Question for Newcomers / Recent Hobby Come-Backers

[Rhotchkiss]

I notice many new names and members of late (welcome). Some are new to the hobby and some are just now coming back after years away. I have collected off and on my whole life -- I am now on my third collection, having jumped back in in 2015. I got back in for investment reasons. Having seen cards steadily increase in value since I was 6, I figured cards were a good place to put some money; but, of course, then the collector in me took over and I was off to the races.

Anyway, I am interested to know why you have returned to the hobby and/or have decided to start collecting. Newcomers and Come-backers, please share your stories.

[icurnmedic]

For me, at 46 , because I can afford some of the dream cards I couldn't have dreamed of even 10 years ago. Add to that the steady increase in value and for me its a no brainer. To me, much easier than investing in the market on my own.

[ullmandds]

For me, at 46 , because I can afford some of the dream cards I couldn't have dreamed of even 10 years ago. Add to that the steady increase in value and for me its a no brainer. To me, much easier than investing in the market on my own.

But isn't this problematic? When it seems too easy...there's usually a reason????

[icurnmedic]

Yeah the reason is the kids are moved out and I have more disposable income. Plus I like baseball cards.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[BCauley]

I'd say I'm venturing into my fourth "era" of collecting, though this will be my second starting from scratch.

Era 1: Started at age 8 in 1986 and ran through until about 1994. Pretty much picking up packs of Topps my father would snag for me at, well, damn near any store we went into. No real goal, just get as many cards and Red Sox players as I could in those years. Started dating at 16 and stopped for a few years.

Era 2: Started up again at about age 20 in 1998 when a coworker of mine introduced me to ebay and I couldn't believe the number of cards I suddenly had access to. Started a decent Nomar Garciaparra collection as well as busting boxes every couple of weeks. No real focus on what I collected, just liked collecting and busting boxes, though this is where I began my voyage into vintage. Ebay had chat forums back then that had some good people in there. Met one guy who sold me almost half of a '55 Topps set that consisted of commons in about VG-EX/MT range and the slow journey to completing that set began. Stopped in 2004 after putting together the 2004 Topps Cracker Jack set and entering active duty Army.

Era 3: Started up again in 2009. Got back from Iraq in Dec 2008 and was hanging out at Ft. Bragg winding down until I got out in August 2009. Found the Beckett website and almost immediately began trading/swapping cards with people on there. Found this forum as well and lurked a lot, mesmerized by all the stuff I had no idea existed. Moved to current home in Alexandria, VA in 2009 and had a LCS in walking distance that had tons of boxes of singles to leaf through. Snagged boxes here and there as well. Again, no real collecting focus aside from the '55 Topps set which I finished in about 2011/2012. In 2012, started to get bored. Had started on T206 HOF portraits and some other random pre-war but the modern stuff sapped my desire to be in the hobby at all anymore. Starting in 2013, I started to sell off what I had due to being tired of the hobby, going through a divorce, and taking care of my then 6 year old son whose mother essentially disappeared from his life for a few years. Got bored of selling off stuff and shoved it all into a closet and stopped cards for good in 2014.

Era 4 (now): Re-married in 2017 and bought a house. Need space in the workroom so pulled out the 5000 count boxes I had left to see what I can list and sell starting January 2020. Got rid of the rest of the stuff that would sell decently and packed up a couple of medium flat rate boxes and shipped the rest of the cards off to my two nephews who are just somewhat getting into collecting. Small stack of random stuff to get rid of next to my computer. Going through the cards re-kindled the fire a little to get back into collecting though to do it differently and actually have a focus. As a kid and until now, the '33 Goudey set was always just such a good looking set and that's where I started up again in about June/July of this year.

No interest in new stuff as, in my opinion, that whole market is a disaster. Keeping it simple, going slow, not in a "I have to get these cards ASAP" mindset, and staying focused. Just going to truck along on a '33 Goudey HOFer low grade collection. Will do the same with another set from the 50s, either '53 Bowman Color or '53/'56/'57/'58 Topps. And eventually I'll also get back to the T206 HOF portraits. My next addition though will be the new addition to our family of a baby girl within the next couple of weeks.

