If you have a few minutes, then I encourage you to listen to what this gentleman has to say.
If not... I'll go ahead and paraphrase his thoughts.
1. The term isn't flattering and paints an imprecise picture of the hobby.
2. He believe collectors should do their best to promote the sports card industry, but labeling a significant chunk of our hobby's history as the "Junk Wax Era" is not a good way to bring kids and novice collectors into the hobby.
3. New collectors who hear about the "Junk Wax Era" will be less excited and possibly avoid collecting cards from that time period.
4. The phrase "Junk Wax" makes it seems like cards are pieces of scrap garbage instead of collectibles that should be considered pieces of art.
5. Labeling something as "junk" suggests that an object has neither monetary value or intrinsic value.
6. Generalizing cards from this era as "Junk Wax" is a disservice to both current and potential collectors.
7. The term implies that cards from this era were of low quality, which isn't exactly true.
8. He understands that cards from the era tend to be overproduced, but production runs are only one way to measure the quality of a set of cards.
9. He doesn't believe collectors should conflate monetary value with quality.
The bottom line is I agree with a lot of the stuff in the video, but at the end of the day I don't really have an issue with the term. Sure it has negative connotations, but it's also a part of our hobby history.
Collectors have been using that term for decades and it's never stopped me from buying 1988 Score or 1991 Topps baseball cards.
It would be a different story if the term was offensive to people, but it doesn't target collectors. It's about a time period.
Whenever I talk to people interested in trading cards, I almost always mention the "Junk Wax Era". But I also explain that it's a great starting point for those interested in collecting for fun. Sure, I want to be a positive person... but I also want to be a person who keeps things real.
That being said... I'm just a middle aged guy who enjoys a great hobby debate. I wrote this post, because I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on the topic.
Should we shelve the term "Junk Wax Era" for the sake of our hobby?
Happy Saturday and sayonara!
35 comments:
I think you're right that "junk" is the wrong word for it; maybe "the overproduced" era instead. I mean, the cards aren't bad in general, but the overproduction of the same stuff really hurt the hobby. I was one of those young collectors who brought in junk wax cards to a card shop early in my collecting days hoping to sell or trade them, and to find out they were worthless was pretty annoying. But fortunately things got much better after that for quite a while.
For me we're in another downswing due to the monopolies in the sports I collect--baseball and football. It's been a long time since I felt the urge to bust anything new because of the dearth of variety. Instead I've been focusing more on player collecting, and that's actually involved chasing a lot of the missing junk wax era cards!
I am hockey collector and we shared that 'junk wax era' too. One of the hallmarks of the junk wax era is that for many it was not about collecting - it was an investment with an expected big pay-off.
I realize that part of the hobby still exists (and is a big part of what fuels collecting), but prior to 1990, people collected for the love of the hobby - as cards increased in value, millions of people collected/bought cards and immediately stored them away without even looking at them. I also realize I am idealizing the pre-junk wax era, but in the 80s, kids did not put their cards into penny sleeves and top-loaders with dollar signs in their eyes; on the other hand, I have been to card shows where someone 'busts a box of wax' and does not even bother with the base cards - so there is that too.
While the cards from that era are not junk from a hobbyist point of view, I still enjoy the fact that I have a few cards that are highly sought after and worth more than just pocket change. The 1990-94 era offers very few examples of cards that anyone would hold in esteem.
I have no problem using the term 'junk wax' to describe that era, not only because of the billions of cards produced, but also as an indictment of the greed that consumed the hobby during that era.
-anonymous paul-
I use the term ‘junk wax era’ all the time because it is exactly what cards are from that era are from - no one is going to convince me that a nicer, friendlier term really changes what those years are about as far as all the crap like 1988 Donruss, 1989 Topps, 1991 Fleer produced.
Like you I haven't got a problem with the term; but I tend not to use it at all. In part because when I was collecting back in the mid-to-late 80s and a bit in the early 90s, it wasn't junk to me! And I still don't think of it as junk. In fact thinking about it now, I think at this point the phrase "Junk Wax Era" is kind of cliche and just doesn't mean anything. If I'm being honest the cards being produced now seem just as over-produced, and Topps is doing their level best to put out more than the big 4 ever did in one year!
