Lack Of 18-19 UDS1 Sale Threads Is Concerning

Leafsfan1967

Leafsfan1967

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I remember the good old days, when you could by the single Young Guns you wanted, from everyone's box breaks posted on HI, but is there even anyone selling them right now on here? :|

I've worked on staff of several different card sites over the years, and watched all of them deteriorate down to a handful of active members. I use to be able to pick up copies of any YG's on here with great ease, now I guess I will have to wait until they show up on COMC, hopefully soon. :waiting:

I don't know what the hobby has in store to survive, but I am very concerned on the lack of participation on here of late. Seems like the norm now is nothing but group breaks, and Facebook groups. :loseit::loseit::loseit:

I was hoping to at least grab a copy of the Leafs YG's from the new release, like I always do here, but that seems like a dream now. I have always preferred to buy from our loyal members here, but I guess COMC, and Ebay are the only options now. I'm not even gonna get into how hard it is to sell on these sites anymore, unless you give stuff away. Very frustrating, as many of you would agree. :stare:
 
Expo just happened, so many peopleare still sorting out from that.

Canada Post strike isnt helping. Who wants to sell, when you don’t know when/if your cards will be delivered?

That being said, I think the “hobby” is at its lowest point that it has ever been. These boards are a ghost town, and Facebook groups are rife with scammers. The only thing you have a chance to move are whatever flash in the pan is hot this week.
 
Based on what I both saw for myself and heard from multiple vendors at the recent expo, the hobby is still alive and kicking. Facebook seems to be the new hot spot right now, its easy, you can talk directly to someone through instant messenger, pics are easier to post and there are way more people on facebook. There was a huge influx of new collectors when Tim Hortons first came out......and all those new collectors had to do was go on face book and search hockey cards and they had dozens (100's ?) of groups at their finger tips. I see all kinds of this years young guns on facebook...commons to the bigger guys. I love both HI and SCF and am on both several times a day.....but if facebook is the way things are going and my strongest option to find the cards I want then that is where I need to be as well.
 
Yea the hobby is still good I think people are now using other avenues. Like someone else said there are more avenues now for selling than just the buy/sell section here.
 
The Facebook page for this community is much smaller than it should be. Quincey's countdown to the Expo posts were basically the only new content for about a week straight. Which is crazy when you consider just how busy other Facebook groups based around the hobby are.
 
I think you see more activity on the FB groups becasue they aren't policed like things are here. Here if people get out of line, you're getting suspended and then the banhammer. You typically know what you're getting into on here and who you're dealing with.

Also on FB, people just throw up 50 pictures of random stuff and hope for bites. People here are 100 times more organized which takes more time and therefore less sales/trade threads. Combine that with the fact that it's getting increasingly more difficult to find a image site to hold all your images to post, makes it even harder.

Also, the fact that I have to pay $10 to ship a card outside the US puts a real damper on my ability to make trades/sales.
 
Quite simple - I can easily sell a card using my phone on FB, much more of a process for listing on an online site (ebay, here and others). I rarely use my laptop anymore so I've opted for ease of use when I sell something.

As far as taking the temperature of the hobby, there's two roads to examine. First, are the card companies selling out of each of their releases - this is a barometer of the primary market (and most important IMO). Second, would be the secondary market and this would have many factors affecting it including the points made above. I agree, it's been quieter here and perhaps there's less selection on eBay than you would think. However, FB has emerged as a player in this market.

I haven't heard any feedback from the Expo sellers on how this falls event compared to previous ones. Any thoughts?
 
Chillychow said:
As far as taking the temperature of the hobby, there's two roads to examine. First, are the card companies selling out of each of their releases - this is a barometer of the primary market (and most important IMO). Second, would be the secondary market and this would have many factors affecting it including the points made above. I agree, it's been quieter here and perhaps there's less selection on eBay than you would think. However, FB has emerged as a player in this market.
Click to expand...


FWIW, I'm hearing from customers more and more about how they "sold a card on Facebook"...
 
Too many scammers on facebook for me to use it exclusively, but there are a tonne of collectors on it.
 
Can't say that I've used FB groups for selling cards before. But it seems like there would be a greater chance of being scammed. There's no feedback system and it seems like alot of people ask for EMTs instead of Paypal.

I'm much more inclined to use eBay and list with straight BINs. Easier to control inventory, payments, shipping etc.

As for not sharing breaks here on HI, I think it's ease of use. I don't want to have to take a picture then upload it to flickr and then post. Maybe I'm just lazy...
 
Not entirely related, but I was surprised that the one group breaker I dabble with didn't offer team select breaks on Series 1. Only team random. I don't know if that's been others experience on other group break sites, but it could be a sign that the times are shifting as far as hobby make up.

I think last year may have curbed some enthusiasm, after back to back high hype years. Last year likely saw many turn and burners suffer, and they aren't here this year, which could lead to less involvement on breaks and posting.

Just an opinion...
 
some of the scammer stories I have heard about on facebook are atrocious....any idiot can create a fake or a second account and then go to town. A lot of the groups have no screening process they are simply looking to be the group with the most members. However, the #1 way to combat this is to protect yourself, which in most of these cases on facebook isnt being done. These facebook groups, for the most part, are not made up of veteran collectors but more so of the tim hortons/connor mcdavid influx of newbies who dont know better and are easy prey for those seedy douche bags looking to take advantage of the naive. That being said, I have been collecting for 40 years now and I have been scammed on facebook, so it can happen to anybody.
 
will-411 said:
Not entirely related, but I was surprised that the one group breaker I dabble with didn't offer team select breaks on Series 1. Only team random. I don't know if that's been others experience on other group break sites, but it could be a sign that the times are shifting as far as hobby make up.

I think last year may have curbed some enthusiasm, after back to back high hype years. Last year likely saw many turn and burners suffer, and they aren't here this year, which could lead to less involvement on breaks and posting.

Just an opinion...
Click to expand...

I think the random only vs team select thing this season has more to do with which teams have YGs. There are 17 (maybe 18) teams that have 1 or no YGs. That's crazy. So team selects are selling half the teams quick then the rest are sitting. I believe some of the breakers realized even before release night and preferred the quick fills of randoms.
 
Took a break from the hobby after the 13-14 season , came back last year to sell some stuff and found the message boards awfully slow. Hobby is in full boom since the Matthews Mcdavid craze , a bunch of newbies on facebook groups go bezerk with Young Guns only.
 


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