The 80s and 90s were horrible for collecting. Mass production killed it. In the last few years however, scarcity has come into play. Cards are manufactured as scarce, stamped with serial numbers - #/5, #/25, #/50, #/99 and so on - and with it, high prices! Bring certified autographs into the mix and then you get cards like 2009 Mike Trout #/25 Auto selling for $5000 on ebay.
So yeah, collecting is back.
Yep. Let's print the same exact card in blue and stamp it as #/25, this one in green and stamp it as #/99, make this one all shiny and stamp it as #/250......
That's why I'm a prewar type collector - the cards are actually scarce, not just considered scarce because Topps decides to change some little thing.