quote:

Originally posted by Jim Streich:
Beats having a blank card where the autograph used to be after the marker fades or chips off..

Oh great, so now we'll have faded autographs on stickers that we need to glue back on.
Bad enough with a darn hologram distracting the signature.

I don't what you're doing wrong but I own auto's over a century old, with no sign of fading. Here's an idea, keep your cards out of direct sunlight.

My final thought on this subject:
Sticker Autographs = Bad Idea

quote:

And there is a seller on ebay selling their cards because of the way people are treated on here by the "real" collectors..

I realize you probably intended this as a throwaway jab at someone, I really don't care who, but anyone who is so willing to disperse a collection because an extremely small (relatively speaking) group of people hurt their feelings doesn't seem like much of a collector to me.

Lord knows my collection has taken it's fair share of jabs - my poor sketch babies! but that doesn't mean I'm going to throw them by the wayside and move onto something new. Just means I don't deal with those people anymore - trade, buy/sell, etc.

Having said that, to answer the more general question of are we shrinking? Someone several pages ago said Summer was a factor and I whole-heartedly agree with that. I also play mmorpg games online and the number of people who disappeared once summer came was drastic, but we know come September, they'll be back

quote:

Originally posted by TheUberBob:

quote:

Originally posted by KnightQuest:

How Come you don't send any to your store here in Austin, Your employees keep telling me that they won't sell any, because they don't sell?

I can't find any store in Austin that sells Non-Sport Cards. With gas the way it is, I don't think I'm driving to San Antonio anytime soon.

Oh, before I forget, you should try Jr's Comics on Slaughter Lane. They usually have a bunch of stuff. I saw them at a show this past weekend and they confirmed they'll be set up at San Diego again as well.

-Bob-

-Bob-

The only reason to buy from them is their wax. I wont lie, they have good prices on the boxes but theyre insane on the prices for their singles, autos, costumes, sketch cards etc.

Most of his stuff isnt even in the shop since he does just about every show he can.

quote:

Originally posted by Over_Worked_Mom:

quote:

And there is a seller on ebay selling their cards because of the way people are treated on here by the "real" collectors..

I realize you probably intended this as a throwaway jab at someone, I really don't care who, but anyone who is so willing to disperse a collection because an extremely small (relatively speaking) group of people hurt their feelings doesn't seem like much of a collector to me.

Now to be fair, we non-sport card collectors are a sensitive bunch. Those rotten sport card collectors keep stealing our lunch money.

quote:

Originally posted by Jim Streich:
Beats having a blank card where the autograph used to be after the marker fades or chips off..

Now this brings up a good question.

I always thought that ink absorbs much more into paper than it does into plastic or acetate. So wouldn't it be easier to rub off the sticker auto?

quote:

Originally posted by Redemption:

quote:

Originally posted by Jim Streich:
Beats having a blank card where the autograph used to be after the marker fades or chips off..

Now this brings up a good question.

I always thought that ink absorbs much more into paper than it does into plastic or acetate. So wouldn't it be easier to rub off the sticker auto?

In theory I would say YES, but I would hope that the manufacturers have tested these stickers, at least in the short term. There is unfortunately no way to swear to the condition in say 10 years.

I have had only a few problems with autograph cards in the past. Some in person signed cards done in pen have not held up well. I've had noticably fading on some sharpees, and of course signing cards with very high gloss have indeed rubbed off. Improper plastic pages have also caught a bit of ink, but I've never yet destroyed a signature because of PVC.

I guess the best way to see if a sticker autograph can be damaged is to try and do it. If someone has a few they don't want, they could give them a good rub and see it anything happens. It works for Consumer Products.

quote:

Originally posted by Redemption:

quote:

Originally posted by Jim Streich:
Beats having a blank card where the autograph used to be after the marker fades or chips off..

Now this brings up a good question.

I always thought that ink absorbs much more into paper than it does into plastic or acetate. So wouldn't it be easier to rub off the sticker auto?

Now honestly, why are you rubbing on your autos?

Do you do that with your on-card autographs to see if they stay on?

I dare say both stickers and on-card autographs will weather the years if you take care of them properly.

Ed

quote:

Originally posted by Scifi Cards:
Now honestly, why are you rubbing on your autos?

Do you do that with your on-card autographs to see if they stay on?

I dare say both stickers and on-card autographs will weather the years if you take care of them properly.

Ed

Oh I'm not, and I wouldn't recommend anyone else do it, but the question was "can they rub off"? If a light rub smears the signature then you have your answer and you have to be extra careful to ensure you store them right.

Personally I'd be more wary of the glue rather than the ink over the long haul.

quote:

Originally posted by Scifi Cards:

quote:

Originally posted by Redemption:

quote:

Originally posted by Jim Streich:
Beats having a blank card where the autograph used to be after the marker fades or chips off..

Now this brings up a good question.

I always thought that ink absorbs much more into paper than it does into plastic or acetate. So wouldn't it be easier to rub off the sticker auto?

Now honestly, why are you rubbing on your autos?

Do you do that with your on-card autographs to see if they stay on?

I dare say both stickers and on-card autographs will weather the years if you take care of them properly.

Ed

Ed, I did not mean that "I" would be rubbing them smooth.