Out of all the cards I got rid of, the only two I wish I held onto were the T206 Walter Johnson portrait and the '53 Bowman Color Pee Wee Reese. In due time, they'll be back home.

Sorry for the long read. I started out meaning for it to be short and got carried away apparently.

[Belfast1933]

Like most others, I’ve been in and out since I was a kid collecting rack packs looking for Carlton Fisk, Fred Lynn, Jim Rice and Rick Burleson (was never a huge Yaz guy - past his prime when I first fell for baseball and the Red Sox... and didn’t seem to love the game)

Came back hard in 2018 when, like others, had discretionary income to chase my new goal - to have and display one card for every player in the HOF

And I told myself, this is NOT for investment - ideally, my kids can sell and break even after I’m gone. The run up in value this year has been good and bad.... mostly bad since it’s costing me a fortune to pick up my Ruth, my Anson, my Lajoie, etc

And to have my new “Card Cave” to tinker with and hang out in during COVID, that’s been a bonus

Here are a few shots of my “work in progress”. It’s been a lot of fun

[Casey2296]

Great thread idea Ryan. Collected as a kid and put the cards away 30 years ago, but still a huge baseball fan, little league coach, lots of visits to the ballpark. Fast forward through business start up, marriage/divorce, raising two kids, etc. pulled out the box of cards after years in my closet and got inspired to build on what I had and leave my Son a nice collection.

Took stock of what I had in the box which included some CJ's, 33 Gehrig, 51B Mays, 52T Jackie, and a binder full of 50's & 60's Topps/Bowman HOFers. Built a list of about 300 cards I wanted in my collection and started checking off boxes.

Found this community and am currently having a ton of fun.

[Pilon]

Rhotchkiss (Ryan, if I'm not mistaken) I'm glad you started this thread. I visited this board as a guest for about 3 years and would read the various threads. Usually as a guest most of the photos wouldn't display. Earlier this year when you posted your recent purchases of the big cards in the t-206 set I finally registered so I could see the pics. What an amazing journey! As for me, I'm in my early 50's and have collected on and off since I was about 8. My main interest has always been post war 50's and 60's cards. Since joining the board I've definitely gained more of an appreciation for pre-war. Right now I'm off work due to high risk from covid so I've had to take a break from buying new cards, but I am able to live vicariously through you guys. Great board and a great group of guys here, I'm glad I finally joined!

[Kutcher55]

I got kind of lucky. For many years I was thinking I wanted to own a Yaz rookie again. Finally, in June of 2019 I took the plunge and bought a mid-grade copy off eBay. It was the first time I bought a card since around 1991. Just like the stereotype - a child of the junk wax era returning to the hobby in his 40s.

Why did I go back? I have a little more disposable income, plus a lot of vintage wasn't any more expensive than it was back then, especially raw cards. But I also had a theory that once some of these Hall of Famers in the 50s thru 70s pass away their card value will go up. So I figured it wasn't a bad investment all things considered, and I remain optimistic about the vintage baseball card market for the next few years, although I do fear there's an expiration date there somewhere.

So after I bought that Yaz, I went kind of nuts. I bought every freaking Yaz of every year at PSA 7 or better. Interestingly Yaz cards haven't appreciated that much, although there have been signs of growth in certain years in the past six months, particularly the rookie card, the '67 and the '71. Then I bought a bunch of other Boston star rookies, Larry Bird, McHale Havlicek, Cam Neely, Steve Grogan (he was cheap), Bledsoe (also cheap). Dang I wish I bought more Basketball, but it's all good.

