Sad Commentary About Sports Collectors Digest

[hblakewolf]

Forum Readers-
As I've noted before, it's extremely "sad" to receive my Sports Collectors Digest each week. What was once filled with informative articles about the hobby and ads containing great game used equipment, is now a huge dissapointment-60 pages containing mostly ads from auction houses and an occasional article about some hobby issue that has little interest. When was the last time a decent piece of equipment was offered in an ad that anyone on the Forum added to their collection? Likewise, when was an article present that provided you with informative information about uniform or equipment collecting?

The following was posted on the Autographalert.com site, and sums up my feelings, as well as other collectors I have spoken with.


Breaking News: August 15, 2007 Sports Collectors Digest
Where Have You Gone?
Many in the hobby will tell you it wasn’t long ago that you needed an entire afternoon to read your copy of SCD.

Shocking is the June 8th issue of this magazine was reduced to a mere 60 pages. Cover price for the magazine remains at US $4.99 or $6.99 Canadian. With the recent reduction in size of at least half the magazine why not reduce the cover price to $2.95 US or even $1.95 or less?

Even more interesting or as some have said “insulting” is how a dedicated subscriber is treated by this publication. For your loyalty, you are treated with your next issue of SCD with a cover page warning in bold letters “Your Next Issue Is Your Last Issue!” You are given the opportunity to tear off the “Renewal Savings Card” and pay just $42.95 for the next year. They will even throw in a gift which the average collector care less about .........a free Hartland Vendor figurine. Who collects or wants this, wouldn’t any collector be more enticed to renew if offered a discounted rate?

Not sure we want to renew......$42.95 for only 60 pages just to read a lot of self promoting auction advertising!

More bad news, just been informed the next issue of SCD, June 15, 2007 was reduced to 54 pages.

Surprisingly, a letter arrives from T.S. O’Connell, editor of SCD. The letter starts: “Come back to Sports Collectors Digest for just $24.96 and get a Limited-Edition Collectible Figurine FREE!”
He continues: “It’s almost like getting SCD again at no charge. But this is your last chance to score with SCD.” Can you imagine the next scenario? O’Connell continues: “I had to fight tooth and nail with my publisher (he’s the guy who runs the business end of SCD) before I finally convinced him that you deserve this special reinstatement offer. I went to bat for you. And I won! You’ll come out a big winner, too, when you jump on this offer. And jump you must......So, I can only hold this last-chance, come-from-behind offer open to you for the next ten days. After that, it’s all over.”

Incredible, we’ve got neighbors for years who aren’t this kind. What a guy this O’Connell is! His P.S. states: “It comes to a measly 96 cents per issue....” We are starting to feel the pressure, a decision has to be made. We look over our last several issues of SCD and are disgusted with much of the content. What happened to some of the good “accurate” articles? What happened to the articles on autograph authentication written by someone who should be writing the articles on authentication?

Hum, 96 cents an issue. No, we’ll pass, price is still too high!

Wait, another letter arrives from T.S. O’Connell. This one reads in part: “The Plug has been pulled. Your subscription has gone blank.” He continues: “I just can’t bring myself to call you a former subscriber. So I’m going to do something I rarely do.” Wow, we are starting to feel very special! What a guy. O’Connell continues: “Yes, the very same 83% savings! And yes, I’ll also give you a FREE 8x10 photo of an old-school all-star...” An old school all-star, maybe I wished I’d taken the first offer on the Hartland figurine! One has to love O’Connell’s P.S. “This is the LAST TIME (heard that before) I will be able to offer you this exceptional one-year renewal offer...”

How can we resist? When do we start to take this guy serious as this is our SECOND last chance and the free gift is getting less attractive each time. We feel the pressure! Editor O’Connell ends this letter with a P.S. “This is the LAST TIME......instead of paying $4.99 for an issue at the newsstand (who has a newsstand) get it for just 83 cents...”
Eighty-three cents and issue, another little discount as his first last chance letter was quoting 96 cents an issue.

They must really miss us! After all, we have been long time subscribers and it’s starting to feel good getting all this personal attention, not to mention all the special gifts we are sure to treasure.

Didn’t realize SCD had a website. Let’s take a look. "Special Introductory Offer" to any stranger who happens to click on the website.....$27.98 for a years subscription. My goodness that’s only 53 cents an issue. Nearly half price of what a loyal subscriber gets offered. Now that’s a better deal maybe we’ll have a neighbor subscribe for us.

Better yet with the new subscription, maybe our gift will be, no new letters from O’Connell batting for us “tooth and nail.”

Still didn’t go for it...sure do miss those ridiculous articles on auction results....$500 for a signed photo of JFK or Marilyn Monroe and we paid $3,000 for ours elsewhere. Guess we don’t understand a bargain when we see one!http://www.autographalert.com/news.html



Howard Wolf
hblakewolf@patmedia.net

[worldchamps]

I share these feelings too....still waiting on Chris Nerat to comment on my last post...but I can understand he probably can't do it, in a public forum like this.

