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

[insidethewrapper]

If everyone does their own research, we should be able to come up with an estimate percentage. Add up all the people you know personally ( at work, family, relatives, friends etc) and divide by the number who "activity" collect cards. Then use this percentage against the total population. My percentage came out to about 1% (me) x 327 million = 3 million. Not many of these go to shows, or buy hobby publications etc. Most publications have ceased printing. Check the auctions, not a lot of bids total( 1,000's by the same people).

So maybe a few million buy some cards, but only about 50,000 or less are really in the hobby, in my opinion. Pre-war ? .

[Rich Klein]

More than we think but less than we would surmise

Here is an example: I do free admission for my December show each year. There is a nice man who ONLY comes to that show and none of my other shows during the year and is working on his 1970 set. He is actively collecting the set but not in a real rush. I define him as a collector but someone else might not.

Just an example

Rich

[JunkyJoe]

I appreciate all the replies so far!
One word of advice ...
Don't let yourself think about it too much, or you might end up with a brain cramp (I speak from personal experience on this one ).