What is the one thing that has changed most since you started collecting?

[ullmandds]

Information for sure is at the top of my list...to be different i'll say "availability" or access to cards has changed the most. Back in the late 80's/early 90's you'd only see the cards that were right in front of you. No internet...no auction infrastructure like we have now. The first time I saw a tolstoi backed t206 I paid up big time because I had already had a Drum back and I thought tolstoi were impossible to find!!!!

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

Information for sure is at the top of my list...to be different i'll say "availability" or access to cards has changed the most. Back in the late 80's/early 90's you'd only see the cards that were right in front of you. No internet...no auction infrastructure like we have now. The first time I saw a tolstoi backed t206 I paid up big time because I had already had a Drum back and I thought tolstoi were impossible to find!!!!

For me it is by far the part I made bold. A card that in the 80s that took months to track down you can now have your choice of 100s of that card in seconds. The other stuff is amazing but to me it doesn't even come close to the availability of cards now to back then.

[bmattioli]

With the available funds, anyone can find and purchase anything they want. Not that easy back in the good 'Ol days..

[campyfan39]

Grading
It has taken alot of the fun and innocence of the hobby away for me

[Lobo Aullando]

I'm in with the crowd that says it's the explosion of accessibility and information. Without even knowing that something exists, how would I even know to look for the things I think are the most interesting? (I'll leave it to the practicing economists to talk about how information is integral to an increasingly efficient market.)

3PGs are nothing next to this. I like the encasement aspect, and it is somewhat nice to have a bit more level field as far as condition assessments when exchanging. Still, buy the card, not the holder.

[Bigdaddy]

I can relate to most all of the comments above, but I'd say #1 for me is the advent of the TPGs, specifically the non-linear price differences for high (8, 9, 10) grade cards. Paying 10X (or more) for one card over another because of some small issue that cannot be seen with the naked eye has priced me out of owning high grade vintage cards. It has made that end of the market very competitive.

[Beercan collector]

TPG “poor1” now covers a very large gamut of grades ,
In the early 80s a lot of vintage cards were accepted as vg-ex based on eye appeal but now fall into the poor category