What has been the best change to the hobby ever?

[dashcol]

This hobby has changed so much over the last two years, and we have yet to see the biggest change this hobby has seen since 2010.

We all like to complain about all the changes, but we hardly ever talk about the great things in the hobby.

What do you guys think was the best change in the industry since let’s say WWII?

For my vote, I would say the introduction of the jersey relic. When they first started it was HUGE! Before, very few could say they owned a jersey from a super star, but then it became reality that we all could.

I agree, where relics are today leave a lot to be desired, they are now “player worn” and not Game Used, there are questionable ones where it may have never even been touched by the player on card, and they are so way overdone now that they are almost worthless, but initially the concept was great, controversial and brought a lot of attention to the hobby.

So what say you all?

[ThoseBackPages]

Topps

[Gustomania]

The best was topps producing cards in a major set in 52, the worst when donruss and fleer started saturating in 81 and every year after.

But m a grumpy collector, I like 1 base card each year

Relics, autos, numbering, 1000 different variations for each player each year…..hate it.

[uminnesota]

Topps from 1952 to 1980.

[HOFAutoRookies]

The best was topps producing cards in a major set in 52, the worst when donruss and fleer started saturating in 81 and every year after.

But m a grumpy collector, I like 1 base card each year

Relics, autos, numbering, 1000 different variations for each player each year…..hate it.


With you 100%. It's getting out of hand "pink holiday snowflake parallel with the bat flip photo variation."

[dashcol]

Topps

The best was topps producing cards in a major set in 52, the worst when donruss and fleer started saturating in 81 and every year after.

But m a grumpy collector, I like 1 base card each year

Relics, autos, numbering, 1000 different variations for each player each year…..hate it.

Topps from 1952 to 1980.

Touché, I kind of left Topps off as the is a clear best change. You guys win this one.

With you 100%. It's getting out of hand "pink holiday snowflake parallel with the bat flip photo variation."

Agreed about the parallels. I am okay with some of them, but this years Donruss just made it crazy, and they look like garbage.

[Gustomania]

You need a “all of the above” vote

[dashcol]

You need a “all of the above” vote

All of the above for the best?

[Gustomania]

Sorry, I was thinking of that backwards

All of the above for the best?

[eye4talent]

Serial-numbered cards, and more specifically serial-numbered cards with really low print runs.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[HTown281]

Serial-numbered cards, and more specifically serial-numbered cards with really low print runs.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


Numbered cards really where/are a big deal- like it or not… it was easier when you had one or 3-4 flagship rookies- now you just have to focus on a few, cause guys literally have a ridiculous amount of “ rookie cards” now

[Remmons22]

Pack pulled autos for me but that's what brought me back into the hobby. Saw it labeled on a box and thought it was a cool concept. Been hooked ever since (though I stick to buying singles mostly now)

[dashcol]

Serial-numbered cards, and more specifically serial-numbered cards with really low print runs.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Numbered cards really where/are a big deal- like it or not… it was easier when you had one or 3-4 flagship rookies- now you just have to focus on a few, cause guys literally have a ridiculous amount of “ rookie cards” now

If you guys think serial numbered cards are the best innovation of the last 75 years, do you think the companies have taken it too far? How many parallels are you okay with?

What about the sets that have multiple cards /50, /25 or even have multiple 1/1?

Pack pulled autos for me but that's what brought me back into the hobby. Saw it labeled on a box and thought it was a cool concept. Been hooked ever since (though I stick to buying singles mostly now)

[eye4talent]

If you guys think serial numbered cards are the best innovation of the last 75 years, do you think the companies have taken it too far? How many parallels are you okay with?

What about the sets that have multiple cards /50, /25 or even have multiple 1/1?


I do think they have taken it too far. I love a Chrome orange or gold refractor, but I don’t need a wave version. Or a shimmer. Or Sapphire or Ben Baller.

