I have decided to re-focus my collecting...
 

In regards to my vintage card collecting, up to this point I had three main collecting focuses:

1. T206 Set

2. T205 Set

3. Type collector focusing on HOFers mostly

I'm thinking about selling some (not all) of my "odd ball" vintage stuff and focusing on only the T206 and T205 sets until they are completed.

When these two sets are finished, I am thinking on working on a 1933 or 1934 Goudey set as I love the look of that set and have a number of cards already.

Do you fine folks have any suggestions/opinions/comments you would care to share with someone considering this change in collecting focus?

Hi Paul,

Here are my suggestions/opinions/comments

1. How long do you plan to take to complete a set (for T206 shall we assume the typical 520 card set)?

2. What grade range are you shooting for?

3. What is your budget? ($10/wk, $50/wk, $100/wk, $500/wk)

4. How many hours/week do you have available to work on these sets scouring offerings on the BST, ebay, on-line auction sites, etc.

5. How well can you stay committed to a big project like this? It is so sad that too many collectors start fast, flaunt every pretty T206 Bauble they acquire, update their Monster Number three times a week, and burn out half way there and start selling off :(

With a budget of $300/wk, and spending a couple our 2-3 times a week on the internet, you should be able to pick up most of a 520 card T206 set in VG condition in about 3 years

Best Regards and Happy Collecting :)
Craig

Collecting focus...what's that?!?! Ha!

As a T205 collector as well, I find my collecting focus is akin to a pendulum. I go through periods where T205 is all I concentrate on and other times my focus shifts to a couple other sets I’m collecting such as D322, E90-2 and ’34 Goudey and my vintage autograph collection is never far from my mind either.

The way I handle it is I’m always on the lookout for the difficult to find T205 cards such as Wilhelm, Grant, Suggs, Rowan, etc… I started with a list of about 10-20 of these more difficult to find cards in the T205 set. I concentrate on just those, knowing that generally with most of the other cards in the set I can find them within a couple weeks of Ebay searches at a grade I want…price pending of course. I approach my ’34 Goudey set and the more difficult to find 24 high number cards in a similar fashion. When there are none of the more scarce cards available or being offered that is when my collecting focus shifts to my others set or my autograph collection.

I am a pretty forgiving collector so far as grade, and it sounds like you are going a very similar direction to me. I started out collecting EVERYTHING. I decided I wanted on contemporaeous card of each Hall of Famer, so I worked on that for a while. I think when I got away from that was the inclusion of the negro leaguers. I love that era but the reality is that cards exist for most of them and many are very, very expensive. I picked up a load of T205 skins from Marc at a very affordable price and then started builiding that out in low grade. The way I have it displayed it is a fun set to look at. The main thing that did for me is to convince me that completing a T206 520 was doable.It took about 4 years and I started with 150 or so I had picked up along life's road, but I should have it done in the month. I plan to work on upgrading it the rest of my life. I traded a lot of my Sam Rice type HOFers to make substantial progress on my T206, especially when the economy was really tight (I own a good business, but at one point my partner and I decided to cut our salaries instead of letting people go). There is no right way to do it, but do it in such a way as you enjoy. My tip would be that although my personal last card has been the O'hara variation, I think the comer is the Dahlen/Brooklyn. I have considered trying to purchase a few of those strictly for investment. They don't come up much.

I don't think of it so much as taming the monster as befriending it. Along the way you will learn things...come to appreciate some of the artists, and make friends.

Completing sets is a shared goal of many of us. 25 years ago I began to reacquire a 1956 topps set that had been one of my favorites as a kid. Mission accomplished (Ex-Mint) without too much difficulty. I still have it.
A closet full of cards followed, some nice but 99% without lasting value.

Then 6 years ago I purchased my first T206 (a Matty) as a birthday present to myself. Never dreamed of completing the set, but continued to acquire cards in the VG range, some better, some worse. Paid too much for a few cards, but in recent years have done that less frequently. 100, 200, 300, 400 - all milestones that only seemed achievable only when I got close.

Forced retirement then reduced my budget, but not my desire to keep plugging away. At about 490 I figured that I was done. Near the top of the mountain but the remaining cliff was steep.

Then a trade appeared on the horizon. I had duplicates and other cards of value that people actually wanted more than I. I am now at 511 without putting very much more cash in the set since 490. 512 is on the horizon.
I realize that for me 520 could still be years away.

I've learned to appreciate the beaters as well as the VGs and the Exs, but more importantly I've learned that trading is actually a lot more fun than simply buying. Fortunately this web site is populated by a lot of good people. On B/S/T we are all general managers of our teams. An ideal trade is a win-win for both parties. I hope that my trading partners feel likewise. I consider you all virtual friends that I hope to meet in person some day.

Type collecting is a secondary focus of mine as well, another "set" that is never really complete.

Happy to see Craig's reference to the Monster Number in his post.:D:D:D
I hope that when it becomes included in dictionaries, its origin is correctly referenced.;)