Who is the biggest culprit?

[vargha]

The market has evolved (as it always does). Sometimes I think people long for the "good old days" that maybe never were. The Internet, eBay and TPG (for all of their problems) brought a greater interest, lots more money, and with it, a boatload of cards that many of us had never seen. We may not like what the little pieces of cardboard cost now, but who really wants to go back to the days of waiting for your monthly card newspaper to arrive in the mail with the same few overgraded and overpriced cards? And then when you finally found the card you wanted in an ad and made the overpriced long distance call to say that you'd take it, found out that it had been sold the week before? To each their own, I suppose.

[freakhappy]

I'm definitely not saying anything new here, but it's simple evolution that is occurring in the hobby. Sports cards started out just as a collecting hobby and also as a 'bonus' and a catch for people to buy other products (tobacco products). Over time the industry has changed quite a bit and eventually money has had a great deal to do with it. As said before, technology has most kids attention and since everything seems to be about money...Card companies do what they have to do to make more money...and that means make sports cards more interesting and valuable. No wonder people 'invest' in cards...it only makes sense.

Overall, I think it's pretty simple...evolution in the industry is where our issue lies