GENERAL: Baseball card industry continuing its yearly transformation

Ben Farnsworth stands behind one of his card displays at Goodsports Sports Cards and Memorabilia. Farnsworth is in his 15th year in business at the 1990 Troy Road store. Ben Farnsworth stands behind one of his card displays at Goodsports Sports Cards and Memorabilia. Farnsworth is in his 15th year in business at the 1990 Troy Road store. Buy photo Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close GENERAL: Baseball card industry continuing its yearly transformation 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Ben Farnsworth opened Goodsports Sports Cards and Memorabilia roughly 15 years ago, and he has witnessed first hand the change in the baseball card industry.

Long gone are the days of collecting being just for the kids. No longer are their fingerprints the only ones smeared on the cases. For some, other hobbies and games have replaced buying a pack of cards in search of their favorite player(s). Now, smart phones, television and sports take up their time.

That didn’t mean the end of the baseball card industry though. Adults, many that collected when they were younger, are still perusing through Goodsports or online for their next buy.

“You see a lot of customers come and go. You try to get that customer that stays with the hobby and collects, because they want to collect,” Farnsworth said. “A lot of guys — speculators — they are into it because they want to make the money.”

Goodsports, located at 1990 Troy Road in Edwardsville, offers thousands of cards — baseball, hockey, football and basketball — along with signed memorabilia. Autographed bats, balls and photos sit on the right side of the store.

The memorabilia is one of the biggest differences today than when Farnsworth first opened the store.

“We are real heavy into the sports memorabilia,” Farnsworth said. “It helps because we do auction consignments for fundraisers. To have a large selection of memorabilia for an auction to select from is a huge plus.”

The cards, meanwhile, are going through a transition period.

In March of 2013, Topps bought the licensing rights to be the only company to produce Major League Baseball cards. The deal runs through 2020, and it eliminated the rest of the competition.

By that point, most companies had already gone under. Pinnacle (1998), Pacific (2001) and Fleer (2005) all left the baseball card industry, and Donruss didn’t have its license renewed in 2005. Upper Deck and Panini were then knocked out by the Topps agreement.

“They still put their basic Topps product out. They make the only factory set, and people come in and buy those every year from the first year their kid was born.

“Under the Topps brand, they make several products. They make the Bowman and you have your upper end with Topps Tribute.”

A pack of Topps goes for $1.99 with Bowman at $2.99. There are also a few other brands, including Topps Heritage, Allen and Ginter and Topps Archives.

It’s a much different market than it was 25 years ago. Upper Deck started a fierce competition when it joined the fray in 1989, and its first set included the Ken Griffey Jr. rookie card. Soon, the other companies began trying to match the “premium” cards with their own, including Topps Stadium Club, Leaf’s Studio and Fleer’s Flair. It was common to see packs going for $5.

At that time, the trading card industry was a $1 billion business according to Forbes. But, that number would soon start to fall.

Game-used jersey, bat and autograph cards were soon introduced in 1997. Demand for the cards soared and the companies printed more, driving the price down as demand was being met by the supply.

“The relic cards became popular and they were hard to get. People started wanting them, and the companies started to increase the production. You get three or four per box and that drives the pricing down,” Farnsworth said.

It was also around this time that some collectors turned the hobby into a business. They would try to turn a profit by finding the next big card.

Farnsworth, though, said it’s risky to try it. For example, the 1985 Topps Mark McGwire was selling for over $100 during the 1998 home run chase. Now, the card can be bought for $8 at Goodsports.

“I tell guys that if they want investment advice to go down to your local Edward Jones representative. Sports memorabilia and cards to me is a hobby,” Farnsworth said. “Collect who you like. It doesn’t matter about value. In my personal collection, I have things that are worth more than I paid for and things that are worth less than I paid for. I don’t think any less about it.

“Any more, it is about the current player, who is hot now. Ten years ago it was (Albert) Pujols, now it’s Mike Trout and Bryce Harper. Every few years it’s going to be someone different. Your old Hall of Famers, (Mickey) Mantle, (Willie) Mays, (Ted) Williams, (Stan) Musial, guys like that, are always solid to collect. These new guys, if you are looking value, the fluctuation in value is tremendous.”

Graded cards also became big during this time. People could mail in their cards — old or new — to Beckett or other graders to have their cards judged for quality, driving up the value the closer it was to 10.

The new additions and inflation in the card industry, along with other opportunities, turned some kids away from the hobby. MLB free agency may have also played a role, as players rarely play for just one team and the same relationship isn’t there for the casual fan.

“Back in the ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s, there were more kids because packs were more affordable. You could go down to your local grocery store,” Farnsworth said. “Now, it’s more adults because of the price point on packs. You still have your basic Topps that goes for $1.99 per pack, and kids still buy that. You get up to the $10, $20, $40, $100 packs, how many kids are going to buy that?

“The thing about kids is that it takes a parent to get involved. We do the report card giveaway, where kids bring in straight A’s and we give them packs of cards. We do, through Major League Baseball, a program through Cub Scouts where they collect their badges and they come in here for a presentation. We try to stay involved with the kids. If the parents don’t have an interest in collecting, it is tough to get the kid interested.”

Farnsworth grew up collecting, and he got his son involved when he was younger.

Starting a collection now can be rather easy. From the inventory at Goodsports to the Internet, finding the card to start, continue or complete a connection is quite simple. eBay and Beckett Marketplace are two most commonly used websites.

“The Internet has made it easier to collect. You can get what you want, when you want,” Farnsworth said. “It’s helpful, too. If I get cards or items that I need a wide market for, I can auction it. Not everybody comes in looking for a card of a player from Los Angeles.”

The market does determine which cards are popular in each region. Willie McGee cards can still sell in the St. Louis region, while in most other places they either sit on shelves, in boxes or not even in inventory.

That same market also determines which sport sells. St. Louis, of course, is a baseball town. According to Farnsworth, hockey is in second.

“Baseball is probably our biggest seller,” Farnsworth said. “The one thing about the St. Louis region is you do have a big hockey following. When the Blues are playing, we do well with hockey.

“Football, hopefully the Rams will get back to a winning level and spark the interest. The one thing when it comes to selling football cards, a lot of it is the draft. Last year, the draft was down. This year, people seemed to be excited.”

As for me, the author, though I haven’t bought a pack of cards in years, I still do collect Ryne Sanderg cards. The former second baseman and Hall of Famer was the face of a losing Chicago Cubs franchise during the 1980s and ‘90s.

It was my grandma’s fault that I grew up a Sandberg fan. She used to watch the Cubs because she felt sorry for them, and one of her favorite players was Sandberg.

My collection started by buying packs with my weekly allowance. My dad would take my brother and I, sometimes my sister, to an old card shop on Troy Road. Going through the piles of cards to find one or two Sandbergs was well worth the chores I probably didn’t do correctly.

•••

Goodsports is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.