Steve:
You do bring up good points, especially concerning your statement that current cards are not overproduced in the same numbers like the 1990s. I do agree with that whole-heartedly.
I guess my "complaint" is that there still is TOO many products out there, and yes, I do realize that some of it is a very specialized market.
I was speaking with the local card shop owner recently, and he has friends and good ties with Panini, and he stated that as of now, Panini has no interest in pursuing a MLB license and are fine with just the MLBPA license. Shame, as I'd like to see some real competition to Topps. I thought the Fleer sets of 1983, 1984 and the Donruss sets of 1983-84-85 to be so much better than the Topps designs of those same years, and I thought competition was wonderful (of course, prior to the mass produced years, and now the glut of product and autograph/uniform Pulls era)
Topps seems to have a pretty loyal following still with their "base" cards (I think the designs are too similar in the past 3-4 years and thus boring), and especially the Heritage sets. I actually have purchased a few packs of the Archives sets of the past two years, mostly because:
1. They depict older players and those players I grew up with in the 1970s and early 1980s
2. The card designs are from eras that I actually collected modern baseball cards, so I can wax nostalgic with them
Since there are some "loose" regulations out there, such as Rookie designated cards now, as well as how many different products a company can produce (really I see no difference in this), I would love to see something like:
– Each company can produce only four sets: base (affordable), mid-tier, and high end, as well as a "wild card" set (think Topps Heritage)
– Prices would be more relevant to attract younger kids to our hobby. My goodness, outside of the Topps Opening Day at 99 cents, packs are generally $2.99 and up for 6-8 cards. That's expensive, even for set builders, in my book
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