Properly protecting the cards to me would be placing them in archival safe sleeves. The cards are then rubbing against those sleeves. If the ink lies on top of the sticker and not absorbed into the card then couldn't it get rubbed off much easier?

quote:

Originally posted by Raven:
Oh I'm not, and I wouldn't recommend anyone else do it, but the question was "can they rub off"? If a light rub smears the signature then you have your answer and you have to be extra careful to ensure you store them right.

Personally I'd be more wary of the glue rather than the ink over the long haul.

This reminds me of how during World War II animation studios would clean off and re-use animation cells. Are we going to be seeing in the future fake auto cards from cleaned off stickers like the cleaned off low end sketch card fakes.

Look at the 96 or 97 Laserview football autograps a HUGE lot of those the autograph is really faded or gone completely(nothing to do with sunlight). The big product in football was 1998 contenders which had auto rookies of P. Manning, H. Ward, R. Moss I had the Hines right after it came out and the autograph was clear but by the time I had sold it a few years ago you could barely read it.

As far as the "rub off" comment this was a problem with older sports cards also, if you left them in pages or top loaders for to long the ink would stick to the plastic and when you pulled the card out the autograph stayed on the plastic(had this happen to one of my Terry Bradshaw autos and I was a little upset)..

I was just making a point, it's obvious that people have issues with stickers and that's their problem. I don't(and obviously a LOT of other people don't considering what they still sell for).. To Each his own..

quote:

Originally posted by Over_Worked_Mom:

quote:

And there is a seller on ebay selling their cards because of the way people are treated on here by the "real" collectors..

I realize you probably intended this as a throwaway jab at someone, I really don't care who, but anyone who is so willing to disperse a collection because an extremely small (relatively speaking) group of people hurt their feelings doesn't seem like much of a collector to me.

Lord knows my collection has taken it's fair share of jabs - my poor sketch babies! but that doesn't mean I'm going to throw them by the wayside and move onto something new. Just means I don't deal with those people anymore - trade, buy/sell, etc.

Having said that, to answer the more general question of are we shrinking? Someone several pages ago said Summer was a factor and I whole-heartedly agree with that. I also play mmorpg games online and the number of people who disappeared once summer came was drastic, but we know come September, they'll be back

No that's how they listed it in their auction they were tired of the "real" collectors talking down to them and the person selling their collection(which I would kill for ) isn't the only one who has made this point also. It's either my way or I'll talk down to you and it gets old..

quote:

Originally posted by Jim Streich:

As far as the "rub off" comment this was a problem with older sports cards also, if you left them in pages or top loaders for to long the ink would stick to the plastic and when you pulled the card out the autograph stayed on the plastic(had this happen to one of my Terry Bradshaw autos and I was a little upset)..

I was just making a point, it's obvious that people have issues with stickers and that's their problem. I don't(and obviously a LOT of other people don't considering what they still sell for).. To Each his own..

So then I'd think you'd understand why I worry about my auto sticker cards suddenly sticking to the plastic.

I try to take good care of my cards and I've followed the advice of many collectors on this board. When I learned the screw downs were a real potential danger for auto cards I switched to toploaders. When I learned the same was true for costume cards I did the same.

I spend a great deal on my cards and I want them (sticker autos or not) to last me a long time.

What I did with the better ones (before I sold them all off last week) was put them in recessed screwdowns. they can set in there and the autograph doesn't touch the screwdown as there is air between the top of card and the top of screw down.. That seemed to work out fine for both sticker and on card..

I think the old sports autographs that are fading may be due to whatever ink was used. I'm a Will Clark collector, and he has an auto card from 1993 Donruss, good luck EVER finding one that still looks like it did in 1993! Many cases I've seen don't even look like they were ever signed.

Hello again everyone,
I have not really posted much in a while - just been sitting back watching.
The Inkworks debacle hurt us - I know I have a stack of nonredeemable Hellboy cards sold to me by a dealer with inside info before the closing. Been burned before, but not like that. Have talked to others that got burned too - Three left the hobby at that time. Some of us probably bought some of their collections on the 'bay.
Artbox looks like they are on the way out. How long can they keep going with only Harry Potter?
Upper Deck and Topps keeps dangling carrots with impossible odds and real quality issues.
Then there is the latest trend for "HOT PACK"s and boxes. Yeah, Great stuff as long as you can afford them.
I see new companies popping up with odd goods. Sets I never expected anyway. This is good, they are trying - Breygent especially.
But the hobby IS shrinking. Some of you will say sour grapes. I say look at the Box Breakdown section.
With some dealers doing anything for a buck, some companies not fulfilling or caring about customer issues and other companies aiming at those with only deep pockets, our hobby is being sold out from under us.
I really hope the hobby survives but we need KIDS involved to grow and in this economy and hi-tech environment MOST kids are just not interested. Once the "older" collectors are gone - will the hobby be gone too?

Just found the "Future of the Hobby" thread - it sort of says it all

When I was a kid I know more than 5 persons that collect sport cards or non-sport cards or game cards. Now everyone of them just quit long time ago.

I sell my duplicates cards in eB and other sites. It is a surprise to see people searching/asking/buying cards of the 90's and not the modern sets.