[itjclarke]

I' ve been reading this thread for a few days and had to chime in. I, like many of the others to post am in my 30's (34). Being this age I feel like I came from one of the last generations, who as small kids enjoyed the gum almost as much as the cards. I still have my old shoebox of circa 1980-1984 Topps cards, which also included 5 mysterious/AMAZING cards from a time prior to my existence, 1971. I doubt many people much younger kept and carried their collections around in shoeboxes.

I enjoyed bringing my box to school everyday, sticking cards to my desk, trading between classes, etc.. Loved my cards so much, I wrote my name on the back of most. Around 1986-1987 this changed for us. At this point we'd all upgraded to binders with plastic pages. People started coming to school with 1987 Topps Mark McGwires in sleeves, which in the Bay Area were selling for $7. It was amazing! There were a few dozen hot cards that were worth the cost of 2, 5, 10 packs. Everything changed. All of a sudden some kids (w/ generous parents) had 3 and 4 year old Mattingly, Strawberry, and Gooden rookies. One kid even had the Rated Rookie Canseco. Our innocent hobby had become something very different... BUT needless to say much more exciting at the time.

I've often wondered about the questions being asked. Will cards' demand fade over time.. specifically once my generation, the last to have collected in the same style kids had from 1914-1970, ages? Younger people may continue to be drawn by baseball's incredible history, or the obvious investment/$$$$ motivations.. But I think there'll generally lack the nostalgia of collecting with that total innocence. For me I like to think it's more that nostalgia and love for history that drives me to spend lots and lots of money now.. I have never sold a card.. Though the investment side minded side of me is always present.

ANYWAY- sorry for the long windedness.. The main point/idea I want to add, is this- I've always wondered about the demographic makeup of the current collecting population. I've come across dozens of threads surveying back variations/errors/font colors, most of which yield interesting data. I'm curious if similar data on collectors' info (age, collecting interests/goals, willingness to spend) has, or can be gathered. Most who've posted seem to think the age of collectors is a general indication of the health, and future of the hobby (more younger=better). Can we gather this data? Maybe just starting with info based on what's listed in Net54 user profiles.. Then possibly get more specific and chart.. % of different age ranges, what different ages collect or even spend in a year, will they continue, etc?? It seems like a big task, but any real data from a poll/survey could be very interesting.