I've found that generally the quality of strike anywhere matches has deteriorated substantially over the years. There seems to be less striking material, and the matches themselves do seem much more sensitive to the type of material that are struck against--as you say, some materials simply sand off the striker.

Also, I've noted that the matches simply deteriorate over time, becoming useless.

Get a Cricket piezo butane lighter or similar and never look back. I've carried the same little one in my gritty pocket for years, held it under water for 30 seconds, blown the water out, and the thing still lights reliably.