A few things from the dealer's perspective...

Having to order blind. Please give me information before expecting me to commit to buy your product.

Sets that don't give us time to decide and allocate funds. There were two releases last year that were to release less than a month after the first word was given about ordering.

Having to scrutinize every card making sure it's not a fake.

Like Jon, I hate the unlicensed cards and the studios that ignore them.

And one from the collecting standpoint...

When people tell others how they should collect. Collecting is a personal choice and whatever you decide is the right way to collect IS the right way.

I should post in the other thread to keep things balanced.

Ed

____________________
Trading Page Now Online: http://www.scifi.cards/trading.html

Collecting Sketches of the Character Crystal

has in anything else,I hate delays
sticker autographs are ugly
and actors that give really crappy signatures (although I only have one myself)
Topps and Upper Deck should stick to sports
I don't purchase products that include monkey faces,but for everyone else I feel your pain

I am fairly new to the collecting game.. but have noticed some things I dont like:

The cost of some cards, who decides a card is worth $1450 (eg Mark Hamill) and how do I get some cards without paying that price once the set is sold out..

Fakes, I am so paranoid now (thanks to this forum that every high end card I get is fake.. I just bought a magnifying glass to help me sleuth the dodgey ones.

Storage space is a another one, living in the UK, space is premium and binders take a lot of room, especuially in a one bedroom flat.

Apart from those I am hooked, it sure is one expensive hobby..

A few things that turn me off about NS collecting

1-Incentive cards-A great idea if you are a dealer....not too great if you are a completist and broke like I am.

2-NO SHOWS IN MY AREA!

3-Cards that are manufactured and limited for certain shows that are just not possible to get if you miss out on the show (waaaaaaaay too expensive!)

4-Card hogs-Just how many autograph cards from a certain actor and set do you need? You do not have to obtain every card that "X" actor/actress ever signed, regardless of the cost. Share the wealth.

5-NO SHOWS IN MY AREA!

6-That's about it.......

Did I mention that there are no shows in my area?

quote:

Originally posted by willgull:
A few things that turn me off about NS collecting

2-NO SHOWS IN MY AREA!

5-NO SHOWS IN MY AREA!

Did I mention that there are no shows in my area?

Your location says North Carolina -- I'm sure you're familiar with Heroes Con, right? It's a good con -- I made it once. . .

I collect comic based trading cards. So here goes my 10 dislike list:

1) Manufacturers, dealers, sellers, and some "veteran" collectors telling to everybody that they can guarantee get "Near Mint Cards" in a sealed pack.

2) Bad or "trash" card Condition. I believe that will stop in the last century, but in 21 I can see the same BS even from products based of millionaire licenses. I can understand if the cards are to sell to pre-kinder kids or Gambit from the X-Men, but if you sell to collectors show respect and take care of product quality.

3) Lack of new artwork and a lot of crazy recycle. It isn't a big problem to recycle artwork in a set to make its chase cards, but recycle artwork to made more sets of the same series.

4) Lack of design. It goes tie with #3. But it is a shame use a big "Legendary" series name and make a piece of trash using that name. Also insert/chase sets are no insert/chase cards. They looks like part of the set. Like a "Insert" set from a millionaire license.

5) Supplies for the cards. It goes tie with #4. The supplies are already a standard like 9 spaces pages. Why you make a base set of 100 or a chase set of 12?

6) Redemption Cards. Another big mistake from the last century. I hope one day it ends forever.

7) Sketch Cards. It goes tie with #4. I like to draw and paint. I respect fellow artist, but I don't like the way manufacturers are using it. They are making people to buy boxes just to get and sell the sketches. Also manufacturers aren't working anymore to give nice products.

8) Difficult to buy, sell or trade the cards. Since the '90s I can only find to buy the products in Internet. Sell in Internet or convections/shows. And trade since I was in Junior High School I don't know a local collector like me or have a collector partner.

9) Fakes. Thanks to some companies went in bankruptcy and selling everything needed to make cards.

10) Value of boxes.


