About
Cardfu.com is a yet another blog about the sports card industry and hobby. The intent is to capture a variety of content: news, analysis, interviews, product reviews, and the like.
Uniquely, Cardfu is written from the perspective of a long time collector who experienced childhood during the hobby boom of the mid to late eighties. I have personally witnessed the rookie card hysteria, the rise and fall of the hobby’s boom time, and the modern transformation of the hobby that has drastically changed the face of what it means to be a sports card collector today.
My history in the hobby gives me a unique worldview. I believe:
- It is possible that sports card collecting could, once again, be as popular as it once was.
- The foregoing will not be possible while any of the current card companies exist in their current form — they would need to change drastically.
- Major League Baseball (and the other professional sports leagues, though I would note that the problems plaguing the sports card industry have always been worse for baseball collectors) will have to play a major part in the transformation of the hobby, which they’ve started to do (by culling the number of card licensees), but has a long way to go (e.g., by limiting the number of products each licensee can product).
- The millions of people who were kids in the mid-80s still have something in their heart for the Cal Ripken, Tony Gwynn, and Roger Clemens rookie cars of the past, all of which are much less expensive now than when such collectors were last involved with the hobby.
From time to time, you will see articles here that are fairly academic and analytical. I believe there is a strong need for this principled look at the hobby today, and I hope others will chime in. This of course, will not stop us from having fun.
We will have all manner of hobby news, contests, promotions, and the like. Such content will be geared toward the author’s personal interests, however, so if you like pre-1990 cards (including pre-war, later vintage, and 80’s cards), then you should be in for a treat. We will also have content relating to newer cards, but less of the focus will be there.
Enjoy, and please let me know if you have any comments or suggestions.
