Impact of 'retro' sets on Vintage?

I was in Target last night doing some last minute holiday shopping and the child in me drifted towards where they have the 'el cheapo' retail packs and blaster boxes.

I was surprised to see modern sets based on Mayo Cut Plugs and Goodwin Champions. I recall after Topps released a retro T206 design some years ago a few collectors went in blind and began picking up a few T206s.

They've done Allen and Ginter, 1941 Play Ball, 1933 Goudey, 1934
Goudey, T205, T3 Turkey Red, etc. but now they seem to really be going
out of the mainstream with retro designs like these.

Have the retro designs boosted any other sets with novice collectors to anyone here's knowledge?

I think these retro sets can only be good for our niche of the hobby. With the young kids busting packs of 2009 topps t206, Allen & Ginter, etc, they get a first exposure to the old time tobacco cards and players. That will inevitably lead some of them into collecting "true" vintage. Not sure if it's had any "boosting effect" yet, but I think eventually it will. And new blood in our corner of the hobby is always a good thing.

The only downside I've seen is that the pre-1930 category on ebay has been flooded with this new product.

Plus, I have to admit that the design on some of the new sets is pretty cool.

I don't really have a strong focus in collecting and try to stick with pre-war and then RC's for post war. For modern I primarily go after Dustin Pedroia and Nick Markakis cards.

Anyway, I've been on the Beckett site trading modern for Pedroia and Markakis cards and from what I've witnessed on there, you find a fair amount of people that like to put the sets together and once in a blue moon, they will pick up a true vintage of that set to go along with their modern set. Overall, I have not seen a whole heck of a lot of people going after pre-war anything on there. There is probably 3-5 people that go after pre-war about 5-10 who go after post war vintage along with the modern.

Even with breaking the retro boxes, most people are only looking for game used or autographed cards anyway and could care less about the base cards. I can't stand the way the hobby for modern stuff has gone into the crapper.

True, the modern sets can't even be called that anymore for the reason you stated. No one collects the set anymore. Even sadder is the chase cards. Why in the world would anyone want a sliver of wood or a swatch of cloth that has lost all context? It's like cutting up the Mona Lisa. You may have a little piece of it, but who cares? It's means nothing without the rest of the picture to you a basis for seeing why it is considered such a great painting.

For modern equipment, this isn't such a bad thing since players routinely change jerseys every half inning if they know they setting a record, so there is no shortage of new stuff around. It's when things like the only pair of Terry Sawchuck's leg pads get cut up, that is where the real crime lies.

Jay

It's all about the mighty $...if they could cut up the Mona Lisa and sell each piece on a card they would.


Mark

The sad thing is that it's true. I'm still waiting for them to hack up a Wagner. That would be the ultimate chase card

Jay

sabrjay wrote:The sad thing is that it's true. I'm still waiting for them to hack up a Wagner. That would be the ultimate chase card

Jay

It's funny you say this. The reason being that I got into a discussion with a couple of people on the Beckett boards about a month ago. I really didn't care for the companies to hack up a bat/uniform of a player that we all know there is not much of said players things laying around. It was of someone pre-war, I just cannot remember who. Anyway, I kept getting the argument back that it is better to cut up these items, regardless of how many are around, so that everybody has a chance at owning a piece of history as opposed to one person holding onto the item or having it sit in a museum. The response is kind of selfish in my opionion but to each his own.

Anyway, I threw it out there "What if they cut up a T206 Wagner card and inserted pieces of the card as a relic into a modern card?". I stated that this would then give people the opportunity to own a piece of history like they had said about the equipment. Well, you would have thought I just stole their first born child with the answers that came about and everybody was adamently opposed to such an idea.

I think what it comes down to is some people only collect cards, some people only collect memorabilia, and some people collect both. If one item is something they don't collect, they could care less what happens to it. If the item is related to what they collect, then it's hands off.

BCauley wrote:Even with breaking the retro boxes, most people are only looking for game used or autographed cards anyway and could care less about the base cards. I can't stand the way the hobby for modern stuff has gone into the crapper.

I agree, you see modern collectors ripping through packs and boxes like they're in a race or something, tossing all the 'base' cards aside without even looking at them hardly. It's all about hitting the jackpot on some hot insert/auto/GU card, which may or may not hold value for a coupla months after the set's release. And after that they're forgotten like the rest in favor of the next hot set/box.

Call me an elitist, but to me, that's not collecting. That's playing the lottery.

agree with most here, retro products are cool and can only help the hobby. chase cards are the pits, ruined it for me back in the early 90's when they started flooding the market with it.

i don't endorse cutting up a bat or a jersey, but i think it'd be cool to own a piece of the mona lisa....well maybe not THE mona lisa but like a 2"x2" of a manet or cezanne or something. i wouldn't even want to pool my 5k with 1000 others and own the actual piece intact...i'll be more excited with the 2x2