[Bigdaddy]

So, as I was browsing the 'bay to find some cards to finish a set I'm working on, I saw several for-sale ads, specifically 'set break' ones, that got me to thinking - always a dangerous endeavor.

It seems like there is a constant turnover of cards going in and out of sets. Guys like me are accumulating cards to build sets and other folks, mainly dealers, are busting those sets up to make some scratch. Because like cars, the cost of the individual cards (parts) are almost always more expensive than the cost of the set (car) as a whole. A constant turnover with seemingly no trend toward chaos (only individual cards, no sets) or order (all cards belonging to someone's set).

So I ask myself, 'Hey you chucklehead, why don't you just buy the whole set at once instead of working for years and spending more that it's worth when it is finally complete?' And I came up with two answers:

1. I'd much rather spend, for example, $2 five times than $10 at once. Spreading out the cost of the set over time.

or

2. I enjoy the thrill of the chase - the means more than the end. I enjoy looking through ads, boxes, the 'bay, going to card shows, the BST, and getting the satisfaction of building something myself.

For me, I think I've got some of both - maybe 60% of the first and 40% of the second.

How 'bout you?