WHAT GRINDS OUR BEANS

Week 1 of the NFL season is finally here and we couldn't be more excited. Now this is no ordinary season, COVID 19 has changed the way fans experience the games and honestly we are ok with that. What we are not ok with is coaches and personnel putting the season at risk by not properly wearing their masks the way they are supposed to. Are they annoying, yes. Is it hard to hear, yes. Do they get hot, yes. However, it is a simple ask in order to ensure that everyone stays safe and we can see weeks 2-17 go on without issue. So as a fan....WEAR YOUR MASK!!

Why are people in the sports card hobby so snobby? Products like Sage and Leaf continually get dismissed while they continue to put out some of the best looking cards in the business. No, these cards are not officially licensed but if you are a collector and not just in it for the money, why would you not want these products for your personal collection?

Beckett magazine has been a staple in the trading card world for years and while they had established themselves as the "go-to" for comps on cards from various sports, they have not taken the opportunity to evolve. The magazine itself is antiquated and often times when the magazine is released the card prices have fluctuated significantly. Beckett needs to get with the times and look for ways to engage readers in a new way or they may find themselves irrelevant.

The volatility of the card market has gotten almost laughable at this point. No longer are a players card values dictated by their career performance, let alone a seasons performance but prices are fluctuating by ridiculous amounts on a game to game basis. What happened to the long term play, investing in players and seeing how they perform over their career. Zion Williamson is the latest example. The Pelicans season has come to an end, as expected so the team has decided to rest their star player as they should. Immediate knee jerk reactions are people dumping their cards.....didn't you just get a 2nd mortgage on your home to buy those cards. We just don't get it and it grinds our beans!

Whether it's an Ebay sale or a sale completed on facebook there always seems to be those individuals who take it upon themselves to feel the need not to pay in a timely manner. Not only is this just rude, it show a complete lack of respect for the seller as well as other participants in the case of a razz or break. If you have the time to claim a team or bid on a card you should have the time to simply go to paypal or venmo or cash app and pay for what you claim. Obviously life happens and there are extenuating circumstances which may prevent immediate payment but come on man!!! 

There is no doubt that the card market is exploding and many are taking advantage from an investment/flipping perspective. No one seems to be benefiting more than the card manufacturers with their ridiculous pricing of hobby boxes. Most notably, Panini is now asking for over $700 a box for 2020 Mosaic football, a product in its first year with only 2 autographs per box. Way to take advantage Panini. Unless you hit a SSP or 1/1 it is nearly impossible to get the value for your money. Are you trying to collapse the market with greed?

When you are putting together a post to either buy or sell sports cards, the devil is in the details. I seriously doubt you spend your time putting a post together looking for a 2017 Patrick Mahomes prizm rookie so that people can respond with all of their Lamar Jackson, Tom Brady and Drew Brees cards they are ready to sell you. Why do people find it so difficult to follow simple requests. Stop wasting everyone's time If you are that eager to get rid of things then make your own post!

Nothing can be more frustrating than having the excitement of getting a new card in the mail destroyed by a damaged card shipped in a PWE (Plain White Envelop). As a seller take some pride in the product you are providing. Use top loaders, team bags and bubble mailer at the bare minimum. And as a buyer, protect yourself. If you are purchasing a valuable card it's your responsibility to make sure you ask for insurance. A little bit of common sense and common courtesy can go a long way in this hobby!

The card hobby is exploding and with it comes new members to the hobby trying to learn or relearn all there is to know. Naturally there are questions and a lot of new collectors turn to Facebook card rooms for answers. Sadly, instead of embracing these new members of the community, there are those that choose to look down upon them for asking questions and make rude, disparaging remarks when a newcomer posts something them deem to be stupid. The community has no time for these individuals and I would kindly ask them to fall back to the old adage they learned as a young children, "If you do not have anything nice to say.....Shut your damn mouth!!!!!!!!!" or something like that.

Facebook has become one of the go to forums for collectors to buy, sell and trade their cards. As the number of sales posts increase so do the number of keyboard warriors who feel it necessary to insert their opinions into sales posts concerning the price at which cards are posted. There is no place for this in the hobby. These are people who value their own opinion way more than anyone else seems to and does nothing but clog the sales thread with unnecessary commentary. If you aren't a buyer, move on. In the immortal words of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, "KNOW YOUR ROLE AND SHUT YOUR MOUTH!"

Facebook has proven to be a valuable asset to card collectors of all kinds. Hobby enthusiasts and investors alike can find something to satisfy their needs. with that being said there are some definite drawbacks. One of the most frustrating things is to try to purchase a card and rather than setting a price, the seller says "PM me for Pricing". Typically this means one of two things: 

1. The seller has something to hide

2. The item is overpriced

As a seller you can't expect the buyer to do your job for you, provide a price!! There is not a store in the world that you shop in that doesn't have a price listed for an item. Man that really grinds our beans!!

Sports card pricing has finally reached the point of ridiculous, particularly basketball cards. Card manufacturers such as Panini America are now charging $1000 a box for Elite Basketball.  The box yields 20 packs at 5 cards per pack. Along with 2 auto (on average) you can expect to receive "iconic status and aspirations parallels". This box averages out to $10 per card. What are they thinking??? 95% of these boxes will most likely not come close in value to the $1000 price tag (this statement has not been verified and is a personal opinion). What they are thinking is they have a monopoly of the market so if you as a consumer and want it,  you have to pay!!  When will it end!!