Now about the sketch cards. It isn't the artist fault is someone sell his/her artwork for hundreds $$$. From that sale she will not get nothing. He/She will maybe get more popularity or contracts/commissions. I draw since a kid. I remember to sold drawings for $1 to other kids. One day somebody told me that one the kids was buying my drawings to resell. I never see that $$$.

quote:

Originally posted by kane1:
7) Sketch Cards. It goes tie with #4. I like to draw and paint. I respect fellow artist, but I don't like the way manufacturers are using it. They are making people to buy boxes just to get and sell the sketches. Also manufacturers aren't working anymore to give nice products.

This is the only one I can take exception to. No one is MAKING anyone buy boxes just for sketches. People like them and thus they buy more to get them. No different than a hologram or autograph.

As a dealer, I can never recall having to force someone to buy a box of cards they didn't really want.

Ed

quote:

Originally posted by Scifi Cards:

quote:

Originally posted by cheifbrody:
9) A.Ebay,the idiotic prices being asked for Katie Cook sketch cards (even the lesser pencil sketches)

Why is this a problem? Katie paid her dues and did lots of work developing her style. People appreciate that and value the work she does. My one regret is that Katie does not see all the money that some cards bring, but her work with sketch cards has lead to bigger and better things for her.

And, she still does $5 quick sketches at conventions even though she does not have to.

Ed

That's well said, Ed. I suppose if you're looking to collect Katie's sketch cards, it does stink that they cost so much, but that said, she's paid her dues and it's easy to see why she's such a popular artist(Which is what drives up the price ).

I got one of those $5 quick sketches from her of my kitty. Love it!

I go to Heroes Con every year and have for about 15 or so. However, it is more of a comic convention than anything else. Granted, while there are numerous card artists there who do sketch cards, there's usually only 1-2 card dealers present and absolutely no Manufacturers. Inkworks rarely came and they were in the state. I guess it would have been more proper for me to state that there are no card shows anywhere near here.

quote:

Originally posted by jane:

quote:

Originally posted by Scifi Cards:

quote:

Originally posted by cheifbrody:
9) A.Ebay,the idiotic prices being asked for Katie Cook sketch cards (even the lesser pencil sketches)

Why is this a problem? Katie paid her dues and did lots of work developing her style. People appreciate that and value the work she does. My one regret is that Katie does not see all the money that some cards bring, but her work with sketch cards has lead to bigger and better things for her.

And, she still does $5 quick sketches at conventions even though she does not have to.

Ed

That's well said, Ed. I suppose if you're looking to collect Katie's sketch cards, it does stink that they cost so much, but that said, she's paid her dues and it's easy to see why she's such a popular artist(Which is what drives up the price ).

I got one of those $5 quick sketches from her of my kitty. Love it!

Again guys i have to say,i love and collect katie cook sketch cards,my point had ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with her herself but the price's other people charge for them on ebay knowing there are fans and collectors like me,so they can put whatever price they want on them.

1) Counterfeit cards - Think i just got my first one Eliza Dushku Buffy auto A15 Inkworks set . The card is a bit oversized and will not fit in a magnetic holder . sigh
2) Card sets not telling who the signers are when advertised . ( upper deck ) Iron Man 2 and Thor ( examples ) .
3) Redemption cards - Thank God Rittenhouse doesn't do that .Shows a good company can get it right.
4) Rare auto's . I may have Ford from Indiana jones Heritage but Lucas and Speilberg I don't think i will ever see . 40-50 of each would have been better . ( at least )
5 ) No real good dealers in Florida that i know i can try to get legit auto's from.Yes there is Mega Con but thats once a year .(I need a Bond : Craig auto) And after i just got the Dushku i don't know about ebay.

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

Stargaterules your Dushku may be authentic even if oversized
I started a thread after I got one
and the result is that it seemed like a couple of autographs from that set may have been cut bigger

Yes, I used to have a Kristine Sutherland auto that was slightly bigger than the others. I got it through a trade and the trader got it from a box.

Perhaps with all the chat about fake cards in other threads people are rather wary and suspect any imperfections must be fake. I only checked one of my cards as it came up in a thread, but maybe I should check them all, just in case

Didn't I post in here? I thought I did.
Well, really the only things I dislike are...

