Will there be future generations of collectors of anything in the numbers we see today? I seriously doubt it. The digital world is much different than the one we grew up in and the passion for ephemera of all kinds is on the wane by the under-40 crowd. There will always be enthusiasts but they will become scarcer. Interest in hard-copy anything is decreasing overall.
We're already seeing an obvious decline it in the antiquarian book market as well as in comic books that are not first appearances, key issues or low-print variants.
Set building in almost all collectibles is slowly dying in interest and that trend should accelerate.
Hall of famers, key rookies and players with high name recognition for pre-1970 cards will retain value due to lower supply and condition issues. Demand will decrease but be offset by low supply.
These are my predictions as a collector for over 50 years of cards, comics and books. I seriously hope most collectors aren't investing big money in their collections. Leave your money to your kids in another form.
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Past transactions with ALR-Bishop, Fleerfan, Leerob538, Northviewcats, wondo, EconTeachert205
"Collectors were supposedly enjoying the pure hobby of baseball card collecting, but they were also concerned with the monetary value of their collections." House of Cards by John Bloom, 1997.
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