What will the vintage hobby look like in the future? Take this survey to share your opinions. Read on if you want more context.
When I broke into collecting in the 1980’s, it seemed pretty simple: Beckett and card shows. Trading with your friends. Buying packs at Woolworths.
AI, Apps, Social Media
In 2026, the landscape is shifting dramatically with no central source of values, various competing collection management apps and forums (hey, free extended trial at VCP for Cardhounds), and the continued evolution of AI.
TCG has taken over most shows. Pokemon outnumbers all sports combined and vintage is but a sliver of the market.
Social media has become a primary forum for hobby buy / sell as well as chat and info, but Facebook and others have obvious limitations.
One thing that concerns me most about the reliance on social media is that there is no “we” in control of the data. Good discussion occurs, then disappears into the algorithm, is difficult to locate again, and so the entire conversation is repeated later. No real archiving, and thus, stagnation.
Apps like Mantel that aim to be “Facebook but for cards” struggle to get traction. Are we slaves to media giants?
Shifting Demographics
Vintage is also at a demographic crossroads, with Boomers aging out of the hobby by the day, a “younger” class behind them (50’s / Gen X) and even some new life in the form of Millennials and even a few Gen Z vintage hobbyists.
All of these generations tend to use technology differently, which potentially fractures the communication even more.
What’s Next?
Cardhound Vintage was founded on a vision of providing a central resource for vintage collectors. But after grinding away at the Forum for almost 2 years, I put it on the shelf (for now). It was just too difficult to sustain with all of the competition from quick, popular social media like Facebook.
What’s the answer? Status quo is not ideal in my opinion, so I’m thinking forward about what vintage might look like in the future. Hence, the current survey.
Please take the survey!
Please take this survey, be heard, and contribute to our collective thoughts on new tools and resources that might take shape around what vintage collectors really want and need going forward.
We will share the results across social media, our mailing list, and via another blog post on Cardhound Vintage. Should be interesting!
