Does Anyone Still Just Collect Cards?
 

Not cards in slabs with bar codes.

Not cards that have to be worried over, if something has been done to them, or any of that.

Just cards of players you like reading about, and actually holding their old cards in your hands.

Not worrying about how much they're worth.

Not worrying about how much of a fortune you're leaving behind when you up and croak, because your family is actually well taken care of, and isn't looking to pay off the mortgage or go to college on baseball cards.

I know this kind of collector, like me, still exists because I have bought and traded with them, even on this forum.

I own very few slabs and the ones I do own are special. The value vary rarely means anything to me and I really couldn't care less what happens to my collection when I pass. It is fairly large and has decent value but it means nothing to us in real life. I also love to trade and have made 100s of trades with members on here.

I get the flipping as I supported myself for a few years doing it. Had a lot of fun doing it. I'm just not interested in it anymore and consider myself just a collector. Now whenever I sell anything it is to buy something else.

Raw till the day I die!https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...9cefb09337.jpg


Jason
Twitter: @heavyj28

When it comes to cheap stuff, absolutely.

The trouble is that the features in our little corner of the world that seem anathema to Jingram are inseparable with our collections once the dollar amounts get to a certain size. If I understand Jingram’s situation correctly, you are a veteran, in addition to being a collector. Allow me to genuinely thank you for your service, as I have a deep and abiding appreciation for all those who serve, as many of my relatives have done, including my own father for two tours in Vietnam. I’m guessing this also means that you probably have a military pension, which impacts your financial calculus in ways that are different than the rest of us. And without that kind of financial security, issues like value are difficult to entirely ignore, at least once values reach a certain threshold. For better or worse, values are incredibly high across the board for most everything in the vintage part of the hobby.

To give a couple of obvious personal examples of these principles in play, for my junk wax and modern collections, because that is the era when I grew up collecting, they are absolutely just for fun and largely raw. Values don’t matter, because they’re largely worthless. I probably couldn’t give most of them away.

But when it comes to my extensive collection of high grade Mays items, that’s just not a realistic option. Way too much value at stake to just ignore it altogether.

So I get the nostalgia for simpler times. I just don’t think it is realistic given most of today’s elevated values.

I like my pre-war stuff slabbed simply because I view the cards as pieces of history and art, and as with all art it's a shame when accidental damage occurs. Beyond that I only collect cards I enjoy looking at, and despite collecting for 35 years I've never sold a card nor viewed them as an investment. I will admit though that card collecting as a kid was probably the most I've ever enjoyed it, when there was never a worry about damage or value or any of that. I love where you're coming from but it's hard to go back to that mentality (at least for me).

I'm not so sure this idyllic state where nobody cared about values ever existed. I remember price guides in the 70s. I think it's inherent in most collectibles.

If that is not how I collect, am I allowed to participate in the hobby?

The true test for the prewar era to determine if you are a collector foremost is the W9316 and 1943 MP & Co. sets. You might not collect them, you might think they are hideous or hysterically bad (check out the little dude ballplayer standing on Ruffing's ankle making a hand signal for a turn), but that you can understand others might find them interesting enough to make room to store them for the next generation of like-minded collectors down the road.

Instead of seeing them as a source for kindling.

Brian

My grandson who is in the First Grade
 

would appear to qualify. For some disturbing reason (to me, the lifelong Tiger fan) he comes over to my house with stacks of modern cheap cards of San Diego players and belabors me with their statistics and virtues. It should be noted, however, that Thaddeus has been to a World Series game and several All-Star games where he gets his cards through promotions at the Fan Fairs. The All-Star game itself is too expensive, but he and his father go to the Rookie Game where a kid can see who is coming.

My opinion is to collect anyway that makes you happy.:D

I buy countless cards that are worth next to nothing simply because I like them. And yes, I clean those too. Again, because I like them, not because I want to flip them.

Maybe it's more about being a kid again?

Certainly those were carefree days, and for most of us, we weren't particularly careful with our cardboard. Ride your bike down to Safeway, spend a couple of bucks on some wax packs, check to see if you got anything good, stick them in your pocket, and watch your friends play pac-man for a few hours.

At the same time, I still remember values being a thing. The Beckett Price Guide came out around then, and my friends and I spent plenty of time ogling the prices for old cardboard that we could never afford, and yet coveted greatly. Sort of like how auction catalogs function today!

Thank you for your comments, sir. You have hit the nail on the head.

Thanks also to everyone else posting here too. This is what I love about this forum, and why I wear my net54 shirt with a certain pride.

There's a ton of us; I never have a problem finding people to swap low grade raw with.

My investments are for making money, all of my hobbies are for my personal enjoyment and budgeted at a 100% fiscal loss.

Not on this board.

This may seem a bit OT, but it involves just collecting. Does anybody know anything about blank-backed Goudeys? I just got this from Kit Young Cards for $5.

