As a kid in the 1980's I sat at a used book store filing thru boxes of loose miscellaneous cards to gather pre-1976 football for a couple summers. I managed to cobble together an entire 1976 set at 1 penny a card this way. I did not collect baseball because they were 2 or 3 cents. These cards are in PR-G condition, a lot of my cards from the 1970's are beloved beaters.

Fast forward thirty years and the cards are no longer a penny apiece , but I still enjoy set building. While I have been tempted to buy an entire set at auction before (SSA's recent '51 Bowman's set was real nice) I prefer the process. I typically buy large partial sets at auction in the VG/EX range raw. I enjoy trading for commons, and purchase graded stars with good eye appeal, 3-4 cards per set. Usually working on a half dozen sets at any time. My earlier sets 1959-1972 are in much better condition than those I gathered as a youth, but hard to say which I like more in the collection.

Most importantly, have fun!