Lulls in collecting?

Leon · #1 05-22-2009, 07:31 AM

So I tend to watch the board every now and then and notice sometimes there is a lull in the action. Sometimes I feel I have a lull or two in my collecting. Anyone else go through that? And if so, do you have very many lulls? Is it mainly economics or the economy that "makes" you go into a lull? I know sometimes I wonder if I want to continue....then a minute later realize I do. Idle thoughts on a slow morning...

jcmtiger · #2 05-22-2009, 07:37 AM

You are right Leon, I think we all go through these periods. Sometimes I am ready to sell everything, but can't do it. As far as buying I am buying less because I can't find what I want and don't want to pay the high prices for some items.
Joe

Mrc32 · #3 05-22-2009, 07:37 AM

I have had many lulls over my collecting life. Sometimes I think about selling everything and then sometimes I find myself scouring eBay for hours looking for something cool.

Before last fall I hadn't picked up a card in 3 years. So, my last lull might have been pretty long, life just took over and my interest (and free time) faded. But now I am back and making great progress on my collection.

I've been collecting for over 20 years (wow), off and on and I will probably continue to collect that way for a long time.

GRock · #4 05-22-2009, 08:05 AM

I'm currently in a "lull". I'm picking up a card here and there, but I'm not scouring the net daily. Maybe when the National rolls around and I'm in a giant room full of goodies, I'll be jump-started.

JamesGallo · #5 05-22-2009, 08:10 AM

Lulls are I think the norm in any hobby. Since my collecting it rather um diverse especially with cards I haven't had this happen just yet. When I had almost complete my Cracker Jack set, I was like what now, and have since continued with several other sets that have kept me going.

I think there is a general lull with the board for whatever reason and that would slow things down for me as I used to get a kick out of checking the BST 100 times a day and seeing new stuff, now stuff is either not posted or stuff stays on the main page for days....

James G

barrysloate · #6 05-22-2009, 08:24 AM

I think in general most collectors spend more on their collections than they really should. So economic necessity forces them to take breaks. It's often impossible to keep up the pace of buying cards regularly unless money is no object. And for most money always is an object.

It's good to take a break now and then. You come back to it with greater enthusiasm.

T206Collector · #7 05-22-2009, 08:46 AM

1. More specialization means fewer cards coming to market.
2. Our ever-dynamic wallets.
3. General boredom of past collecting philosophy.

alanu · #8 05-22-2009, 08:50 AM

I'm making an effort to not put any additional money into my card collection, so my current lull is caused by the need to sell cards before I buy more cards.

rhettyeakley · #9 05-22-2009, 09:25 AM

Leon, it's funny that you posted this because that is exactly how I am feeling right now. I will be setting up at the National this year (along with Rhys), and the last few weeks I have been getting things out of boxes/storage and trying to get things somewhat ready so I'm not scrambling at the last minute, but it has begun to feel like a real chore! I think I may have OD'ed on baseball cards for the time being.
-Rhett

Doug · #10 05-22-2009, 09:53 AM

I have lulls fairly often. I usually either pick up too much too fast and run out of money or I don't pick up anything for so long that I just get bored and occupy myself with something else. Usually during my long lulls of no cards, I think about quitting, but I seem to manage to find something eventually that gets me back to it.

ChiefBenderForever · #11 05-22-2009, 10:11 AM

Whenever I start working on something new I buy a bunch of stuff and then get more selective so it slows down. Sometimes I just box everything up and put it away and don't buy a card for months. I have been selling so I can buy but for every 250.00 I sell I spend 700.00 but it helps the cause. I don't think I could ever just sell it all and quit, but taking a break is always refreshing, there is always cards for sale when you come back.

mayx2 · #12 05-22-2009, 10:21 AM

I always think during a lull that i might be losing interest but then a card I like comes along and I'm invigorated again! Lou

ullmandds · #13 05-22-2009, 10:51 AM

I think Barry's point is spot on...atleast for me. I always spend more on cards than I ever intended to in the first place. Then I'll look at my checking account and I wonder why I can never get ahead...or save as much as I want...because I surround myself with stuff!

