[todeen]

Originally Posted by packs

Another thing I think about in terms of modern collecting today is the thrill of opening the packs. Like I said, there is a lottery or dream home opportunity attached to almost every product that gets released now.

You just aren't going to find that kind of excitement in pre-war. Potentially if you're one of the lucky ones who stumbles upon something at a flea market. But for most of us the thrill is buying cards we love for as low a price as we can find, but often accepting that we'll really pay whatever we have to. There isn't the same kind of magic in pre-war vis a vis the unknown.

When I was growing up and opening up packs I wasn't opening them in search of a lottery ticket. I just liked baseball and I liked the Yankees and I wanted Yankees cards. That led me down the path of vintage. I wanted cards of Yankees players my dad talked about. I wanted cards of Babe Ruth. I wanted cards of Lou Gehrig. But I never wanted them because they were valuable. And I think that is a major shift in today's modern collectors. There are probably still collectors who just like collecting sets. But I think there are far more modern collectors in the hobby that just want to chase.

This is my story too. There was nothing shiny in 1991 Topps - which was my first pack of cards at 5 yo. At 10 yo, I got into 1996 Topps cuz I wanted a Mantle insert. I never pulled one, and that was my first bitter experience with buying packs. I never overcame that disappointment. I still hate buying packs today.

But I will say, from being on Twitter, I find a lot of modern collectors in their 30s who aren't gambling. They probably have similar backstories like me. And they all say the same thing, "I should get into vintage." I'm not sure it's a tidal wave, but some will jump over.

For me, I have always loved history. Ken Burns documentary came out when I was 9 yo. I loved the b&w photos and stories. And my grandma told me how I was distantly related to Tris Speaker thru my grandpa. To be a vintage collector, I think you gotta have a care for history. Otherwise, these modern investors will just be vintage investors collecting "blue chip" cards.

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