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Judge Dred (Fred)Collecting a certain genre in cards can be a bit challenging. It's not everyday that a rare type card in certain collecting niches become available so you pick up what you can, when you can.
Today, these cards have a very short shelf life and go off the market quick. If it's a card you've been seeking for a while (years) then you have to seize the moment. If you are fortunate enough to pick up a card from a certain team you collect then that's a bonus.
Most purchases in these cards have their own circumstances in which price and availability play a major role in the decision to "pull the trigger". I wish now that I would have purchased some of my type card wants a decade ago because now some of those cards may never be available to me again for reasons of availability and economics. The days of being picky and choosey (unless you have huge economic resources for this hobby) seemed to have passed many of us by.
The hobby is a fun one and the thoughts of "could have, would have and should have" will always be sources of little anecdotes (maybe just a little painful) that we can tell our collecting friends. There was a time that I waited for certain cards of certain players from certain issues but being picky just "isn't in the cards" any longer.
One last thought - In the past there seemed to be more opportunity to pick up "trade bait" cards (rare, tough or common). The cards may not have exactly fit a collectors habits but you certainly wouldn't pass on a great deal because you didn't collect it. I used to pick up odds and ends that didn't mean much to me because, in the end, I knew I could trade off the material and be closer to my real collecting goals.