I was an avid card and memorabilia collector in the late 80's to mid 90's.

I can remember a card show at a local hotel or motel about 8 to 10 times a year.

Now, they are completely unheard of? Seriously, I have not seen a single card show for well
over 5 years or more and I live in a relatively large metropolitan area.

I know that there have to be others out there who miss this activity and I'm just curious as to anyone here who has an opinion as to why this hobby has become extinct?

I have a few opinions myself but would be interested to see what someone else thinks.

Thanks!

Clough

Good question!

One thought that I have on this, is that there are so many cards that have been produced in recent years, is that maybe it has become much less desirable to collect sports cards because they are not as much of a rarity as they might have used to be. Hence then, the potential monetary value of them is not as high.

I obtained most of the baseball and football cards that I have from packs of bubble gum and off of the backs of boxes of cereal. In a pack of bubble gum, you might get a few cards. We never knew what cards we were going to get in that pack of bubble gum. Now, you can purchase whole boxes of new cards and know exactly what you are getting.

Clough

I am surprised that no one else has come along to respond to this thread. That may tell a tale right there about what might have happened to the sports card collectors. If anything, you would think that there would be enough people participating on this site who might also be avid, excited collectors of such things and who would also be willing to share with you their thoughts about what might have happened.

I do also think that as humans, we tend to go in phases and trends as to what is popular to collect. So, we might just be in the off-years for the time being as far as people being interested in collecting sports cards.

Clough

Still, no one else has come along to chime in here. This is interesting...

138street

I used to collect baseball cards in the late 70's I grew up as well as my interests cards went by wayside, gone. In the last 5 years I have started collecting again and have amassed a good collection so far. I'm really into the vintage stuff, newer stuff too but I haven't splurged on a box yet. It's more of a treasure hunt for me that's what keeps it fun and exciting for me. I have not been to a card show but would love to go to one. Some shows are advertised in beckett's. Anyway, I think some of the decline has been the expensive packs and boxes and the ease of getting cheap cards on ebay.

Clough

I do agree with you that it is much easier to get recent cards that have been made and that the idea of a treasure hunt is some of the allure to doing the collecting of them at all. It seems like some of the fun and adventure has been taken out of the collecting of the cards because so many of them are mass-produced and you know exactly what you are getting before you even purchase them.

smearcase

I am not a collector but my son is, and he does some business on ebay.

My opinion based on his experience when he was a teenager and cards were big is that greed took over and deterred the youngsters loyal participation. When I was a boy cards were five cents a pack with a big slab of bubblegum. When it got to the point where kids were asking Mom or Dad for a pack of cards at $ 2.50, there was a change of heart. It couldnt be a plain card-had to have halograms etc. Or maybe the kids would rather have that sum of money put toward a video game.

Also, we sold cards at an October fest in a small town for about 3 straight years. We did well for the first two years. The third year (I think mid to late eighties) was right after a players strike. People walked by saying "Yeah, right, I'll buy some baseball cards".

At that time, every small town in our area had a card store. Now, I can't tell you where a store is located. I think to sum it up, there lost the kids coming up because of pure unadulterated greed and delusions of grandeur.

spitvenom

I used to collect any sports cards when I was younger mid 80's early 90's. But I lost interest in it. I remember the Ken Griffey Jr 1989 upper deck rookie card was worth $100.00 In 91 and 92 I just looked now you can buy it for 40 bucks. Just like Clough said just to many out there. I still have my cards all my cards (it's a lot) but the top two cards i have atleast they used to be my best cards are a Topps Jerry Rice rookie card and a Cal Ripkin rookie card.

My 8 year old cousin collects cards he actually goes to the same card shop i used to go to so it's pretty cool to take him there. Then I lose my mind like im the little kid and start buying stuff. So there are a few out there still.