[mouschi3]

"There are just too many cards these days."

"The autographs are stickers."

"The swatches are plain."

I've heard these complaints for the past few decades of collecting. Looking back at cards 10 years ago, I see cards coming up from that time period very rarely which I am very happy to have the chance at owning. They may have a stick auto, plain swatch, etc. yet I'm ecstatic they come up! (Heck, my top white whales don't have a piece of jersey, bat or an autograph at all.)

Many 2016 collectors view 2016 cards with the same type of complaints as mentioned above. Just how many 2006 collectors viewed 2006 cards. Yet, 2016 collectors now have a lot of appreciation for 2006 cards...not to mention their rabid love for 90's inserts.

How do you think the card collectors of 2026 will view cards from 2016?

[crossada]

Cards to me are about the memories. I have fond memories of the older 90's card compared to the new stuff. I think in 2026 it will be the same thing. I will look back at my 2016 cards and reflect on what my life was like then and hopefully be good memories.

I know 88-90 Donruss cards are very special to me because they are what I originally started collecting. Being a Chipper Jones super collector I have always been bummed that he doesn't have a card from then but I have bought some 2002 Donruss 88 reprints with him on it hoping to get a 9.5 for my collection. That potentially could be my favorite card just because of all the time spent with Dad building the set back then. LOL

[slufan83]

I just hope the whole digital card thing doesn't keep moving forward. I know they are trying to find new ways to collect, but they are an absolute waste of money. Spending $ for something that you'll never own is just stupid. When those card trader apps fizzle out in a couple years people will have all that money invest into nothing.

[woogie23]

I just hope the whole digital card thing doesn't keep moving forward. I know they are trying to find new ways to collect, but they are an absolute waste of money. Spending $ for something that you'll never own is just stupid. When those card trader apps fizzle out in a couple years people will have all that money invest into nothing.

+1000

I hope the new collector's in 2026 won't say, "They actually had to physically open packages? Seems like so much work."

Down with the apps! haha

[jhyde77]

I think they'll say "That was back when you could buy packs at Wal-Mart and Target."

They will also say "Those cards were during the small set era when the base sets weren't collected as much and usually numbered two to three hundred."

---

+1000

I hope the new collector's in 2026 won't say, "They actually had to physically open packages? Seems like so much work."

Down with the apps! haha

They'll say "You had to wait for your box to be shipped? And then you had to spend 15 minutez opening your box? Now, we know in seconds if our box has a high dollar auto. We bust the box with a few clicks and then our cards go into our online collection for trading or we have them sent to us."

[Phillies_Joe]

They will be saying...man I wish I had the foresight to gobble up all the Aaron Nola's I could....LOL....I hope that's what they are saying.

Seriously, and only talking about flagship, it kind of depends on what Topps does over the next ten years with the product. I tend to look at 2016 as Stadium Club light. If they go back to the traditional border, than this set will stick out even more (I really love it) ten years down the road. Couple that with all the exciting young players and rookies to be and the great photography, this could actually land in the top five of all time IMO.

I think that folks will find a happy medium between actual and digital cards, and the hobby will be the better for it.

[jhyde77]

They'll say " if you wanted to get something graded from a box, you had to wait for shipping, open the packs, and then take out your magnifying glass to inspect it, and then send it off and hope you were good at grading it. Seems like a lot of work. Now, we buy a box from BGS. They bust it and send us a 3d scan of the top cards that we can see with our BGS smartphone glasses. We can inspect the card from every angle and magnify it to see microscopic details. We tell Beckett we want to have it graded and its done. Beckett sends the graded cards with the rest of the box."