This appears to be demonstrably false.

Many of the collectors on this board are "advanced," in their knowledge, collections, and in some cases income. Nearly 50 of my 53 Bowman Color are slabbed as some of my 1971 Topps Baseball. I'm satisfied that my cards: the 53 Bowman Color set
which is in vg/ex overall and the 1970-1975 Topps Baseball sets are in ex-mint condition. (The 71 Topps set has received more attention, and money, but it will be a collector's set as opposed to something that's an investment). On the other hand, the 1967-1969 Topps Baseball sets will be in fair to excellent condition because it is what I can afford.

I really don't care what they're worth, it's fun putting them together and just having something that harkens back to an earlier time. It would be nice to have more money to put more sets together, but if that never comes to pass, oh well.

Phil aka Tere1071

Does Anyone Still Just Collect Cards?

Hello.

I don't care about the condition of my baseball card autograph collection or my Mark Grace player collection. Those are simply about the cards, themselves. I've bought graded autos and free'd them from their cases.

I have an informal "type" collection of raw cards with no specific focus except the type. It's nice to know what a card looks and (especially) feels like outside of a toploader or graded case. It's a reference tool as well as a collection in itself.

All except one of my 60 or so T206s are graded, as are a few "better" cards (Aaron rookie, etc).

My cheaper stuff is raw and is easily accessible to be viewed and enjoyed. I rotate a small display of cards on my desk that currently included a raw Griffey Jr Upper Deck rookie and a Xander Bogaerts card. I buy the base cards of a few current players each year just to have and enjoy.

Unless you happen to be quite rich, "just collecting" pre war is kind of tough.

Maybe if you want " cards of players you like reading about, and actually holding their old cards in your hands", the reprint sets is the way to go? Then you can hold a whole bunch of cards with old designs, old players, etc. for not a lot of money?

I have several reprint sets and think they are awesome.:)

I think they're great as well. I find that putting them in a binder so you can flip through them on the regular is a good way to enjoy them. Of course, you sometimes end up spending more money on the 9-pocket pages than the cards. :D

Guess there aren't many holier than thou.

I'd like to know, if families that are " well taken care of", have ever felt they were put on the back burner because of their loved one's collecting. Sometime the time spent away from family would have been much better than them being monetarily taken care of. Also, probably having the forethought and written plan when you croak may also be wise. Since it's bad enough to get rid of all the other crap you've accumulated, cards just add more to the to-do list

There are a vast majority on this forum far holier than me. I'm just a humble little old raw cards collector. Just look at the $5 Goudey I picked up in the post above. Did you know that Woody English was an AAGPBL manager when his playing days were over? I didn't. Do you have any idea why it has a blank back? I still don't know why. Or why it was punched by what looks like a railroad conductor's ticket punch.

My sentiments exactly.

My Hobby budget is fairly modest so my approach is to spend 100% of it on cardboard and 0% on plastic.

I also tend to collect in the VG range, which means casual handling of my cards, which I happen to very much enjoy, isn’t likely to reduce whatever value my family will someday realize from them.

I can certainly understand what motivates others to collect graded cards. It’s just not something that holds any appeal to me. True even if the service were free and I trusted the graders.


Jason
Twitter: @heavyj28

Nice 1934 Goudey. I have a feeling, as it appears to have a fairly rough and uneven back, that it had a thin layer of its back removed many decades ago, and just aged itself over time to look like that is how it came off the printing press. Several types of punches are seen on older cards, and for many sets this is assumed to be redemption punches. I don't remember seeing that many punched Goudey cards, so it might just be a kid with access to a punch that wanted to make the card a little more see-through.

All just guesses though.

Brian

Like a lot of people on the board, I’ve busted my ass my whole life, working like a dog, nights, weekends, etc, and now I am at the point where this hobby brings me a lot of joy and it’s about me doing something for me, not for family, not for friends, etc. and it feels good to “indulge” and do something for me. Do I like collecting rare things in nice condition, yep. I like beautiful preserved cards over a bunch or dog eared cards in a rubber band. I like nice photos better than one’s that are ripped. I like holding stuff in my hands that are one of a kind and I’ve never seen another. I like sometimes having the nicest graded copy of something. I don’t need to touch an old card to enjoy owning it.

No one type of a collector is more of a collector
Or a better collector than anyone else. People need to move on from the idea there is some pure true collector.

Make yourself happy. Stop worrying what others are doing. Hobby has a big tent.

Lots of dealers out there who fit the narrative of single or divorced. Its a cruel hobby that can consume you. I wish my son showed more interest, alack, he seems to like coins and Pokémon more.


Don't let it take time away from loved ones, and try not to leave them with boxes of $5 cards and auction house won't take.