I am a little pissed to know if I would have waited I would have got my issues for $.53 instead.

The most useful thing about SCD to me know is I use them as stuffing in boxes when I sell something on ebay.

SCD - PLEASE BAN COACHES CORNER!!!!!

Bill
rangersstars@yahoo.com

[toddhead]

It takes me about 10-15 minutes to read through each new edition of SCD. The articles seem to decrease with each new edition. I know the hobby isn't booming with new activity everyday, but I find it hard to believe that SCD can't come up with new articles. They should seriously consider tapping into some of their readers to get articles. They could make a list of subjects to write about and publish all the articles submitted. Yes, the articles may not be professional, but they would be interesting and they would be easy to relate to as fellow collectors.

Here is a short list of subjects they could request:

Your Best Memorabilia Experience
Your Best in Person Meeting with an Athlete
Your Favorite Piece of Memorabilia
Your Biggest Memorabilia "Steal"

I came up with those in about five seconds, as a group I know we could come up with a ton of subjects to write about. If SCD allowed readers to contribute with subjects they defined I think they could double the size of the digest and make their readers happy. If they don't do something soon I don't think they will be around much longer.

[staindsox]

I have been getting SCD for many years. It is COMPLETELY their own fault. They have allowed themselves to become obsolete. There entire operation could be online...better and cheaper. They could charge a yearly fee, just like with that crappy magazine. Why didn't they create this forum? All their adds could be online with lots of color pics, great articles, they could even have the big book online in PDF. This could all be done for a lot less than the way they are doing it now. Think how much less it would cost not having to print every week or print those huge books every year. They were huge then and the hobby has boomed since. They should have been even bigger. They could have made a fortune, more than ever. But they stuck their head in the ground and kept doing it like it has been done since 1970. Big businesses can't do the same exact thing, the same exact way 40 years later. They didn't adapt, so they deserve to take a dirt nap.

Chris

[cohibasmoker]

I stopped subscribing to SCD years ago for several reasons but the main reason was, I just didn’t need the magazine anymore. When they were the only game in town, we needed SCD because of the dealer’s ads, their show calendar and the once in awhile Expert’s Corner column. And SCD certainly took advantage of their position with outrageous advertising and subscription fees. Well, guess what? EBay came along and along with the Internet; the collector just doesn’t need SCD anymore to provide us with the information we once needed.

So, why has SCD slumped? Are eBay and the Internet legitimate factors? Maybe. Has the sports collectibles market slowed down? That’s a moot point but it seems to me like the auction houses and eBay are doing very well. The bottom line is, who knows what the reason (s) are but I will say, until SCD gets their act together and starts offering something for the money, their magazine will continue to dump.

And if T.S. O’Connell is the leader of the sinking ship, the first step the owners should take is dump Mr. O’Connell who can then take his aggressive marketing ideas and start selling swampland in the Meadowlands section of New Joysey. Think of the concept, with every parcel sold, you’ll get your choice of either a free statute or a signed 8x10 of an old-school All-Star. WOW.

Jim

[worldchamps]

I did the autogrpah with subscription offer a couple years ago. I got to choose HOf of either Baseball, Football or Basketball.

I thought if I did Baseball I would get Bob Feller

I thought if I did Basketball less people would pick it and I would have a better chance of getting someone good.

I got Clyde Lovellette. I guess that is good, he is a Hall of Famer. Couldn't tell you anything about him, and it actually took a lot of research of my half to even figure out who the signature was, there was no letter or COA with it telling me what I got.

[Vintagedeputy]

After many years as a loyal subscriber, I gave up on SCD.

Too bad they gave up on me as a valued customer years earlier....

[harpt]

I find it hard to believe that SCD can't come up with new articles. They should seriously consider tapping into some of their readers to get articles.

They take articles from freelance writers. All you have to do is write an article and send it in. If it is good enough they will publish it and send you a small stipend (around $200 if I remember correctly).

[33bird]

Howard-that is very true. I keep subscribing to it, thinking I'll find some great item to purchase, but guess what? I haven't bought anything out of SCD in 10+ years. I think it's more for autograph collectors anyway. If it wasn't for Ball Park Heroes advertising in there, what else is there for game used collectors? And you can access BPH on line. I wish BPH would quit advertising in SCD and save that money to reduce some of their prices on items. Just my 2 cents, but why do I keep reupping with them??
Greg

[allstarsplus]

Using your title "Sad Commentary About Sports Collectors Digest", I used to be a steady advertiser several years ago and just became more and more upset by the mistakes they made on my ads.

Part of the blame would be on me that I was always pushing the deadline, but would want to proof the final draft which seemed to be an issue as continually mistakes were made.

Last year I only did a few ads and this year I did one====and the entire portion of the narrative for my ad was wrong. Wrong address, wrong website, wrong words. They ran the narrative from an I did a few years ago and never put in the correct one that I sent to them.

Of course they were prompt in sending me a bill---and of course I returned the bill to them with a message of ---Are you kidding me?

I also just let my subscription expire.

Andrew