I'm trying to get away from my "spending" mentality...because stuff isn't really that important to me in the grand scheme of things. Don't get me wrong...I love my cards...but I just put them in a shoebox! I'm changing my spending/saving to reflect what is important...people...and life experience!

just my 2 cents...

donmuth · #14 05-22-2009, 11:03 AM

My last lull in collecting occured after I graduated from college and moved to a new city and started my job. That lull lasted several years (until around Jan 2008).

Prior to that I had a severe lull when all the insert craze started in the 90s and I went off to college and didn't have much money for cards anyways.

I am now finding myself in another lull from a buying perspective at least. That is driven mainly by a lack of expendable income and that some of the cards I want are pricey (at least to me). So I have to save up for them. Other than limiting my buying though, I find that I am researching cards and checking out the B/S/T boards and ebay more than ever! I have promised myself not to get into another lull with my collecting. Only time will tell if I can keep that promise or not.

oldjudge · #15 05-22-2009, 11:21 AM

It's almost like that feeling you get after a big satisfying meal. The hobby has just digested some great material from REA and some other auction houses and now it is a little sleepy. It has seemed to me that the board is a little sleepy lately too which, I guess, is a reflection of this.

barrysloate · #16 05-22-2009, 11:30 AM

Maybe a good political thread will wake everybody up.

sesop · #17 05-22-2009, 11:34 AM

here is my standard lull:

i get excited about a series which is under-represented in my yankee type set- ie- i pick up a batter-up lazzeri. i find myself feeling like every other set sucks, so i stop buying yankees from the other sets i collect because all i want is yankee batter-ups, and dammit, they're nowhere to be found. so i do the only logical thing: buy non-yankee batter-ups like a madman. then it occurs to me that since i have several brooklyn batter-ups, i should add brooklyn to my collecting focus and pick up a few e90 brooklyn players. i go to vcp and make a wantlist containing every brooklyn card ever made and the emails vcp sends with yankee cards get lost in the midst of all the brooklyn-related emails. this trend goes on until (usually by accident), i stumble on a card i really want, which costs less than all the crap i have recently purchased, but more than i can spend since i just blew so much on stuff i really don't want. so i list the regrettable purchases on ebay, take a beating, get mad that i missed out on the scarce, highly coveted card, and buy something more expensive than the aforementioned "highly coveted card," which i didn't want or need nearly as much as "the one that got away."

then i take a few days off to re-evaluate things. during this period i have been known to (a) buy a rack pack of 1982 topps with a reggie jackson showing, (b) view smut online more than net54, (c) both.

idle time is the devil's something or other. so true. the moment my focus strays, i do something i regret.

barrysloate · #18 05-22-2009, 11:40 AM

Viewing smut online is a great hobby...and cheap.

deadballera · #19 05-22-2009, 11:45 AM

When in a lull....

Just watch one or all of the following:

Ken Burns Baseball
Eight Men Out
Pride of the Yankees
When it Was A Game

Those should almost every time put you in a mood to buy something. An instant card wanting energy drink !

Wesley · #20 05-22-2009, 12:18 PM

Things have not been the same since Jim Crandell decided not to transition to the new forum.

And where has Dorskin been?

toppcat · #21 05-22-2009, 12:18 PM

I hit lulls all the time in various aspect of life, not just hobby-related. I think it's normal human behavior.

tbob · #22 05-22-2009, 12:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wesley

Things have not been the same since Jim Crandell decided not to transition to the new forum.

And where has Dorskin been?

sssshhhh! It's been much more pleasant.

barrysloate · #23 05-22-2009, 12:34 PM

From what I understand neither Jim nor Bruce registered for the site. Maybe we can entice them back with a free gift, like a set of luggage.

Bicem · #24 05-22-2009, 12:40 PM

they'll come around, all in good time.

carrigansghost · #25 05-22-2009, 12:41 PM

For all of the Bruce's or just the main source?

