Has the programme market reached it's end?

[Drvonshineck]

I have been looking around on eBay recently and it appears that programmes just aren't hitting the heights they once were.

For example Orient V Chester league cup 60/61, I have seen it go for up to £20.

One sold recently for £2.60 including postage, this wasn't a one off either another couple have went for less than a £5.

Is this the end?

[Wullie]

I see collectors branching out to press photos and tickets stubs etc. That is established collectors . I don't think programmes have appeal for todays youngsters , they are just too expensive and bulky. There will always be collectors , just not in the numbers that once were , hence a decline in prices in general.

[Eck]

I think sellers will stop doing cheap listings,it's just not worth it. I've had a few decent items go for next to nothing.

[bisphamseasider]

It's been like this for a long while now although some dealers still show prices from the old days.

All the collectable Blackpool post war stuff such as the single sheets against Norwich, Leeds, Man City, Burnley etc have dropped by at least 50% in the last 10 to 15 years.

But the real scarce post war items such as single sheets against Arsenal and Wolves still command high prices for now.

One day these will also fall when all collectors have them in their collections and without many new people coming into the hobby this trend will continue.

Quality pre and wartime items however will still attract decent prices for some time to come.

[das]

Part of the problem is trying to find things in searches on ebay especially now ebay can exclude things from searches if they feel like it.

Another is trying to find what games programmes were issued for as some clubs didn't always issue programmes for every match.

Finally modern programmes are £3 each and you can add another couple of pounds for p&p given the weight so it is expensive to add to. The sensible thing would be to wait a season and get them for much less but that's not how it works with collecting things. Plus the amount of storage space required for modern programmes compared to those from the 50s and 60s or even the 70s and 80s

[roughyedz]

das wrote:

Part of the problem is trying to find things in searches on ebay especially now ebay can exclude things from searches if they feel like it. Another is trying to find what games programmes were issued for as some clubs didn't always issue programmes for every match. Finally modern programmes are £3 each and you can add another couple of pounds for p&p given the weight so it is expensive to add to. The sensible thing would be to wait a season and get them for much less but that's not how it works with collecting things. Plus the amount of storage space required for modern programmes compared to those from the 50s and 60s or even the 70s and 80s

Talking of things being excluded by E-Bay, I remember a year or two back looking in my local library at some e-bay searches, and one of the programmes concerned Scunthorpe United, when I tried to look at the particular listing it was BLOCKED . . . . for obvious reasons in a library run by the local council

[cychris]

Would be interesting to know what the ratio is these days for sales of
programmes at matches versus attendances,I know a few years ago
the clubs could probably sell 25,000 copies on a 50,000 crowd,anyone
have any up to date info? Also I belive the mail order market has
suffered due to the high postage costs considering the weight of some
of the current season/big match progs.
Chris

[pompeypete]

Wullie wrote:

I see collectors branching out to press photos and tickets stubs etc. That is established collectors . I don't think programmes have appeal for todays youngsters , they are just too expensive and bulky. There will always be collectors , just not in the numbers that once were , hence a decline in prices in general.

Well their not branching out to 'Match Reports', I have most v Pompey available back to 1980 (pre 80, I'm keeping but have scans).
Not a sniff on e bay.

I have to agree with everything 'Willie' has stated.
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[Kickoff3pm]

Well on ebay surely yes, the cost of postage is high enough already so another 10% taken by ebay is going to put a few off. The number of programmes where postage cost more then the value of the item must now be very high.

But that is god for fairs if you can get people out to them. And I think people will just move on to collecting other things.
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[Telfordfan]

Part of the problem, is two-fold.
1. Programmes charged on ebay and dealers sites, for run of the mill league and non-league programmes from the 70's to date, should be 50p to a £1.00 each top whack. That is the profit they should be looking at. But we have some very experienced dealers, who charge £2.00 + £1.50 postage. Or £2.99 BIN. So your paying £3.00 to £3.50 for a programme worth 50p - £1.00. No wonder the next generation of collectors aren't coming through.
2. The internet - a lot of programme content is easily accessable on club websites and forums, so people no longer feel the need to buy a programme.

I sell on ebay's free-listings days, charge 99p or £1.00 for a programme + £1.00 postage. If it doesn't sell, I group together and sell in bulk, just to shift them, even if I just break even. A sale is a sale.
Too many dealers, think a programme is worth say for example, 1960's general for £3.00, and continually put it on for that price. If it's not selling for that, it ain't worth it, so lower you starting price to a free-listing day for 99p or £1.00, you'll get more interest, and will probably shift it.

