I am exactly the demographic you describe in your article. Grew up in the late 80’s early 90’s. I got into baseball cards around 1987. It was a great time, and I have very fond memories.

I hadn’t thought about it until I read your paragraph, but I do now remember how people treated them as a “longterm” investment. I was not of that sort.

Around 1993, I seemed to lose interest in baseball cards. I think this was for 2 major reasons. The first being my age. I was 15 years old, baseball cards were no longer cool, as other interests took over my attention.

The second reason, and the one I clearly remember, is that baseball cards went from 5-6 choices, to about 100, overnight. For so long, it was Topps, Donruss, Fleer, and Score. That was it, end of story. Upper Deck came along and revolutionized things, followed by Leaf. Then all of a sudden, there are 3 versions of every brand, sets, subsets, specialty sets, etc etc. Things got overwhelming……..and expensive, especially for the target demographic….kids.

I remember the day of riding my bike down to the nearest card shop (which was never to far away during this time, it seemed as if there were 4 or 5 shops, even in the smallest of towns) and just being memorized by all the things the shop owner had. I even took a job in 7th grade, sorting commons for one of the shops, and for pay, you got it, i got packs of cards.

As I got a little older, my parents let me work the card shows with my favorite local dealer. Again, payment would be in the form of whatever cards I was into at that particular time. It was great though. All my friends would be at the show, and I would be behind the counter. I thought I was legendary at the time.

So here’s the great part of this story. I have since, now 29 years old, fallen in love with them all over again. When I found wax boxes of the card I used to buy (1989-1993) going for 5 or 10 bucks on ebay, I couldn’t resist but to buy. I seem to be buying 2 of each, 1 to open for fun, and 1 to keep sealed. There is still clearly that part of me that won’t die, the fact that unopened boxes are like gold, because you never know if you are going to get 5 griff jr’s in that box of 89 upper deck, or non at all.

So now I’m buying boxes, enjoying them, and could care less about the investment, or even what this card might sell for at the next card show. I totally mark out when I open a pack, and see that “HOT” rookie card that I always wanted back in the day, but we now now, never amounted to anything. (see Eric Anthony circa 1990).

So today, in 2007, I find great fun, and love, collecting the cards that I once had, in the late 80’s and early 90’s. I enjoy finding the hard to find ones, and I still get a huge smile, when I open that pack, and find the sought after rookie in it. Keep in mind, I’m only staying in the years 1987-1993. I haven’t (and won’t) be buying anything newer then that. It doesn’t serve my purpose. My collecting now isn’t for money, investment, or anything that it might of been for people during the boom (or death as history might remember it) time. It’s for the sole purpose of reliving one of the great periods in my life. The fact that something that brought me happiness and joy at such a young age, can again, at 29, well that’s enough for me.

They are absolutely a good investvent if you find the right buyer. My uncle PAID THE MORTGAGE on his house by selling his cards. I am holding on to my cards forever so I can pass ‘em on to my kids, but their worth will always come around in due time.

I grew up in the 80’s and 90’s as well. I got into baseball cards around 1990. I had a good time collecting them and enjoying baseball in general. Then in the ealry 90’s Baseball players went on strike and in turn my fun collecting thier cards went out aswell, but I did hold onto my collection. I recently took them out of my fathers place and have had a nice time flipping threw them and remembering the good times I had collectiong them. While I have been flipping threw them I have also bought a prce guide to check thier value. In the BB hobby scene the late 80’s and ealry 90’s are reffered to as the over production era. Most of my cards fall in this bracket. Alot of cards are common, BB stars have had bad press and thier cards have dropped in value, and ofcorse the mass abondence of the over production are all reasons for the value of cards not being as high as they once were. There are some diamonds in the ruff. So I wouldnt suggest just dumping you “memories.” There are some cards that as still holding thier value. As the gentalmen above stated you just need to find ther right buyer. I also agree that baseball cards will become valueable again. I believe the baseball card comapines have learned from thier mistakes and are taking action to create cards that hold thier future value and interest. I myself have recently bought another box of current cards and some of the fun of collecting is returning to me.