I don't think anyone's last wish would be... they bid one increment more to win a card.

Anyone can find balance. It doesn't matter whether it is a hobby or a job. Some, allow their job to take time away from loved ones.

I will say, without the advent of ebay, people who "just collect" would have never seen, nor been able to find a great many number of difficult cards. Even 1952 topps hugh numbers are/were scare at shows and those are "easy"!

It is fun when it still happens. Not pre-war, but my brother, who's in his 40's, recently bought some lots of the "less than big name" players he was a fan of as a kid off eBay. 140+ card lots of Julio Franco cards with lots of oddballs, for example. I think it cost him less than $10 delivered, which is pretty good for a bit of fun considering you can't buy a fast food lunch for that anymore.

I wrote an article a while back on the different types of collectors.

That's twice that you mentioned price when describing a card in your portfolio. It would be nice if so-called "collectors" weren't so focused on money.

Quite right; $5 is a lot of money.

If you honestly consider $5 to be a lot of money, well yes, it's going to be very difficult and very frustrating to be a collector of vintage baseball cards. Unfortunately $5 doesn’t buy you a coffee anymore in a lot of places.

I don't. I just didn't know how to respond to the statement above. That's part of my frustration with forums in general.

Yes, I very much consider myself a collector, going all the way back to an entire 1967 Topps set put together entirely from wax packs (with the help of family and friends). I have been in and out of this hobby since. It's a hobby with me, nothing more. I love my Goudeys, Play Balls, tobacco and candy cards, Cobb, Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, full sets, etc, as much as anyone but it's quite literally a hobby with me and not an investment. I very much like reading the history, and when I find someone interesting I get their card(s), and anything goes, even beaters. The card matters more to me than condition. I don't know how else to say it.

It is fairly obvious that being happy with a cool $5 card is a little different from being focused on money, and the guy is just happy with a cool card. Would you find it appropriate for the 'just collectors' to come do this crap to your money graded thread you made to compete?

I think James’ meaning was pretty obvious, or should have been. I believe he was seeking a delicate way to respond to what was a bit of a cheap shot.

I've had friends who really struggled financially. People's lives can take sudden bad turns, particularly for heath reasons. I have no idea what people's situations are. Glad to hear he was just making a point.

Fun read.

It does seem to leave out some of us. For example, I found myself not really falling into any of the groups described, although I suppose I’m kinda sorta sometimes in some of these groups. It almost seemed like the article suggested that there’s a pure play collector who cares not one whit about value, a la Jingram, and then a whole bunch of different investors, who take different approaches to their hold period and focus.

Personally, I collect what I like, and I collect it because it brings me joy. Value is definitely secondary. But because so much of my personal fortune is tied up in cardboard, I can’t be completely agnostic as to value. At the same time, I certainly don’t buy it because I expect it to go up in value. And when I buy, I generally plan to hold it for decades. If investing for a return was important to me, I probably would have sold everything about a year or two ago.

But with so much invested, barring a really strong run from my more traditional investments, it will almost certainly be a part of the value that funds some portion of my retirement. The value also matters because of not having to be on the receiving end of grief from my wife. She’s convinced that I’m going to lose my shirt, and it helps with our relationship that it hasn’t happened yet.

I much prefer the look of raw cards, and I understand the benefits that some get from having slabbed cards, but you can easily and much more affordably place cards in holders for protection rather than slabbing by third parties.

Well said Ted,
My goal is to leave 4 suitcases full of mostly significant cards that will sell quickly at auction.

Mike D's article was a fun read.

You, sir, seem to have a very clear grasp of all of this "collecting".

TMI removal

collector mindset
 

I like to say I want to walk away from the hobby with just one small milk crate of my stuff

HA.

I appreciate the praise. At the same time, I’m not convinced that I’m all that special or admirable.

And personally, I’m in the camp of being a big believer that we shouldn’t place limits or constraints on how anyone collects. Sometimes we can seem just a little too much like the high priests of cardboard running around and pronouncing people unclean because their motives or approach are insufficiently pure.

But I suppose we’ve got to talk about something on a chat board. We can only debate pricing and grading and AHs and card alterations so many times before we get back around to how we collect, and our sensitivities to the various approaches we see.

Edited to add: I suppose we can always stick to calling each other names and engaging in mutual ridicule, because that’s good fun too!

Wouldn’t it be cool to just pull out an old cigar box with a stack of vintage topps cards rubber banded together and just hold them and smell that old card smell?

If you said yes, you’re a true collector. If you said no then you’re an investor! Am I right?

Thanks folks for the comments on the article. Hopefully the fact that there are lots of ways to collect and none of them are "wrong" came through. That way my intention anyway.

I also think that buying what you like and enjoying it is awesome...and hey, if it goes up in value, or at least holds it's value, that's an amazing bonus.

Definitely came through loud and clear.