As long as they keep producing new baseball cards every year, I think the hobby will survive. If the 90s card bust and the cancelling of a World Series didn't destroy the hobby, I don't think anything will. I know people become worried by constantly seeing mostly old white people at the conventions, but the hobby's changed from the past. Kids have a lot more options for their money these days, and they're not buying packs from the corner drug store for the gum anymore. So I understand for the hobby that it's important to continue to get kids and young people involved. However, I think the hobby offers a lot of things other collectibles (like coins and stamps) don't have. Basically, there are different ways to collect for practically any budget. There are so many varieties, eras, etc of cards out there, you can just make up you own way to collect. You don't have to be limited by what stamps are in an album. If you want to collect a super rare card for which less than 10 are currently known, you can probably get one for less than $50. (e.g., a common from a set not widely collected) If you want a modern card of your favorite player with his auto, you can probably buy that also. I'd be more concerned about collecting sets like "Magic the Gathering" as who knows how long that game will be popular in the future.
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