Our Hobby will be our own downfall. As long as there is profit in pack searching (with no consequences) they will continue to search. We then buy the special card because we don't want or can't (because of Pack Searchers) find the special cards. New people start the hobby then quickly realize you can not beat the system and then leave the hobby. We then are all stuck with a plethora of cards that eventually no one will want because we didn't cultivate the young people into the hobby. I just read the last few posts and every one of you stated "I don't buy cards at Target or Walmart because of Pack Searchers" Unfortunately if packs are not purchased there will be no new packs to come. We will end up like baseball cards did (large drop in value except for rare cards), or worse like stamp collectors because they did not get young people into the hobby. (I inherited a large stamp collection a few years ago and I could find no one to unload it to.) I do everything I can at our local Targets to discourage pack searchers, I have embarrassed them, I have gone to managers, but everyone I talk to really doesn't care.. just ponder to yourself and (we all are in the basic same age bracket) when we get ready to sell our collections, who is going to buy them? I know my son doesn't want them, so who?
It is an interesting question. I find that for wackys, establishing it as a hobby for young kids may be a problem for a few reasons:
1. In the 70s, wackys were more a fad and fit the times rather than set up to be a hobby. The fact that people in their 40s are keeping this alive is more by accident than by Topps design IMO.
2. Back in the 70s, we (as kids) didn't need anyone to "indoctrinate" us. It was, in fact, the opposite - reluctant parents shaking their heads at us kids wasting our allowances on these stickers. It was a self perpetuating situation. I doubt I would have been as into wackys if my dad had given me his wacky collection or it was something we did together. It was more something you shared with your friends.
3. Today, there are just too many other cool alternatives competing for today's kids' time, attention & cash. After all, the cutting edge video game of the time was PONG, and the computer of the day was a TRS-80 from radio shack, or a commodore pet computer with a cassette recorder attached.
I think the only people who are going to be interested in buying our collections will be others our age, or people into "americana" in general. Wackys were pretty popular back in the day, so they do hold a place in people's memories, and in our history in general. Just my 2cents...
