the buzz log

Attempting to discern the value of those Barry Bonds baseball cards tucked away in a forgotten shoebox, curious collectors turned to the Search box. Queries on "baseball cards" eked out a modest 10% gain this week, but the little slabs of cardboard accounted for a slew of related searches.

Bonds' record achievement spurred a whole pack of intriguing queries. We noted large spikes on "baseball card stores" (+223%), "topps baseball cards" (+164%), and "free baseball card value guide" (+136%) over the past seven days. Figuring out if cards were commons or collectibles was of utmost importance—as indicated by lookups on "baseball cards values," "beckett baseball," and "baseball card price guide."

Far be it from us to burst your stale bubblegum, but we recently read that most cards produced in the '80s and '90s are worthless. Maybe those "barry bonds baseball cards" will be worth something someday—but don't count on them to put you through college.