Finally Print Media Free

The first time I picked up a price guide was back in the early 90’s.  It was a copy of Beckett Baseball with Michael Jordan on the cover.  The first time I actually subscribed to a hobby publication was after I purchased a copy of Tuff Stuff featuring Grant Hill on the front.  For years I received copies of Tuff Stuff before flipping over to Beckett.  Before I even thought of starting a blog, I locked myself into a long term subscription to Beckett.  A few months ago I started to receive notices from Beckett asking me to renew my subscription, and I confidently threw them in the garbage.  I’m not ashamed to admit that while starting Sports Card Info I kept receiving copies of the magazine, but it has been a very long time since I have opened one up.  I never saw the need.  Next month will be the first time I’ve never received a print publication that pertains to The Hobby.  Print media is dead and the blogs have taken over.  Price guides are a complete joke and you can get all the information you need online.  Before I started this blog, I was an active member of the Beckett Message Boards (BMB).  At the time, Kevin Haake was the editor of Beckett Baseball and he would ask members to contribute articles which would then be featured in the magazine.  I had a bunch of stuff printed in their magazine and I thought it was the coolest when the magazine came and I saw it in there.  After they changed their website, I left the boards and focused much more on blogging.  Why wait a month for an article to be published when I can do it instantly at my computer?

Does anyone see a good reason for you to subscribe to a print publication that deals with The Hobby?  I don’t.  You can save yourself a lot of money by reading the blogs.  That extra cash can buy you a lot of cards 🙂

Inside these magazines I remember seeing ads for very large shows.  Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d ever get to attend some of them.