Leaving the hobby

[aussie26]

Good Afternoon All,

I've been busting wax for almost 10 years, however recently I have found it not to be as enjoyable for a few reasons.

I've given Panini a fair chance and still don't think they are much chop compared to upper deck (in design and re sale value, just my opinion), it seems they will always have the NBA license and continue to have a monopoly on the NBA card hobby.

Also when I started selling the fruits of my busting almost 10 years ago I found most people were happy to pay a fair price for a card (usually for their PC), however these days I find the majority of people just want to screw you down to bottom dollar so they can flip and make a quick buck. I know it's perfectly fair and legal to do so, but leaves a bit of a sour taste in my mouth, and makes it very hard to sell cards unless they are quite cheap, ebay being an alternative I don't like due to the amount of dodgy people (I've been burnt several times, not even insurance can help when the "wrong" card arrives).

The admin guys have always been a pleasure to deal with and this is the safest site in the world to trade/sell on which is a real feather in their cap.

I'll be selling off most of my collection in the next few weeks, whatever doesn't sell on here will go on dodgy bay.

Good luck to everyone and to those i've dealt with on several occasions successfully thank you for the stress free deals I appreciate it.

 

[wasportsfan1]

Gonna miss your breaks mate and those massive sales threads, its a shame that a few people spoil it for everyone. I hate the idea of people flipping cards for a extra few $$$. Yep Panini have gone backwards with too many releases, parallels sticker autos and crappy designs. The last straw with them was replay for me. Im glad I have slowed down a few months ago as I see the hobby going back to 90's where cards are worth nothing anymore. Hope it turns out alright with the selling part from your end I will see what goodies you have to spoil myself one last time

 

[OutlawNinja]

Sorry to see you leave the hobby mate, I know exactly where you are coming from.
90% of Panini rubbish leaves me cold and prices are phenomenal.
Take care of yourself and don't forget we are always here

 

[0kramrajnoc]

I'm sorry to hear you are leaving. Hpoe you find your way back to the hobby one day. You will be missed.

 

[Slimzy69]

Don't sell it all!(if you don't have to) We all have breaks from the hobby, I've been on and off for 20 plus years and it still gets me back in. Change it up, try something different. I refuse to buy boxes anymore from panini(1 blaster in 12 months). I'm not the only one either, bkb has taken a big hit. I busted some ud and topps last week was great.

Also it does make it hard when eBay and comc have turned to Sh!t!! These were good options to get our cards out there.

 

[aussie26]

Gonna miss your breaks mate and those massive sales threads, its a shame that a few people spoil it for everyone. I hate the idea of people flipping cards for a extra few $$$. Yep Panini have gone backwards with too many releases, parallels sticker autos and crappy designs. The last straw with them was replay for me. Im glad I have slowed down a few months ago as I see the hobby going back to 90's where cards are worth nothing anymore. Hope it turns out alright with the selling part from your end I will see what goodies you have to spoil myself one last time

I used to enjoy doing live breaks when you would get 100's of views and heaps of comments, unfortunately that died right out.

Sorry to see you leave the hobby mate, I know exactly where you are coming from.
90% of Panini rubbish leaves me cold and prices are phenomenal.
Take care of yourself and don't forget we are always here

Thanks for that, It would be good if panini, UD and topps all had license's and a limit of 8 releases per year.

I'm sorry to hear you are leaving. Hpoe you find your way back to the hobby one day. You will be missed.

Cheers for that.

Don't sell it all!(if you don't have to) We all have breaks from the hobby, I've been on and off for 20 plus years and it still gets me back in. Change it up, try something different. I refuse to buy boxes anymore from panini(1 blaster in 12 months). I'm not the only one either, bkb has taken a big hit. I busted some ud and topps last week was great.

Also it does make it hard when eBay and comc have turned to Sh!t!! These were good options to get our cards out there.

Ill keep a few of my favourite kidds and maybe a few jordans, who knows i might miss the busting.

 

[KB.]

