I feel sorry for younger collectors...

This hobby is a double edged sword for me in many ways. I love to take a nostalgic look back over my collection and remember picking up cards 20-25 years ago. At the same time it just makes me feel old some days and I long for not only my childhood years, but for the simplicity in card collecting that has died away.

If you wanted your favorite player in 1986 you bought wax/rack packs until you either got him or someone else that you could then trade to a friend for that player. If you found yourself still in need of say, a 1986 Topps Don Mattingly card (great card), you could always try your local card shop or show. Base cards were all there were back then and although it may seem inconceivable for younger/newer collectors, it was great for not only player collectors but for set collectors as well.

Recently I read a post about someone’s PC and one of the respondents said, “Don’t you have anything but base cards?” I thought it was a sad commentary on the state of today’s collector and hobby. Before there were game used, certified autographs, chrome, etc… there were base cards and collectors were happy. “Each to their own” is how the saying goes and I understand it all too well, but I personally don’t collect anything of my favorite player that wasn’t issued during his playing career. Now don’t get me wrong, I won’t turn down a free GU, but the appeal isn’t there. If that is your cup of tea then more power to you but don’t ignore the base cards, that’s how the “hobby” evolved into what it is today (for better or worse).

Money seems to be another factor, cards used to be $.50 a pack and kids could afford them. Now, somehow kids/young adults have the ability to afford boxes of cards that cost hundreds of dollars??? It makes me appreciate the $.50 days so much more. Prospecting used to be collecting doubles to trade, now it’s buying cases so you can grade and sell cards of someone that’s never played a single game for insane amounts of money.

I miss the days when a card’s photography and design used to determine its popularity, not how many dime sized patches of, what may or may not be authentic, jersey are on it or how if it’s a chrome refractor, superfractor, 1/1, and how high it will grade at PSA/BGS.

Times change and I realize this. Once again, if your thing is collecting the “shiny” stuff then God bless. I’m not criticizing your choice or your collection. For those that weren’t around back then I understand you don’t have a choice but to collect the new stuff... but I do feel sorry that you missed what I consider a great time to be a card collector. At the geriatric age of 32 maybe the hobby is passing me by but I sure do miss the old days sometimes. Sorry for the long rant.

Good post. And thanked.

Great commentary......I thoroughly agree w/ you 100%. Very well put!

Mozzie22 said:

I miss the days when a card’s photography and design used to determine its popularity

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I totally agree with this sentiment in particular. People need to take a breath when ripping packs and actually take in the photos and text on the back.

Me too. It would be cool if manufacturers would begin making creative insert cards again (like the 90s/early 00s) but the autographs and GU have taken over.

Mighty Bombjack said:

Mozzie22 said:

I miss the days when a card’s photography and design used to determine its popularity

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I totally agree with this sentiment in particular. People need to take a breath when ripping packs and actually take in the photos and text on the back.

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90's are back on the FCB baby!!!

My father used to come home once a year with a completed set of topps from that year for me. It used to be the best day for me. I would match up the teams with each other and play my own fake games with the cards that me and my dad made up. We had a dice.
if you rolled:
1- single
2- double
3- triple
4- homerun
5- walk
6- out (if out and someone was on base- roll again 1-3 double play)

it was some of the best nights of memories I have about sports and I played 2 college sports.

Great post

The great thing about our hobby is, anyone can still buy all those cards you talked about... and still buy cheap and/or base cards. The hobby is and always will be the same, just with more options is all. It's all in how you look at it. JMO

IndyMann said:

Good post. And thanked.

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+1

At 34 I know exactly what you're saying. Sadly, I feel the same way sometimes...that the hobby is passing me by.

My greatest collecting joy was buying a box of 1984 Topps for $15-$20 and rushing back to my parents car to open it. About halfway through I pulled a Mattingly RC! Man, THE card I had wanted and it was mine! Great times.

Now all I have to look forward to is paying $650. for a card I want. And I hate spending money.


Just not the same excitement.

Great post..

Remember buying older packs cheaper, because they were older and buyers wanted the new packs..

Or getting disappointed when the card you wanted was the one that the GUM was sticking to it and leaving a nice wide swatch of white on it..

Or collecting the boxes the cards came in as they had cards on the bottom of the box...

Great post. Even though I don't feel like I should be lumped into the younger collectors catgory.

I love base cards, cards with cool pictures, and I unlike some others love to read the card backs....and heck I even collect the old cardboard.

I do hear what your saying though, and the hobby has deff changed. Everyone has their own style of collecting, and that's what makes the FCB a great bunch of diverse collectors!

It has become very hard for the college student and younger to build up collections. I am fortunate enough to have been able to buy a couple cases of draft over the past few years but even with that you have to buy quantity in the long run to profit. Because I dont have that much money, i dont want to go spend $300 on a single card because what fun would that be. One part I can't wait for about being out of college and having a job is having a salary and being able to enjoy myself a little more. Hopefully i can get a part time job when i get back to school for the 2nd semester to help as well.

I dont see how kids in high school or younger manage to have collections. There are obviously some kids who work and I am all for that, but most young ones who have anything are given so much money from their parents it seems. I am glad that I have always had to work for my $

I agree 100%. For me, I get more excited picking up a rare odd ball issue of Ozzie than a patch or auto. Patches and auto's and gu can be found fairly easy but there is nothing like finally picking up a 93 topps finest refractor or a mirror blue from select. Heck I even get happy when I find a Topps sticker I still need

Being just a tad younger at 27, I still understand exactly what you are talking about. I remember opening 1989 Donruss at like $1.00 for a pack was OVERJOYED when I pulled a Griffey '89 RC. And the MOST expensive card I had to worry about was Griffey's 1989 Upper Deck card. Nothing else was heard of or worried about (unless it was Nolan Ryan's RC or some Ruth or Mantle card).
I do enjoy the G/U and Chrome and Auto's of today's market, it does make the hobby more diverse, but I REFUSE to spend $8 on a pack of cards and get what, 4, maybe 5 cards in it IF I'm lucky! HOW MANY were in a pack of '89 Doruss or Topps or UD? 15-20? That was great!
But yes, times have changed, and sadly has helped to produce a lot more counterfeiters which is absolutely horrible as well. How many posts are there about KNOWN counterfeiters and is this legit or not and why does the patch not match the uniform, etc. I think that is the saddest part of where the hobby has led us.

