Collecting Obscure/Scarce/Under-appreciated sets - Does it affect your enjoyment?

[Bored5000]

Originally Posted by Luke

Question for you guys that collect obscure and scarce tobacco or caramel sets:

The vast majority of my collecting experience centers around the T206 set. Some of the best things about collecting T206s are that they are readily available, and that so many other people collect them. The fact that hundreds of other people collect the same set really adds to my enjoyment. I have a bunch of friends who I can show off new cards to, and vice versa. There's a fun community feel with collecting t206s.

With the handful of other sets that I dabble in, it feels a lot different. To begin with, the cards just aren't readily available. I get excited about a new set, but then have to just sit there and have patience because there is nothing on the market for me to buy. It's also less fun because my T206 buddies don't care too much about the more obscure sets I am into.

Does the solitary nature of collecting these sets make it less fun for you? Does the extreme patience you need to have make it less fun for you?

Great thread. I collect mostly obscure cards or cards outside the big four sports. I have written on here before that there is not anything at all wrong with collecting T206 or '33 Goudey or '52 Topps, but I love cards that might only come up for sale once every five years or something like that.

The extreme patience required does not make things less fun; it makes collecting more fun for me. I probably have 50 cards on my bucket list that I could realistically afford, but it is just a matter of them showing up at auction or at a reasonable price. About a month ago, I received an eBay e-mail alert that there was an Amelia Earhart Heinz Aviator card newly listed on eBay. My heart instantly began beating quickly, since I had never seen one for sale on eBay before. I can't imagine the same kind of excitement exists when a new WaJo T206 or Jackie Robinson '52 Topps card hits eBay.

Some of my favorite cards I own are $200-300 cards that I have not ever seen for sale other than when I purchased my example. The card in my avatar was a little over $100 at Sterling Auctions, but A.J. Foyt Marhoefer Meats cards are tough to find.

[Rich Falvo]

I'm working on a master set of the Providence players from the T206 set. Once I got the common backs of all of the players, it really has become a slog finding even the mid-tier backs. Can get very depressing at times.

I've started working on a low-grade Sport Kings set for fun to fill the gaps between T206 finds.