[BAZZABAGGIES]

Programmes are on the decline , with 5,000 + dealers now on ebay there is too much competition. They are mostly selling for pin money to add to their regular incomes so for full time dealers are been hit the most.
Ive listed thousands of 1960s at £1.99 post free 1950s £2.99 post free and they still dont sell.
The fees Ebay charge is extortionate my fees to Ebay are around £450 - £500 a month, with paypal and the robbing Post office chipping in Im glad i no longer have a mortgage.

[blue50]

...it might be interesting to identify the age profile of this site..I think we could all guess the answer
I'm not sure there is a next generation of collectors..both my sons love football and cricket but have no interest in collecting memorabilia
I know an Everton collector who has started selling off his football and music collection as he has no one to pass them on to
It's the same with vinyl collections I think collectors are all of an age and prices will drop as there are no new collectors coming through and the market because of ebay is becoming flooded
20 years ago "top of the range" cricket autographs from the turn of the century(1890-1910!!) you could name your own price for £300 £400 today you would be lucky to get £75 for them.and that would be to a dealer thinking they could sell them on....

[hibernian]

Over the last few years, I am now 53, but especially recently, I have lost quite a bit off interest in collecting and struggle to find the enthusiasm to add anything to what was once a varied collection.
I have disposed of most of my post 60 Hibs collection including rare friendlies abroad. I still have my pre 1960 homes and have kept my Scottish pre 60 one per club and big match collections, but to be honest they have not really been looked at for months.
My 2 lads do not have the collecting bug so I suppose one day the old programmes will be sold.
Certainly in the case of my Hibs programmes, the purchaser was no teenager. Hibs are a collectable club and the money currently being spent appears to come from new collectors in their 30s or 40s who have quite a bit of disposable income. The prices achieved on ebay about a year ago for some Hibs issues in the 50s were frankly unbelievable, and youngsters just could not compete.
I think that in most cases pre 60 programmes will always find buyers because it is the natural step to go back to 1946 to try and complete collections.
I know a few people who only collect pre 70 issues and have no interest in the modern magazines.
I know clubs wont do this because of the advertising revenue, but in this day and age a colour teamsheet with managers notes on the back should suffice for the matchday programme at say 20p
Maybe then young collectors would show more interest in completing collections of the bulky mags that have been produced for the last 25 years.

[London Lilywhite]

There are younger collectors out there. I would class myself as one at the grand old age of 31!!!

[roughyedz]

London Lilywhite wrote:

There are younger collectors out there. I would class myself as one at the grand old age of 31!!!

I am just wondering what got you hooked , as the stuff that they produce nowadays is just NOT COLLECTABLE . . . . too expensive if you have a limited budget , not to mention the storage space needed ?????

[littlewiggy]

I've lost interest in programmes, they take up too much space & I'm not in a position to compete with the main Newport collectors.

I concentrate on tickets, press photos, cards & badges nowadays.

[Wullie]

The main thing about collecting is the nostalgia. In "our day " when programmes cost pennies, you look at the team sheet, 1 to 11 and you would see the same players for years on end. Legends. Charlie Hurley , probably one of the best centre half of all time, a loyal servant of Sunderland. Today he'd be of to megabucks Chelsea in a flash.
Look at the squad sheet nowadays 1 to 55 in todays £3.50 merchandise catalogues , sorry programmes. 90 percent foreign names you can hardly pronounce. Most will be gone next year replaced by another lot who will probably get a dozen games and one or two goals before they are off.
Anything post Premiership , frankly is crap and should be thrown in the bin. Look at all the poor souls trying to sell a whole set of programmes for their teams past 20 years on eBay for £500 / £1000. All the zero bids tell you everything you need to know.

[Drvonshineck]

Wullie wrote:

The main thing about collecting is the nostalgia.

That is it in a nutshell.

Unfortunately modern programmes will hold very little nostalgia for the next generation of collector I suspect.

But then that shouldn't effect the older programmes for example, I only collect pre-79/80 with a few exceptions.

[sharrowblade]

So just me collecting the s***e then?
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A Sheffield United Programme guide

[littlewiggy]

sharrowblade wrote:

So just me collecting the s***e then?

LOL!!!!

I'd still be collecting the buggers if I had the funds sharrow.

Still got a few thou, but I've sold loads the past couple of years to fund away games & our two Wembley trips.