I don't believe we ever left the junk wax/overproduction era - it has just shifted in terms of content. I think there are too many autographs and relics and the cards are overpriced at retail because of it.
He also alluded a couple of times that the hobby doesn't need kids to remain healthy- I don't agree with that at all. Right now, junk wax is about all kids can really afford to break themselves anyway! The card makers seem to agree with this guy, however, as even their kid friendly products are geared more towards an adult's income.
I'd also like to point out that Topps sure does love the 1987 set- they've never been afraid to bring that design back in an insert or subset. The card makers don't have any issue with the Era, Panini is rehashing all the 80s Donruss designs and all the 90s insert designs.
Good points.
For me personally I tend to just use the term because it's good shorthand for describing an entire era. I like for me there's pre-war vintage, post-war vintage (post-WWII to around the late 60's), vintage ('70's), junk wax (80's and 90's), modern ('00's) and the era we're in now.
The one reason I can't really bring myself to call it the overproduction era is that cards are still overproduced now. It's just that the perception of it has changed drastically because card companies found a way to make sure cards retain their worth in spite of the larger/huger print runs in the internet age, compared to what's ever come before (that method of course being serial number'd parallels).
I like the idea of maybe changing it to ‘overproduction era’.
Regardless of many of the sets being massively overproduced, I still am missing a good number of cards from sets in that era. While I am putting all of my loose cards into binders, I may try and tag all of my cards on Trading Card DB so I can know just what is missing. Does anyone know if it is simple to do?
I'm going to zero in on point 5 since focusing on "monetary value" is the crux of things for me in terms of looking at the Junk Era. During that era we all thought cards had tremendous value only to find out a couple dozen years later how so so wrong we were. My generation went from "Grandma threw out my dad's cards because she thought they were junk" to "My mom saved all this junk because she thought it was valuable." The end result is that I learned that collecting for monetary value was not for me. The good news is that I also grew up with Sesame Street and my favorite character happens to love trash.
I am so Okay using Junk Wax to describe those years, especially to a new or potential collector. I do highlight the key cards that hold all of the "monetary value", but I also explain that I have all of those sets, probably paid no more than $2.00 for those sets. Plus additional cards for my mini collections and PC's. They get it. Heck if they want those cards I'm pretty sure I have monster boxes full of them. Adding to the cliche...One mans' junk is another mans' treasure.
I enjoy cards from that era (a big box of them got me back into the hobby) but I think the term is essential for making clear to the many, many people who have a box of the stuff that they aren't going to be able to sell it.
I experienced cards before the junk wax era and after it, and there really isn't a better way to describe it. I suppose "overproduction era" is more accurate, but it's not as colorful or wonderfully apt. I think if you're offended by the term "junk wax," you're thinking too hard.
Yeah, I originally collected during the height of all that (1990-1993), and when I returned to the hobby in 2012, my monocle did pop out and fall into my tea cup when I first heard the term "junk wax". I felt a little personally offended that my Robin Ventura rookie card and the like were considered trash by today's collectors. But as I got more familiar with the current state of the hobby, I totally got it. It wasn't long till it didn't bother me at all. These days I try to use the term "overproduction era" on my blog just because I know there are a percentage of collectors out there who dislike the term (notably Billy Kingsley, who full-on "hates" it and will put you on his shitlist if you use it.) Junk is quicker and more to the point, but I understand how it can irk some collectors.
I've gotten to call it the "overproduction" era. I also tend to agree with those saying we are still sort of in the "overproduced" era it is now focused on the multiples of parallels, relics and autographs in underproduced numbers. Instead of producing millions of just one card they are producing millions of parallels of one card. And short printing way too many. In the last 5 years or so maybe longer it seems that it is impossible to complete a "base" set due to the rookie cards being short printed.
