Problems are all around us in life and that is no different in the card collecting industry. In this "pillar article" I will take a look at these problems, identify the causes, and most importantly find the solutions. If only it were that easy in all of life.
One of the problems facing the industry is the growth of technology and how kids today don't have many hobbies that don't involve some sort of screen. As kids get into these hobbies, there are less of them interested in the collecting of cards. I discussed it in a previous post, but where kids used to trade baseball cards on the playground, now they are looking at their iPhones. The cause is easy to identify and it's already been stated several times. The solution is much more difficult.
Why do kids in 2021 do anything? That question may seem too simple but thinking about more specifically: what motivates kids? 1) Entertainment. Kids want to be entertained and while card collecting may be interesting too many kids, they simply have other options that are more interesting in their minds. 2) It will make them look cool in front of their classmates/friends. I'm not about to dive into the discussion of what goes through a child's mind on that regard, I will likely just appear outdated on whatever the latest "tikTok" trend is.
My solution is simple. Simply baseball and these manufacturers needs to make collecting cards "cool" again. Whether that involves technology or videos is up in the air, but something needs to change with how these products are marketed to kids. The effect of marketing on kids has been studied extensively and to no surprise it is very effective. Kids aren't able to discern when they are being fed bullshit, compared to real valuable information that is actually helpful. I'm not advocating for these card companies to do anything unethical but all I'm saying is marketing to kids and what they like is extremely effective. If that means making a Topps Now TikTok page, I'm all for it, sad as it may be.
The second problem is another issue I have discussed briefly on the blog as well. The majority of the people within the industry are decent people who want the best for everybody as a whole. Then their is the small subsection of people who put quite frankly are very nasty people. Most of us are in it for some $$$, but this small subsection takes that to a extreme and intends to get more money at any measure. This includes but is not limited to stealing cards, intentionally faking card's credentials, trying to take advantage of other traders. This short list is just the tip of the iceberg to what these people will do. Their causes as briefly mentioned above are the need for more money and just their general personality.
How do we combat these people and put a stop to this behavior? It's not as easy as it may seem at first given that these people operate very sneakily generally so that they aren't tipped as being such. For example, let's say you put on in a room with five people and were asked to pick one of them that engaged in these counterproductive behaviors. Your chances would be about the same as if you had picked a name out of hat or around 20%. It's a problem that hides in plain sight would be a good way of putting it. The only solution that is viable is if you see something or experience something report it. It's similar to reporting a tip to the police, always be diligent and know that people may be trying to take advantage of you.
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