Best of luck! Hopefully UD come back one day and you can join us again

 

[skip20]

Mate, I think over 1000 positive feedback attests to the fact that you were a massive part of the OZCT and card collecting community in Australia. You were absolute box busting royalty and I for one will definitely miss the massive sales threads you posted. I agree that flippers and Panini haven't done much for the hobby, maybe UD will be back one day and there's always the older stuff to collect if you love the 90s...just be a singles buyer and minimise the hassle of selling. One word of advice would be to avoid a massive once off fire sale because you'll just jeopardise your pay day, slow and steady is the best way if you can instead of dumping everything in one swoop. On a personal level I've always found you to be an upstanding member of this community, a straight shooter, more than fair with pricing and as honest as the day is long. I hope you'll be back around these parts one day but I do understand there are more important things in life than cardboard so best of luck with your future endeavours!

 

[aussie26]

Mate, I think over 1000 positive feedback attests to the fact that you were a massive part of the OZCT and card collecting community in Australia. You were absolute box busting royalty and I for one will definitely miss the massive sales threads you posted. I agree that flippers and Panini haven't done much for the hobby, maybe UD will be back one day and there's always the older stuff to collect if you love the 90s...just be a singles buyer and minimise the hassle of selling. One word of advice would be to avoid a massive once off fire sale because you'll just jeopardise your pay day, slow and steady is the best way if you can instead of dumping everything in one swoop. On a personal level I've always found you to be an upstanding member of this community, a straight shooter, more than fair with pricing and as honest as the day is long. I hope you'll be back around these parts one day but I do understand there are more important things in life than cardboard so best of luck with your future endeavours!

Thanks for the tips with selling and kind words, I do hope UD comes back one day, I used to love busting something like SPGU or SPA and to have a chance of pulling a jordan or Lebron in a NBA uniform, I hate that college crap.

 

[BRONBRON]

I haven't been on here much over the past year or so and just thought I would log in tonight.

Sorry to see you leaving the hobby. You have helped me out a heap with my collection including that MJ legacy set that was a nightmare to put together but wouldn't have finished without the cards you sent me.

If you have any LeBrons you are looking to move hit me up and we will work something out. Have always enjoyed dealing with you as I just have to ask for a total price to pay as your prices are always more than fair.

All the best with things and am sure you will get back into the hobby at some point in the future.

 

[Ersk]

Hey mate. Sad to see another long timer step back or step away. It has been nice watching some of your breaks.

I used to enjoy doing live breaks when you would get 100's of views and heaps of comments, unfortunately that died right out.

Yeah I agree. I remember in the past when you would post up a break or mailday, you would get heaps of watchers and lots of comments. These days, it seems that there would be a few people opening up the pages to have a look, but not many not bothering to make a comment. Maybe people are looking at the pages to look for a quick 'offer for a card' and then just move on. It has all shifted....... so much more going towards group breaks and Youtube busts.

And I can totally agree that UD had the best stuff about. There were concerns about how UD was flooding the market with the same old stuff, so they give the licence to Panini, but then Panini does the exact same thing. I recently saw on EBay an old set they tried to make for MLB (Crusades) which they did I think in 2007 or something, then what happens? They re-hash the EXACT same design but for NBA.....6 or 7 years later.

Hope you get a good price for your cards.

Ersk

 

[RunItBackPodcast]

I think the issue with the hobby has gone both ways. Buyers are trying to scrounge ridiculous prices, but on the flipside the vast majority of sellers are now listing cards at near premium/card shop prices.

If people want to pay top dollar, they'd just go to card zone. The hobby was amazing when sellers would sell for a good price, and buyers were getting good deals. The minute sellers start treating themselves like established card stores, there's no fun in bargain hunting.

 

[aussie26]

I think the issue with the hobby has gone both ways. Buyers are trying to scrounge ridiculous prices, but on the flipside the vast majority of sellers are now listing cards at near premium/card shop prices.

