Set Collectors Advice

mintacular · #1 11-09-2015, 09:57 PM

Not sure how old you are but figure out if you want to collect 95% of commons of players you've never heard of/watched..... Or just collect a subset of the HOFers etc. For example if a nice EXMT '56 set cost 5K, would you be better off spending 1K on the stars or cards you like from that set and reserve the other 4K on other stuff you really want? Also consider piecing a set together is usually not a good financial/investment move as the sum of the parts usually costs more than the whole

jchcollins · #2 11-09-2015, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mintacular

Not sure how old you are but figure out if you want to collect 95% of commons of players you've never heard of/watched..... Or just collect a subset of the HOFers etc. For example if a nice EXMT '56 set cost 5K, would you be better off spending 1K on the stars or cards you like from that set and reserve the other 4K on other stuff you really want? Also consider piecing a set together is usually not a good financial/investment move as the sum of the parts usually costs more than the whole

Thanks. I'm 38, been collecting cards on and off since I was 9 years old. The '56s have always been the cards that held the most mystique to me, the ones that best captured that classic vintage look that first interested my child's eye more than 20 years ago. Growing up in the early '90s - the vintage baseball thing was very much in, and I soon lost interest in collecting new cards and focused only on the older stuff. Collecting for investment is not my style, but you do make a good point in that piecing together a bunch of commons a couple of cards at a time is probably not the cheapest way to do it. I would not be looking at anything as lofty as an EXMT set; mostly VG probably is more my speed. Maybe a better plan is to put aside the cash I would be looking to spend first and then decide if it's worth blowing on a lot of commons or if some other shiny star card piqued my interest first...

PolarBear · #3 11-09-2015, 10:10 PM

I hear you. I've started quite a few sets and then get bored and start something else.

I'd say the "trick" to it is - either be willing to lay it aside until you regain interest again, or just plow ahead anyway and keep after it even when you aren't interested. The second option seems to work best for me.

pokerplyr80 · #4 11-09-2015, 10:43 PM

I have started and given up on a couple of sets. My advice would be try to make sure it's something you're really into. And don't expect to be able to flip most cards for any kind of a profit. It will be hard to break even if you change your mind on anything except the big cards after factoring in ebay or AH and shipping fees.

ls7plus · #5 11-12-2015, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mintacular

Not sure how old you are but figure out if you want to collect 95% of commons of players you've never heard of/watched..... Or just collect a subset of the HOFers etc. For example if a nice EXMT '56 set cost 5K, would you be better off spending 1K on the stars or cards you like from that set and reserve the other 4K on other stuff you really want? Also consider piecing a set together is usually not a good financial/investment move as the sum of the parts usually costs more than the whole

That's precisely what got me into collecting stars and HOF'ers when I started collecting again as an adult circa 1990--couldn't see paying significant $$$ for guys that most wouldn't know from adam.

Better to follow your instincts,

Larry

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