses in this hobby have been operating like for years.

[Pacmeyer]

Originally Posted by SupermanBrandon

This is a great post. "Stabilize" is a great word for what they will do/bring. Wether its seen as good or bad by individual opinions, they will bring consistency. Again could be good, might be bad. But they will stabilize the market. They will stabilize and remove some of the shadiness. They are a giant corporation with a ton of money on the line and big board of financial partners. They wont be running around like chickens with their heads cut off like most businesses in this hobby have been operating like for years.

Fanatics should start with their own website which currently feels a lot like

[mc1]

Originally Posted by SupermanBrandon

This is a great post. "Stabilize" is a great word for what they will do/bring. Wether its seen as good or bad by individual opinions, they will bring consistency. Again could be good, might be bad. But they will stabilize the market. They will stabilize and remove some of the shadiness. They are a giant corporation with a ton of money on the line and big board of financial partners. They wont be running around like chickens with their heads cut off like most businesses in this hobby have been operating like for years.

[Rjcollings1973]

Originally Posted by njsportscardguy

My answer: be much worse than Upper Deck, Poopnini & Topps...collectively, ever were!

IMO, from what we've seen in the early goings of Fanatics'....."official takeover"....in the day to day operations of Topps, it ain't lookin' like a bowl of peaches for us klectors!

On the surface, it seems as though the only persons or groups of persons who might be inclined not to..... "b & moan" (in at least some capacity), are the breakers. 2023 Series 1 was a borderline-smooth, entry. However, with last weeks [Dutch auction] release of Sapphire, and now....with the absurdly-ridiculous pre-order price of $200/box for Series 2 Jumbos, it seems as though Fanatics isn't positioned to leave ANY meat on the bone for actual, card collectors/hobbyists! Moving forward, I think their "numbers & figures, department" is going to suggest/implement a price point where it makes it virtually irrational for anyone but the FOMO and impulsive klectors from buying the majority of their "good to premium", products. In short, it's just getting outta' hand over there @ Fanatics!!

While we were all wishful that Fanatics would....."redefine".....the sportscard industry, and change the hobby....for the better, IMO, it's becoming fairly apparent that the polar opposite effect, is unfolding before our very eyes. The only ones who will be satisfied,...top to bottom, are going to be:

Fanatics
Group Breakers
The lucky shmos who (overpaid, long term) hit a big pull in a break

Welcome to sports card collecting hope you stick around!

[Grave252]

Fanatics is a business. Just as Panini, Upper deck, PSA, etc all are. Their goal is milk "collectors" for every dime they can. A lot of you are naive to think anyone really has the collector or hobbyist in mind. Fanatics will ultimately be the manufacturer, the breaker, the grader, and the consignor. If this isn't what you had in mind for the hobby, it's best you leave now before you torture yourself daily wishing for the old days.

[cardsin47]

Originally Posted by Grave252

Fanatics is a business. Just as Panini, Upper deck, PSA, etc all are. Their goal is milk "collectors" for every dime they can. A lot of you are naive to think anyone really has the collector or hobbyist in mind. Fanatics will ultimately be the manufacturer, the breaker, the grader, and the consignor. If this isn't what you had in mind for the hobby, it's best you leave now before you torture yourself daily wishing for the old days.

‘IF’ the consolidation of services happens as you suggest, and it creates LESS trimming, stealing, inconsistencies in grading, inconsistencies in graded card values, sleezy dealers, production transparency, poor printing quality control, shill auction bidding, bots getting all the new releases, fraud and deception ~ that’s change I would welcome

[notoriousrmb]

Originally Posted by cardsin47

‘IF’ the consolidation of services happens as you suggest, and it creates LESS trimming, stealing, inconsistencies in grading, inconsistencies in graded card values, sleezy dealers, production transparency, poor printing quality control, shill auction bidding, bots getting all the new releases, fraud and deception ~ that’s change I would welcome

Which is impossible when the manufacturer is also the grader and seller.

Too many conflicts of interest there.

[DynaEtch]

Originally Posted by Grave252

Fanatics is a business. Just as Panini, Upper deck, PSA, etc all are. Their goal is milk "collectors" for every dime they can. A lot of you are naive to think anyone really has the collector or hobbyist in mind. Fanatics will ultimately be the manufacturer, the breaker, the grader, and the consignor. If this isn't what you had in mind for the hobby, it's best you leave now before you torture yourself daily wishing for the old days.

Or you could just collect old cards from a different era like vintage. There is still a hobby to be had outside brand new cards.

[Jolten Joe]

“Fill in the blank: Fanatics will ________ the sportscard industry”

Insert : Do Exactly what they said they were going to do


Their end goal is to bring collecting to a broader spectrum of consumers. They aren't going to base their decisions off what 1 or 2 message boards and hobby influencers think. The reason most don't like Fanatics is because they are taking away all the money people have been making for years grading base cards and flipping them on ebay and are keeping it in house. People have complained for years about the big online dealers making hand over fist and how Topps needed to sell direct to consumer through their website and now that they are people aren't happy because they though Topps was going to sell them boxes for like $50-$60 and they could make even more money flipping on ebay. Basically they wanted Topps to take away the money making middle men out of the equation so they could make more grading and selling. I don't feel sorry for any of them at all. You pay to play and if you don't want to pay you don't play that simple.

People play the old I'm just a down home collector who just enjoys cards but are the same people buying 10 cases of each product.

[cardsin47]

Originally Posted by notoriousrmb

Which is impossible when the manufacturer is also the grader and seller.

Too many conflicts of interest there.

Yes…. I understand.

[Chuck Bartowski]

Originally Posted by clsports

annihilate.
crush.
decimate.
demolish.
eradicate.
exterminate.
extinguish.

disassemble (Johnny 5)