ShareThisThe economy didn't have to take a nosedive for card shops to feel the pinch. The current state of affairs just seems to be adding insult to injury.
Internet sales already had taken a huge bite out of the hobby store business.
Scott Kelnhofer, editor of Sports Collectors Digest, keeps his finger on the pulse of the business end of the hobby. In a recent column, he noted that there are about 1,200 hobby shops scattered across the country. That number is down from an estimated 7,000 shops 15 years ago.
Kelnhofer wrote that while collectors might need brick-and-mortar shops, the card companies do not. He thinks the next 6-12 months will be crucial to the future of the hobby.
Kelnhofer noted that the surviving stores "are generally experienced in the industry and have learned how to better market their stories and the hobby in general."
Da Babe has found that is true to a point. In my travels over the past months, I've checked out shops from Portland in the northwest to the Long Island in New York to Jacksonville, Fla., in the southeast.
To me the shops break down into three categories. There are the old-style shops with current products, vintage cards and the ability to fill sets for those who are seeking commons, etc. On the other end of the scale, the majority of the shops I visited were smaller with a few display cases containing newer inserts. There was new product available, but the stores didn't have everything.
Sandwiched in the middle are the shops run by retailers who don't rely solely on sports cards. These shops have other gaming supplies, autographed material and often other collectible items.
I suspect the shops that I put on the low end are going to come and go.
Unfortunately, the problem for collectors and to some extent manufacturers is that the chances of more high-end stores that everyone rates at the top of any list are not likely to just pop up. Further, many of the folks running the really good shops are getting older and there doesn't seem to be anyone looking to take over those franchises.
Dear Babe: I have a 1969 Braves World Series ticket. Of course the Braves did not make it to the Series, but in anticipation of them making it, tickets were printed in advance and I was given one. -- Donald Daniel, Blount, Ga.
"In the past, it was not uncommon for teams in a playoff race to pre-print tickets and sell them to the public in anticipation of the playoffs,'' said Dean Zindler of Zindler's Sports Collectibles in Norcross, Ga. "If the team did not make the playoffs or World Series, you could send back the tickets for a full refund. These tickets are referred to in the hobby as phantom tickets since the event never took place. The value of your item would be $25 (each) and a nice keepsake. The Braves lost the N.L. Championship Series 3-0 to the World Champion New York Mets."
BABE NOTE: Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin highlight this season's Sunkist Upper Deck hockey cards that will be available in packs of oranges starting Jan. 1 throughout Canada. One card will be in every 4, 5 and 8-lb. bag of oranges. The other players in the 2008-09 set are Sergei Kostitsyn (Canadiens), Matt Stajan (Maples Leafes), Cary Price (Canadiens), Jarome Iginla (Flames), Daniel Sedin (Canucks), Dany Heatley (Senators), Sam Gagner (Oilers), Mike Cammalleri (Flames). The cards will be available through April 30 or while supplies last.
(Send card questions to Babe Waxpak, PO Box 492397, Redding, CA 96049-2397 or e-mail babewaxpak(at)charter.net. If possible, include card number, year and brand or a photocopy. Please do not send cards. For Babe Waxpak's blog, see www.scrippsnews.com/waxpak. Babe Waxpak is a feature of The Record Searchlight in Redding, Calif.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)