At the same time, the hobby does a pretty good job of stratifying the various kinds of numbered cards and short-prints. A Topps Chrome orange refractor isn’t watered down by Topps Gallery card /25, for instance. That Topps Chrome is still the one to get—and they demand higher prices now than I ever would’ve expected back when there weren’t waves and other variations of the color refractors, and when not every product was inundated with parallels. So, the hobby can handle the inventory, while hobbyists have plenty of options.

For instance, I’m a big fan of Topps Archives parallels—particularly the ones numbered to 25 or less. But they’re not nearly as highly regarded as Chrome and flagship, so I don’t have to pay all that much for them. Works just fine for me.

Magenta and sky blue and teal refractors… That’s getting to be overboard, as is the lovechild of flagship gold and foil that we know as gold foil.

But again, if the hobby can handle the inventory, then it’s not that big of a deal.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[gododgersfan]

Third party grading and a criteria on how grades are assigned. Not perfect, but has even the playing field between sellers and buyers. Add ebay and you have the modern day hobby environment with global reach and instant access to millions of cards in real time.

[vintg]

Third party grading and a criteria on how grades are assigned. Not perfect, but has even the playing field between sellers and buyers. Add ebay and you have the modern day hobby environment with global reach and instant access to millions of cards in real time.

we may be in the minority, but, i agree

[rats60]

The best was topps producing cards in a major set in 52, the worst when donruss and fleer started saturating in 81 and every year after.

But m a grumpy collector, I like 1 base card each year

Relics, autos, numbering, 1000 different variations for each player each year…..hate it.

Agree. The flood of cards started by multiple companies has ruined the hobby.

[rats60]

Third party grading and a criteria on how grades are assigned. Not perfect, but has even the playing field between sellers and buyers. Add ebay and you have the modern day hobby environment with global reach and instant access to millions of cards in real time.

Third party grading has caused the flood of altered cards. People are micro trimming cards to get a 10 instead of an 8 or 9 when you can only tell the difference under 10x magnification. Grading stinks.

[towerymt]

The best was topps producing cards in a major set in 52, the worst when donruss and fleer started saturating in 81 and every year after.

But m a grumpy collector, I like 1 base card each year

Relics, autos, numbering, 1000 different variations for each player each year…..hate it.
Almost every innovation has been made worse over time in one way or another. :)!

Insert set (Black Gold?) --> too many insert sets
Parallels (Tiffany?) --> too many parallels and more each year
Refractors --> more patterns & colors each year
Autographs --> sticker autos, yuck!
Game used relic --> manufactured patch relics, c'mon!

[SupermanBrandon]

eBay! I have access to millions of cards that I didn't know existed back in the day. If it didn't happen at your local store or show...you probably didn't know about it.

[dashcol]

I do think they have taken it too far. I love a Chrome orange or gold refractor, but I don’t need a wave version. Or a shimmer. Or Sapphire or Ben Baller.

At the same time, the hobby does a pretty good job of stratifying the various kinds of numbered cards and short-prints. A Topps Chrome orange refractor isn’t watered down by Topps Gallery card /25, for instance. That Topps Chrome is still the one to get—and they demand higher prices now than I ever would’ve expected back when there weren’t waves and other variations of the color refractors, and when not every product was inundated with parallels. So, the hobby can handle the inventory, while hobbyists have plenty of options.

For instance, I’m a big fan of Topps Archives parallels—particularly the ones numbered to 25 or less. But they’re not nearly as highly regarded as Chrome and flagship, so I don’t have to pay all that much for them. Works just fine for me.

Magenta and sky blue and teal refractors… That’s getting to be overboard, as is the lovechild of flagship gold and foil that we know as gold foil.

But again, if the hobby can handle the inventory, then it’s not that big of a deal.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Valid points, thanks for sharing. I agree for the most part, except I don’t consider Sapphire as an unneeded parallel, it is a product unique to itself. I would probably like it a lot better if they made Sapphire a parallel to TC instead of a stand alone, and get rid of the waves, purple and green parallels.

I also agree with going after the “less desirable” product parallels. Archives is a great example that is clearly for the clector not the flipper. Fine by me as well, I will take a low numbered parallel of my PC guys for $5-10 instead of $50-100.