Anybody who refers to any cards as junk is not a card collector. They are fools who think they are going to live off of true collectors.
Anytime I see anyone use the term, it tells me everything I need to know about that person. It tells me they don't really care about the hobby. It tells me that they ARE going to try and sell me something. It tells me that what they are saying is not worth reading.
It isn’t a negative term, just a description of the time when cards were over produced and yes, in comparison to older vintage and more modern sets rookie prices the cards of that era are basically junk wax. If someone doesn’t want to collect the cards because of a simple term, then it is their loss. I didn’t watch the video, just going off of your points, but for someone to be upset is kind of humorous.
With all that said, with the exclusive licensing and dozens of sets each year in the major sports, we have entered Junk Wax 2.0. There is so much cardboard being dumped on the market to satisfy the contract agreements that sets are looking more alike and they are being released so rapidly that collectors are getting lost.
Interesting topic. I agree with some of the readers that this era was supposed to get collectors rich. Collecting went from being fun to business oriented a manufacturers overoroduced...probably not far off of what a junk bond is. I think it is an appropriate term, but set collecting from that era can still be fun because of the low cost and great memories. We haven’t strayed really from that attitude these days. The majority of collectors I feel are expecting to get rich off of their spending in the card industry. Great topic!
I like cards full stop. What I see over here in the UK is people trying to sell "vintage, highly collectible" baseball cards and they're almost always 1987-1992. I think calling them "junk wax" sends a warning to people starting out that there is a lot of that material out there.
I quite like cards from that era, though. Today's cards all feel very samey and slapdash. Quirky stuff from the overproduction era is often more fun.
The term doesn’t bother me but I think it’s inaccurate. There was so much innovation and variety in the 90s that it was almost impossible to not find some product to like and enjoy.
The most important aspect of the hobby is to enjoy what we do. Buy and collect what we each like. Try not to be swayed by price guide watching or worrying about dollars to gain. There is so much good and fun stuff to collect from that era , so I will keep digging through those bargain bins. There are plenty of treasures to be had.
I could not be less offended by the term. I use it all the time and don't plan to stop.
I have no concerns about the term at all. As someone who collected before and after that era and someone who bought a pretty big collection last year that had a majority of the cards from that era, I don't find it offensive. Overproduction era may be more accurate but it doesn't roll off the tongue as well.
Concerns over the name remind me of something similar in the world of music. I subscribe to Sirius XM radio and one of my favorite stations is Hair Nation. On Monday nights a guy named Eddie Trunk does a show. I really like his show but he refuses to refer to the mid-late 80s and early 90s era as the Hair Metal era as he finds it offensive. I personally think he is being too sensitive and feel similar about those offended by the Junk Wax Term.
My peak collecting years coincided with the junk wax era which means I have a particular nostalgic connection to the cards from that era. But I also have no problem at all with the term. Sure, some of them are nice cards, but there are also way more of them out there than society has use for, so they are "junk".
"overproduction" as others have observed above might be a more accurate term, but it doesn't exactly roll easily off the tongue like junk wax does.
I luv me some Junk Food, Junk in da Trunk, and Junk Wax. Peace out.
Interesting discussion and the comments here are all over the board which is to be expected. I was easing my way out of the baseball card hobby as the late 80s and the pallets of wax boxes at Sam's Club came along. I remember seeing a couple of guys with carts full of the stuff at the checkout line. And I remember that when I worked in an elementary school about then that lots of kids had lots of cards.
The overproduction leaked over into football and that's where I was caught up. I loved the Pro Set cards and I especially loved that I could buy three-pack sleeves at the local Albertsons and trade with the kids in my classes. Fun times.
Nothing like a great sports card discussion. Thank you to everyone who took the time to leave their 2¢.
Dennis - I've been in the position where I've had to deliver the bad news that the 1985 Topps McGwire and 1986 Donruss Canseco rookies are worth only a fraction of what collectors originally spent. But my philosophy is bad news is better than fake news.
