Im So Glad That Beckett Has Taken The Time To Talk About Us…

I was at the mall today waiting for my wife to do her shopping when I stumbled into borders to grab a cup of coffee. While I was enjoying myself, I heard a large chuckle coming from one of the other patrons. I look in his hands and see he is reading the latest issue of Beckett and typing on a computer. Funny enough, he is a student at California State and is writing a paper on the poor effect that price guides are having on hobbies, including looking at Wizard Magazine for comics and Kelly Blue Book for Cars.

I went over and started up a conversation, and he started feeding me lots of economic models about the ill effects that price guides have on collectibles as well as reasons that advertisers make money off the contributions to the mags. When I told him who I was, he recognized my name from the blog. He even said that they made reference to card blogs in the recent issue of Beckett as good, but basically just a fun place to go to talk to other collectors, as long as you still get all the info from the “true” hobby reporters.
As I read what he was referring to, I saw it was a little more drastic. First, in an article from recently laid off David Lee, I saw that he had taken a good five inches to explain how the rumors of the Panini sale were exploited on the blogs before it was considered “confirmed.” He took a classic sports reporter approach and said that blogs were something he “liked,” but should basically be written off as credible news sources due to speculating about events before they are reported on by the big dogs. This is coming from the former editor of a magazine who hasnt published a REAL expectation of card value EVER, and used half the magazine giving a printed blow job to their boyfriends at Panini. Oh, but wait, it gets better!
Later in the magazine, they published “30 reasons to smile” about card collecting. Number 17 was about the blogs, though it was said that some of them could be “cesspools of misinformation” and full of “uneducated ranting.” Really? So its something to “smile” about even though its been “reported” that the 90% of the total blogosphere who bash Beckett like a job are loathed by the evil empire. Im so glad that the blogs are making a mark on a magazine headed for the recycle bin so much that they need to trash us as reporters for the hobby. Yeah, if you are getting your ass fucking kicked by amateurs who do it for free, I would take every chance to discredit them too.
Mike at Borders, thanks for the fun hour we had.

Dammit!! This Is Now A Freaking Epidemic

Ewensel emailed this auction for a Reggie Bush Bowman Chrome Auto that sold for 70 dollars. Notice anything a little off from one like this one?

The first card was not an auto card to begin with, dont let the refractor throw you. Notice the off sig, the missing ghost box where the sticker needs to be put, and im sure the missing cert sticker on the back. Looks like someone either found a way to rub off the auto on another crap sticker and put it on this card with a fake bush sig, or got their hands on a blank sheet of Topps stickers and started signing for dollars. 
See, guys, it was only a matter of time before the sticker system was taken advantage of buy douchebags who love to drink sun dried period blood for sustenance. This guy is one of those douchebags, and must have taken some pointers from the genius who put not one, not two, but THREE NFL logo patches in this Eli Manning card. The sticker there is not real either, Manning’s card was never autoed to start.
EDIT: This is quickly becoming an epidemic. Guys, please watch out for these obviously fake auto stickers that are being applied to non-auto cards.

Is Beckett FINALLY Going Under?

Man, if the news I received from John is true, color me fucking elated. He sent me some inside news that said that Beckett had not only gone through MASSIVE layoffs in recent weeks, but that the layoffs will continue very soon. Much like SCD, the magazine’s content will shrink considerably in coming months, mainly due to a lack of money. There is also rumblings among the Beckett employees that the number of publications will drop, as well as circulation, so that the money hemorrhaging from the Beckett accounts may slow as much as possible.

John basically said that he doesnt predict the magazine to be around much longer as readership, subscriptions, and basically everything has hit a massive downturn. Although I feel bad for the innocent employees who will ultimately lose their jobs, I do not have anything but contempt and hatred for the people who have basically destroyed any semblance of ethics that may or may not have been present at the company.

Certain practices at Beckett have already spawned a blog that was started by former employees affected by the layoffs, as well as garnered widespread hatred among the many people who still take stock in the grossly outdated and outclassed magazine. Considering how many ridiculous fucking things they have done over the last year, I am beyond goddamn happy this is so close to happening.

Finally there will be no more sham box breaks of product hand picked and hand delivered by people at the manufacturers to the asshats who open them. No more incoherent prices that are drawn from the pricing hat with no ties to actual value at all. No more cry babies at the Beckett blog who run to their secret lovers at Panini and Topps to give them exclusives so that the blogs wont get more traffic than they do. No more blatant stupidity in the grading service BUSINESS that shows how much of a sham it really is. No more underhanded, unethical, unprofessional actions that damage the expectations of people who dont know any better.

The time to stop the lies is now, and I will be there to piss all over the burnt ashes of a company that deserved to go more than any single entity in the history of the hobby. There are still so many people with the wool pulled so far over their face, that I am continually sickened by them. Maybe, once the sheep have no leader, things will change for the better. However, if Beckett miraculously stays afloat, the hobby will never be free from the evil grasp of the magazine riddled with conflicts of interest.

Plus, after numerous examples of douchebaggery by the hobby media, why would anyone want to further support the people who only care about making money, rather than the responsibility of proving truthful coverage to the collectors out there? You may think its great and wonderful that every product gets nothing but kind words in the shit stained pages of Beckett, but with that kind of crap polluting the minds of people out there, no inspiration for change will ever provoke creativity. I know you feel the creeping boredom of the latest products, please dont take it for the only possible outcome. With people out there who give honest reviews, without worrying about backlash from advertisers, there is no reason to read anything from tainted meatpuppets other than for comedic purposes.

Its your dollars that spark change, so please keep that in mind. I may only reach a few people, nothing in the grand scheme of things, but with word of mouth, I have found that an idea can change more than one would expect.

More Douchebaggery From The Mainstream Hobby Media

Most of you probably know all about Sports Collector Digest, its one of those news sources that I cant fathom people reading for info, but many still do.

*facepalm*

Rob over at VOTC has posted a link to some pretty damning stuff about SCD and their relationship with Coaches Corner Auctions, who seem to be allowing awful fakes, shill bidded items, and all sorts of big no-no’s to be auctioned off to unsuspecting people.

The link Rob provided is from Frozen Pond, another auction related website, who did a huge write up on these incidents, and from this article, you can imagine that many collectors have much more of a knowledge of most items than the auction houses that sell them. This shows quite a horrible track record for SCD and CCA.

See, for those of you who think the mainstream hobby media has any reason to provide reasonable coverage, you are wrong. They only care about one thing and it isnt which set is the best of the year. Its green, and they need it to function. I will say that even though the post is from a site that specializes in auctions, it still doesnt make it wrong.

Its situations like this that make me continue to support a mainstream hobby media boycott, as it is just ridiculous the conflicts of interest that plague it. At least, with most if not all bloggers, you know we are collectors who care enough to write about the hobby for free.

Thanks Rob for uncovering the Douchebaggery at its finest.

Have We Reached A New Level Of Douchebaggery?

Well, we now have something completely different to worry about in the fakes department. Instead of just ripping out a swatch and replacing it with something completely ridiculous, the donkey fuckers are now removing stickers from other cards, rubbing off the auto, signing a new auto and reaffixing it to another card they have faked. Here is an example done by newcomer to the drippy ass licker club T. Wall.

This card IS “numbered” 1/1, but that is not a real patch, and that is definitely not a real auto. If this weren’t stupid enough, the auction is a private listing, and the guy has about 5 other fakes on his auction page, including this “Worst Fake Of The Decade” Eli Manning.

Guys, keep your head on your shoulders and don’t be stupid enough to buy the cardboard diarrhea this guy seems to emanate from every orifice.

h/t FCB board