The Beckett Blog

I think that the best element of a trade magazine is the Reviews section, and with Beckett Baseball, it is no different. However, the Reviews are very lacking, in my opinion. While I understand that the majority of collectors seem to be only interested in “hits”, I think that we all forget that every card that comes out of a box has some importance to someone.

My idea is to expand the Reviews section. I think an On-Line version would make it so that there was absolutely no space restrictions. The expanded reviews would have things such as:
1. Checklists – not necessarily card for card, but how about:
200 card base Set
200 card base set parallel, #’d to 100, 1 in 10
25 Card Insert Set 1
50 Card Insert Set 2
100 card Memorabilia Insert Set 1, 1 in 12
100 card Autograph set 1, 1 in 24
etc.
This would help evaluate box value in advance.

2. Samples Color Pics of the Base Cards – an actual picture of the front and back of a few of the base cards. I do not have unlimited funds to purchase boxes of cards, so when I do, I want the entire set to be collectible. I like the base cards out of UD Masterpieces, but not out of UD Artifacts, so given the rest of the box value, I would be mor einclined to buy Masterpieces…

3. Sample Color Pics of the insert cards – the no numbered ones, the refractors, by colors, whatever. This also makes a great reference (HINT: Beckettpedia Link) when looking at the Price Guide…”Which Card Do I have?” Let me look at the Review…

4. Color Pics of the Hits – Front and back, please, for the record.

5. Comparitive Box Value – in most cases, Beckett breaks multiple boxes of product…I know, i have watched the video box breaks. Those might be fun to do, but, quite frankly, it is impossible to see the cards, and make any real determination of value – I can not always hear what cards are being pulled. So, then, a breakdown of each box, such as what is already done in the Reviews section of the mag: % complete of base set, # of dupes, box odds versus received. It would also be nice to see some statistical analysis done as to the odds of pulling a Jeter, Griffey, Ripken, Pujols, Babe Ruth Auto, Jersey, etc. (based on the checklists, etc.)…Beckett already has the Stars list generated, so maybe the odds of pulling a Star, Unlisted Star, Semi-Star, etc. How about evaluation of the Rookie or Prospect Card Autos available, and the odds of pulling a first tier or third tier Auto…I mean, SPx might be loaded, but if the autos are not players that have any shot of making the bigs, then they are not as good, are they?

I think that the melding of the print mag with the digital medium will make Reviews of new products much more in depth and useful to those of us that want to have a decent understanding of what value a box has before we buy it.

Tom

Things I’d like to see

1) More detailed product previews. I like how the content of each set is broken down. But the “What They/We Say” is measly.

2) More detailed, and more honest, box break and product reviews. For once, I’d like to see Beckett write something negative (or at the very least, give a “thumbs down”) about a bad product.

3) A look back on card sets of the 80s and 90s. Beckett Baseball already has it’s “Vintage Spotlight” for card sets of the 50s-70s. I think a similar column for sets of the 80s, 90s, and 00s would work — especially considering the number of collectors who have returned to The Hobby in recent years.

4) More original features that may not necessarily have to do with cards. I remember sometime in the mid-90s, a “round-table” discussion with Keith Olbermann, Bill James, and Larry King on the merits of some HOF candidates. A sequel to that is in order.

5) Interviews with the industry bigwigs. Heck, I’d like to see Dr. Jim interviewed by his own magazine!

I would really like to see a Q&A forum or an FAQ section for beginner or returning collectors. I myself have just started to collect again and it is very easy to be overwhelmed with so many new products and such. It does kind of help that the brands are narrowed down only to UD and Topps, but it can still be very confusing with types of cards. In addition, in this day and age, it is very easy to be ripped off with fakes and also these “hot packs,” which I am still on the fence about. It’s very difficult to decide which products on eBay to buy are good and which ones are just fakes and cheats. eBay has become a marketplace for these products now because so many hobby stores have now closed down and it is very difficult to find one that is strictly for sports cards rather than comics and such. Even retailers such as Target and Walmart are pulling card products, making them even more difficult to obtain. I think that’s one of the main driver forces behind the decline of this industry and it doesn’t help that beginners and people who are trying to get back into it are being cheated out of their money.

First off, thanks to beckett for asking for our opinions, this hobby can’t go on with out us and you!

I would like to see a magazine that is focused on what collectors want. What do we want? We want information. We want it accurate and we want it fast. We don’t want to see that a certain product has 2-3 hits per case, when it really only has 1. We don’t want to see that a certain card can be redeemed for a certain player one month and then the next that has changed. We want accurate reporting and accurate pricing. If a card is worth 10 bucks one month and then shoots up to 500 the next, then that is what the price should be. Too many times bumps in pricing don’t reflect actual sales…sure we all know that that Jeter/Bush card will never hold that price, but if that is what it is selling for that month, then that is what should be in print, you afterall are THE authority in pricing. Many people (including those without internet), are relying on you.

I would also like to beckett to take a more neutral stance. There is plenty that goes on in this hobby that is wrong. The card companies can’t continue to promise cards with redemptions and then not follow through. These stories need to be in beckett. If a card company promises something, then it is beckett’s job to make sure they do it, or if not to call them out on it. Sometimes as a collector I feel that there is NO policing in this hobby, and when a pack of cards sometimes cost up to 500 dollars, there needs to be checks and balances!

In closing, I would like to see everyone in this hobby try to make better for our kids. Right now kids aren’t collecting sportscards. They don’t find it appealing and that is our fault. My kids will grow up knowing the fun of opening packs and searching for that special card…isn’t that how all of us got started?