I couldn't agree more with all your statements. I for one have no clue how kids these days can afford cards. Even more so, I remember walking in any little store (tobacco store, newsstand, grocery store, fruit stands, etc) and finding cards. Now I never see cards anywhere. Once in a blue moon I will see them in Rite-Aid, but other than Target and Walmart, they are no where. And its $3 a pack minimum, for what 3-4 cards. Horrible state for card collectors.

Mozzie22 said:

simplicity in card collecting that has died away.

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While I agreed with and enjoyed everything you posted, this statement says exactly what has gone wrong. For almost all people simple hobbies are more fun than complicated hobbies. Too many interests have made our card hobby complicated. It often seems that cards today are less about a community of collectors and fans of the game and more about other things, like gambling and money. Although a little bit gambling and money is OK, they sometimes dominate collecting too much.

What's really sad is that almost everybody who collected in 1986 knows EXACTLY what that Mattingly's 1986 Topps card looks like and can remember what a dozen other cards look like from that year. How many people know what a 2008 Topps Pujols looks like? Can one really remember how to distinguish what year a Prime Cuts patch card is from when all they can remember is the patch? Does having too many different brands divide up the hobby community so much that we don't even know what the cards someone else collects look like?

Just give me my simple hobby

"What's really sad is that almost everybody who collected in 1986 knows EXACTLY what that Mattingly's 1986 Topps card looks like and can remember what a dozen other cards look like from that year."

Damn, that is SO true

uniquebaseballcards said:

Mozzie22 said:

simplicity in card collecting that has died away.

Click to expand...

While I agreed with and enjoyed everything you posted, this statement says exactly what has gone wrong. For almost all people simple hobbies are more fun than complicated hobbies. Too many interests have made our card hobby complicated. It often seems that cards today are less about a community of collectors and fans of the game and more about other things, like gambling and money. Although a little bit gambling and money is OK, they sometimes dominate collecting too much.

What's really sad is that almost everybody who collected in 1986 knows EXACTLY what that Mattingly's 1986 Topps card looks like and can remember what a dozen other cards look like from that year. How many people know what a 2008 Topps Pujols looks like? Can one really remember how to distinguish what year a Prime Cuts patch card is from when all they can remember is the patch? Does having too many different brands divide up the hobby community so much that we don't even know what the cards someone else collects look like?

Just give me my simple hobby

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Amen to that. As I read I was seeing so many cards in my head....87 Topps Wally Joyner, 86 Topps Ripken Jr.


Funny enough a good friend of mine and I play that game once in a while "Decribe the card". He'll name a card he's thinking of and I have to describe the players pose, home/away uni etc in as much detail as possible. lol Odd, I know.

uniquebaseballcards said:

Mozzie22 said:

simplicity in card collecting that has died away.

Click to expand...

While I agreed with and enjoyed everything you posted, this statement says exactly what has gone wrong. For almost all people simple hobbies are more fun than complicated hobbies. Too many interests have made our card hobby complicated. It often seems that cards today are less about a community of collectors and fans of the game and more about other things, like gambling and money. Although a little bit gambling and money is OK, they sometimes dominate collecting too much.

What's really sad is that almost everybody who collected in 1986 knows EXACTLY what that Mattingly's 1986 Topps card looks like and can remember what a dozen other cards look like from that year. How many people know what a 2008 Topps Pujols looks like? Can one really remember how to distinguish what year a Prime Cuts patch card is from when all they can remember is the patch? Does having too many different brands divide up the hobby community so much that we don't even know what the cards someone else collects look like?

Just give me my simple hobby

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I appreciate all the responses. This reply states something I too meant to touch on. I can tell you what year a Topps card is from just from looking at any example from that set from 1972-1990, and for many before that. I miss that familiarity.

I respectfully disagree with anyone that thinks the hobby is the same. You can still pick up those old cards/boxes but the hobby is different. You can tell how old visitors to this site are just by reading their posts. When someone posts about picking up a 1980's Topps sticker, or their most recent Brett Butler pick up, or a Donruss All-Star Jumbo, I can relate and I know that person is a collector and not in it for the money.

When a poster starts with, "How many 13 year-old-looking prospect variants do you think Razor will include this year," I know that although they may have passion for the hobby, it isn't the same as my passion for the hobby.

I echo a lot of these sentiments, but also understand that, like all hobbies, things change.

I enjoy auto cards, chrome technology and the thrill of prospecting (if you can call it a thrill).

Times change and our hobbies change as well.

I think change has been good for the hobby. Think about how much has been brought to the world of cards since the mid-90's. Auto's, game used, refractor technology and serial numbered cards.

Card prices, pack prices and box prices are starting to get extremely out of hand, but remember the base, base sets (base Upper Deck, Topps, Topps Total) and other sets are still very affordable and great for younger collector's.

There are still plenty of things that keep me in the hobby (even though I have thought about leaving on more than one occasion), be it the chase for that card I really want, the flip of a hot prospect or the thrill of what I may pull from some wax.

Also, I am only 23 years old, but I can still name what set cards are in just by looking at them.

And I mean by YEAR, probably all the way back to '74 or '75 (which is ten years before my time).

So all hope is not lost