At Your Beckett Call
Written: Jun 10 '01 (Updated Jan 03 '09)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Informative and very encompassing of the football card hobby
Cons: Ever-expanding price guide leaves less room for articles
The Bottom Line: Beckett Football Card Monthly has remained a valuable source of information for anyone in the football hobby. It promotes the positive aspects of collecting to kids of all ages.
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| pmills1210's Full Review: Beckett Football Card Magazine |
Since the late 1980s, card collectors have had more football card choices than they have had in the century before the card boom. The people at Beckett Publications have been there to cover the expansion of the hobby on all fronts. Their focus on football, entitled "Beckett Football Card Monthly," was introduced toward the end of the 1989 season. In the beginning, "BFCM" was released monthly during the NFL season, and bimonthly in the off-season. Soon, though, companies were making more than enough news in the off-season. In their second year, "BFCM" went to its current monthly format.
Beckett has taken its members through all of the changes during these times. Players and companies have come and gone, and Beckett has been there to show us the players and the hobby trends. If a player has a breakout season that impacts the value of his cards, "BFCM" makes sure its readers know about him. For example, quarterback Michael Vick, the former Virginia Tech Hokie who was drafted #1 overall by the Atlanta Falcons, graces the cover of the June issue. Card companies, such as Pacific and Upper Deck, who have already released some of their 2001 cards, have created instant collectibles with their Vick cards (Pacific limited production on their Vick RC to 1,000 copies, and Upper Deck's Vick card has a swatch of a Virginia Tech jersey of his). These, according to "BFCM," are the most desired cards at present. Big things are expected from Vick, who won the 2000 Heisman Trophy, as he prepares to take his first NFL snap.
In addition to the cards currently on the market, Beckett also takes a look at the upcoming releases from all of the major NFL card companies (Fleer, Pacific, Playoff, Topps, and Upper Deck). Everything pertinent to collectors of these upcoming releases is covered in 2-3 paragraphs. They tell you when the cards will be available, how much you should expect to pay (though card shops often have to sell above a suggested retail price because of the costs of acquiring cards from certain distributors), how many cards are in the set, what inserts are available, and if autographed and memorabilia cards can be found in packs. With each company producing several lines of cards, collectors have a choice of new releases virtually year round.
Other regular features in "BFCM" include Readers Write, where Beckett staffers answer particular questions from readers regarding cards and collecting. Every month, one "Super Collector" is profiled, and the way that collector has amassed a collection of a particular player or team. Brief articles about star players and popular players are included. Recently, "BFCM" added a section about football-related web sites, and on-line activity on cards of the NFL's best and most promising. With plenty of help from hobbyists, "BFCM" gives collectors a fine overview of the hobby, always maintaining a positive approach to collecting.
As time as gone on, though, "BFCM" has made their reports more and more concise. The price guide section, which follows the values of most mainstream cards released since 1948, now takes up more than half of each issue. It, too, has become less inclusive. Certain sets that are no longer made and have shown no market activity, such as All World and GameDay, are no longer even included in the monthly guides. The biggest stars are listed by their cards and their values, but in recent years, but other stars and good players have, for several years, had their values listed under the general headings of "Unlisted Stars" and "Semistars." Beckett has a full list of those players in that section.
During the nineties, I covered the football card hobby for a small newsletter, and I found "BFCM" an invaluable research tool, often using and citing it to finish my articles (If you're not fellow Epinions member bswick1944, and have ever read an issue of "Bob Swick's Football Times," I salute you). If the newsletter still existed, "BFCM" would still be just as helpful. Today, though, the Beckett writers employ a greater economy of words to their articles.
While I laud "BFCM" for remaining positive to collectors of all ages and interests, the reality is that the changes in card company approaches and attitudes has led many a collector to quit a hobby they love, or severely limit what they do in the hobby. No collector can collect everything, and prices can be outrageous. In the early days of "BFCM," I had a circle of trading friends from one end of the country to the other. For various reasons, almost every one of them has quit. I still trade cards, but without the frequency I once had. Cards are still collected, but the trading aspect has become more and more forgotten.
Nevertheless, Beckett gives us the best of the card hobby. As football collecting approaches have changed, they have shown that they can report the best aspects of those changes. Beckett also reports, in separate monthlies, about baseball, basketball, hockey, and auto racing cards, as well as one on other sports collectibles. As long as people continue to collect cards, collectors will continue to need a friendly source like Beckett. I have every issue of "Beckett Football Card Monthly" since its inception, and as long as they continue to publish, I will continue to renew. "Beckett Football Card Monthly" reminds me why I renew, and why I collect. The pursuit of cards is still fun after all these years. Collectors, traders, and dealers who stay with the hobby know this is true.
(Update: As of April 2008, Beckett Publications has consolidated its coverage of the card hobby into one magazine, entitled "Beckett Sports Card Monthly." Football, as well as baseball, basketball, hockey, and racing, are covered by "BSCM." The articles remain short, and the price guides plentiful.)
Recommended:
Yes
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pmills1210
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Member: Pat Mills
Location: East Chicago, In.
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