Observations on the current state of the hobby from a show this weekend

[solt0131]

Originally Posted by PuddleMonkey

How long have you been doing this and how much has it paid off?

Well now I live in a van down by the river........

[premium1981]

Originally Posted by xposipx

Dang. I wonder why numbers are declining on the forum?

Message boards are becoming a thing of the past with social media taking over a lot of that content and interaction. But the consensus from outsiders looking in is that our boards are toxic. I've seen/heard that over and over. And you can't really say otherwise when you read through the threads.

[auctionjmm]

Originally Posted by premium1981

Message boards are becoming a thing of the past with social media taking over a lot of that content and interaction. But the consensus from outsiders looking in is that our boards are toxic. I've seen/heard that over and over. And you can't really say otherwise when you read through the threads.

We have a small but vocal group of members here who have made it very clear that they despise the modern hobby and will tear down anyone who supports and/or participates in any of it. If you are a breaker, influencer, gambler, flipper, or heck, if you even own a pelican case, why would you post here? I would love it if a bunch of them created accounts here and talked about what they love about the hobby. They might have to shut the boards down after that, but it would be awesome.

[TarjetasBéisbol]

Originally Posted by premium1981

Message boards are becoming a thing of the past with social media taking over a lot of that content and interaction. But the consensus from outsiders looking in is that our boards are toxic. I've seen/heard that over and over. And you can't really say otherwise when you read through the threads.

Originally Posted by auctionjmm

We have a small but vocal group of members here who have made it very clear that they despise the modern hobby and will tear down anyone who supports and/or participates in any of it. If you are a breaker, influencer, gambler, flipper, or heck, if you even own a pelican case, why would you post here? I would love it if a bunch of them created accounts here and talked about what they love about the hobby. They might have to shut the boards down after that, but it would be awesome.

Too many of the same negative posters all over BO.

[Twalk1975]

Some comments about Blowout from an r/baseballcards post from ten years ago...



Sent from my SM-S156V using Tapatalk

[StateEx]

I like the forums and think it's good to have different opinions. We've all had the internet long enough to understand how boards work.

On that note, if you take a step back and look at this thread (even the posts arguing about it) there are some interesting trends to note:

1. TCG is changing the face of card shows.

2. There's no consensus on quality/desirability of new products.

3. A certain percentage of posters seem to be retreating to their corners (e.g., the market is crashing, the market is doing great).

It seems to me like the only certainty here is the market is evolving. Which direction? I don't know, but maybe the next 286 pages will tell us.

[hermanotarjeta]

Originally Posted by TarjetasBéisbol

Too many of the same negative posters all over BO.

Any new member who tries to join is immediately attacked as a PBM - how encouraging can that possibly be?

I guess it’s just the BO way…..

[hermanotarjeta]

Originally Posted by premium1981

Message boards are becoming a thing of the past with social media taking over a lot of that content and interaction. But the consensus from outsiders looking in is that our boards are toxic. I've seen/heard that over and over. And you can't really say otherwise when you read through the threads.

Originally Posted by auctionjmm

We have a small but vocal group of members here who have made it very clear that they despise the modern hobby and will tear down anyone who supports and/or participates in any of it. If you are a breaker, influencer, gambler, flipper, or heck, if you even own a pelican case, why would you post here? I would love it if a bunch of them created accounts here and talked about what they love about the hobby. They might have to shut the boards down after that, but it would be awesome.

LOL, BO is actually pretty tame when you compare them to some of the Reddit threads, which can be even more bitter and explicit.

At least the moderators do a pretty good job here and don’t let things go too far. There are a strong number of benign posters here as well.

As with any internet content, you read what you tend to agree with and get upset with what you don’t agree with.

I feel like the vast array of opinions here is what makes this site such a wonderful place. Honestly, it’s their loss not wanting to join.

[Big35Hurt]

Originally Posted by hermanotarjeta

LOL, BO is actually pretty tame when you compare them to some of the Reddit threads, which can be even more bitter and explicit.

At least the moderators do a pretty good job here and don’t let things go too far. There are a strong number of benign posters here as well.

As with any internet content, you read what you tend to agree with and get upset with what you don’t agree with.

I feel like the vast array of opinions here is what makes this site such a wonderful place. Honestly, it’s their loss.

I think a lot of what is posted here by some (including myself) is tongue-in-cheek, but some people take it as serious derogatory comments. I am sure some if it is from miserable people, but personally I love a lot of the dialogue and banter that goes on here. It takes quite a bit to offend me, so maybe that's one of the reasons why I enjoy the posts here.

[hermanotarjeta]

Originally Posted by Big35Hurt

I think a lot of what is posted here by some (including myself) is tongue-in-cheek, but some people take it as serious derogatory comments. I am sure some if it is from miserable people, but personally I love a lot of the dialogue and banter that goes on here. It takes quite a bit to offend me, so maybe that's one of the reasons why the posts here.

Yeah, it’s like reading the comments section after yahoo articles.

I mean, people don’t truly mean what they actually say, right?

The entertainment factor is spot on!

[oldgoldy97]

Originally Posted by OhioLawyerF5

The person that started this literally said only poor people think buying a house is a good idea. I get he's just trolling, but it's just wrong, and for most people, owning your home is a wise choice.

