I don't mean to say anyone is hypocritical or anything like this, but I really wonder sometimes when so many collectors say that they would still have the same collecting habits if the value of cards dropped to near zero. It may be true for some collectors like the OP, but I think for most, it's very, very rare. Some cards are highly valued because of supply and demand. They are rare or a lot of people want them. I would love to own a Baltimore News Ruth, and I wish the market would crash so I could afford one. However, I think that I subconsciously also wish that after I purchase that card, the market would rebound.
There is a niche for practically any collector in today's card market. Heck, a true collector who didn't care about value would collect those 80s and 90s cards that are practically worthless or most of the modern / non-chase cards. People can't give those cards away.
Also, I'm curious if anyone on the board still actively collects stamps since that is a hobby that his hit hard times. Practically no one collects stamps anymore, and I'm fairly sure the value of stamps has dived. When I was a kid, in addition to cards and coins, I also collected stamps. I would think a true stamp collector would be loving this era, since he would be able to obtain a lot of stamps at a fraction of the value as in the past. (Again, I am not a stamp collector, so I could be completely wrong here, and would love to hear from true stamp collectors on this.)
I think what most collectors really mean when they say they wish the market would drop to zero is that they wish the card market would return to the level in the 1980s or 1990s for prewar. The value of cards weren't zero, but they were a heck of a lot cheaper. I'm wishing for the early 2000s myself since when I look at a lot of the old auction archives (such as from Legendary/Mastro), I can't believe how cheap cards went back then. The level or card prices now could mean that there is a huge speculative bubble (which is definitely possible) or that there have been fundamental changes in the card market to cause these changes. The fundamental changes would basically be the internet, auction / ebay sites, and grading companies. There is a great deal more knowledge in prewar cards among the general collecting public now that used to be concentrated only in the hands of a few advanced collectors. The internet has enabled these rare cards to be much easier to try to collect, which although it seems contradictory, increases their value. And TPG's allow the general layman who collects to have more confidence in what he is buying.
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