Then I decided I had to have every nostalgic baseball card from my youth and bought pretty much every rookie card there was to buy, raw from 1973 to 1987. Not just rookie cards either. I like stuff like Mattingly/Winfield "Two for the Title" Donruss '85. I remember how hot that card was. Then I started going deeper, buying every RC from the 60s and the ones from the 50s I could afford. Then I built the '57 set. Then I started buying older and trying to get a good graded representative from every set going back to the beginning of the 20th century. Still working on that. Then I went long on Hank Aarons because I think he's undervalued, bought some Mays and Jackie R's, and 50s Brooklyn Dodgers. Then I got a '71 topps fetish.

Running out of things to collect! But then I realize my collection, while more awesome than it ever was, is nothing compared to the collections of some of the people on this site. So, sometimes I ask what the point is, and I guess it's something to do.

[ASF123]

Hello fellow returnees!

My story is pretty similar - I collected from about '86 to '93 as a kid, and then a combination of too many sets/chase card craze (seems quaint now, huh?) plus being 16 made my interest drop off.

It didn't totally go away, though, it was more of a dormancy. I remained a baseball fan. I would "check in" with the hobby from time to time, reading the occasional article or blog. I even remember thinking it would be cool to own an original Babe Ruth card and checking out prices a few years ago. Turns out that would have been a nice purchase...sigh.

Early on in the pandemic, I went down some YouTube rabbit holes of people opening vintage wax boxes, which I had always wished I could do as a kid (even then I was into older cards). Then I found out about a product called Repacked Wax, where a guy in Ohio buys collections and makes wax packs mixing new and vintage cards. I decided to order a few packs and pulled a Rickey Henderson rookie*...and that was it. Instantly hooked again.

This time around , realizing I can afford (some of) the vintage star cards I loved as a kid, I've decided I have three interrelated goals: (1) at least one card of every HOFer from their playing days; (2) complete HOF runs of as many Topps sets as possible pre-1986 (realizing that I will never complete '52); and (3) complete career runs of as many HOFers as possible. Focusing on mid/upper-mid grade raw, and realizing that graded cards are probably a necessary evil for the more expensive prewar cards.

I'm having a blast so far, although having been traumatized by junk wax, in the back of my mind I fear I'm buying at the wrong time along with so many others. I'm not trying to invest per se, but I don't want to end up with a bunch of worthless cards again. The wonderful and horrible thing about the internet is that the card shop is always open, and I don't have to beg my parents to give me a ride anymore - so let's just say I have a lot of padded envelopes on their way to me if and when our local post office ever decides to start, you know, delivering mail again (seriously: https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2020/11/27/mail-delays-cause-problems-for-edgewater-rogers-park-residents-theyre-waiting-for-paychecks-theyre-waiting-for-bills/).

Anyway, nice to meet you all!

* Unfortunately, the Repacked Wax product seems to have dropped off a lot in quality since his first few runs (predictably, I suppose). The vintage cards I got in my last couple boxes were mostly commons.

[timzcardz]

My boys, now 30 and 27, learned to read from baseball cards because that is what they wanted to try and read. That got me into collecting back in '97.

At the time my then 6 YO was behind in reading but would try to read cards that Santa brought him, so I picked up a box of '87 Topps cheap and we opened some up every night. He would read the front of the card and something from the back and he would then get to keep it, and put it in his book.

Then my 3 YO says what about me? So he would read the letters on the front of the card and get to keep the card. Within a year my older son went from being behind in reading to being held out as an example reader, and my younger son had mastered the alphabet and was starting to read. Great times!

My 27 YO still likes to collect and would go to shows with me until he moved to Atlanta.

My wife thought that it was great that I did this with my son. now that it is just the two of us in the house, she has a different opinion.

She claims that I've taken over the house with cards and memorabilia. I suppose that she could make a reasonable argument.

[Seven]

I notice many new names and members of late (welcome). Some are new to the hobby and some are just now coming back after years away. I have collected off and on my whole life -- I am now on my third collection, having jumped back in in 2015. I got back in for investment reasons. Having seen cards steadily increase in value since I was 6, I figured cards were a good place to put some money; but, of course, then the collector in me took over and I was off to the races.

Anyway, I am interested to know why you have returned to the hobby and/or have decided to start collecting. Newcomers and Come-backers, please share your stories.

