A Critical Look at Why People Stop Collecting Baseball Cards

There are tons of hobbies for people to enjoy. Stamps, coins and scrapbooking are but three of many that have loyal followings. My hobby is collecting baseball cards. I'm not an active collector, because I can't afford it, but I look forward to the day when I can pick up my hobby again.

But even from the sidelines, it pains me to see people bad mouth my hobby.

Chances are you know someone in your life that collected baseball cards. And just as likely they no longer consider it a hobby. And like a jilted lover, they blame the hobby for their lack of current participation. That's sad, but the truly tragic part is there's no reason for them to continue to hold a grudge.

Here are some of the most frequent reasons given by ex-baseball card collectors as to why they no longer participate in the hobby.

When Donruss and Fleer entered the market there were too many sets to collect
Introduction of price guides into hobby made everything about the money
The manufacturers made too many sets in the 1980s, making cards virtually worthless
Upper Deck pushing pack prices to unforeseen levels
Proliferation of inserts making it impossible to collect individual players
Graded cards making the best cards unattainable for average collectors
Video games make card collecting appear dull
Availability of up-to-date statistics online make card stats unnecessary

All of these things happened but anyone who claims they can no longer enjoy the hobby because of these things is, well I'm trying to say this gently, let's say they weren't very committed to the hobby in the first place. Let's take these complaints one by one.

Too many sets to collect - This makes zero sense to me. I'm a set builder, with complete sets going back to 1961. I have a complete run back to 1963 and then I skipped 1962 because I thought the cards were ugly. After I did 1961, I started on 1952 because that's what interested me. Collect what you like. More sets means there's more choices to like. It's possible to enjoy collecting without having every card ever made in your collection, honest.

Price guides made everything about the money - Price guides are a tool to help you understand and enjoy the hobby. There's room in the hobby for speculators; it doesn't mean you have to be one of them. Recently, I saw a post by Rob Pendell that summed up concerns with price guides perfectly. He said, "The best baseball card trade I ever made was when I dealt my concerns about their value for my love of their aesthetic."

Over production of certain sets - Many people speculated on baseball cards by buying factory sets, figuring they would get all the best cards. And that was a pretty decent strategy until the card manufacturers ramped up production and made tons of cards in the late 1980s. Whoever the late 1980s equivalent of Al Capone is, when the future Geraldo Rivera opens his tomb they'll undoubtedly find a cache of 1988 Donruss unopened cases. Any speculator has a bad beat story. Those speculators who dabbled in baseball cards point to the late 1980s. But there are still ways to make money in the hobby and if you quit over a bad beat, you're not only a poor hobbyist, but a poor speculator, too.

Rising pack prices - I can remember paying 10 cents for a pack of baseball cards. I'm sure some people reading this can remember when they were a nickel. Anyway, Upper Deck brought shockwaves to the hobby by issuing the first pack that cost over $1. Now you have to search far and wide to find a pack for that price. It's easier to find a pack that costs $10 than it is to find a pack for a buck. But you know what? You can go online or to a card show or a flea market or a card store and purchase plenty of cards for $1. You won't get the hottest inserts this way but you'll get cards of every player you could possibly want, from unknowns to established stars to hot rookies.

Too many cards of individual players - In the late 1990s, if you collected a star player like Derek Jeter, there were over 100 cards produced each year. And that doesn't even take into account limited production runs, which got to the point with some inserts where just one card was produced. So you can't have every single card of your favorite player. But you know what? It's still way better to have a choice of 100 different options for your favorite player than in the years 1956-1980 when you were limited mostly to just one single card per year of the player you like to collect. Would you rather be a collector in 1974 and have one Tom Seaver card for your collection or would you prefer to be a collector in 2008 and have (pulling a number from midair) 25 David Wright cards from which to choose?

Graded cards - Don't like graded cards? Then don't collect them! I estimate my collection at around 45,000 cards, of which about 25 are graded. I'm not morally opposed to them but they just don't interest me so I don't collect them. I've got a PSA 10 Fleer Flair Alex Rodriguez rookie card which is not nearly as memorable to me as my 1966 Johnny Stephenson card with a brown stain from a punk burn which makes it look like he crapped his pants.

Competition from video games - I don't think it has to be mutually exclusive. I do wish kids played more games with their cards. Some of my fondest card memories are flipping and matching them.

Instantly available statistics make cards obsolete - I loved the stats on the back of the cards and I used to have them memorized. My short-term memory may not be much, but I'll be able to tell you that Cleon Jones batted .340 in 1969 until the day I die. That's because I memorized that from his 1970 baseball card. I'm a stat guy, so I really don't understand this line of thinking. The more places we can have access to baseball stats, the better off the world will be.

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So, if you loved card collecting at one point in your life, you owe it to yourself to give the hobby another shot. This time, don't let concerns about condition or card values or print runs affect your enjoyment. Collect what you like and don't let others dictate how or why you do things. And if you have any 1952 Topps that you'd like to donate to me, I'd be most grateful.