[eye4talent]

Valid points, thanks for sharing. I agree for the most part, except I don’t consider Sapphire as an unneeded parallel, it is a product unique to itself. I would probably like it a lot better if they made Sapphire a parallel to TC instead of a stand alone, and get rid of the waves, purple and green parallels.

I also agree with going after the “less desirable” product parallels. Archives is a great example that is clearly for the clector not the flipper. Fine by me as well, I will take a low numbered parallel of my PC guys for $5-10 instead of $50-100.


I’m not opposed to an orange Sapphire /25. I included it more to show how many different kinds of Topps Chrome orange refractors are available, and that, collectively, there are way too many.

I still prefer the regular Topps Chrome color refractors over all the rest. But I’m not opposed to a Sapphire. I’ve even dabbled in Ballers, because the color refractors (at least in ‘20) were done really well—despite the annoying dangling B’s.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[dashcol]

Agree. The flood of cards started by multiple companies has ruined the hobby.

So the hobby is now ruined?

If it is, why are you still in it?

Third party grading has caused the flood of altered cards. People are micro trimming cards to get a 10 instead of an 8 or 9 when you can only tell the difference under 10x magnification. Grading stinks.

Do you mean to say that before TPG, no cards were trimmed or altered?

Hmmmmmmm…..:coffee:

Almost every innovation has been made worse over time in one way or another. :)!

Insert set (Black Gold?) --> too many insert sets
Parallels (Tiffany?) --> too many parallels and more each year
Refractors --> more patterns & colors each year
Autographs --> sticker autos, yuck!
Game used relic --> manufactured patch relics, c'mon!

Yes, I agree. Like most other industries, the execs see green and want to squeeze every little bit out of it until there is nothing left….and then let someone else have the license….

eBay! I have access to millions of cards that I didn't know existed back in the day. If it didn't happen at your local store or show...you probably didn't know about it.

The Beckett annual catalog along with Tough Stuff did a good job of showing us every card that was out there. I agree though, eBay made it so we could all now potentially buy these cards instead of hoping that they came through our town at some point.

On a desperate question, do you think the extravagance of the hobby would still exist if eBay did not? Or did the card companies create all these low numbered parallels and chase cards only because we are able to scour the corners of the Earth to find those rare cards?

[dashcol]

I’m not opposed to an orange Sapphire /25. I included it more to show how many different kinds of Topps Chrome orange refractors are available, and that, collectively, there are way too many.

I still prefer the regular Topps Chrome color refractors over all the rest. But I’m not opposed to a Sapphire. I’ve even dabbled in Ballers, because the color refractors (at least in ‘20) were done really well—despite the annoying dangling B’s.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

I agree, I wish that Topps would scale back the refractor colors. What I would like to see is super 1/1, red /5, sapphire /10 orange /25, gold /50, blue /150, Prizm /500 and base unnumbered.

[vintg]

So the hobby is now ruined?

If it is, why are you still in it?



Do you mean to say that before TPG, no cards were trimmed or altered?

Hmmmmmmm…..:coffee:



Yes, I agree. Like most other industries, the execs see green and want to squeeze every little bit out of it until there is nothing left….and then let someone else have the license….



The Beckett annual catalog along with Tough Stuff did a good job of showing us every card that was out there. I agree though, eBay made it so we could all now potentially buy these cards instead of hoping that they came through our town at some point.

On a desperate question, do you think the extravagance of the hobby would still exist if eBay did not? Or did the card companies create all these low numbered parallels and chase cards only because we are able to scour the corners of the Earth to find those rare cards?


...you didn't know rats60 "know(s) it all"...... LOL


i am not into the new and shiny stuff, but i LOVE how it has brought
younger folks into the hobby !!!

[rainmaker]

Kind of a toss up between tpg and autos. While overdone now pack pulled autos may have saved the hobby 20 years ago. And they are always a thrill to pull and collect. It’s a personal touch to the hobby that is really very cool. Grading is both good and evil but I have made 10s if not 100s of thousands of dollars because of the grade. That’s changed how I collect and honestly changed my life.

