Prewar and Modern Question

[BioCRN]

For the ultra-modern, it's just Cubs. I only add one player representative card to the collection once they've played long enough (or bought early, speculating) to be considered a Cubs notable/good/great. Cost is so insane on the new shiny stuff that I don't open a lot of packs or boxes these days. The buy-in to the casino is too high and I'd rather just buy the single I want. I can buy a medium-to-high end example bypassing the pack busting gamble.

I have another very broad graded 1950-2011 collection of notable/good/great players (no dupes for players) that's near complete because I'm waiting for my price, not just adding cards for the hell of it. 418 cards currently with another 20-ish I want to add (and maybe more to discover). It's full of no-doubters and "oh yeah, that guy was good" types. It used to end at 2001 (the Pujols/Ichiro era of ballcard re-excitement), but there's a lot going on with Bowman 1st and other stuff worth taking it through 2011. It may expand in the future, but I'm not even considering it right now.

[bbcard1]

I know this is boring, but I buy a Topps factory set every year. I pick up a few packs here and there. I also spend way too much time on the Bunt app.

[raulus]

Originally Posted by BioCRN

Cost is so insane on the new shiny stuff that I don't open a lot of packs or boxes these days. The buy-in to the casino is too high and I'd rather just buy the single I want. I can buy a medium-to-high end example bypassing the pack busting gamble.

If you're looking to break some wax just to scratch that itch, then I've found that you can buy a whole lot of junk era wax for less than it would have cost you when it was new.

Not the same as buying the fresh stuff, but it can still bring back a decent flood of memories from the glory days. That and I've re-learned just how rare it is to find a perfectly centered 1987 Topps card with no other flaws right out of the pack. Heck, even 45/55 centering is hard to find!

[BioCRN]

Originally Posted by raulus

If you're looking to break some wax just to scratch that itch, then I've found that you can buy a whole lot of junk era wax for less than it would have cost you when it was new.

I think my wife would kill me if I brought more junk wax into the house. I did a few clean-outs and sold/gave-away a ton of the stuff during the pandemic hobby surge. It's nice to have that space back.

I'll buy a few blasters or packs every now and then. The hobby boxes are getting more rare for me to purchase even on a year-to-year basis, and it's been like that for a decade+.

I generally go for something crazy/fun like the modern Allen and Ginter to open just for the fun of it. Snagged 3 hobby boxes this year (first hobby boxes in many years) and traded to put together a set.

I pulled an Alice Cooper auto and promptly sold it while the price was still hot. That said, this is why I don't bust stuff even though I technically "won" the gamble. The Cooper auto paid for the cost of almost all 3 boxes, but I pulled a high-end desirable card I didn't even want. I got nothing against Cooper, but I like $325 more than I like Alice Cooper autographs.