CHAT
In the fifteen months that I've been writing this column and maintaining this site I've come to realize one thing about sportscards on the Internet. They're constantly evolving. I looked back through some features I wrote last year and saw myself pointing you to one great site or another, only to find that more than half of them are no longer on the web.
I guess people start sites for different reasons, and sometimes they
achieve what they've set out to and sometimes they don't. In the
long run all I can do is keep pointing you at more sites, so even if the
old ones are gone you'll have a new one to surf. So grab your board in
one arm and your pc in another, and let's catch a few waves you may
have not surfed before.
Waxpack.com
Here's an ambitious site that seems to change and grow almost every day. Jared Landress is the owner of JML's Cards & Collectibles in Coral Springs, FL who has taken on the task of creating Waxpack.com. I've spoken to him a couple times recently and enjoy his passion for our hobby. While his site has a commercial side to it, he adds some cool features and good content to make it worthwhile to visit even if you're not looking to buy any cards.
There are free bulletin boards for you to use to try to sell your own cards, and an interesting idea called The Card Room where you can trade in your cards for points that can be used to buy the cards you want. In addition to trading in your cards, you can answer the daily trivia question to gain more points.
The promotions page lists any contests going on at Waxpack.com. The April promo was for a 89 UD Ken Griffey Jr. rookie card and May's contest will begin any day now. The news page currently features some predictions for how the new baseball season might turn out, while the information guide is a growing page of resources on various topics that all collectors might need. The Commentary Corner is a place where Jared writes what he thinks about the hobby, and welcomes others to submit their own thoughts.
In all this is a site you should take a look at and I'll be keeping
an eye on to see what the future of Waxpack.com will bring.
Vintage Memories Archive
Michael Langlois and I have traded email on various occasions over the past year and I respect his opinions as much as anyone I've spoken to about sportscards. A few months ago Michael began writing a regular column about older cards (and life in general back a few years) at the Sports Collector's web site. If you haven't been stopping by his site every week or so to see what's on Michael's mind that week then now's a good time to catch up by visiting the Vintage Memories Archive.
If you saw the word "vintage" and started to scroll down this page then stop! While "Vintage Memories" is a great name for the column don't let it fool you. Michael covers all four big sports and is great at finding a way of linking the older players and cards to the newer ones. Just check out his feature on John Elway's Super Bowl win and watch him manage to discuss Elway, Unitas, Mantle, Chamberlain, and Rocket Richard without missing a beat.
If there's one area that I admit I don't cover well enough it's vintage
and older cards, so I'm more than happy to point you to an expert in that
area that I'm sure you'll enjoy reading Vintage Memories.
SportZcards
Not just a cool sounding name, SportZcards is another example of a new site working hard to offer something more than the standard card site. Based in Ontario, Canada, SportZcards offers a place for people to go to buy and sell (on free boards), as well as enjoy some basic fun with sports and sportscards.
They have their own Hot List page where they track the hot teams and players based on people emailing their favorites. If you fill out their contest form you might win a prize from your favorite sport. You might also want to read some Deep Thoughts about our hobby or join a fantasy league if you're into fantasy sports.
It will be interesting to see where SportZcards is heading, but they're
out to a good start with some bright ideas for what type of site sportscard
hobbyists really enjoy.
I hope you enjoyed the three sites we visited today. Each is offering a little bit more than the usual fare for sportscard sites and I'm always looking for those hidden gems so I can point them out to you. Have you found an interesting sportscard site that I haven't featured or linked to? Why not post the address on our bulletin board so we can all take a look. I'll be looking for the best so I can add them to our ever growing list of great net links.
CHAT