[dashcol]

...you didn't know rats60 "know(s) it all"...... LOL


i am not into the new and shiny stuff, but i LOVE how it has brought
younger folks into the hobby !!!

Yeah, I get it.

As far as the new and shiny, I wouldn’t exactly think of 1993 (first refractors) as new. I do get your point though.

[dashcol]

Kind of a toss up between tpg and autos. While overdone now pack pulled autos may have saved the hobby 20 years ago. And they are always a thrill to pull and collect. It’s a personal touch to the hobby that is really very cool. Grading is both good and evil but I have made 10s if not 100s of thousands of dollars because of the grade. That’s changed how I collect and honestly changed my life.

It is good and evil.

I do like cards being protected better than what a top loader can do, but really don’t care much for what someone else says the grade is. It is so subjective, but some people use it as gospel without looking at the card itself.

[mattsey9]

On a desperate question, do you think the extravagance of the hobby would still exist if eBay did not?

No, not even close. Ebay made it possible to buy pretty much every card in existence from anywhere in the world, sometimes within minutes after being pulled from the pack. You couldn't approach the ease of today's flipping phenomenon by waiting six weeks for your ad to appear in SCD.

Ebay has its flaws, but it reinvigorated the hobby and allowed it to become what it is today. Whether or not that is a good thing... YMMV

[spuds1961]

I put pack pulled autographs but I didn’t see eBay the first time I looked. eBay was definitely a game changer no longer did you have to be disappointed if your friends or local card shop didn’t have that final card for your set. I have never had a card graded but that was another game changer.

[dashcol]

No, not even close. Ebay made it possible to buy pretty much every card in existence from anywhere in the world, sometimes within minutes after being pulled from the pack. You couldn't approach the ease of today's flipping phenomenon by waiting six weeks for your ad to appear in SCD.

Ebay has its flaws, but it reinvigorated the hobby and allowed it to become what it is today. Whether or not that is a good thing... YMMV

I wonder if Pierre Omidyar had any clue when he founded eBay that his platform would revolutionize the sports card industry. Amazingly, sports cards are not even in the top 15 categories of items sold on eBay.

[MoreToppsPlease]

Third party grading has caused the flood of altered cards. People are micro trimming cards to get a 10 instead of an 8 or 9 when you can only tell the difference under 10x magnification. Grading stinks.

This. But the grading landscape will definitely change with Fanatics grading their own cards. No fakes or alterations.

[MoreToppsPlease]

No, not even close. Ebay made it possible to buy pretty much every card in existence from anywhere in the world, sometimes within minutes after being pulled from the pack. You couldn't approach the ease of today's flipping phenomenon by waiting six weeks for your ad to appear in SCD.

Ebay has its flaws, but it reinvigorated the hobby and allowed it to become what it is today. Whether or not that is a good thing... YMMV

Yes, undeniably. Not to mention how much it changed how much cards were priced.

[mfw13]

I would say three things:

1) Topps entering the card business in 1952
2) The breaking up of Topps monopoly, leading to the junk wax era (which was great if you're a collector)
3) EBay

Worst thing in the hobby is the shift back to exclusive licenses.....

[rms13]

Third party grading and a criteria on how grades are assigned. Not perfect, but has even the playing field between sellers and buyers. Add ebay and you have the modern day hobby environment with global reach and instant access to millions of cards in real time.


I definitely agree. I just got back into the hobby in 2020 and collected as a kid in the 80s and early 90s and I wish grading was around sooner


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[CCPdro]

None of the above

Can you imagine seriously collecting/dealing automobiles or U.S. coins while completely in the dark on production figures?

I want full transparency, and I’m not talkin’ lucite here.
Serial numbering was a fine foot forward.

[rms13]

None of the above

Can you imagine seriously collecting/dealing automobiles or U.S. coins while completely in the dark on production figures?

I want full transparency, and I’m not talkin’ lucite here.
Serial numbering was a fine foot forward.