Anonymous Paul - I was one of those who switched from collector in the mid 80's to investor during the late 80's. It shaped the collector I am today.
Laurens - I agree. I don't see the need for a nicer, friendlier term either.
Peter K. Steinberg - It wasn't junk to me either back then. But 99% of the cards from that era are stuff I don't really think twice about. A big part of that has to do with the fact that I own it already.
Brian - In regards to autographs and relics... you hit a grand slam. I think that's why some people have started to shift back to rookie card collecting. Although there's plenty of rookie base cards to go around and around and around.
Zippy Zappy - I agree about overproduction still existing. Production numbers have definitely dropped since the 90's... but so has the number of collectors.
Jeremya1um - Outside of creating an account, I haven't done anything with TCDB. Maybe one day.
Nick Vossbrink - Lol. Great comment.
John Miller - Yeah. If people need to focus on the positive, then focus on the fact that there are plenty of complete sets from the Junk Wax Era that can be purchased for the price of a Starbucks beverage.
Brett Alan - Yes. And yes. I should just cut and paste your comment the next time I need to explain myself.
night owl - One of the things my colleagues and I talk about at lunch is how people (lol.. our students) tend to get offended more and more easily with each passing year. Maybe collectors are too.
defgav - Billy hates it? Oh dang. I've used the term a lot on my blog over the years. Hope I didn't upset him too much.
CaptKirk42 - You make an excellent point about the transition from millions of one card to an excessive amount of parallels of one card. Hopefully card companies will begin to see that.
Billy Kingsley - I'm gonna dedicate a blog post entirely to you tomorrow morning. Stay tuned.
Corky - After reading all of these comments... I'm starting to think the Junk Wax Era never ended.
SumoMenkoMan - Well... I'm definitely in the minority then. I stopped collecting for profit years ago. Don't get me wrong. I know guys who make money off of the hobby. They're able to buy and sell cards for profit on a regular basis. But it takes a lot of time and effort. Plus it's just not my idea of fun.
Jongudmund - I totally agree. There are plenty of awesome baseball cards sets from the 1987 to 1992 era. 1987 Topps, 1990 Leaf, and 1992 Fleer Ultra are three set designs I absolutely love. Heck... I even love the Topps Big series and the Topps Kids product too.
Baltmoss68 - The 90's were definitely one of the most innovative eras in our hobby's history. It's why I love collecting so many things from that decade.
The Lost Collector - Good to know that I haven't offended you with that term. I don't plan on stopping either.
arpsmith - Hair Nation. I love it. I can't speak for others, but I love looking back on my old fads and laughing at myself. If I had that hair style back in the day, I'd probably be bragging about it and posting it on this blog and FB to give my friends a good laugh.
Sean - I totally have a nostalgic connection to that era myself. And yeah... I'll respect peoples' decisions to use the term Overproduction Era, but I'll stick to Junk Wax Era.
Anonymous - Now that's what I call a legit "trifecta".
Commishbob - You're so lucky. I wish my students would bring cards to school and trade. Heck... I was even okay with them bringing Pokemon cards to school. Pokemon and Yu-gi-oh still have a small following, but I'm talking five to eight kids out of 1,000.
Yeah,add to that an era with an asterisk next to it.Who knows,maybe that over production made It possible for more kids to collect, creating most of the collectors who blog about cards today.
'Lingua'!? Why 'Lingua'!? Lingua is 'tongue' in Portuguese LOL
I am very late to the game here, so no one will really read this but you Fuji, and that's a huge maybe.
But the phrase "junk wax" is fine. That YT needs to get off his high horse. It does not turn anyone off from the hobby. As a few others have stated, people used that period hoping to score huge that next really big card. They were far less collectors and far more investors. And their investment in a ton of Phil Plantier cards went on the way side.
Well boo hoo.
That is the rub of investments - some pan out and some do not. You win and you lose. And with the plethora of offerings during the junk wax era, you have some great players and cards, but the sheer abundance makes their value junk. Very few cards hold any real value. Does it suck for some really great players, HOF and HOVG? Yup. But oh well.
