The difficulties of getting kids to collect

[Rich Klein]

Originally Posted by deweyinthehall

I just re-discovered this forum after looking for a place to talk about just this kind of subject.

1) Have a comprehensive set that includes star outfielders, but also back-up catchers and long relief men. That's how I, and I suspect many others, really started to learn about MLB - the teams, the players, etc.
2) Include lifetime stats, with minor league records where they fit - at first glance, it looks like Joey Votto has been around only as long as Khris Davis.
3) Give all teams a roughly equal amount of cards - with some recent issues, it's hard to imagine kids in San Diego or Baltimore getting very excited about what they have to chose from.
4) Have a nice, non-flashy, cardboard-ish stock with no foil printing - this is something Heritage and Big League get right. Some recent Topps base cards had to be held at just the right angle to read the player's name.
5) Have absolutely no computer generated "paint jobs" - leave those guys that switch teams for the update issue;
6) Don't make it impossible to easily build a base set - I'm looking at you, Heritage - no better way to discourage kids than to make it hard to complete a set.
7) Sell cards at someplace other than just Wal-Mart or Target. Make them ubiquitous.
8) Insert sets are fine, but if you want parallels, autos, relics and such, keep it very simple and make them slightly easier to find than Amelia Earhart. It might help keep the guys who loiter around Targets at opening to snatch up cases of product away, and that would be wonderful.

I know it sounds like an old man yelling at people to get off his lawn, but I just can't imagine it being that hard. Kids are either going to buy cards or they're not.

I suppose the one good thing about younger people staying out of the hobby means that eventually I'll be able to pick up some 1960s sets for a few hundred dollars. Seriously - can these sets still go for thousands if no new blood comes into the hobby?

Anyway, glad to get that off my chest - happy collecting!

1) Your basic Topps set issued in series 1, 2 and update pretty much covers all that. Yes there are 2-3 cards of the stars but you are just as likely to have a Chance Sisco card as a Mike Trout card. This one is covered

3) See comment about Topps 1. 2 and update. Yes, all teams are covered

6) I get your frustration about Heritage and the SP's but,,,, the original sets those cards are based on had SP''s and tough cards to find. Guess what, that's actually being somewhat true to the original. I can live with the SP's especially when Topps returned as they did this year to having common players as SP's. What had been going on the past few years with the stars almost all being SP's was terrible. This year is fine.

7) I'm sure Topps and Panini would love to sell cards at more than those just the places you mentioned. That is what caused some of the "junk wax" issues of the 1980's and 90's when cards were everywhere. But I get it, the wider audience does need more places for cards.

8) I could explain in long detail why the card companies do parallel sets but the simplest answer is that this makes sense for them and Topps does a pretty good job in their basic set of mostly affordable insert cards with a few better ones tossed in.

I get your rant, but as the old saying goes, be careful what you wish for.

Rich