Ever wondered how many ACTIVE collectors there are in the United States?

[Bigdaddy]

So I'm thinking the best way to get to the number is to first all of agree on what the definition of a collector is - is it the 10 year old kid whose father gave him some cards for his birthday, the older 'retired' hobbyist who has a nice collection but doesn't spend $$ on it anymore, or is it the guy chasing the shiny stuff?

I'd put out a definition that a collector is anyone who would be interested in going to the National should it be around the corner from his neighborhood.

If we all agree on a definition, then let's all put up our best guess and then use the 'wisdom of crowds' to get to a best estimate.

My guess is based on the people I work with, which is about 2000. Of those, I know of two other collectors, and probably don't know of another 2-4. So that's a total of about 6 per 2000 people, or .0.3%. If the US population is 327 million, that gives us 981,000 'collectors'.

What's your number?