Got my issue with promos, no problem here.

Email received.

Hurry up and wait.
Will update.

Pure poetry. LOL

Again, for those who didn't receive promos, I thank you for your patience. This transition, I would say, has been a big challenge for all of us. We will keep doing our best to improving a full database of listings and prices as well as improving the publication. In the meantime, please keep the suggestions coming. We are only as strong as our customer/collector/fan base. Also, if you're a fan of Star Trek, please follow the link I've posted. It contains a free trading card/tcg/action figure price guide in honor of Trek's 50th.

Free Star Trek Price Guide PDF

quote:

Originally posted by Raven:
Price guide has done a 180. I love the font size and the two low/high or sell/buy columns (as you chose to call them) work for me.

That was a blast from the past by referencing "sell/buy" columns ... I haven't thought of that in years. Of course, that's not what the columns weren't meant for but it did seem like if you were selling your cards to a store back in the old days that they weren't going to pay any higher than what LO column was listed at.

Personally, I like the HI/LO columns because a particular card usually doesn't sell at one fixed price like $10, but often times sells in a range between $5-$12. On the other hand, it's not a genius move to figure that a card priced at $10 could sell anywhere between 50% higher or 50% lower for a range of $5-$15 which is close to a $5-$12 listing.

Definitely liking the font size

Oh yeah, that's exactly how dealers used to apply those high/low columns, but it was mainly done for sports cards. Nobody carried a non-sport price guide around because you could barely find a table that carried any non-sport cards.

Font size is a big improvement and edits are necessary to get that room, but some sets taken out and some sets listed are bad choices. Hope that the "powers that be" are listening for those suggestions.

We received our copy of the magazine in Canada (with promos). It's a really good issue and I really like the memorial for Bill DeFranzo.

I concur that some of the set choices were suspect especially since Harry Potter was used as an example but was not among the sets listed in the price guide.

The NSU would be a good companion to the Beckett Non-Sport Almanac by listing more of the newer (since 2010?) and more actively traded and popular sets. Since a great deal of sets stay relatively stagnate in price after the first few months after release until a sequel/follow-up set hits the market and bringing in newer collectors and sparking renewed interest in returning collectors. Those sets can/should be rotated in as the market changes.

quote:

Originally posted by Raven:
I am interested in hearing what others think of the price guide and it is related to the new issue, so that's why I left my comments here.

You know, those price guides omissions are probably just an X-Files -type of conspiracy to try to drive more revenue towards Online Price Guide (OPG) and the Non-Sport Almanac. The price guide magazines that are produce 6 to 12 times a year are becoming more and more antiquated with each passing month. Hard to fight the future (get it? The X-Files movie reference? Okay, nevermind) with everything else heading towards being online, it's not too hard to believe that the "powers that be" would like to increase their presence online while keeping a presence on the newsstand also. Consider this ...

If you buy the NSU for cover price (like I do) for $5.99 and notice that there are prices for sets that you are interested in missing then it might entice you to purchase the OPG for $11 per month. Cha-ching! You're in for $16.99 now. Then if you forget about the OPG, it'll probably renew automatically each month. But then again you might find it convenient and order it for a longer and discounted rate. But it'll still be more than the $4 per issue yearly subscription that you first set out for your price guide fix.

Or if you end up buying that huge Non-Sport Almanac for $34.99 (or get it on special for closer to $25), it'll take care of most of the bigger and more relevant cards and sets but not all the commons and the newest releases. What do you do? Get the NSU to supplement? Buy the OPG to get it all at your finger tips? Both? Still more than getting the magazine.

