Opinion: Hoarding Baseball Card Retail Exclusives, Good or Bad For The Hobby?

Debates have been raging on online collecting forums regarding retail exclusive releases. Topps has poured on their zeal-Mart and Target only releases in 2017 driving up demand.

Bowman Platinum, Topps Fire, and Bowman Mega Boxes have amped up collectors in search of scarcer releases. With the supply limited and demand high, many capitalists are taking advantage by purchasing entire retail stocks of these releases and selling online for a profit.

Many collectors on various forums take anger with this fact. Some call it "fleecing." Others state it is "bad for the hobby." 

Hoarding retail exclusives is GREAT for the hobby. 

Low supply plus high demand pours gasoline on the collecting fire. Collectors that are shut out only want the product more, and may purchase more than they would initially once that product is found. It also creates a lot of online dialogue driving interest. When more product is released, collectors will buy it. 

Fleecing was another term used recently on a Facebook collectors group. Many collectors do not take an account of the actual costs of selling online. More on that in another blog post.