This has been a whirlwind for trading cards and collectibles that has extended into the far reaches of collectible enterprise, an experience that most never expected to become a reality. Five years ago, many of us were looking into the future and unclear about how we would participate in a hobby that was already getting expensive and geared towards collectors with huge budgets. Now, we can look back and laugh, knowing that the reality everyone thought was decades off came in less than 2 years.
One of the main challenges with collecting these days are people that focus more on the monetary aspect of things over the collection building aspects. These people are often referred to as flippers, flipbois, or worse, saying that their presence is more detrimental than helpful. Ive seen some numbers saying that hundreds of thousands of new faces are now populating the ranks of the hobby, with immediate responses from people that they arent “true collectors” and shouldnt be counted.
That’s where things break down, because the contingent of people in this hobby who have been around for years, decades, half centuries are looking at this new boom with two very different perspectives. The first perspective is about an outlook more akin to “the more the merrier” and the added value that comes with more attention. The second perspective is that this darkened corner of the collectibles universe is one that was better without the attention and new population. Some may have a little of column A and a little of column B in their minds, but for the most part, its a hard left or a hard right.
Welcoming the Crowd
Personally, my perspective is much more aligned with the idea that the more demand there is inside a collectible based economy, the better. I dont see how a hobby like this can exist without demand, because the way we interact with the market all centers around demand and value. If demand is high, the supply becomes more valuable, and the work to acquire a collectible for your collection becomes repaid with additional value. Although it becomes harder to make new acquisitions at the price before, the available equity and liquidity in a collection becomes a more adequate tool for the funds needed to offset the rise in costs given its new higher valuation.
Outside of the value based asset discussions, a mentality like this means more open arms for newer people, and a much more welcoming atmosphere to learn and be educated in the ways of the universe. Because the barriers to entry are lower, more demand enters the marketplace as a result.
One could argue that a low barrier to entry also brings with it more bad apples and riff raff, but I would argue those criminals and fraudsters would exist regardless of which path into the collecting forest one chooses.
The main characteristic that comes along with this attitude is patience, something most collectors dont have and wont learn to display. Patience to wait for better deals, patience to wait for pricing to adjust to a settled market, patience to be at the back of the line for collection additions instead of out front by a million miles.
For me, patience has always been the bane of my existence. I always wanted to be the first in line, but unlike most collectors, I was absolutely prepared for the extra monetary commitments that came along with it. Most are not willing or not able to be that person in a hobby like the one we have today, but many with means can afford it and then some.
I see this welcoming attitude as the key to sustained growth and sustained prosperity, but for whatever reason, most of the old guard wants things to go back to the way they were. They want to go back when Wax was easy to find and easy to buy, where access wasnt limited by funds in your paypal account. Ive seen first hand that new gatekeepers have arisen, opting to use the phrase “true collector” as a weapon rather than an identifier.
The New Gatekeepers
Every single time a major collector wants to set themselves apart, they look for identifiers to showcase both effort and accomplishment. The use of who is a “real” collector versus one of the flip based collectors mentioned above can be presented as a vicious juxtaposition that changes many debates about the state of things into an argument.
The us versus them type of categorizing collectors has been a tool for many years as prices were already started to rise in a steady fashion. It has now become a crutch for those who dont like the way things are trending, towards a collecting base of flip-minded dealers over the people who put cards in a page for their sets. Even that analogy is a gatekeeping style sentiment, that the true collectors want the sets and value completion versus ripping wax, gambling with packs and acquiring single cards for one’s PC.
As someone who has yet to ever complete a single set in a manner described above, I have faced this identification more frequently than I can recount. My collections, whether football, baseball or otherwise, have always been about quality over quantity, shedding the hoarder approach of a closet filled with cardboard boxes filled with completed sets by year. I have often said on this blog that the approach of taking around a piece of notebook paper with the numbers missing from a base set is one that is fading quickly, and frequently I have been criticized for that mindset.
The idea there is such a thing as a real collector versus a poser is hilarious, because no matter how prevalent the desired approach is among the existing population, everyone who owns a card with the intent of keeping it is a collector. No further identification is needed in that respect.
To speculate which side of the argument is better is natural, as each side has their own viewpoints on whether the extra attention is good or bad in the long run. To play gatekeeper in this manner to shun the new entrants who want to be a contributing part of the community, on the other hand, is fucking stupid. If someone wants to join ranks for a community based environment, they should be welcomed until they show they A) cannot contribute to a positive experience and value or B) showcase they are more interested in creating harm to the existing members.
Bottom line, this growth in the hobby wont likely continue on this trajectory forever, and most of us were already bored with the state of things before the boom. Maybe its time for all of us to put aside our gatekeeping mentality and revel together in the craziness that has happened over the last 24 months.
That doesnt mean we shouldnt try to temper expectations thanks to our experiences, or even try to figure out how to engage with the new population. The thought that we can look down our noses at the new people is a practice that wont help at all, and that is guaranteed. Remember, we were all new at one point or another and we have all found intense joy in creating our place in the community. I know I have. But if someone treated me the way I have seen old guard collectors treat new people to this hobby, I can guarantee you that my mindset about cards would be 100% different than it is today.
Those with the tribal knowledge to impart should be proud of their ability to impart that on others. Using terminology to demean those without knowledge is a practice reserved for elitists and assholes. Our society already has enough of those types of people, and we absolutely need more willing to teach rather than taunt.
Im not trying to use this site or this post as a campfire moment where we all sing harmoniously together, just remember that at one time or another, you were that person on the other side, and this community welcomed your view and your tendencies with enough happiness that you stuck around. Try to do that for others.
If you feel that the flipper attitude is one that is poisoning our well, that’s not uncommon, and you are far from alone. But I challenge you to better understand the reason those people arent leaving, and why so many of them have decided to invest tons of money to build a collection at the high point of this, rather than wait for things to settle down. Its a fascinating journey, let me assure you.