Outline · [ Standard ] · Linear+ Base Cards Forgotten By Today's Collectors?

[finestkind]

by Joey Collins

In today's sports collectibles market, we see several different kinds of cards that a person can pull out of a sports card hobby box. There are fancy cards with autographs, jerseys, patches, numbers, balls, gloves, subsets, parallels etc. Lost among all these special cards is the base card. Each product produced has a base set; some bigger than others. A lot of times, with all the fancy cards out there, people forget to stop and appreciate the cards themselves. Many products produce a beautiful base set.

Back in the youthful innocence of sports card collecting we saw nothing but base cards. For instance, if you look at the O-Pee-Chee and Topps hockey products from the 1970s and 80s, aside from a few "league leader" cards, every card was a base card. We forget about the thrill it was to pull a superstar base card out of a pack. When we were kids, pulling a Gretzky card out of any year was an amazing feeling. We used to live for the chance to pull one out of those thirty five cent packs we bought. Today's collectors--young and old-- are hung up on the more valuable cards that can be pulled out of many products. Lost is the appreciation of the work that card companies put into making their base cards attractive and in some cases, mini works of sports art.


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Sports Collectors Daily
October 14 2009

[ffman]

As a kid I loved pulling superstar base from packs. There were no game-used or autographs (apart from rare autographs), and the best thing you could pull was a nice star base or a cool insert.

Today, I admit I throw most of my base into a box unless it's from a team or player I collect.

[Tromni]

I still fill binders with the base sets I enjoy. Though with the cost of products, it's very few sets in total.

[Derek4484]

It is different then it used to be thats for sure.

I still like putting together and binding up the base sets of boxs that I bust and I know alot of people really like doing the base sets of products like Ginter.

Also I love all of my Bills and Sabres Cards and many individual players!

[VillanuevaCollector]

Well base cards aren't forgotten by autograph getters such as myself, that's for sure!!

[patstigs3712]

I like trading for base needs! sometimes and some products r nice

[19th Century Indiana Jones]

Yes, if they are not too gossy, the action picture or profile picture on the card makes for a nice autograph medium. And it would be of no great loss if the player never returns or signs the card.

[Tarasadie17]

I collect base cards with photos I like, or photos that crack me up. That is why I like full bleed sets like Upper Deck and Stadium Club, and don't like metallic or what I call whitewashed cards like Topps Chrome and SP Authentic.

[Stlouisrams1600]

I collect Rams base and still store all of my other teams base in binders. (Old school )

[captkirk42]

I too am a base collector as opposed to a base jumper. In some ways I do what Micheal (tarasadie17) said. I tend to like the non-chrome base. I think for me it was initially because in the 1980s when Chromes and Holograms and refractors and all that other overproduced fire-fuel was around was just that overproduced and just overwhelmed the hobby and it's collectors. Now we have the same sort of problem with the Game Used cards, but that is another rant.

[Boston5761]

Well base cards aren't forgotten by autograph getters such as myself, that's for sure!!

Same, the cheaper the product the better the autos. At least that's true, 99% of the time. As these are the ones without the high gloss or added flair.

[snowblink]

When we were kids, pulling a Gretzky card out of any year was an amazing feeling.

The sad thing is, in many of today's products..we're still pulling those, LOL.

I fail to understand why every large set seeks to include "hof cards" in their issue. Look at last years OPC hockey for an idea of a set that was phenomenal, but then a large section is devoted to these reglossing of players past, while current players go wanting to get an issue in their team jersey that many team fans would love to get hold of for autograph or just collectible reasons.

Don't get me wrong, the greats are great, but they don't belong out of context in the majority of current issues.

[northicehero99]

The sad thing is, in many of today's products..we're still pulling those, LOL.

I fail to understand why every large set seeks to include "hof cards" in their issue. Look at last years OPC hockey for an idea of a set that was phenomenal, but then a large section is devoted to these reglossing of players past, while current players go wanting to get an issue in their team jersey that many team fans would love to get hold of for autograph or just collectible reasons.

Don't get me wrong, the greats are great, but they don't belong out of context in the majority of current issues.

To be honest I think that helps sell some products. For a seasoned set builder like me OPC really has no draw without the hit per box and a 600 card set, so I think adding those types of players makes it a little more interesting. I like a challenge, but I also like to feel I got value out of the box. In 06-07 I just did not feel that way when I opened OPC. OPC has grown on me the last two-three years. I hated 06-07 as it was just not OPC, but then 07-8 came along and that felt like that good old product and I have been messing with that set since. I actually completed 07-08, and the low end of 08-09. Need to do the update set for 08-09 but waiting for that product to lower in price.

As a base set builder there are products that make it worth opening and looking at the base and then others where it is "just another" base card. I think the chase of the sp rookies and gu/auto cards has killed the base side of the hobby to some degree.

[O-StateCowboy]

I collect OSU base!

I have sooo much other base I am running out of room in my closet. I actually had to throw away some 1990 Fleer and Pro Set football just to clear up some space in my base boxes. Yet, I still felt bad doing it.