Bicem · #26 05-22-2009, 12:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carrigansghost

For all of the Bruce's or just the main source?

good question, I'll have to give that some deep thought...

drc · #27 05-22-2009, 01:08 PM

For most endeavors, from athletics to school to hobbies, taking a periodic break is productive to the endeavor. PGA golfers often comment that if they play year round they get burned out and their game suffers. Taking a break where they don't even think about golf improves their golf game. I'm sure there were times when Albert Einstein was sick of nuclear physics and Michelangelo sick of painting. And that can be a good time for a PGA golfer's break.

My dad, who was successful, thought little and was even suspicious of people who never took breaks or vacations. He said it was harmful not helpful to their productivity and work and he often doubted they were working hard or well all those 'after hours' anyway. He considered a vacation or break as something entirely free from work. He thought a vacation where a worker is in constant contact with boss (via phone, email, fax) to be a dubious vacation, and not good for the worker or company. So if you were to ask my dad if taking a break is okay, you can bet what his answer would be.

Writehooks · #28 05-22-2009, 01:10 PM

In my 30 years of collecting I've found periodic lulls to be both expected and welcome.

For me, a lull in any one particular area of my collecting invariably triggers a rejuvenated interest in another. Whenever I sense that my cards are becoming too "familiar," for example, I put them away for a couple of months and concentrate on my programs, scorecards and other printed ephemera. When those items begin to grow a little stale, I put them back on the shelf and break out my binders of vintage wirephotos and try to fill some gaps.

During extended dry spells of not buying/trading/selling cards or memorabilia, I like to use the time I might otherwise devote to cards, etc., to catch up on hobby-related reading or research, or to rearrange the display pieces in my basement.

I just wish I was wealthy enough to do this stuff full-time.

donmuth · #29 05-22-2009, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Writehooks

I just wish I was wealthy enough to do this stuff full-time.

me too!!!!

judsonhamlin · #30 05-22-2009, 01:42 PM

Came looking for a Ramon Llull reference... anyone?
Okay, maybe not.

I am in bit of a pre-war lull right now. Work has been over the top lately and I'm down on eBay (still/again). I have been filling some of my post-war sets (54 Bowman and 52+66 Topps) since the prices have been a little better of late. Next week, who knows?

bikerider60 · #31 05-22-2009, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leon

So I tend to watch the board every now and then and notice sometimes there is a lull in the action. Sometimes I feel I have a lull or two in my collecting. Anyone else go through that? And if so, do you have very many lulls? Is it mainly economics or the economy that "makes" you go into a lull? I know sometimes I wonder if I want to continue....then a minute later realize I do. Idle thoughts on a slow morning...

My other Hobby, a rebuild of my Koi Pond has me obsessed. I have not picked up a card in some time... Pond has changed since this shot in March.

yazfan08 · #32 05-22-2009, 04:20 PM

I didn't read all the replies, so apologies if this has already been stated. I notice such lulls in the summer and in periods where I devote a disproportionate amount of energy on collecting compared to other activities. Basically, when I'm out of balance as to how I spend my time.

Fred · #33 05-22-2009, 04:54 PM

I'm lulling right now. I'm not in a stop buying mode. There's just not a lot available to fill my want list. Also, work is getting to be hectic so I don't spend as much time looking around on the net. I check this board less frequently but I'm always looking to find an interesting post that contains neat vintage card info.

Mrc32 · #34 05-23-2009, 08:22 AM

I just wanted to comment, this is a great thread.

joeadcock · #35 05-23-2009, 08:45 AM

My lulls tend to be connected to my financial situation. Recently I bought too much:E107, E99 x 2, high grade E93's, Ruth PC, etc. I am going to force myself to stop for a few months. It is not financially sustainable. I am going to instead grade, to keep myself busy. I will then come back strong for next years REA auction.

I agree with Wesley, need Jim Crandell.

Frank L.

Bicem · #36 05-23-2009, 09:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joeadcock

I agree with Wesley, need Jim Crandell.

