Who is to BLAME. Upper Deck, and the other card companies. I call it the illusion of value (as opposed devaluation). Since the late 1980s, card companies have excerpted the value of cards. They (card companies) have taken most of the value of the card before it even reaches the collector. Remember in 1952 every Mickey Mantle card that was sold from a pack was sold for 1 cent. Now you pay $100 for a pack of cards and get 4-5 dollars worth cards (value).
(NOTE THE BELOW ARGUMENT IS INCORRECT - I AM WRONG THEY ARE NOT SELLING BOWMAN PLATINUM FOR 20 DOLLARS A PACK. I SCREWED UP MY ARGUMENT)
Here is what is happening to 2011 Bowman Platinum.
It costs $19.99 retail per pack. On the average you get 6 base cards (out of a 7 card pack). In order to complete a 100 base set you would need to buy 17 packs with perfect collation (you would get 2 doubles). The 17 packs would cost you approx $340.
What is the 100 card base set selling for on ebay now, well you can get it for about $15. You can get a complete base set for less than the cost of a retail pack. Where is the rest of the money (value) going. The value is not being retained by the cards, the value is being retained by the card manufacturers.
The only way someone can retain the value of the cards is getting the lottery ticket big hit. You have chances at autographs but with some of the names like these Brian Bogusevic, Corey Hart, Cristhian Martinez, Edwin Encarnacion, Evan Meek, John McDonald how much are those big hits really worth. You can get a Max Ramirez auto relic in the set. Max got his rookie logo card in 2008 and I don’t think he has been in the majors since then.
95 percent of the collectors that buy this product with get a fraction of their money. Now if you bought 2 boxes say for $300 and you got a Bryce Harper auto then you might make out. One 2011 Bowman Platinum Harper auto sold this week on ebay for $246.00. Thus for $300 bucks (2 boxes) you can get an almost complete $15 base set and a Harper auto (if you are lucky) worth $245.00 and only lose $40 of value to the card manufacturers.
I would hope that stores aren't selling Bowman Platinum for 20 bucks a pack. I went to the local shop today and he had them for $7. I do see your point though. Most, if not all, of the products put out get picked over by the speculators (those buying up prospects and such, hoping for an increase in value), while the rest gets left to whoever wants it. It's almost like opening a box, keeping the two hits and throwing away the base cards. It's like they don't even care about the sets at all because they are merely out to make a quick buck. Thats quite the opposite of most bloggers though. They tend to be true collectors and actually like and collect a set based on what the set is, never mind what they can get out of it in the long run.
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