Gamers, Collectors, and Fanatics, Gather Around!
I was born in the wrong decade for collecting trading cards, and started collecting in the late seventies and early eighties. This was precisely when the big sportcard companies moved away from short runs and tried to convince us that every mass produced card would hold value. This was also during the “Cabbage Patch Kid” craze, when Carter and Reagan were president, and before the Beanie Babies and Boyd’s bears grew to insane values.
We just knew we were sitting on piles of gold, holding onto our binders of precious cards like the dragon Smaug in The Hobbit rested atop treasure while Bilbo crept in and stole the Arkenstone. All the while we were actually sitting on boxes of mostly useless cardboard, grinning away thinking we were the only collectors not falling prey to fads.
Boy oh BOY, were we ever wrong!
We call that time period the “Junk Wax” era…
Yeah, let that sink in...
Most of the 1980s and 90s sportscards fell quickly into the category of worthless, and only a few, graded, cards ever gained value. Now those stuffed animals from the Beanie Babies fad are worth thousands and that 1987 Ozzie Smith is worth $2. We literally found ourselves desperately looking for “error cards” like Billy Ripken’s “F” Face and the 1990 Upper Deck debacle to save us. Seriously, just how many errors WERE in that set?!?!
I’m now decades older, wiser, and less likely to believe hype. I dig deeper into the prospects while also recognizing the legends of yesteryore. Most importantly, I’m more carefull when it comes to holding onto cards, and have specific goals when it comes to my private collection.
Recently I retired, and wondered what I would do with myself now that I don’t get up and go to an actual job every day. While I pondered that, I eyed that closet in the corner. You know the one, full of with plastic storage bins lurking in darkness, heavily laden with cardboard… THAT cardboard which might have grown value over the decades…
MIGHT have…
You might say the 80s and 90s caused some trauma when it came to collecting, but I’m happy to say there’s been a clear upswing and excitement in the hobby! I LOVE where the trading card industry turned, especially how they’ve given us chase cards and try harder to preserve the value of our cardboard…
Whether you’re a Gamer, Collector, or Fanatic, you’re interested in the same thing… value!
That’s why I created GCF Cards, setting it up as a platform for Gamers, Collectors, and Fanatics. It’s more than a blog, and envision it growing into a news source not only about the cards, but the prospects, the games we play, and the memorabilia we want to keep.
Divided into two parts, GCF Cards will continue to dive into all aspects of colllecting sports cards, Magic the Gathering, and Pokemon. My goal is to provide helpful knowlege on our journey to investing in cardboard, while also enjoying the games and sports themselves!
Welcome to GCF Cards, our adventure together has just begun!
