After dropping off my kids at school this morning, I stopped for a second to take a deep breath and appreciate the first of my days off. Of course I made the cardinal sin of looking at Twitter during this process.
And there they were, just as they had been all weekend, more goddamn posts about marked-down 2018 Topps products showing up in Wal-Mart. People were posting multiple hanger boxes and value packs showing the Clearance sticker, and others posting images of the cards they pulled while chasing Ronald Acuna Jr super short print variations in 2018 Topps Series 2; and while busting all 2018 Topps Update in sight hunting for Ronald Acuna Jr rookie cards that have been in big demand recently with the youngster chasing the 40-homer, 40-steal milestone.
Now, the marked-down products have been seen at Wal-Mart stores across the country. And for me, the actual number of Wal-Mart locations in my area that actually carry cards has been reduced to ONE. Just one … and it’s like 12 miles from where I live. So if the proximity of said Wal-Mart was closer, my ass would likely be at the store looking for these products too, so I can’t say I’m being super strong here. But fact is I fought off the urge to make the drive — even if I had a friend with whom I was texting urging me to go.
But this is the world we live in.
We are GREATLY influenced by what we see on social media. We buy more stuff that we need; we shop more frequently even if it’s “just to see”; we are all looking to be that next guy who achieves hobby greatness by pulling a monster card “from a blaster at (insert store name here).”
Of course no one talks about the amount of time, the amount of gas, the amount of money spent on blasters, packs or whatever that don’t have cards that make us feel great about our purchase, or make us hobby legends — even if just for a day or so — in the eyes of our social media peers. And the cycle continues regardless of our results. We’ve created a card culture with real FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) and a lot of it is generated on social media. We’ve created a chase for items that are not always rare. This is why so many of us often find an excuse to go to Target, Wal-Mart of whatever retail store sells cards. Three months ago we chased Bowman; two months ago it was Bowman Mega Boxes; and over the last month it’s been Topps Chrome and Allen & Ginter, and now these damn discounted 2018 Topps products.
I am guilty.
I buy stuff sometimes because I see others busting the products; I buy stuff because the hunt brings a short-term adrenaline rush. I am fucking guilty because I LOVE pulling something shiny and signed that makes others also want to own the card.
I am goddamn complicit in this cycle … and I am sorry.
I go through times of strengths and weakness in this hobby. I am not sure in what category I should place today’s feelings and actions. But it does feel good to write it out, instead of checking out with another stack of product I do not care about.
This is NOT to say I will not buy cards anymore. I truly do love them. But I am tired of allowing my FOMO take control of my thoughts and actions, especially when I have so much else to do.
Thanks for reading.
I’m just going to say this right up front — I don’t want to see your NSCC Twitter posts.
cardboardicons.com 
The Waiting Game has made me come full circle on Project 2020
Posted in Commentary with tags baseball, baseball cards, FOMO, Ken Griffey Jr., Mike Trout, Project 2020, sports, Topps, Waiting Game on July 31, 2020 by Cardboard IconsJust a few months ago I sat in front of my computer going on and on about how great Project 2020 was. It really was a joy to wake up each morning wondering which two cards we would see released through the Topps web site.
I admittedly entered the series not completely understanding it, but luckily I joined early and picked up the iconic — for this series — Mike Trout by Ermsy and the Ken Griffey Jr. by King Saladeen direct from Topps. Every day afterward was like an art appreciation class — I got to tap into my senses and determine if a certain card “moved me.”
Then the hype train came and I began looking at things slightly differently. Instead of looking at things with my art appreciation goggles on, I began to look at them as a bit of a FOMO situation — a fear that if I did not grab anything that remotely pleased me, then I might have to chase it later at a much higher price. This is not to say I do not enjoy the cards I have purchased, rather this is admission that I bought many more cards than I really should have.
For a few weeks we know how hot that series was. Trout by Ermsy reaching $3,000 and Griffey by Saladeen eclipsed the $2,000 mark, and many more — including many that I own — continued to fetch nonsensical coin. It was literally like Topps was printing gold and consumers were lining up each day to grab some at pennies on the dollar. Many went head over heels and bought multiple copies every day hoping to see continued huge cash returns; personally I stuck to one copy for most cards unless I saw there was an opportunity to gift a few to friends and/or family.
So when the bubble burst with the Keith Shore Griffey, I didn’t worry too much. I was still into the cards for my personal collection. However, what happened right about that time was Topps had to adjust its shipping dates due to increased demands, and the Shore Griffey (and Joshua Vides Nolan Ryan cards also released that day) completely overwhelmed the system. Shipping had already been behind due to the COVID-19 issues impacting manufacturing and shipping — and I was OK with that; I preached and continue to speak of patience — but the newer delayed times really started to hit home several weeks later as I continued to make purchases and the delivery envelopes stopped arriving. And even though I knew a delay was coming, it was hard to rationalize spending the money each day when the reward (delivery of a physical card) was still a long ways away.
To some degree I say the delivery delays have hampered my enjoyment, but I should clarify that this doesn’t mean I don’t still like the cards or the project as a whole. In fact, what the delays have done is really make me more critical of my purchases — which to some extent is a blessing in disguise.
When you jump into a collecting project — whether it be Project 2020, or decision to PC a player, team or a certain card — there can be a tendency to be blinded and stubborn. And for some of us, this could mean forcing an issue — do you really need all of the cards, or are you OK with just owning the ones you really like? It’s a personal question with no right or wrong answer.
At this point, I’m still buying Project 2020 — even though I’ve got like 50 cards that have yet to be delivered. I’m still a fan of much of the artwork, and I absolutely feel the need to buy every version of certain players or every release by a certain artists. However, I also find myself operating from a slightly different point of view, which is a bit more in line with my original perspective: Buy the ones I actually like, not the ones that I sort of like and fear I might have to pay more for later if I change my mind.
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