Changing the name of the era will not draw in tons of collectors. And if you are a collector, you won't leave because of the name. It's simply a name, like being called "Gen X". I always see it as a reference to the value and not the quality. Cuz there are some REALLY great sets released (93 UD, 92 Topps, 01 SC, 03 Donruss), but then you have 95 Fleer. I dare to hear this YT defend that POS as "art". More like "fart".
It's junk wax. Embrace the phrase.
I have no problem with "junk wax era" either. I consider the term to be more related to investments than the cards itself. I have yet to use the term (or any term) around my kids when one of them buys a repack box. He's very happy to get a 1988 Maddux or 1987 Puckett and isn't worried about the price of the card, just that he has a HOFer.
BTW, has this era been named? Is it the Parallel era? Monopoly era?
Well I'm even later to this party. Sometimes I feel like I'm missing out because I don't get offended at the drop of a hat. Irritated yes, but offended no. There is nothing offensive about calling this period of time the "Junk Wax Era". Calling it something else is not going to change what it is. And I LOVE cards from the junk wax era. Some of my favorite sets are from that era.
You also have to keep in mind where you find these cards...thrift stores, Goodwill, Savers...etc. You don't see 2017 Heritage High Numbers there, but you'll find a truckload of 91 Score. I also agree with other bloggers that cards are still overproduced...see how easy you can find 2012 Triple Play or 2016 Leaf Babe Ruth if you don't believe me.
I was in my late teens/early 20's during that era and I certainly didn't consider the cards I bought (and I bought a lot) as "junk", nor do I now. But as others have already stated, the term comes from an investment standpoint. If you're a collector, they're not junk...they're on your wantlists.
Big Tone - Great point. Overproduction definitely gave more kids an opportunity to collect. If you're a kid in my neighborhood, you'd be hard pressed to find a blaster at the local Target. Then again... these days kids have access to the internet and credit cards, so I guess if they really wanted cards they could order them off of D&A or eBay.
Ana Lu - You have homework. Reach out to the YouTuber and ask him.
JediJeff - Lol. I read every comment! :) As for drawing in tons of collectors... I'm not sure there's anything that will do that.
Jafronius - Maybe that should be my next post... Name This Era. Both of your suggestions make sense. But I'm not sure it's as sexy as the Junk Wax Era.
Swing And A Pop-up - You had to bring up 2012 Triple Play. Lol. I stumble across that stuff almost as frequently as 1991 Donruss.
Dang, the one weekend I slack on blog reading and I almost miss the boat on this one!
"Junk" is a relative term. I call it by that name, but since I wasn't collecting then, I'll be the first one to point out that I like spending hours squinting at Pro Set football stat lines for variations, or combing through piles of monster boxes for singles to complete sets that I've never started until now.
You probably won't see wax boxes of 2007 Fleer for $5 each (except maybe Triple Play), or bulk singles of 2010 Heritage for less than 10¢ each, but I'll still occasionally buy the '91 Fleer (like this past August) just for the fun of building them.
I was the "king of junk wax" at my old LCS because I'd literally blow the dust off of the single stock '91 Upper Deck etc. because everyone else didn't need any.
There are some truly junky sets, but there are indeed more that are still collectible in that time frame, just like any other.
I do think, though, that the majority of us that are blogging right now about sports cards are doing it because of their collecting passion, not so much looking to get rich. But I’d venture to say that it’s more of an industry these days than a hobby to the majority of buyers.
Not sure how I missed this post the first time around.
I like the idea of calling it the overproduction era, but it would take some serious effort on my part to change my ways and commit to calling it that after all of these years calling it the junk wax era.
Great discussion and fun read. Thanks for the post, Fuji!
GCA - Glad you didn't miss the boat. And it's nice knowing that I'm not the only one to appreciate those yellow bordered beauties often referred to as 1991 Fleer.
P-town Tom - one of the best parts about blogging is the discussion that takes place sometimes. I wonder if the YouTuber knows how much people were talking about his topic this past week.
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