I got back in a little before the Pandemic, but I'd be more than happy to share my story.

I started when I was young, it was a way to bond with my Father. Baseball has been the one thing that we've always connected on. I think it's also the reason why I stopped collecting for a bit, The past Decade or so, really until about a couple of years ago, he had very serious health issues. He couldn't do much in terms of going to places, or traveling. The once in a blue moon, that he could, it would usually be a very small vacation. Our attendance of Games and Card Shows together went down a bit.

His health has improved for the most part, we took a trip to Cooperstown in the Summer of 2019, and that kinda re-lit the fire to collect. I bought some Signed photos, and a few cards. Started me off on collecting the Ron Lewis Living Legends series, which I have since finished. We were planning on going to the National together in AC, this past year, obviously with Covid though that didn't happen.

I found here, shortly after my trip to the Hall in 2019, however I didn't start posting more until this year. I'm glad that I did. There are many nice people on this forum, I've since made some purchases on here. No regrets getting back into this hobby! I will admit it is a little difficult considering, I don't treat cards as an investment. I don't really look to sell anything, if an opportunity presented itself, sure but overall I'm happy just collecting. Prices going sky high makes it a little more difficult, but I pick and choose my spots.

[steve B]

Having a few other hobbies, I've been periodically active/inactive since either 1969 or late 73 depending on how you'd count my total of two packs bought before 73. One in 69, one in 71.

I never really left, just had stretches where I didn't buy more than a few cards a year. Something always gets me back into it.
Currently in a lull, stuff has simply gotten too expensive.

[BobbyStrawberry]

For me it was earlier this year–no MLB+the pandemic got me back into the hobby after almost 30 years away!

[joejo20]

I have been into Baseball cards my whole life.

1. Got into Prewar in my early 20s and found this board back then
2. Sold out to focus on a new family and a business startup
3. Started again earlier this year now that I have time to focus on prewar again

Joe

[Natswin2019]

I notice many new names and members of late (welcome). Some are new to the hobby and some are just now coming back after years away. I have collected off and on my whole life -- I am now on my third collection, having jumped back in in 2015. I got back in for investment reasons. Having seen cards steadily increase in value since I was 6, I figured cards were a good place to put some money; but, of course, then the collector in me took over and I was off to the races.

Anyway, I am interested to know why you have returned to the hobby and/or have decided to start collecting. Newcomers and Come-backers, please share your stories.

This is a really good question Ryan, I'm glad you asked! I started collecting at around age 8 or so when my uncle gave me and my brother a big box of 80's,90's and early 2000's cards. Then my parents got me the monthly box where cards would show up in the mail for christmas every year until I reached high school. I got into vintage when I was in elementary school after a friend and his dad invited me to the Chantilly Show. Following this first introduction to vintage my dad and I would go to every show for years. We even went to the national show in Baltimore in 2010. I stopped collecting in about 2012/2013 when I was a freshman or sophomore in hs because I lost touch with the friend who introduced me to collecting plus I started getting serious about the sport I was involved in. Basically life moved in a different direction.

I came back to the hobby this spring when I had to move back home with parents after I lost my job due to Covid. One day I was bored and decided to flip through all the binders and boxes of cards that had been siting in my childhood room and caught the bug again. I picked up some boxes of modern stuff and found both the blowout forum and this forum. The thing that made me come back to vintage was the fact that now that I have graduated college and have a job, I can afford vintage cards I never thought I'd own. Back when I was first collecting vintage I only ever bought the 1-5$ beaters at shows. The most expensive card I ever bought was a 35$ 1968 Topps game Mantle and that seemed like an insane price at the time.

When I first started collecting there was no focus but just collect as much as I could get my hands on. Now a days I still don't really have a focus but I am putting together a 1950-1960 topps and bowman run as that was the era of cards me and my dad focused on when we went to shows. I still will pick up a box of modern every once and a while but it's mostly vintage for me.