It doesn’t matter to me as a collector but if you are talking about investing then yeah some prices in the past couple of years for cards with no real scarcity is stupid.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Pacmeyer]

I voted ebay but how about this forum as runner up?

If there was a resource like BO since the early 2000s, I'm sure a lot of us would be much better off. Personally, I wouldn't have been collecting nonsport as if it were the next big thing :cool:

[dodgerfanjohn]

I would say three things:

1) Topps entering the card business in 1952
2) The breaking up of Topps monopoly, leading to the junk wax era (which was great if you're a collector)
3) EBay

Worst thing in the hobby is the shift back to exclusive licenses.....

Mostly agree but I’d replace number 2 with eBay and number 3 would be TPG.

I think age may have something to do with this assessment…it’s not like there’s books or articles that adequately explain the evolution of the hobby.

Started collecting in 1980 and it was all packs and only packs of Topps that year. Never got Donruss or Fleer until 1982 and those were a pale shade of Topps(until 1984). Living in a suburb of LA, there were a few card shops even as far back as 1980 so it was a real hobby even back then. By the late 80’s there were more card shops in LA and OC then you could count…probably hundreds. Yet putting together sets as they now exist and hunting down singles….it just wouldn’t happen like it does with eBay.

eBay really opened up two major things…increased access to cards and open, honest pricing. It really busted the Becket monthly as any sort of pricing authority.

TPG’s performed two huge functions also. It provided in person reference for what grades actually meant. Before TPG nearly every shop would call a non creased card either Excellent or ExMt. PSA showed everyone that’s not true. And almost overnight “old school grading” was thankfully out the window. There’s not a card shop in the country now that can get away with over grading cards by more than maybe a grade and that’s thanks to TPG’s. TPG’s also provided confidence for investing…for those willing to spend big big money. I don’t wish to argue how effective TPG’s are at this, simply that it happened.

[dodgerfanjohn]

I voted ebay but how about this forum as runner up?

If there was a resource like BO since the early 2000s, I'm sure a lot of us would be much better off. Personally, I wouldn't have been collecting nonsport as if it were the next big thing :cool:

I don’t know when it really took off, but the PSA forum was really going strong when I re entered the hobby in 2012 and the Beckett forum was pretty active in the early 2000’s

[BGT Masters]

Best for me was the mid 1990s explosion of creativity with all the different brands and insert sets/parallels that came with them.

[REGGIE206]

I vote for “eBay”. That has completely changed the ability to buy cards.

When I started collecting back in the late 80’s, I remember the only way I can find a card I want is checking your local card shop singles, hope you hit it in a pack, or see if a classmate might have one you can trade for. :(

[Robles Fan]

When card shops and card shows actually became a thing.

[dashcol]

I vote for “eBay”. That has completely changed the ability to buy cards.

When I started collecting back in the late 80’s, I remember the only way I can find a card I want is checking your local card shop singles, hope you hit it in a pack, or see if a classmate might have one you can trade for. :(

You and everyone else who mentions eBay is right in that it was a major change in the hobby. However, it was also the driving force in removing the “trading” from trading cards. With the ease of which people can now sell their own cards, there is no need and less desire to trade cards. They can just sell their own cards and buy whatever they want instead of settling for what you have.

So, yes it is great, but it also critically wounded my favorite aspect of the hobby.

[PuddleMonkey]

With all the trash and shadiness that goes on with ebay I'm surprised it's winning by the amount it is.

[SearchPatrol]

I say Upper Deck and here's why. In 1988 EVERYTHING was overproduced. Packs were $.40 and Score, Topps, Donruss, and Fleer let the press Run. Upper Deck showed that a "Higher End" product could work, and work well. Cards could be sold at a higher price with "less" being printed, so card companies wouldn't lose out. After UD, Donruss came out with Leaf the following year. Then Topps came out with Stadium Club. Competition was the best thing for this hobby to grow and prevent it from becoming stale. With or without Ebay - all the product from 1988 stinks. That's why I would put UD #1.

