Really the appeal of trading cards and foundation of scarcity goes back to the 1960s when kids would play with the cards, put them in bicycle spokes to make brr

Really the appeal of trading cards and foundation of scarcity goes back to the 1960s when kids would play with the cards, put them in bicycle spokes to make brrr sounds, etc. and then their parents threw their cards out or the kids did themselves when they outgrew them. Fast forward 20-30 years and scarcity happened for cards like Mickey Mantle and other hall of fame players and prices shot up to thousands for a single card in mint condition. Kids like me hear that and buy tons of baseball cards. The lore of people with rare cards was talked about at card shops. It was cool to buy a pack and see what you got and trade with friends. Being a baseball fan at the time, it was fun to collect every player on your favorite team, maybe get cards signed by them at a game. The fun is in the collecting, sharing, memories, etc. I'm sure there are similar stories for things like comic books and other collectibles (first edition books) where earlier releases of things are now rare. If everything were just a flat fee per card nobody would bother.