[scooter729]

The topic doesn't apply to me - I've been collecting for about 40+ years straight now - but just wanted to say that I love reading each and every one of these stories!

Thrilled to have all of you on the board now - and look forward to hearing more responses here. Ask questions, share stories - it's all what makes this board a great place!

[bigred1]

I remember opening my first packs in 1973, at 7 years old, became addicted, got caught shoplifting at store, they called my parents, most embarrassing moment of my youth, never again, still remember it like yesterday. Collected until college. Soured on mass production in late 80s. Sold everything.

Got back in around 2000 with booming economy, sold my best items in 2008 when everything fell apart. It got me through the worst.

Gradually got back in about ten years ago, was traveling with a buddy working card shows up the East Coast with him and really got hooked, meeting people who shared the same passion. I have picked up a few things that I am not sure I would buy now, 1933 Ruth 149 psa1.5, 1954 Aaron psa6, 1980 Bird rookie psa8, only because a guy reneged on a Jordan rookie, lol. This hobby has been a wonderful experience, and I enjoy reading these threads and getting other perspectives on things. Tim

[ASF123]

One of the most disconcerting things about coming back after so long is: When did Walter Johnson become WaJo, and how can we put a stop to this?

[sdimag]

Started at 8 years old in’66 as I had 2 older cousins who collected.Sold cards in ‘72...”kids hobby,girls “. Started again approximately 5 years ago. I looked at it as an investment. But I love collecting and have been making up for lost time! T206,1933 goudey and 1941 playball Giants team sets have been my passion. But luckily my favorite player growing up was Roberto Clemente and that’s where I started. Love reading all of your posts.This is my first post.

[Huysmans]

One of the most disconcerting things about coming back after so long is: When did Walter Johnson become WaJo, and how can we put a stop to this?

I second that for the constant overuse of the ever so corny and cheesy term "GOAT".

[Bobsbats]

Growing up my parents were divorced, so I would see my dad on the weekends. A neighbor came over and gave me a large tomato box full of late 70's to 1981 cards. Seeing it was something we both enjoyed, that's what started our collecting. Living in Willow Grove also helped. Through the old APBA Baseball game, we started collecting the cards players we liked, pretty random. We also started getting sets from 1975 to 89 and as we started to like older stuff, we sold all of that new stuff and built the T205 set. Dad still held on to his childhood, so we built the 1960 and 68 sets. We attempted to get a card from every HOF'er, then realized, we'd rather have Old Judges or players we liked over then some random players with no attachment....So while I dabble in some autographs, some catchers equipment and other stuff, we now mainly collect Pre-War cards.

It's funny, when the Willow Grove show moved to Ft Washington and I was getting older, I started taking my son to the show with my dad, and I had few dealers say, I remember when your dad used to hold your hand at this show, now you're doing it with your son.....Great memories

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

but, of course, then the collector in me took over and I was off to the races.


News flash, the race is over, you won :D

[Kevin]

Thank you both for posting that...

[ASF123]

A neighbor came over and gave me a large tomato box full of late 70's to 1981 cards....which was kind of strange, but not as strange as the wax box of tomatoes he brought the next week.

[Michael B]

Thank you both for posting that...

I would like to add flip to that. It is a label. Flip is a verb.

[Casey2296]

I would like to add flip to that. It is a label. Flip is a verb.

It is also a proper noun.

[ASF123]

I would like to add flip to that. It is a label. Flip is a verb.Yeah, that was confusing at first. "Slab" I get, but where the hell did "flip" come from?

[Schlesinj]

Same story as many of the previous posts, huge baseball fan, collected in 80's/90's. Stopped collecting while in late teens/early 20s, had kids but followed along but did not commit when eBay became a new method to distribute cards (mostly due to some really bad eBay experiences) and now have more time etc. I am in my low/mid 40's kids getting older. I do think nostalgia and COVID provided some type of mental kick start to bringing you back to your youth.

Not interested in modern, but players/cards/tickets/photos I always wanted.