Thanks, and good luck on a new era of collecting!

Kevin R.

I have a relatively simple comment/criticism. I think there should be at least as good (in terms of quality, quantity, depth, etc.) baseball content in Beckett Baseball as there is in BSCM. I do not think that is currently the case. I know it is a challenge because you probably do not want too much overlap between the two. Although Beckett Baseball has more pricing than BSCM, the content in Beckett Baseball is pretty thin. I’m to the point where neither product is really satisfying, and am considering going “Beckett-less” for the first time in nearly a decade.

I say more Jahnke blogs, he seems to know what he’s talking about. Just to let you know, I recently attended a fantasy football draft. The fantasy magazine I had was out dated ie. Favre was still retired, a friend turned to me and said, “you should have gotten the Beckett.”

I just went to purchase a “Beckett” at a local retailer after being without for awhile. When I checked the shelf to my dismay there wasn’t the baseball price guide I was use to. Instead the guide there included several sports. After thumbing through it I put it down and left without making a purchase. I understand there are collectors who have interest in multiple sports, but there are many who do not. As a member of the latter I had no interest in a product which minimized my interests by removing wanted data, especially on cards more than two years old so that other sports could be squeezed in. Perhaps this was just what the local retailer carried. Perhaps the baseball only price guide is still out there.

But if not – please bring it back.

In some previous issues of the monthly there were spotlighted collections of cards and memorabilia. Included would be a photo and article. It was nice to see what people were able to put together for a collection be it of a player, a team or whatever.
I would like to see more of that and other features on fellow collectors.

Thank you.

If some is referring to Kathie Lee Gifford as a “prize” — than man oh man is that someone in dire need of getting out :shock: Please find the Benchwarmers,,,,,,,

Lets just try and put more articles related to the sport into the magazines— and less pricing please. If people want pricing let them buy an OPG or a Beckett Almanac. Lets make the magazines more full of hobby related articles, collector collections, special features, and more LEARNING. I find more people hang on to magazines that have material in them that teaches them something they did not know.

Such as what the real deal is with Pinnacle cards— how about articles on rare Pinnacle test issues, the truth behind the bankruptcy, etc, etc, etc.

You know— a magazine that actually uses Beckett Almanac information and adds to it,,,,,, maybe teaches people about the hobby so they become interested in the BECKETT site and what else it offers,,,,,,,

Or would that be using common sense to use a magazine to tie in collector interest with the rest of the business—- just a wandering mind inquiring,,,,,,,,,

Just one humble mans opinion as always–
Jeff

More opinion columns? No. We get enough opinions from message boards. We need facts !!

-More reader submitted content? – No. See above.

-More sports features? huh? Outside of cards? No.

-More product reviews? Doing just fine.

-More contests? Always fun.

-Interviews? Yes. But only with players who collect. We can get “normal” player interviews elsewhere.

-Prospect reports? Maybe. This was overdone in the 80’s and caused myself and many others to not think for myself and buy alot of garbage. Ie- 2nd year cards are all the rage, 1987 Topps will be a great investment etc. Prospectors know where to find the info. Those that read your reports will most likely be “force fed” it, buy what you say is good, not know when to sell, lose money and quit the hobby. There’s enough investing in this hobby. Could we try to shift the focus to a hobby of collecting, not investing?

Veteran features? Unsure what you mean.

Pictures?- Of stuff we cannot readily find online. Use your contacts, show sheets,inside factory pictures, collections. Have themed collection pictures. Full color page.
Example
Jan-rookies- vintage/current
Feb.- packs- vintage/current (for current preferable showing on top)
Mar-Display/Sales/Promotional items vintage/current
April-Proofs/Factory rejects etc current/vintage
May- oddball current/vintage
June- funny cards current/vintage
July- cool patches etc

Since fraud is ever increasing in this hobby- Save a quarter page for “Fraud Report” or “Collect Safe” Each issue focuses on a old or new fraud or safe collecting tip to hit the hobby. Pack searching,fake Chrome Proof cards,patch switching,collation patterns, counterfeit cards, altered cards,basic tips to check a sellers credibility etc. I see so many fraudulent listings on the internet and the host site rarely does anything when I report them.

Errors/Variations section- Though not as collected as it was in the 1980’s there’s still a huge following and the lack of mainstream interest is caused by lack of information thus causing the lack of higher sales. If everyone knew there was appx. 8+ different 1989 Fleer Randy Johnson versions or 12+ 1989 Fleer FF, wouldnt they want to try to get them all for their collection? When I mention this to collectors, most are unaware and then set out to find them all.

Off to go look for the FF.

As a collector of vintage cards, I am getting into the newer stuff recently-mostly cut autos and some of the more recent rookie classes. My collection is vast, but mostly pre 1965-i would like to see segments on collectors and their collections. What cards they have, what their most prized are and what they do to grow their collections. The plus of this to a collector like myself is that it would give me somthing to aim for, along with intoducing the collecting world to some of these more advanced collectors. It would also be nice to know what kind of collectables they have, which would increase trading on the beckett site-the more people know and can see the material the better the trades that are offered. Introducing some of these monster collectors will deffinentlly increase talk on the sight and make a collector like myself try and find suitable trades. The best trades from the site should also be listed in the magazine so others can see what is moving. jason P

Hello. I may have a ‘90 Topps NNOF Frank Thomas. I looked the card up in Beckett and appears there is 2 versions of the card. Can someone help me out?