Quote:
Originally Posted by jchcollins
Agreed. I started collecting in 1986, and by the time I learned some rudimentary things about the cards that came before me - and almost immediately started pining for vintage cards of HOF'ers that I had no idea where to find - I realized that you were at the mercy of whatever shop or show you could get to that might be somewhat proximate to your physical location. Both with baseball cards (including many that turned out to not be rare at all...) and even non-sport things like Garbage Pail Kids (you'll excuse me, I was 8 in 1985...) in some cases I looked for certain things for YEARS before the internet.
The physical only days I'm sure had their benefits, but the market as a whole for many things - including old cards - was in many cases very poorly allocated before the internet. I found online auctions as a junior in college in 1998 or so, and almost immediately picked up some cards I had desired for what seemed like forever, but I had never found. I remember a '53 Topps Yogi Berra was one of them.
While I assume that comment was meant to be wistful / kidding, I have no desire to go back to an era where the only option to get cards is if you do it in person. Don't get me wrong, I prefer to buy in person if at all possible. But the selection based on what we know is possible in the 21st century now would probably be pretty disappointing across the board.
|
I missed the glory days of the hobby, I wish I could get things for 80’s prices! But at the same time, there is no way I’d have even the humble little collection I do have if I was restricted to local dealers, writing letters, and ads in hobby periodicals. So much of my favorite stuff in my collection hadn’t even been discovered then. Good and bad in every era, but among all the scams and frauds and incompetent hobby authorities, there’s a ton of good stuff. Unprecedented and easy access to everything, more known vintage cards than ever before, better quality and depth of research and knowledge. There’s much good.