[Wolverine]

Youtube. I've gotten more ideas about cards I wanted and how I wanted to build my collection from watching others opening packs and seeing their collections.

Ebay a close second and Topps introduction of chrome and refractors third.

[SupermanBrandon]

With all the trash and shadiness that goes on with ebay I'm surprised it's winning by the amount it is.

It may be trash and shady but it completely changed the hobby, changed access to cards, the ability to buy and sell cards on a global (instead of just local) landscape.

[ThoseBackPages]

It may be trash and shady but it completely changed the hobby, changed access to cards, the ability to buy and sell cards on a global (instead of just local) landscape.

The NAPSTER of cards!

[Highstubbs]

eBay! I have access to millions of cards that I didn't know existed back in the day. If it didn't happen at your local store or show...you probably didn't know about it.


really cant say it better

[rms13]

With all the trash and shadiness that goes on with ebay I'm surprised it's winning by the amount it is.


Let me tell you about the trash and shadiness at card shows in the 80s when I was a kid getting ripped off by adults.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[dodgerfanjohn]

Fwiw the pack pulled auto people are wrong and probably don’t even understand why. First major release with pack pulled autos I think were 1991. Production was sky high and the odds were super long.

By 1994 there was a company called Signature Rookies that was doing prospects and draft picks with an auto in each pack at a $5 price point. Their first release had Derek Jeter autos before he was a thing. It was cool but far from groundbreaking. If anything was groundbreaking at all it was their Miracle on Ice product which is the only product to date with autos of every player plus the coaches. With 2 more years(1996) Leaf did the same thing with major league players and by that time pack pulled autos were everywhere. The market is overly diluted at this point.

Not nearly the game changer that eBay and TPG’s were.

[dodgerfanjohn]

Let me tell you about the trash and shadiness at card shows in the 80s when I was a kid getting ripped off by adults.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Indeed. I think many of those guys served as partial inspiration for Comic Book Guy on the Simpsons.

[Bcwcardz]

1981.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mfw13]

With all the trash and shadiness that goes on with ebay I'm surprised it's winning by the amount it is.

It's because EBay created liquidity.

Prior to EBay, collectors had no real way to easily sell the cards they didn't want. They either had to sell to dealers for 20-30% of Beckett, or set up at a card show and assume the temporary role of "dealer" themselves.

Without EBay or its equivalent, economic activity within the hobby would probably be at 20-25% of current levels.

[cardinalsooner]

All of these could be considered the worst things to happen to the hobby.

[dashcol]

Indeed. I think many of those guys served as partial inspiration for Comic Book Guy on the Simpsons.

I didn’t ever think about that, but your right!

All of these could be considered the worst things to happen to the hobby.

True. For those that like the days of the 50s-70s, I can see why all of these would have changed the hobby for the worse for them.

Except eBay, that still made it so they didn’t need to wait for that Mantle to show up in the card store and then be charged high BV because it wasn’t creased.

[wood minis]

Ebay for sure. I've put together some serial numbered sets over the last couple decades. No way to do that without ebay. And of course no way to collect 1/1s of a release without Ebay.

[gresh87]

Serial-numbered cards, and more specifically serial-numbered cards with really low print runs.

eBay! I have access to millions of cards that I didn't know existed back in the day. If it didn't happen at your local store or show...you probably didn't know about it.




My top 2, in order.

[Browns1981]

Voted Other. The best change was inserts and chase cards.

[smapdi]

I don't see how the hobby has changed in the last 2 years. The number of collectors (or whatever they are) surged, but that's happened a few times. Prices surged, and that's happened before too, though not to the extremes we saw.

Historically, I would say Beckett was the biggest turning point. Created by a guy with an actual Ph.D in statistics, his magazine came along at just the right time, right at the start of the first big jump of the hobby from a kid's pastime to an adult passion and actual investment strategy, causing a big jump in prices and sales of new product. Having a standardized, national, apparently reputable price guide gave collectors a realistic idea of what their stuff was worth, and gave dealers a solid basis for selling their cards and justifying price changes. While there were price guides before, the annual books and quarterly magazines were just too slow to adjust to the dynamics of the 1980s Hall of Fame and rookie prospecting markets.

