Nonsense Newsletter No. 154: It's nice to have a dream, getting your groove back, chasing the rainbow and more!
All right, all right, all right… we’re back with yet another brilliant edition of the Nonsense Newsletter. And, you’ll notice right away that the empire has grown! This week, we welcome the newest member of the team, Cole Benz, to the newsroom. Now, not only is he a talented writer, but he also adds some much needed class to the joint, and that is something everyone can get behind. Enough with the introductions though… let’s get into the good stuff — this week’s edition of the world’s greatest sports card newsletter! Enjoy, people!
By John Dudley
I see a lot of comments online, videos, and articles from jaded collectors who seem burned out on the hobby. It happens. I get it. I basically put my collection in stasis from 2013-2019 due to a lack of zeal for the hobby. Hobby burnout is a real problem. How does one avoid burnout? I’m sure there are many solutions, but I’m going to focus on five to help you get your cardboard groove back.
1. Focus on One Product
This is the one that is most effective for recharging my collecting batteries. Choosing a favorite product and going all-in on it always makes me appreciate the hobby more. For November, I declared it “No Number November” and am only buying and trading Topps 206 cards which lack set numbers (I did buy a Jeff Probst Ginter NNO mini as a fun technicality).
Doing this is great fun, but it also limits the noise one hears in the hobby with each new release. Getting out of the new release cycle is freeing even if you don’t purchase most releases. With literally hundreds of releases a year, the hobby can be taxing on one’s mental bandwidth. A month’s vacation collecting only a favorite product is a great way to reboot.
By Cole Benz
Long time collectors and wax rippers have undoubtedly noticed a growing trend…that they just keep adding more parallels. From true golds to magenta sparkles to frozenfractors, companies just keep opening the proverbial Crayola box and printing a grab bag of colors and patterns onto the cardboard of our favorite players. What’s next? Macaroni and cheese fractor? One can only hope.
From 2015 Topps Chrome to the latest release in 2024, the parallels Topps (and now Fanatics) has created has grown from a modest 11 variations to an astounding 37 – 2015 (11), 2016 (11), 2017 (15), 2018 (14), 2019 (18), 2020 (18), 2021 (19), 2022 (19), 2023 (26), 2024 (37).
By John McTaggart
I think for some of us who have been in this hobby for a long time, it’s easy to forget why we got into it in the first place.
For me, way back in the mid 1980s, it was about the business end — even as a young teenager I was always obsessed with that facet of the hobby.
The buying and selling and trading of the game. The negotiating and prospecting and the entire excitement that came along with a deal was intoxicating to me, and it still is, to be honest with you.
For my brother though, he just loved the collecting aspect. He had favorite players and sets and manufactures he targeted year after year — and does that to this day.
Whatever the motivation, it’s so important for all of us to remember this hobby, regardless of the scale you are into it, is about the dream.
Let’s not be the extinguisher to folks who have this dream.
Quick Hits
Hobby News- February 2021 was the height of the pandemic card boom with sales eclipsing 250 million bucks on eBay. September and October of this year though represent the highest two month stretch ever in terms of total card sales value. The card market, especially basketball and football, often move with Bitcoin prices and I’m curious if the recent rally will see November or December break the February 2021 record.
Vintage- Okay, if you’re into Babe Ruth rookie cards then this 1933 Goudey PSA 8.5 is the one for you! Sure, it’ll probably set you back $1 million or so, but let’s face it… it’s a conversation starter to say the least. Check out this card here.
Hobby News- The early basketball season hasn’t produced major movement in the card market yet. The big early winners are lower-priced stars like Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell who are both up substantially percentage wise on Card Ladder’s Player Indices. The early season before Christmas is my favorite buying season for basketball cards as many collectors are focused intently on football.
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.
Love it too focusing on one product!