More proof cards / card shops are dead
The baseball card industry, which did $1.2 billion in sales in 1991, shrunk to $270 million last year.
As for an explanation, those at the Grey Flannel Gallery in Lakewood Ranch point to the overproduction of baseball cards, making certain cards no longer sacred or unique.
"Card collectors did become annoyed with all the cards that were available," said Howard Rosencranz of Grey Flannel Gallery.
Rosencranz says there are also fewer superstar players and fewer card companies. In fact, Topps, a major card distributor, is up for sale.
"The numbers are down because the Major League Players Association, and the MLB have begun to limit the number of companies now that do trading cards," said Rosencranz.
Others blame the business slowdown on the skyrocketing popularity of football, which many say is the new American past time.
In fact, 13-year-old Jack Bechtold only trades football cards.
"Less players to collect and so if you collect all of them, it wouldn't take as long as baseball would," said Bechtold.
Some say the Internet also is to blame, as kids can spend time on it mostly for free, while collecting cards costs money.
"When I was growing up, you'd buy packs for 50 cents or a dollar, maybe $1.50," said Dan Beck of Grey Flannel Gallery. "Now you won't find packs for less than 3 or $4."
In an effort to attract more kids to card collecting, some companies are refocusing their marketing and advertising on kid-friendly channels like Nickelodeon and creating free web sites specifically for kids
