HOF Rookies
 

I had just started this collection and so far I own one from the set but I hope that's the start of a great collection. I am a budget collector so price becomes a factor but also looking for nice affordable cards. It will be a tough set for me but I cant wait to start getting real into it, any thoughts on this great set?

Since you posted in the post war section, I am going to assume you are talking about post war rookies only.

I am close to finishing this set, 4 cards away.

My thoughts:
Very expensive if you don't have disposable income.
There is some debate at what constitutes a rookie card, use your own definition and run with it.
The high numbered 1949 Bowmans and 1949 Leaf Hal Newhouser are tough.
Be patient, some of the lower priced ones can be found very cheap. Don't rush.

thanks brent for the advice

I agree, depending on grade, everything from about late 50's to mid 1990's should be pretty cheap and available. The 90's and on you have all the "chase" and "refractor" cards and such that could be tough if you want an expensive card. A cheap regular card would be easy, even if graded a "10".

Prior to that the Mantle is obviously a problem, as well as some others.

Something to consider is limiting the scope of your endeavor somewhat to make it more affordable. I am a budget collector as well and, when going after HOF rookie cards, decided to limit it to New York teams from the 40s, 50s, and 60s.

David-grade wise does matter but overall appearance is what I consider top notch but say 1-6 grade maybe higher depending on player and set

Best- I like that idea of going after certain ones, seems like a good idea but still want some of those toughies

Then you are looking at $200 to $500 each for mid 50's HOF'ers like Banks, Killebrew, Kaline, F Robinson in G to EX. More (much more) for Aaron, Clemente, Mays, Koufax, et al going back. Less for the marginal guys like Bunning, Mazeroski, and dozens of others. Much less for the 60's guys.

Chris had the idea of just picking out some to buy instead of all, saves money and time

When I first set out to accomplish this goal ten years ago, I took the Monthly Beckett Baseball Card Guide high-price column, multiplied it by 10% and looked for each rookie card at that level or below. I ended up with pretty much all lower-grade cards but I was okay with that. The last couple (due to price) were Mantle & Mathews. If you have any questions about identifying which are rookie cards, I may be able to help as I have done a pretty fair amount of research in that area.

I just put a copy of the spreadsheet I use for this set out on my website. It has somewhat recent VCP pricing for all of the Post-WWII Rookies in PSA 5 through PSA 9 condition. Here's a link:

http://www.bobsbbcards.com/images/mi...Rookie-Set.xls

Good luck with your set!!

That's a great tool. Thanks for posting.

Slightly different approach
 

I have taken a sightly different approach to this. I am first trying to find a card (any card) of the player in question. Then I plan to continuously upgrade to nicer older versions as budget time and interest allows. In theory I would upgrade until I have a PSA10 of each rookie! Realistically I hope to have a really nice example of every HOFer when I am done. Combing through my own collection and organizing my search in this way, I seem to be only 41 players short of a 300 player HOF set. Plenty of upgrade and addition possibilities to keep me going. I know that even if I start looking through the bargain bins at shows I will easily continue to improve on the set for years to come. So far so good. Good luck!

Jason:

I followed your approach in many ways over the past 10 years. In hindsight, if I knew that my ultimate goal was to collect a "rookie card" of every HOF'er (currently 300), I would have saved myself a lot of money along the way by simply holding out for the proper card rather than buying another example from a year or two later and then trying to go back and upgrade later on. More often that not, when it came time to sell the card being upgraded, I got less for it than I paid while most times paying a premium for the actual "rookie card" that I just picked up.

Of course, if you like to remain active as a buyer/seller the way I did it was sure a lot of fun but probably not the wisest decision financially......

Jake, Send me a PM with your address, I have a couple of the newer guys that I will send you to help you get started. I love collecting Post WAR HOF rookies. Its by far what I've gotten the most joy out of in terms of my collecting.

Bob, Great spreadsheet! Thanks for sharing that.

I appricate all the great info and help

Matt - very generous of you!! Where were you when I got started??

Jake - Phil is THE MAN when it comes to HiF rookie collecting. You can pick-up some "oddball" rookies on the cheap compared to the standard Topps issues on occasion. Make sure you define your checklist prior to starting!! Mine is constantly evolving (but I find that to be half the fun)!!