- Multi-case incentives. But only because I'm a peasant and can't afford multiple cases
- The over-use of the words rare/mega rare to try and sell a card that in search results brings up every dealer and distributor on eBay selling it, too. Mega rare my ****. You're keyword spamming or just clueless (pointedly stares at one particular seller who isn't a member here)
- Those who put no thought into how they send cards. Those flimsy little plastic pocket things - aren't toploaders and won't fit multiple cards so don't cram them in
If you're going to tape the top of a toploader leave a tag on one side (or both) so I can open it without slicing the card inside.
- International sellers who see 'buyer location Australia' and immediately quote an exhorbitant and over-inflated amount for shipping. It arrives in an envelope with $1 on it and unregistered. No justification for such a stupidly ridiculous cost.

I think that's it. Always postage, packaging and things I can't afford

Thanks for the tip on the oversized cards . I was ready to toss it .

Two gripes I've got is:
Incentive cards. if a product is good enough, why do an incentive? The product will sell. I asked Steve Charendoff of Rittenhouse Archives about this and his reply was that dealers demand it. Sorry, don't wash. A guarenteed sell-out, of which Rittenhouse have had many in the past, doesn't need any other incentive.

Limited licences. Really fed up that dealers in the UK can't buy a product. It would be grossly nieve to think that Ebay and US dealers don't sell abroad. And then they put limits on what you can claim for because you should't be allowed to purchase in the first place. If it wasn't for the foreign collctors, there would be an awful lot of product either unsold by the manufacturer, sitting on a dealers shelf or being sold at cost or less because the dealer wants to get at least some of their outlay back. Inkworks realised this and released the first season of Lost a week early in the UK because of the collector base.

quote:

Originally posted by Graham:
Limited licences. Really fed up that dealers in the UK can't buy a product. It would be grossly nieve to think that Ebay and US dealers don't sell abroad. And then they put limits on what you can claim for because you should't be allowed to purchase in the first place. If it wasn't for the foreign collctors, there would be an awful lot of product either unsold by the manufacturer, sitting on a dealers shelf or being sold at cost or less because the dealer wants to get at least some of their outlay back. Inkworks realised this and released the first season of Lost a week early in the UK because of the collector base.

hear, hear

quote:

Originally posted by cheifbrody:
this was not a jibe at Katie,it's sour grapes by me as a Katie Cook collector,but it's true that collectors of her work like me have helped made the prices sore,i was talking to another KC collector recently and he knew who i was from dealers,so her popularity has made the prices sore and whoever gets one now can her the ka-ching.

I don't collect her sketch cards, I just don't like her style to be honest, but wondered why the prices seemed really high those times I do a broad search for sketch cards.
I have a color Katie Cook sketch card for trade, had it for ages, can't seem to get rid of it. Does that mean I have to keep it? She doesn't go with my Kristin Allen and Erik Maell collections, lol. Odd one out

I hate being the SECOND highest bidder on ebay. And no, I've never been sent a second chance offer.

My greatest dislikes about modern card collecting:

1. Self-destructing cards... My Soryama Omnichrome Silk & Satin commons set has gone all blotchy, spotted, & discolored. My Ujena Swimwear sets have done the same thing.

And its not just Comic images sets cuz my Die Another Day insert S2 also commit suicide in its Ultra-Pro platinum page.

Nothing to do but toss them out... Definitely a waste of money!

2. Self-destructing card supplies.... Yep I have toploaders that are turning yellow and Ultra-Pro platinum pages that are going oily, blotchy, and cloudy looking. A few years ago, they were crystal clear and filled with modern cards.

Again, I have to toss them out... More wasted money!

Guess this new generation of collector cards are meant to be a short term hobby... Wonder what those cards with autograph on tapes and labels cards will look like in 15 years? It makes you think...

Fortunately my vintage cards that are 40-50-60 years old are holding up well with age so far (like me!)

quote:

Originally posted by damien:
Stargaterules your Dushku may be authentic even if oversized
I started a thread after I got one
and the result is that it seemed like a couple of autographs from that set may have been cut bigger

My Dushku from Buffy is also slightly oversized horizontally. I still believe it's authentic.

My Kristine Sutherland from Buffy is also slightly oversized.

All of my Julie Benz cards from Dexter Season 3 are oversized and won't fit in a one touch either.