I would say starting in 2005 would be old. Perhaps early 2006. I have been around since shortly after beta, and because of the that I can easily tell rarity, because I have been here for all releases. Over this time (if you are asking about how long it takes to get 'rares') I have had inferno, (when it was rare) owned almost every piece of beta (besides tester items and green flips and pants), and currently I have 22 pages of inventory. All of this with never playing a quest in-park. Without going to a park, or without going on ebay, you really can't get rare items anytime fast. Unless you have extreme luck with HOST_ events....
Dude