How do you decide what to collect?
 

I've found myself back in the game lately but feeling overwhelmed when trying to decide what to collect. I have a few interests, but find that most of my wantlist is big ticket items that I will not be able to afford very often.

How do you decide what to collect, and what are ways to include less expensive items in that list?

I had always been eclectic in my collecting so as long as I liked it and could afford it, I bought it.

Hi
 

I kept finding myself liking different pre-war sets. I fell in love with T206 at first and built the monster at 60's and stopped then decide to do 1933 Goudey, got about 40. Lately I felt I want to do something older but beside T206 so I have been picking up some T205 and T210.

Now I look at my drawer, everything is in SGC/PSA with a lot of different flavors so I can't imagine myself sticking to one set for next 10 years.

I would love to pick up some CJ but they cost too much!

Beside those different sets, I mainly focus on Deaf Sports such as Dummy Hoy, Taylor and such even though they are small focus and I can't just sit n wait for them to appear in auctions or BST :)

What are your thoughts on which to collect?

Pick a niche. Maybe the 500-homer club, perfect game pitchers, Canadian-born Yankees ... even lefthanded shortstops from Iowa. Once you narrow your focus, the hunt becomes more fun because you're locked into a theme and can pass on anything that doesn't fall within its parameters.

it's simple
 

do i like it?

Pick a team. I love anything Brooklyn, which lets me pick up from any set up to 1957. I have a great sampler set going from Old Judge to Wilsons Franks and beyond.

+1 It makes completing a set or player run next to impossible but I have an extremely wide variety of stuff.:)

You will probably find that once you get back in for a minute something will speak to you. For me it was iconic post war rookie cards that I always wanted as a kid, and that's what I focused on. Eventually moved beyond "iconic" and into rookies of Cy Young and MVP winners once I had basically acquired all of the post war Hall of Famers. Now I am dabbling in T206 and other pre war. The constant has always been what speaks to me. You will know it when you see it.

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When I got back into the hobby as an adult I gravitated to the cards I wanted as a teenager (around 1980) but couldn't afford. Aaron RC, Koufax RC, 53 Paige, Jackie Robinson, 55 Dodgers, 50s Willie Mays, Goudey 181 Babe, a HOFer T206 (which ended up being Matty Dark Cap), a Ralph Kiner, cards of all the guys who broke the color barrier starting their MLB careers in the 1940s.

I got these and found a few other things to pursue ... Diamond Stars HOFers (not a set on my radar 35 years ago, but they're pretty affordable and I love them), Mets cards (one inexpensive project was to get all the Topps team picture cards ... 1963 to 2011, no 1969 card but they made up for it with the awesome No-Team-Name-Necessary 1970 card), and a number of cards I really like that aren't especially collectible such as 64 Uecker, 52B Garagiola, 58 & 70 Curt Flood, 55B Jocko Conlon, 40PB Connie Mack, etc.

I display them all and I think they look great. If I'm fortunate I'll have them all until I die.

I've bought very little over the past year and that's fine. I see getting a 1915 CJ Branch Rickey the next time a large purchase is justified, and I'll pick up cards I like from some sets not yet represented in my collection ... T205, 50B, etc. I still have to finish putting my 1973 and 1975 sets in pages (which I acquired as nature intended ... standing outside a candy store saying 'got him, need him, got him, got him.')

I'd love to get the full Jackie run (I have all the Topps) and a Walter Johnson. Maybe someday, maybe not. Either way I enjoy the hobby a lot, especially reading this forum.

It can be a real struggle. Im extremely deliberate in what I collect. If a card isnt part of a set / goal Im collecting; I generally dont acquire it. On top of that, Ive been working on one particular collection for the past 12-15 years and Im down to the very end - I may not add more than one or two cards a year going forward.

Not sure where I'll go next because there are so many things to consider. I cant over-extend myself on my next collection in case one of the tougher finds comes up in my first collection. I also want to start a collection that I can actually finish.

In the end, this is a long winded way of saying Im looking into a new collection centered around either a) some of my favorite historical players or b) all of the players from my favorite team within some of my favorite sets.

But Im looking long and hard before I start on any of them.

I've always liked variety, so would follow the auctions and pick up neat things at fair prices. In cards and memorabilia, there are many quality items that are affordable. High price often doesn't mean something is higher quality, just in higher demand. Further, I was never enamored with high grade, which saved me a lot of useless money.

I collect E121-80 and E121-120 Giants and Yankees as my great great uncle Elmer Miller is in this group and they surround the 1921 World Series in which he played.

