In a way, the baseball cards we’Re talking about here are a counter-example (though a rare one, I believe) to a point made in a previous thread: That items which are specifically produced and marketed as “collectibles” are, by definition, not valuable.
I wonder if some criminally minded people at the baseball card companies try to take advantage of this. I don’t think it would be beyond the powers of someone working at Topps to steal a few specimens of each card they print in a given year and stow them away, just in case they become valuable. It’s takes a long perspective, but if it brings in big money for your children it might still be an attractive scheme.