[raulus]

I'm not sure that we can really do much. It's a phenomenon that seems like it's here to stay. The fact that the market places a serious multiple on the rookie seems like it will continue to be self-perpetuating, and it's hard to imagine any of us really managing to change that. My advice is to not fight it, but make peace with it. I just don't see any other alternative, because as much as it's cathartic, yelling at clouds seems rather ineffective as a strategy.

About your only option is to seek to be a set collector, and spend lots of time curating and extolling the value of all of the non-rookies in your sets.

Of course, if we're going to talk about rookies, then we also need to have raging discussions about real rookies v. fake rookies.

Look no further than Jordan's 86/87 Fleer.

Or 52T Mantle and Mays.

Or the Leaf Robinson, alleged to be from 49 and not 48.

And if you really want to get people excited, then you can dive into the pre-war era, where all sorts of extra regional issues and oddball sets come into play.