I also collect T205 and T207 Cubs with emphasis on different reverses as I am a die hard Cub fan. Banner year for me as my Cubs finally won another World Series.

My point is collect what you enjoy for whatever reason. You do not have to collect everything. Only what you want.

Kmac

I'd recommend finding something "cheap" to collect when your funds are dry or when cards from your wantlist are not readily available.

For example, my primary focus is pittsburgh pre-war types. However, one of my side projects is where I collect the "Topps All-Star Rookie" cards from 1960-present. You know, the ones with the little trophy icon on them. While some can be expensive, I can pick most of them up for a couple bucks.

I collect things that are related to things I love:
1909 T51 Murad College Series because I love college sports
Cards and autographs of every Georgia Tech athlete who played in the pro sports leagues (BB, BKB, FB, PGA, WNBA) or luminaries: astronauts, generals, CEOs, etc.
Knights of Columbus cards/postcards/ephemera: they are in the T56 Emblem Series, plus some silk issues
T121 Sweet Caporal WWI war scenes because of the military and US Air Force history

One of the great things about our hobby is you can collect however you want to. I went from a die-hard type collecting collector to a more diverse, but less completionist, type collector. :) And yes, most collecting can be done on a budget. Just follow the forum and give it a little time and you will find what you like the most. Then collect it. Vintage collecting isn't a sprint like the new pack ripping and prospecting. Take your time and have fun.

It took me awhile to decide what to collect and what my true interests were. I started off in Vintage as im sure many do with T206. Finished a basic HOF set minus Wagner/Plank of course. I really liked that the set had 2 Richmond Colts. I did some research on the team and stumbled upon T210/T209. No turning back now these sets must be completed. But like Leon said the great thing is you can collect what you like in so many ways. No wrong answers to your question.

I am big on major contributors to the game and being born and raised in NY, I go with the Yankees, since my family are diehard fans.

I have posted this on here before, but I love the rare and the esoteric. With baseball cards, that usually means expensive. One of my favorite subjects to collect is auto racing cards. I like collecting racing because there are only a few cards that individually sell for more than $500. Even an extreme rarity like the card shown in my avatar is "only" an $1,100 card. Some of the racing cards on my bucket list are only $200-400 cards, yet finding one is nearly impossible.

It is all about enjoying what you are doing. If they money is an issue, don't do it.

Look at the other forums here. It doesn't have to be prewar baseball HOFers. If you like other sports, lots of great stuff is out there. Ditto for nonsports. While a few marquee cards can get expensive in any field, most cards are a fraction of the cost of equivalent baseball cards.

One alternative for prewar HOFers are the sets issued in the 1950s-1970s. Callahan HOF, Golden Press, Fleer, even 1976 Topps All Time All Stars. Beautiful issues that can represent HOFers in your collection for a very modest price.

If you follow the current game, they still make cards. I had a great time with Topps Now in 2016 and ended up with every Clayton Kershaw card they made last year.

I regularly pick up the cards formerly known as 'shiny crap' when they catch my eye. Hell, I spent a really enjoyable afternoon at the National last year going through large dollar boxes of 1970s cards looking for chase cards that I recall seeing 20 years ago for a lot more.

I like cards from when I was a kid. One of the things I actively search out are 1970s issues. Especially at a show, there is great stuff available in slightly lower condition for a pittance. One dealer at the show last year basically gave me a free stack of 1960s-1970s HOFers when I bought a single graded card from him. Postwar Topps and Bowman, for example, are very reasonably priced if you don't have to have high end slabbed cards.

Buy stuff you like and try to get decent deals so you can sell it if you change your mind. Also you can never go wrong with iconic HOF'ers even in low grade.

How do you decide what to collect?
 

As others have stated collect what "you" enjoy. Now I'm coming from the hobby perspective and I'm personally not particularly concerned with ROI.

To your question I decided to collect Brooks Robinson because he was my hero going up. So that was an easy decision for me. Some of his cards can be quite expensive in nice condition so I have to be patient with some purchases. I'm also an Orioles fan so I collect Orioles memorabilia mainly for display purposes. When I see something I like and can afford I'll pick it up.

When it comes to less expensive items I have quite a few Orioles side collections like ticket stubs, original and wire photos, picture pack stadium photos, Jay Publishing photos, etc. Will really never run out of items to collect.

If I had the means I'd probably collect other things like HOFers cards, pre-war, etc., but I just can't afford to so I stay within my means (most of the time...)

You can also pick an area (team, period) and collect assorted cards and memorabilia related to that area. Many card collectors also collect memorabilia, autographs, photos, etc.