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warshawlawExcept I remember just the same sort of mercenary, competitive, agressive attitudes back then. Only it wasn't money, it was supply of cards where the competition centered. We all combed antique stores, flea markets, etc., chasing down material in competition with our peers. And you better believe that when we got really good cards that our peers wanted, we held them for heavy ransoms--in cardboard. Let's not rose tint the past too heavily; I was there too and I remember how jealously we all guarded our resources and supplies (like the antique store I found that had a big box of old cards), or being "forced" into deals where I'd give 30-40 cards for one card that I really needed--the equivalent of a top-all bid today.
The main difference I see now is that the value of these items has grown so much that it has attracted a whole class of miscreant that simply wasn't interested when the values were low. These people don't like baseball history or card collecting per se. They are the sort of people who would otherwise be selling coins, real estate semimars, drugs or bootlegged concert CDs but instead deal in doctored cards, reprints, fakes, slabs, etc.. You can always ID them; they are concerned only with getting it to slab and what's it worth when they do. I think it is people like this that are responsible for most of the stress and fights of the hobby.
If you want things to go back to the way they were 30 years ago, sorry, won't happen. But if you want to take the stress and bitchiness out of collecting as it exists today, consider changing your circle of card friends. One thing I've learned in 9 years operating my own practice is that another client will come along if one walks. From time to time I find it necessary to "fire" a client. Usually, it is because I just do not like them and do not enjoy working with them. Life is too short to stress yourself out voluntarily dealing with idiots. This is a hobby (as some of my friends recently reminded me). When you come across people who treat collecting as an opportunity to extend their antisocial tendencies, stop interacting with them. If someone cheats a friend of yours, ostracize them. If someone is too agressive for your tastes, don't get into a debate with them. There is no percentage in it. If a person is too concerned with money, refuse to rise to their what's-it-worth bait and ignore them. Do whatever it takes to maximize the enjoyment of the hobby and minimize the stresses by removing irritants from your experience.