IMO this is a huge business opportunity for this industry to continue to grow. What I find fascinating that only 1 of my kids has any interest and I think baseball has struggled with this generation, so grabbing this market is very important.

PS: Lurked here for a while and happy to learn for some incredible collectors and see some incredible collections.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Yeah, that was confusing at first. "Slab" I get, but where the hell did "flip" come from?

From the coin world.

[Vegas Cards]

I collected in the late '70s and through the '80s too. Then got caught up in the early 1990s with the explosion of glossy cards, buying cases and complete sets.

At some point it got to be too much to keep up with and I set it aside.

My dad gave me his cards from when he was a kid and between my own collection and his, I already had too much. Plus my uncle and I had collected together too, attending card shows and sharing new additions and highlights over the years. He would give me late 1960s Mantles for Christmas gifts and at one point gave me a signed Mantle ball.

In 2017, about 10 years after he passed away, my aunt called and told me she wanted to sell his cards. She had talked to one of the old card shops they used to go to and the guy said he buy her Mickey Mantles but wasn't interested in the rest. I was like "Hey! I'll buy the Mantles". I ended up working out a price with her and picking up a sprawling collection almost no focus. I think he'd got to shows and shops and just pick up whatever caught his eye.

So since then, I've been slowly selling some things, getting cards graded, upgrading cards I liked but wanted in better condition. I was already working on this project when covid hit. Baseball cards have always been a hobby for me, but this year it's been a godsend, a most welcome distraction from all the craziness.

PS - he started buying his Mantles in the mid-1980s. Some of the prices he paid were scandalously low :)

He had almost a complete run, only missing the 1951 Bowman and 1952 Topps of course :(

[ASF123]

From the coin world.Ok...but it doesn’t make any more sense there either. :p

[egri]

I've been a member here for about five years, so I don't know that I qualify as a newcomer, but I collected growing up. When I was about ten, I saw a piece at a silent auction that showed the 2004 Red Sox winning the World Series, framed and matted with their 2005 Topps cards, and that lit the fire. Later that week I got my mom to take me to the LCS, and collected for the next five years or so. I started out in modern, with some junk wax as well. Then at the LCS, I met an older collector who saw that I was buying a card with a piece of Bobby Doerr's jersey on it and started asking me questions about the Red Sox teams of that era. He had with him a 1949 Leaf Ted Williams that I spent several minutes ogling. That was my introduction to vintage. He gave me Doerr's address, and Doerr was kind enough to sign a lot of items for me. That got me in to collecting autographs. Around that time I picked up my first vintage cards, 1949 Bowmans of Doerr and Sam Mele, a 1952 Bowman Jimmy Piersall, and a handful of 1933 Goudeys. A neighbor also gave me several 1960s Topps from his childhood collection. I didn't get any of those signed at the time because back then it was near heresy to get old cards signed.

I stopped collecting around my freshman year of high school. Wasn't sure what the girls would think, and it was difficult collecting vintage on a 14 year old's budget.

Then in 2014, when I was a freshman in college, I got the bug again. I dug out the vintage cards, and sent them off to the players who were still alive. Some didn't come back, but a lot of them did. When I exhausted what I had on hand, I started buying more from the LCS and online. After picking up several from a few different years, I figured I should pick a set and commit to it. I had just gotten my 1953 Topps #225 Bobby Shantz back from him, and something about the artwork jumped out at me. I started focusing on the 1953 Topps set, and was able to write to 44 of the players. Every one of them responded, some of them enclosing other cards or pictures as well. While this was going on, I stumbled across this forum and joined up, and since then its been off to the races.

[cardsagain74]

The "comeback" happened randomly about a year ago (from bumping into youtube videos of people opening up wax from the '80s). Before long I decided to buy something for the first time since the junk wax era, i.e. since I was setting up at shows during high school. And naturally it snowballed from there.
Without seeing those videos, I never would've gotten back into the hobby.