If people want to pay top dollar, they'd just go to card zone. The hobby was amazing when sellers would sell for a good price, and buyers were getting good deals. The minute sellers start treating themselves like established card stores, there's no fun in bargain hunting.

I cant comment on other sellers but what your saying has no relevance to me, i'm well known for selling cards at very modest prices (I dont expect top dollar as this isnt ebay), yet the majority of people still want the cards cheaper. I even had one bloke ask for cards cheaper (he agreed the cards were already a good price) so he could immediately sell to someone else but wanted them cheaper so he could make a profit, FFS. I find it quite frustrating that I spend time researching the value of cards, then making them cheaper only to have people ignore the prices and ask for ridiculously low prices in order to make a quick buck.

 

[RunItBackPodcast]

I cant comment on other sellers but what your saying has no relevance to me, i'm well known for selling cards at very modest prices (I dont expect top dollar as this isnt ebay), yet the majority of people still want the cards cheaper. I even had one bloke ask for cards cheaper (he agreed the cards were already a good price) so he could immediately sell to someone else but wanted them cheaper so he could make a profit, FFS. I find it quite frustrating that I spend time researching the value of cards, then making them cheaper only to have people ignore the prices and ask for ridiculously low prices in order to make a quick buck.

That's good, because my comment wasn't directed specifically at you.

You were giving your thoughts on the industry, as was I. Cheers.

 

[Matt26]

Sorry to see you move on......always enjoyed watching your breaks.

Have you thought about just doing singles and the odd box here and there rather than cases of product. Sure you cant beat the thrill of pulling some nice cards, but at least you will end up with stuff you want rather than having to sell off lots of cards to recoup your money (generally at a loss unless you hit something big)?

Just a thought!

Cheers
Matt

 

[zeeman]

@aussie26 sorry to hear you are calling it a day, always loved looking through your sales threads and picking up the odd few bits and pieces from you!

You probably don't know it but when I got back into the hobby a couple years ago after nearly 18 years out of the game, @BRONBRON got me on OZCT and helped get a deal done with you for my first ever lot of kyries out of one of your sales which included my first ever kyrie auto. 840+ kyries later and now over 50 autos it's come a long way but I've never forgot where it all started!

Since then you've helped add a bunch more kyries, got me on my way with my kobe anthology set, filled up a few more base chases and added a handful more crappy redemptions to my crappy redemption side project.

Its a shame to lose one of the good guys from the hobby but we all have our reasons and most importantly if its no longer fun, its probably a good time to take a break. Hopefully this is just a see you later and not a good bye for all of us on OZCT and the card collecting community.

 

[Delly]

Sorry to hear that mate, you have been a pleasure to deal with and you will definitely be missed around here.

 

[shawnkemp40]

All the best Adam, hope to see you on here again when the collecting flame re-ignites.
Luckily I don't sell much but I get what you are saying 110%. People just don't pay reasonable prices anymore. Yet if you want something it's top dollar which absolutely sh!ts me to tears.
Anyway, hopefully this is a temporary hiatus.
Take it easy mate.

 

[Brian Lee]

All the best Adam, I hope your break from the hobby will give you more desire to return in the near future. It would be nice to have multiple companies with NBA license so there will be competition, which will drive better design and more value for collectors. It's a shame that Panini is flooding the market with autos and GUs like UD/Topps did back in 2005. It seems like over-supply is part of the life-cycle of card companies as their inventory gets too large and they have to make a dump. But Panini had a few good years which is also part of the life-cycle, so we are just waiting for a new company to join to shake things up a bit.

Anyway, I am going to miss your sale threads which has helped my PC over the last 10 years or so. While there is eBay and COMC, it is always better to deal with someone from Australia. This is the end of my rant!

 

[GarnettFan4Life]

Great doing all the deals over the years with you Adam. Enjoy the break from or end to collecting, it's not the most important thing in life! I had to learn to take some time off to do real world stuff and reduce the stress from being online.
You can always lurk and post if you get the urge to. Thanks for everything mate!