Frank L.

check Full Count for all your Crandell needs.

joeadcock · #37 05-23-2009, 10:30 AM

Jeff

I dont understand what you mean.
What I meant by my statement was that it would be good to have his opinions as part of the discussion.
I will expand on my comments such as this in future, so that I am not misunderstood.

Frank L.

yanksfan09 · #38 05-23-2009, 10:43 AM

Agree, very good thread.... I always wondered if I was in the minority with having as many lulls and off and on periods. I've collected this way since I first start around 1991/92 when I was a kid. I've always had periods of heavy collecting , light collecting, and no collecting.

I think my first big "no-collecting" period was after the strike-shortened 1994 season. (Looking back, I wish this would have made me all but stop collecting new cards all together and get into vintage but it didn't.) I was still a kid and then Ripkens' streak reinvigorated me in 1995. Then my Yankees went on a tear from 96-2001 ( 2001 we were robbed! One of the great W.S. ever!)

I was off and on through college. Then in 2004, I think, I started really getting into prewar and found this board after inheriting my D381 collection from my great-grandfather.

Since then I've been more focused and enthusiastic about collecting and have had fewer and shorter lulls but I still get them. I think Im just emerging from a rather intensive period of buying (for me). I think a lull is starting for me right now, for how long remains to be seen. Work is really busy on the farm (planting etc...) Also in the short times I do get off there's so much more stuff I'd like to be doing in the summer. Fishing/boating, trying to get to the occasional Yankee game and occasional round of paintball, BBQ'ing/Drinking, sleeping/watching playoff basketball and Yankee baseball etc....(Almost forgot fantasy baseball, which occupies maybe an hour of my day average.)

I have too much stuff to do and not enough time for it all. One thing is for certain and that's I always come back into it. And usually hard!

No one happens to have any of the remaining 8 D381's I need out there huh? Didn't think so.... That would drag me back full force into the hobby again in a heartbeat.....

I'm still monitoring ebay and the B/S/T so we shall see what happens. It's nice to know I'm not alone with lulls.....

Mark · #39 05-23-2009, 12:52 PM

I tend to agree with David's father that it is helpful to have some diversion and relaxation in order to do something that is demanding. In my case, collecting baseball stuff is a main source of diversion and relaxation. At the same time, I find that when my mind is fully focused on my work, I don't think much about collecting baseball stuff. And I don't really mind being absorbed in something that I find important. When I find that I am getting very absorbed in collecting, I tell myself that I better get back to work. So I agree that lulls are to be expected in the average collector's career. At the same time, it sounds to me like some of you are just lollygagging. Go buy a card!

Exhibitman · #40 05-23-2009, 02:22 PM

I am lucky in the sense that I don't really obsess over mainstream issues. If the cards I like to collect show up I buy them. If not, I don't. In the meantime, I work on cards from easy sets that I want to own, but I chase them at very low prices. 1952 Topps is my current diversion. Give me a vg HOFer for under $20 and I'm having fun and getting my gambling fix in the process.

Anthony S. · #41 05-23-2009, 03:33 PM

I have a theory that I cause the lulls by not posting items for sale, because Lord knows whenever I post cards for sale on the BST it's pretty much guaranteed that a half dozen other sellers will post items in the following couple of hours.

CobbSpikedMe · #42 05-23-2009, 06:53 PM

I know I'm in a lull when I start going back to buying 80's rookies that I always wanted as a kid but never could afford. I'll buy a few of them and then when they show up in the mail, I remember how much more I like opening the manilla and pulling out another pre-war card.

AndyH

deadballpaul · #43 05-24-2009, 04:11 PM

I'm in my first serious lull since I started collecting pre war in 1998. Not much is exciting me, but I think a lot of it has to do with the economy/work stress. Sometimes I think I've been collecting the wrong stuff all this time, & then a week later I love my collection again. Thought about selling the bulk of my collection, but was afraid I'd regret it soon after. I realized the smart thing was to do nothing, & go on the collecting DL for a while. I thought about starting this exact thread a couple days before Leon did, but I was feeling a little mental about the whole thing.