He’s living rent free

[hermanotarjeta]

Originally Posted by StateEx

I like the forums and think it's good to have different opinions. We've all had the internet long enough to understand how boards work.

On that note, if you take a step back and look at this thread (even the posts arguing about it) there are some interesting trends to note:

1. TCG is changing the face of card shows.

2. There's no consensus on quality/desirability of new products.

3. A certain percentage of posters seem to be retreating to their corners (e.g., the market is crashing, the market is doing great).

It seems to me like the only certainty here is the market is evolving. Which direction? I don't know, but maybe the next 286 pages will tell us.

We simply have to remember that everyone here is sharing their perspective from a different background (location around the world, hobby experience and expertise, socioeconomic status, education, etc) that we are bound to have conflicting viewpoints.

We are a hobby melting pot and frankly, I come to read about hobby meltdowns, haha.

[ThoseBackPages]

i think that the anonymity thing here plays a big part of it

[OhioLawyerF5]

Originally Posted by oldgoldy97

He’s living rent free

Oh, you better believe he pays me rent.

[hermanotarjeta]

Originally Posted by ThoseBackPages

i think that the anonymity thing here plays a big part of it

We all have a great face for message boards.

[MiamiMarlinsFan]

Originally Posted by auctionjmm

We have a small but vocal group of members here who have made it very clear that they despise the modern hobby and will tear down anyone who supports and/or participates in any of it. If you are a breaker, influencer, gambler, flipper, or heck, if you even own a pelican case, why would you post here? I would love it if a bunch of them created accounts here and talked about what they love about the hobby. They might have to shut the boards down after that, but it would be awesome.

Money. It’s just money. Money is what they love. “Big hit” translates to “card I can immediately sell for a lot of money”. Kind of a bummer, but at least that crown mostly hangs on Instagram and other platforms.

Originally Posted by hermanotarjeta

Any new member who tries to join is immediately attacked as a PBM - how encouraging can that possibly be?

I guess it’s just the BO way…..

35% of the time they are PBMs these days! Haha

[Big35Hurt]

Originally Posted by MiamiMarlinsFan

35% of the time they are PBMs these days! Haha

It's funny when called out they go into the "what's a PBM" angle. Then BODA outs them, and you see the PBM tag next to their name. It's part of the entertainment value that makes this forum so much fun.

[K111]

It's crazy I went to a show in Madison, WI yesterday, they have had more and more Pokemon in the last few years that they decided to add a seperate day for Pokemon only the day after the "regular" show, so that I assumed this go around it would be mainly sports cards at the "regular" show, but it was still about 50% pokemon (maybe more), just amazing how this is taking over and I just don't get it

[ThoseBackPages]

Pokemon isnt for everyone

[MiamiMarlinsFan]

Originally Posted by Big35Hurt

It's funny when called out they go into the "what's a PBM" angle. Then BODA outs them, and you see the PBM tag next to their name. It's part of the entertainment value that makes this forum so much fun.

Definitely.

[hermanotarjeta]

Originally Posted by Big35Hurt

It's funny when called out they go into the "what's a PBM" angle. Then BODA outs them, and you see the PBM tag next to their name. It's part of the entertainment value that makes this forum so much fun.

This is the carnage we love so much!

[ThoseBackPages]

most PMBs give themselves away fairly easily

[xposipx]

Originally Posted by premium1981

Message boards are becoming a thing of the past with social media taking over a lot of that content and interaction. But the consensus from outsiders looking in is that our boards are toxic. I've seen/heard that over and over. And you can't really say otherwise when you read through the threads.

I was being sarcastic, sorry. Agree 100% and was highlighting this thread as something that would turn most people off.

[tyrith]

Originally Posted by K111

It's crazy I went to a show in Madison, WI yesterday, they have had more and more Pokemon in the last few years that they decided to add a seperate day for Pokemon only the day after the "regular" show, so that I assumed this go around it would be mainly sports cards at the "regular" show, but it was still about 50% pokemon (maybe more), just amazing how this is taking over and I just don't get it

By raw population count, there are more end collectors for Pokemon cards than sports cards at the moment. That's just the sheer pissed truth of it, and it drives why the shows are moving the way they're moving.

There are more true whales in the sports card world, because the sports card hobby skews older than the Pokemon hobby, and older is wealthier. But if your core business is buying a card for $25 and selling it for $35, it's way, way, waaaay easier to do that selling Pokemon cards than sports cards now - there are just more people that want to transact in that territory.

[tyrith]

Originally Posted by OhioLawyerF5

Obviously, it's market dependent. Where I live, my house has doubled in value in the last 5 years. And the renting market is such that you can rent a house for more than your mortgage plus taxes. So it makes no sense at all to rent when it costs more than buying, yet you get no equity and the values are returning more than other investments. People who think renting is the better option usually live in terrible markets (aka cities).

TBH I think it's the opposite - the more expensive the market is, the more it favors renting. And working with a bunch of RRE owners professionally (as a tax CPA), the ones that can actually make money are usually owning in lower income markets.

For whatever reason, it's just how rental markets seem to develop. I'd posit it's because more of the rental homes in higher income areas are owned by former occupants that have enough equity that they can afford to cash flow the properties off lower rents. I know my landlord owns the house outright, so they're still making money, even though no one could buy a house like this one at market price and get it to cash flow now.