The best thing about the NSU magazine is the content each month. I like that it's pretty much like getting exclusive content for the magazine (although most of the time I would prefer it to be a little bit more in-depth, but I digress because I like for info). The articles aren't something that is usually found online unlike much of the content of the sport card related Beckett magazines. For the Take Along Price Guide, as mentioned earlier, the larger font is a big plus and I like the HI/LO columns for the prices. One thing I would like to see more of was on page 1a under the "New Listings and Updates" blurb. It mentioned 2016 Pop Century being included and 2016 Star Wars The Force Awakens Chrome missing the cut. I guess it's pretty similar to "New & Noteworthy" but if it could focus on individual non-sport cards with photos sort of like the Beckett Sports Card Monthly's "The Hot List" along with that write up would be cool to me.



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Hey everyone! I definitely appreciate the feedback on not only the promo card issue but also the format of the price guide. I'd definitely like to hear more. Which sets should be an ironclad staple in the magazine? Which sets would you prefer be left out? Would you like the font size to stay the same with fewer listings. Or, would you prefer smaller font and more listings? Would you like to see photos included in the price guide? Please, leave a comment here or email me at nonsports@beckett.com.

My humble opinion of the guide...
The detailed list of autographs & relics and the font size are improvements.
However, there are way too many set gaps.
For example, at the Chicago show I referenced the new guide about five times to no avail. Finally reverted to the previous guide for the rest of the show.
Feel free to DROP the high-low or buy-sell columns. Some grouping could be done to save space.

It would be helpful to know if Beckett is planning on expanding the magazine and price guide?

For the price guide, bigger print is most appreciated and I don't mind the high/low prices.

That means sets have to be removed from the previous version, but there should be some consistent standard for what sets are listed. Any mainstream non-sport title released within the prior 12 - 18 months should be considered new cards and should appear.

Now for the old stuff, titles with little activity and stagnant pricing should be removed. However some old titles remain popular, so cards should not be taken out just because they may be mature. For example I would still list all Buffy sets, they are sort of iconic for this hobby. Xena you could leave off because I don't think it has the same sort of following.

Now both Xena and Buffy are shows that are off the air, but for shows and movie titles that are still on the air or are adding films, I don't think any of the season/film sets should be removed. I would want to see all sets from the likes of Big Bang Theory, American Horror, Game of Thrones, Walking Dead, Agents of SHIELD, Bates Motel, Bond, Star Trek, Star Wars, Marvel Avengers and their related movies, plus any other recurring titles that I can't remember right now.

Some series that have ended are worth inclusion if activity is still evident. Stuff like Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Dexter and the afore mentioned Buffy would probably fall into that category.

Things to remove or condense that made it into the new price guide would start with Decision 2016, Fleer Retro, Garbage Pail Kids, Wacky Packages and most puzzling of all, more than half a page devoted to 1949 Wild West. Even sets like 1964 Addams Family, 1938 Frank Buck, 1956 Jets, 1969 Laugh-In, 1971 Partridge Family. 1959 and 1966 Three Stooges do not need to be mentioned in a supplement guide because they are suited for the annual guides.

Some sets do kind of fall between the cracks and it depends on your opinion. It is also just a supplement and it can only hold so much. As long as the person compiling the price guide has a uniform standard and can explain it on one page that's fine. It's when trivial stuff makes the cut, while popular cards are not listed, that there are going to be problems with using the guide.

Hope I have made some sense, not easy breaking it down with so many important cards out there. And yes, it's always about seeing those premium hits.

Thanks for being open minded about this, the Price Guide is still a work in progress. The current price Guide is very hard to use. The type size is good, easier to read, but the large number of omissions make this one almost pointless.
Obviously some titles will have to removed, Tobacco cards, sets from the 30's and 40's, readers should keep a couple of older price guides around to reference these.
The bold print titles should only apply to the set, example 2016 Captain America Civil War, and the 19 subsets listed after it should be not bolded, perhaps in caps.
Are we too detailed on some of these? Looking at Davy Crockett green I'm a little confused about some of the catagories, and the error card is not listed.
To save space, tighten things up, for example, 2015 Avengers Age of Ultron Locker Dual, AL2BC Cap/Widow in one line, rather than 2, use 2 lines only when it can't be avoided. With 1949 Wild West, most cards are 3.00 - 8.00. List that as average price and then list some of the rare cards that bring in more value.

