Biggest changes in the past 5 years?

[sesop]

Exactly- how to make collecting appeal to a younger generation. That's my concern. I'm excited to get back into the hobby, but in a weird way, am kind of discouraged by the discount pricing- meaning- the market, in general, seems soft. As nice as it is to think that the e98 Hippo Vaughn I sold for $500 could be bought back for half that today, part of me worries that even though its a bargain, if my kids don't care about my cards wne I die and they sell it, they'll get $12, so the "bargain" I jumped on was actually a loser. If I do this in scale, picking up scads of cards because they're so "cheap" nowadays, I'd be upset that I sold at the peak of the market, got back in as it was declining, and rode the wave to the basement. Again- I'm not into cards "for the money," but I'd be lying if I said there wasn't some semblance of hope that at the very least, the cards will keep their value better than, say, a hamburger.

Yeah- so many young people with so many distractions, and who the hell cares about Gordon Hickman (T206 SLer) a hundred years later? (Did anyone care about him much in 1911?)

As excited as I was to get back in, I hate to admit it, but I kind of have cold feet now. This is a hobby, but its also an obsession. I know I won't be happy with one or two cards- I buy what I like, so I'll have a collection, which costs money, soon enough if I get back into it, and something about the notion of less people having less money to spend on cards, less general interest, etc, makes me worry that it can l only go downhill- which may be ok if my taste was crappy condition 1990's cards, but I like nice, 100+ year old cardboard, and I'd be remiss to start "investing" in something that will only be worth less (not "worthless") however many years down the road.

Am I the only one in this boat?

As for the black swamp find- I just checked it out. My house is old- why haven't I ever found a box of e98s lying around? Even beat up and creased and stained with caramel would be fine. Ha!

It's really fascinating to come back after such a long break. I truly do appreciate all of your input and am starting to get a sense of what the hobby looks like from the board, VCP, various auction houses, recent eBay prices, BINs, and stuff ending tonight, etc. No matter what, this is an amazing hobby and even if I don't get back into it with the veracity I had years ago, surely I'll find a few cards which suit my fancy- although the E105 Mello Mint Knight was pulled out from under me last night at B-L...

Thanks again. This is great stuff!