Is Collecting As Much Fun Today As It Was When You First Started?

Today I am tackling a pretty deep question but I do have a fast response to it.

Is collecting as much fun today as it was when you first started collecting? My answer is an quick no.

I started collecting in 1993-1994. The hobby was booming and alive around me. Cards could be found in grocery stores, gas stations, pharmacies, arts and craft stores, hardware stores, local thrift shops, retail outlets, and at a hobby shop that was only twenty minutes away. I had friends who collected. Relatives who attempted to collect and my father had some friends that collected as well. We also had monthly card shows only fifteen minutes away and so many companies putting out an amazing variety of product. I also learned about and played sports as well from these pieces of cardboard. For a kid, it was the greatest thing ever.

Fast forward 24 or so years.... Cards can only be found at Walmart and occasionally at Rite Aid pharmacy. I don't know a single person who collects other than my father who I had to bring back into the hobby. There are no LCS' within four hours of me and no more card shows in over 20 years and this goes for the entire state. There are only three card companies, well four and five if you count unlicensed SAGE and Leaf, and each of those companies owns one of the major sports besides Panini with two.

To say collecting for me is as much fun as it was 24 years ago, I can't even go there, AT ALL.

Don't get me wrong, collecting is still fun or I wouldn't be doing it. But to say it is as much fun as it was back then for me, absolutely not even close.

I am pretty sure it has nothing to do with me getting older and has more to do with the landscape that was lost. Not being able to find cards anywhere besides my local Walmart that's an hour away, not really ideal. Not knowing anyone that collects local, takes away a ton of the fun when it comes to meeting up face to face with other collectors and discussing the hobby. No LCS or Card Shows, that's no fun. I want to go into a card shop, even though I know they cost more than online stores, and just look around and experience it again. No card shows means no other collectors to meet up with and it also means no nickel and dime boxes for pickups. All of my pickups have to be done online. Only one company for each of the sports I mainly collect in football and baseball, where's the fun and creativity in that? Not to mention, the once tough very collectible fun inserts that were back in the 90's no longer exist and instead have been replaced with overproduced jersey relics that aren't mainly game worn.

Where have you gone fun inserts? I miss you!!

I apologize if this is coming across negative. That's not the point of this post. It's just to point out I don't feel the hobby is as much fun for me as it was when I first started.

Could it ever be as much fun as it was again? Probably not. The world of technology has taken over and a lot of other people find that kind of stuff more interesting than collecting pieces of cardboard with pictures on it. This means collectors won't just pop up all over again, or card shops reappear or those monthly card shows exist. It's just not feasible in today's ever changing world.

All I hope is that the hobby continues to be fun for me and that I can continue to use outlets on social media to do the type of hobby interaction I used to do in-person. It's definitely not even close to the same, but it still works. As for the whole hobby shop and card show thing, well, I can just live that experience through some of you. Once again, that's not the same but it's still something. And as for not finding cards anywhere locally, well, will have to continue to use dacardworld and eBay for that. I will mention this again, that's not the same either.

I think the tough part of adjusting has passed years ago. But, some days it still doesn't make it any easier. As my nephew once pointed out, it's tough to realize how much you miss something til you no longer have it. Those are very wise words for not only the hobby, but for life as well. Words that I live by everyday. Grab life by the horns and take advantage of every opportunity, you just never know when it will no longer be there.