Quote:
Originally Posted by Neal
Next week, I'll be 51 years old. I started collecting in the mid to late 70s, with 80-83 being big years. Packs were 30 cents and local card shops were abundant with the occasional fire hall show. It was a blast.
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I'm 45 years old, so I collected on the same trajectory as you, but just a few years after. I started collecting around 1979, as the 80's were the big years of collecting for me.
I still say (and I may have posted this earlier in this thread or another tread), once those cards became a value for me, it all changed. When I was collecting back in 1981, 82, 83, 84, it was all about completing the Topps Baseball set each year. I didn't bother with Fleer or Donruss, or even other sports, I just wanted to complete that 792 card set for Topps each year. I would have traded a double of a 1983 Tony Gwynn Rookie back then for some common player to complete the set.
But once I saw a value on these cards (around 1986 when my friend told me about the Canseco Donruss Rookie) it was never the same. Then Upper Deck came around and cards started to skyrocket and they pretty much priced most kids out.
Less is more is the eventual downfall of kids not collecting because there are just too many sets today, and you have to be a real collector to know which is which. Back when I was a kid, I rode my bike up to Wawa or 7-11, bought a few packs of Topps Baseball Cards, and life was good.