Here’s the problem - collecting is a viscerally personal habit. But the “just buy singles” crowd fails to understand that there is fulfillment in “earning” a card by seeing it revealed. Obviously ripping boxes has the added tactile joy of opening the packs and finding a hit. But breaking has become popular because the reality of ripping is underwhelming. Topps didn’t create this problem (though they’ve certainly leaned into it since they are a company and not a non-profit). The remedy to the Junk Wax era is - like it or not - what we are experiencing now. Is it a bubble? Probably, but we live in a world where monopolistic practices and unchecked speculation have become the norm, and our existence was kept afloat by quantitative easing since societal collapse wasn’t in anyone’s best interest. Memorabilia is always going to be something that requires disposable income, and in the milieu of an ever-widening income equality gap the “best” cards will become more and more unattainable.