Baseball Card Industry Finally Being Given Respect In Business Press

By Wesley Hein

For the past few years the general purpose media has written almost exclusively about the slow death of baseball card collecting. For example:

Baseball card collecting has gone through an evolution during the past 20 years. The sports card industry generated estimated sales of $1 billion in the early 1990s before interest began to wane and fall drastically to where in 2008 sales were about one-fourth of what they were at the high point. 

Card sales fell dramatically in the 1990s after manufacturers thought the future of the business was focusing on the demand of adult buyers who transformed collecting from hobby to investment. 

 And like many investments, what goes up often comes down, and the business fell like a house of cards in a tornado. 

  However a recent article in the Las Vegas Journal has dug a little deeper by also showing the gains being made by the industry as it gets back to its roots.

"Card companies forgot about the essence of why cards started in the first place, and that was to give kids a piece of their baseball team and baseball hero," said Clay Luraschi, an executive for Topps Company Inc., the leader in the industry. ''We had to go back to the kids' world -- back to our beginnings.''

Efforts by Topps and other card companies seem to be working because collecting baseball cards lives on again, generating the same wide-eyed thrills for kids as it once did for their fathers and, in some cases, their grandfathers. 

 

It's nice to see public recognition that the hobby is not irrelevant nor destined for obscurity. While there are still significant challenges ahead, not the least of which is the current (and gloomy) economic environment, sports cards have been around for more than one hundred years and have survived two world wars, the great depression, paper shortages, among others. To keep up on the hobby, make sure you are reading the articles being posted by Bob Brill here at SportsBuy as well as the other bloggers on our SportsBuy Collectors Network.

Tags: baseball_cards

SportsBuy's Free Shipping Promotion Brought to you by GameFly

By Wesley Hein

SportsBuy is offering Free Shipping on SportsBuy purchases from 6/15-30 when you sign-up for GameFly's free 15-Day trial.* GameFly is the world's leading online video game rental service with over 6,000 titles including all the hot new releases!

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Big SportsBuy Sale in May

By Wesley Hein

Several million sports cards and autographed memorabilia will be on sale for the entire month of May at SportsBuy. All products for sale on any of the new VIP storefronts will receive a 5% rebate. Come to SportsBuy in May for details. Auctions excluded.

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The Guy Who Set Up the "Shot Heard Round the World"; Whitey Lockman, dies at 82

By Wesley Hein

Whitey Lockman, whose key hit for the New York Giants in the decisive 1951 National League playoff game against the Brooklyn Dodgers set the stage for teammate Bobby Thomson's "Shot Heard Round the World," has died at 82. He passed at the Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix.

He is best known for  his role in the third game of a playoff series against the Dodgers  in 1951, Lockman came to bat in the bottom of the ninth facing starting pitcher Don Newcombe and hit a one-out, run-scoring double that cut the Dodgers' lead to 4-2. Dodgers Manager Charlie Dressen brought in reliever Ralph Branca, who gave up a three-run home run to the next batter, Thomson, which unleashed Giants broadcaster Russ Hodges' famous call, "The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!" It was called the "Shot Heard Round the World."

 Lockman played 15 years in the majors (Giant, Cubs, Cardinals, Orioles and Reds), and made the All-Star Team, and then managed the Chicago Cubs for parts of three seasons in the early 1970s.  

Lockman's vintage cards are actively collected.

Tags: dodgers baseball

New VIP Stores Coming Soon

By Wesley Hein

The site-wide overhaul will soon be coming to the SportsBuy VIP storefronts. If you are a seller you will soon be hearing from us about how to set up your new storefront. If you are interested in becoming a seller contact VIP-AT-sportsbuy-DOT-com. But what does this mean for buyers? That's the best news of all.

The new storefronts will have:

• Improved graphics
• Improved search functionality
• More information on the seller you are buying from
• Tools for sellers to add more pictures, video and links for an overall improved user experience

Tags: sportsbuy

Free LeBron James 2003-04 Upper Deck Exclusive Rookie Card (Beckett Value $25.00)

By Wesley Hein

We are down to the last few days to get the free LeBron James 2003-04 Upper Deck Exclusive Rookie Card (Beckett Value $25.00). All you have to do is spend $25.00 on SportsBuy and email the SportsBuy VIP Department at VIP-AT-SportsBuy-DOT-com with your transaction information and your free LeBron rookie will be sent to you.

Tags: lebron_james basketball

Michael Jordan Rookie Card

By Wesley Hein

 Showing that he truly is one of a kind, Michael Jordan has gotten his own product page for his rookie card--an honor usually bestowed on teams (such as the Yankees) or product sets like the 2008 Bowman Draft Picks Baseball. But the Michael Jordan rookie card is one of our top search queries and deserving of it's own page.

Tags: michael_jordan basketball

Baseball Cards! and other new pages to help you find what you are looking for

By Wesley Hein

Let us know what you think of our new baseball cards product page.  As part of our redesign we've created specific pages for key categories. In addition to baseball cards, we've got all of the other professional sports (e.g., football cards, basketball cards, and hockey cards). We've also created pages for wax boxes, rookie cards, and even golf cards, tennis cards and many, many more.

 Of course if you know what you are looking for you can always go right to it by using search. But for those times where you haven't zeroed right in on it and instead are just looking at, say, New York Yankees memorabilia, then you can use one of these new pages.

Tags: baseball sportsbuy

Last Minutes Gifts Needs; Here's a Tip

By Wesley Hein

Unsure what to buy for someone? To be honest, you are going to be late so you might as well take your time and buy something nice. We suggest that you pick their favorite team, go to the team page (for example the New York Yankees) and scroll around until you find that perfect card, game used or autographed memorabilia. They won't mind it being a little late when you show that what they have is rare and can't be picked up on Christmas Eve at the local Wal-Mart.

Happy shopping. 

Tags: sportsbuy

Boom Goes the Dynamite

By Wesley Hein

This infamous sports report from a few years ago lives on compliments of YouTube. Since it is such a favorite at the SportsBuy offices, we felt we should share it here as well.

Tags: humor