How hard do you fight for a set you'll never complete
 

I asked earlier about it being okay to call a set complete without truly high dollar or rare cards included (I'm looking at you 1952 Topps)

I've got several sets that I'm near completing including the Salutations Exhibit set.

I'm just seven cards away from completing it, but that includes the Gehrig ( maybe $1700) and the Rizzo (never really comes up). Every other card I need is well over $300 to get.

I'm starting to wonder if I bother picking up any of those $300 cards at this point. They'd just bring me closer to having a gaping hole in an otherwise curious set. It's not really a set that people buy complete anyway.

So, do I bother trying to complete it or spend my money elsewhere?

"Most" every set is able to be completed.......so as you ask, do you want to spend your money on a tough to finish set or elsewhere? This is really the question.

IF you want to complete the set but are asking this question, my guess is that this set is not high on your priority list.

I have only one set to finish on my priority list, the 52 Topps set. I am 92% complete with my set, but to finish the set in my desired condition, I will need $12-15K+ to cover the final 33 cards. With my CC rewards, ebay bucks and ebay GC at b-day/holidays, I am looking at 4 years to finish...I do not have a plethora of extra funds to work with. I am content to take my time and finish the set on this timetable.

However, I could easily downgrade some of the key cards in my other sets and probably finish this set in months. But, I choose to keep these other cards in the condition that I have and take another 4 years to finish. To afford a low grade Mantle for the set, I sold off some of the "non-set" portions of my collection to cover a majority of the cost on that card. I had NO problems parting with that area of my collection to acquire this card. However, that card was the only card I would have sold this portion of my collection for.

In your case, you can take your time with the set and finish it at a pace that is consistent with your budget. Or, you can part with another (hopefully a non-set) part of your collection and finish this set much sooner.

I've missed the boat on the '52T Mantle, so, I'm just going after the other 406 cards...maybe only the 405 others (Mathews RC) - but right now, I'm four cards shy of the first 310 cards in the set...with a good stop sign at #311.

Of course I cannot claim it is a complete set, but I will still get great satisfaction out of the 310-card portion of it.

I only got to 100 in the Monster before reality crept in...would never have gotten close...even if I didn't count the BIG FOUR...but, only 100 wasn't enough to give me the same satisfaction I'll get with these 310.

I'll quote Mr. Callahan now. "A man's got to know his limitations."

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Lets see, I've been collecting since say 73-4, and I've completed
48 Bowman in P-F with a few nicer ones. (Sold it in the late 80's and still regret it. )
74Topps
77-82 Topps.
82 Fleer
82 Donruss
86- ? Topps

A bunch of 70's-90's small sets, but they usually came as sets
Ones that didn't
78 Papa Ginos
A couple of the Drakes sets.


So I'd probably say that I don't make a whole lot of effort to complete a set. Once I got to within 1 card on 88 Topps I spent way too long looking for that last one. I could have just bought a set or team set and been done. Sometimes we do silly stuff.

Man......we must be collecting the same sets. Salutations and 1952 Topps for me too. I have 1-310 complete, 1-80 in both red and black, both error cards, about 100 autographed cards and 47 high numbers. Still need about 50 high numbers INCLUDING Mantle. I had saved up some money 4-5 years ago and was going to buy the Mantle and then didn't. Now that same 2 or 3 is WAAAAAYY more than it was. Same thing for the Authentics that are trimmed or something. OH well. Same deal on the Salutations. I only needed Gehrig and 4-5 others including Rizzo, Averill and a couple more. That $1500-$2000 Gehrig is also a super tough card to find in any condition.

Luckily I have a Mantle but there are other 52 Topps cards that will likely stop me from ever completing the set, unfortunately.

I currently have around 50 high numbers but still needing a Mathews, Campanella, Wilhelm, Dickey and others, plus some lower numbers like Pafko, Berra, Martin and Rizzuto, I am in tough to say the least.

I finished the 52 lows in a grade I think is respectable. I have a couple high numbers I pick up in lower grade as I can afford them. but I am not actively working on the high numbers since I don't have the scratch for the mantle yet.

I have a bunch of others started 53,55,56,57,59 in various conditions and state of completion. I have decided to try to finish those. I need a bunch for the 53, no hurry. 3 for the 55, I bought the clemente last year that was a big expenditure. this set I want to finish soon. the 56-57 are down to 6 and 5 respectively with some upgrades needed thereafter.

I really want to finish these sets as they are in nice condition. but I need some expensive cards to do it but I want them done so I will bite the bullet and pony up the bucks. I will also sell some of my collection to complete them.

in fact toying with the idea of selling my started 62 set to fund some of the purchases. I gotta start finish the stuff I have started

glad to see others are in that same predicament. the way I look at it, its worth finishing the sets. I love them and have put this much work/time/money into them I need to finish them.

good luck