Ebay is a close second. By the late 90s, everyone thought Beckett was kind of a joke, with strange, arbitrary decisions (inserts and parallels couldn't be considered RCs, unless they were) and often their pricing was not realistic. Once they admitted their pricing wasn't based on actual sales, it was time for something else. Ebay was that thing. Sadly, it worked directly against the thing Beckett could be lauded for 15 years earlier, and having auction results for all sorts of cards that anyone could see showed that Beckett pricing was, at best, generous in propping up the value of dealer stock or, at worst, blatantly fictional. Ebay's allowing anyone to sell 24/7 to anyone for a nominal fee (FVF was 5% when I joined, IIRC) with pictures and an easy-to-use interface was huge. Its rise coincided with the card companies realizing that putting out sets with lower and lower print runs increased demand. But imagine what it would have been like look for 1/1s, /10s or even /100s without the internet or ebay. You had to have good relationships with dealers, and they had to be networked with other dealers, in order to help you chase down even 1-per-case cards. To find the one guy who has that one card you need to make you happy, often all you have to do now is look on ebay.

[dashcol]

Voted Other. The best change was inserts and chase cards.

This is a fair answer. I debated about adding inserts in as revolutionary, but decided against it as in baseball the insert is not as desirable as let’s say some of the 90s basketball inserts.

There are sets like Heritage and Ginter that the insert sets are chased, but is that because the insert sets are liked or because people want to be completists?

[Stifle]

It came down to "Competition" where back in the 90's there were 20 plus companies all trying to come up with some innovative product. Then include EBay and all the other on line locations to sell product.

[Giantrobot]

Best for me was the mid 1990s explosion of creativity with all the different brands and insert sets/parallels that came with them.

You can thank Upper Deck for starting all of that. They lit a fire under the asses of the existing companies, who had become lazy and complacent. The quality of those first UD sets were light-years above what was out at the time, and then add in the innovations of insert cards, autographed cards, jersey cards, etc. People sometimes forget or don’t realize how much of a game-changer and innovator Upper Deck really was.

[Rage]

eBay has made the hobby into a business for many, which in turn makes it easier to be a collector

[hatchd]

The answer is probably eBay and PSA, but I have to go with 1993 Topps Finest. It started the entire madness of low print numbers, chrome technology, super premium, etc. Basically the entire current day hobby can be traced back to the release of 1993 Topps Finest.

[Stifle]

The answer is probably eBay and PSA, but I have to go with 1993 Topps Finest. It started the entire madness of low print numbers, chrome technology, super premium, etc. Basically the entire current day hobby can be traced back to the release of 1993 Topps Finest.

In 94 when Signature Rookies came out with a autograph in every pack, I had to quit when it reached $11 a pack. I can remember when Pro Line came out with the auto's and that is the most collected auto football set !

[MoreToppsPlease]

eBay has made the hobby into a business for many, which in turn makes it easier to be a collector

Makes it much more expensive to be a collector

[Stifle]

Makes it much more expensive to be a collector

The risk vs reward as a buyer in the hobby has changed my way of collecting. The 90's we all knew it was basically one high end card per box, but boxes were $60 to $80 unless the product took off.

It's been roughly 14 years since I purchased a case.

[SupermanBrandon]

Can't have your cake and eat it too. eBay has expanded EVERYONE'S collections to places they never could've gone to w/out a global platform to share, trade, buy & sell cards on.

[Wiseysez]

eBay! I have access to millions of cards that I didn't know existed back in the day. If it didn't happen at your local store or show...you probably didn't know about it.

Agree with this. I couldn’t collect what I like very well if I had to try and pull everything myself.

[Drew3000]

Numbered parallels for me. Before that, everyone just collected the same cards. Kinda boring imo

[doowopbruce]

Most of my sales and purchases have been on ebay.

[signed79]

BODA.

[dashcol]

BODA.

I actually debated about putting BODA up there, but outside of BO, no one knows what BODA is.