From an investment perspective, I just got lucky with the timing so far. A lot of my renewed buying interest happened in the few months after I jumped back in, or right before the covid spike began. I would've been more than satisfied if the value of my new cards went up 50-100% or more in six years (much less six months), as it was mostly about collecting for me this time rather than dealing.

But I know if I'd watched those videos a month ago (instead of a year ago), I never would've been comfortable starting back at these current price levels. Hopefully there is still plenty of room to grow going forward too though!

[steve B]

Ok...but it doesn’t make any more sense there either. :p

It originated from an early coin holder that was briefly popular.
Picture having two pockets from a page that fold over to the size of one. The coin ones were 2"x2" like other coin holders. The coin went on the front pocket, and the dealer or collector could write the info they wanted about the coin on a piece of paper to put in the other pocket as a label.

I vaguely remember a slightly larger one that had enough room for a folded grading certificate. Yes, a fairly simple certificate that said the coin was genuine and sometimes the grade. People started swapping coins that might pass for a higher grade... so they started including a photo tied to the certificate with a stamp like a notary seal. Which also did pretty much nothing to stop the switching.
Anyway......

You'd have to flip them open to view the information on the 2x2 piece of paper. Hence the name flips.

The holders themselves were vinyl, with all the usual problems of vinyl.
They fell out of favor very quickly when the authenticators/graders started using slabs.

How a coin holder term that was out of style by the early 80's translated to card grading so much later... I think may have to remain a mystery.

[ASF123]

Ohhh, I remember those! I collected coins for a little while as a kid too. Thanks for explaining.

[Casey2296]

As kids we played "flippers" & "leaners" with our cards all the time.

[ValKehl]

One of the most disconcerting things about coming back after so long is: When did Walter Johnson become WaJo, and how can we put a stop to this?

I collect Walter Johnson cards and I use "WaJo" all the time, probably because I'm a lazy butt. But, I figure it's okay to use WaJo, since WaJo's grandson (who is one heck-of-a nice guy and a Net54 member) also uses WaJo.

Now then, if all the collectors who use "Matty" for Christy Mathewson were to stop using Matty, I could bring myself to stop using WaJo! :D

[GeoPoto]

Now then, if all the collectors who use "Matty" for Christy Mathewson were to stop using Matty, I could bring myself to stop using WaJo! :D

I'm in on avoiding WaJo, if we can add "Wags" to the let's try to avoid list.

[Huysmans]

Thank you both for posting that...

You're welcome....

[Huysmans]

I'm in on avoiding WaJo, if we can add "Wags" to the let's try to avoid list.

Completely agree

[Mark]

I collect Walter Johnson cards and I use "WaJo" all the time, probably because I'm a lazy butt. But, I figure it's okay to use WaJo, since WaJo's grandson (who is one heck-of-a nice guy and a Net54 member) also uses WaJo.

Now then, if all the collectors who use "Matty" for Christy Mathewson were to stop using Matty, I could bring myself to stop using WaJo! :D

"Matty" was Mathewson's nickname when he played. Nothing wrong "with using that. If we don't like WaJo, just call him "Barney."

[ullmandds]

You guys are a riot! I have no issues with "WAJO" or "WAGS!"

The issues I have are with...ROFL,LOL...etc.

[JohnnyKilroy]

I’m definitely one of those who got back into it earlier this year partly due to covid. I started in the 80s and into the late 90s. I stopped when I went to college. Now that life has settled a bit, I have some expendable income, and I can get the cards I always wanted as a kid... I’ve been on a roll and loving it!

The investment side of it is interesting to say the least. I definitely stay away from modern and stick to vintage, but I’m still skeptical of even vintage maintaining. I know it has a decent track record but the covid jump has been excessive. Sure there might be a correction, but some argue that it’s fail safe for long term. I can’t help but think of the dutch tulip story. But then again, I’m not doing it purely for investment purposes.... however it makes dropping 20K on a card more palatable!

[hammertime]

This may get me laughed out of the room (or worse!), but the Topps Project 2020 set is what brought me back to the hobby. I've always preferred vintage cards though so that's what I gravitated back towards.