There are always going to be some gaps and missing items that people want to see, it's unavoidable, but if the space is used efficiently and the most popular sets (maybe a reader survey in a future issue would help determine what should stay) are included, the Price Guide will be a valuable tool to collectors.

When is the new NSU coming to comic stores ? Anyone know ?

Nothing has come yet, and my guy always gets it

Hi David,

I picked up a copy at a sports card shop this week and saw it at a Barnes & Noble later that day. The shop owner said his issues arrived Sept 29.

Jess

Edit: the promos were inserted

quote:

Originally posted by David R:
When is the new NSU coming to comic stores ? Anyone know ?

Nothing has come yet, and my guy always gets it

This message has been edited. Last edited by: catskilleagle,

In an effort to stay current, I believe that the majority of sets produced within last 2 to 3 years of the cover date of the magazine should be included in the supplemental price guide. For example, the first few issues with the 2017 date on it would still have 2014 sets, but as the year marches towards June and July then those sets would no longer be list. Of course, if a set isn't popular then it could be weeded out sooner and, conversely, some could stay listed as a one of those "ironclad staples" sets.

With that said, sets that were made prior to 1990 probably shouldn't be in the supplemental price guide for NSU unless it's topical. For example, if a new Star Wars movie is going to be released soon then list some of those sets from 1977. But once it's out of the movie theaters then remove them to make room for new releases. Those older sets typically don't have major fluctuations in the demand/price to warrant continued inclusion a periodical publication. The Non-Sport Almanac and/or Online Price Guide (OPG) is better suited for those older sets like the 1969 Man on the Moon set.

Hmm, what sets could be "ironclad staples" examples? The autograph cards from those Inkworks Buffy The Vampire Slayer sets comes to mind. Probably the autograph cards from the 1997 Batman and Robin set. The Lord of the Ring autograph and memorabilia cards from those 2001-2004 sets should probably be considered. How about the 1996 Marvel Masterpieces set? Going to have to think about this some more.

I also noticed that all Perna Studios sets have been removed from the price guide as well. Even though Spellcasters II just came out last June.

Anyone remember when NSU tried listing sets that began with letters "A through L" in one issue and then the next issue would have sets "M through Z" listed in the price guide? Even though that's one way to get more sets listed, I hope it doesn't come to that again. I'd probably pick up the wrong issue when trying to look up stuff

quote:

Originally posted by Heroes For Hire:
Anyone remember when NSU tried listing sets that began with letters "A through L" in one issue and then the next issue would have sets "M through Z" listed in the price guide? Even though that's one way to get more sets listed, I hope it doesn't come to that again. I'd probably pick up the wrong issue when trying to look up stuff

That was actually a very good idea, in my opinion, one good way to get all the sets in and you just keep the latest 2 price guides to hand!

I didn't mind it either in terms of covering more sets. The only drawback was that it further delayed the listing of new sets if the title didn't fall into the A - L or M - Z that would be attached to the next issue.

You could avoid that by listing newly released sets in the front as they first appear and then sort them into the normal rotation the next time. So you would just carry two supplement guides to shows instead of one. Not a biggie.

quote:

Originally posted by hammer:

quote:

Originally posted by Heroes For Hire:
Anyone remember when NSU tried listing sets that began with letters "A through L" in one issue and then the next issue would have sets "M through Z" listed in the price guide? Even though that's one way to get more sets listed, I hope it doesn't come to that again. I'd probably pick up the wrong issue when trying to look up stuff

That was actually a very good idea, in my opinion, one good way to get all the sets in and you just keep the latest 2 price guides to hand!

I liked that as well.

Thinking out loud... Since most market fluctuations are on current sets, why not have the printed price guide just be sets released in the last 10 years? Maybe older sets can have a permanent home online for subscribers with an access code? There wouldn't be a whole lot of maintenance to keep it current since they don't change much.