They have a "What's your focus?" thread going on the other side...

[thekingofclout]

and it got me to thinking. I wonder how many memorabilia collectors follow some kind of want list (and if so, please give an example) and how many of you guys freestyle it like me?

Now since I don't have a life, I put in a LOT of hours searching for the stuff I find, and I know that most of you guys have a wife and kids to care for. Mine are all grown and on there own, and no wife, but a fabulous girlfriend who only understands the bottom line and she also knows that this stuff makes me happy.

As I'm primarily a photo collector, I don't follow a list as in "I need to find three Ruth photos. One batting. One portrait, and one posing with a few teammates". I simply scour ebay and go after the best available image/item (among my top eight players that I collect).

Also, do you actually give yourself a dollar amount budget and stick to it, or if there is a few must have pieces up at the same time, do you over-extend like me, or do you stick to your budget?

It's no secret that I buy a bunch of stuff, but there is a method to my madness. I buy what I like or what I think I can sell for a profit. I keep what best fits my collection, and sell the rest.

It's very much a numbers game for me. If I sell a few hundred pieces a year, some I lose money on, some I break even on, some I make a few bucks, and some I make a good chunk of dough.

For me, what it amounts to is, I'm in the stuff I keep, very little money as I've rolled any profit I've made right back into the high-grade pieces that I keep.

So I'm just wondering how everyone else goes about building their collection...

Happy New Year to all and may all your collecting wishes come true! Jimmy