Nonsense Newsletter No. 114: Ch-Ch-Change. A Chat with an old timer, the good that is the hobby and so much more!
In this week’s edition of the Nonsense Newsletter, John Dudley bets on change. I sit down with an old friend, and the Quick Hits section is once again amazing! So, as the snow flakes fly and the thermometer plunges across much of the land, you can sit down and enjoy another heart-warming edition of the Nonsense Newsletter.
By John Dudley
There is no more insidious thought in the hobby than, “just wait until folks realize how great random product x is.” People who entertain such notions often go out and buy a bunch of their ostensibly slighted product and just wait for the world to change to the proper thinking. Then they can reap the profits. Even better, one can feel superior and clever when counting the dough. It happens constantly, but it almost never pays off.
I was prompted to write this week’s article when I sat looking at my horde of Topps Brooklyn autos (a personal favorite) whilst thinking that someday folks would come around on them and their prices would increase. Foolish me. Luckily, I realized I was the victim of excessively optimistic daydreaming. I learned ages ago that betting on change in the hobby, especially change based on a sudden realization of the qualities of a previously hidden gem, is a fool’s errand. I know this and I still almost fell into the trap.
By John McTaggart
Before either of us could say a word, the smile crept across his weathered face, stretching from one ear to the next, wide, satisfying and filled with joy.
The lines in his face stretched and his eyes narrowed in a way only true happiness could reveal.
He celebrated his 84th birthday last summer.
He renewed his Red Wings season tickets, for the 40th season, not long after last year’s campaign came to an end.
“I want to celebrate one more Stanley Cup before I turn 100,” he smiled. “And after seeing this team, and the trajectory I think they’re on, I’m believing this might just happen — maybe more than once!”
No doubt, the Wings are one of the teams who appear to be taking strides towards contention..
Lucas is a collector, as well, and he’ll pull binder after binder, shoebox-sized plastic container after plastic container out, each one loaded with hockey cards, dating back more than 70 years, right up to today’s top young talents.
When I spoke to him earlier this week, as usual, we talked about hockey, cookies and cards.
Quick Hits
Grading News- There is constant debate over which grading company is the toughest, but most of the time folks ignore any facts and figures in favor of their own opinions. Let’s be better and use numbers. Gem Rate is tracking some of the most iconic cards and sets and one of the things they are looking at is overall gem rate. I have not gone through their full list yet, but every set I’ve checked has SGC and CGC with the lowest gem rates, often by large margins. This makes sense as PSA is more generous with their centering at 60/40 eligible for a 10 grade along with the fact that the BGS rate includes 9.5s that don’t have all four subgrades as 9.5s. The numbers are pretty staggering though in favor of SGC being the toughest grader.
Vintage- This story right here is why I love this hobby so much. Despite all the idiots, greedy jerks and bad actors that have slithered into the space recently, this article about the good that can be in the hobby is what it’s all about it. Please, check this one out.
Hobby News- The big news for the week is LeBron James has signed an exclusive deal with Fanatics. They aren’t wasting any time getting his autos out as his first auto is a Bowman’s Best University dual auto with his son Bronny. The biggest benefactors from the deal will be Fanatics’ high-end products which will likely be where the most LeBron autos will be found. Now if they can only wrangle Michael Jordan away from Upper Deck they can cause a Willie Wonka-level hunt for a dual-signed LBJ/MJ auto. Here’s hoping.
Hobby News- Topps continues to have issues with how they are treating 1/1s. We’ve seen duplicates and cards getting backdoored, but now we have Topps just sending them out for replacement bonuses. A collector sent in a damaged box of Topps Holiday and reported that Topps returned a fresh box along with a 1/1 Adley Rutschman RC. That is arguably one of the top ten hits for the product and one has to wonder why the card was held back or if it was a duplicate or test version. It’s the recent event in a string of Topps having issues with rare numbered cards and one that hopefully brings change to how they treat these cards.
The Sports Card Nonsense newsletters reflect the opinions of only the authors and contributors. They are for informational purposes only and are not a recommendation for purchases or of an investment strategy or to buy or sell any assets.