I remember back in the 90's when baseball cards were cool. It seemed like the entire neighborhood had a whole market of trading seemingly useless pieces of cardboard that had some secret value. Certain cards were golden while others were worthless. The whole trick was convincing the other person that X player would soon be worth so much money and you could eventually cash out on these cards and make big money.
But then something happened, and now who even collects them anymore? I can honestly say that I do not know a single soul that spends their precious time and money collecting these cards of value.
Or is there?
I have some theories as to why these cards have lost their popularity and glamour. Of course, it could have all been just another fad, but looking at the rate of production...it seemed like in the mid 90's Upper Deck and their friends started desperately printing cards of every sort, from glossy to holagraphic. They were in such abundance, anyone could buy any card at any time for so cheap, that they just lost their value. There was no point in trading anymore if everyone already had every card.
I think its such a shame that the baseball card died. It provided such a great activity for kids in the neighborhood. I remember people were so excited to trade their cards, they would meet with the local kids maybe even with some older people who were into it, and argue away trying to convince that X trade was worth Y. It brough unity. Made kids think in terms of economics, business. And they would take super care of their cards, getting those plastic protectors and storing them all neat in a binder. It was precious.
Now, the only card trading I see is with those Pokemon/Magic cards. So perhaps the era of the card still lives on. But do you guys think the baseball card will ever return to be as big of a thing as it was?
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