What's your collecting "definition of success"
 

I another thread I posted that I had completed my life long goal of completing every Topps set.

My biggest challenge moving forward is I always like achievable goals. There needs to be some sort of definition to success.

I'm sure I could do Bowman cards next, or just extend the year run with the 1950, 1949 and 1948 Bowmans. But I always need some measure to say "that's done"

What goals do others have? Do you have a point where you can say "It's finished?"

My definition of success in collecting is if I answer Yes to the question "Am I having fun?"

I too have a goal of completing all the Topps & Bowman sets in Baseball. All the Topps, Bowman, Fleer and Philadelphia sets in Football. All the O-Pee-Chee(or Topps if too early) & Parkhurst sets in Hockey.

1933 Goudeys, 1941 Play Ball, a T206 Back run, a T206 Polar Bear set, an example from all the major T and E sets and whatever else I find interesting throughout my life.

I know I will never completely finish, but to me, the thrill of the chase is most of the fun. While there is a sense of accomplishment in completing a set, I know I'll never run out of cards to chase.

I'll never have a point where I can say "It's finished."

My success goal is "Yes! Found another!" Each card is a success.

Never. I have been collecting since I was 6 and I am still CONSTANTLY finding new cards/sets/issues/memorabilia that interest me. Sometimes it's awesome, sometimes it's overwhelming and frustrating that I can't have everything that I think is super cool. My collection has morphed a lot over the years. While I do ebb and flow, the only thing that will stop me completely is when my foot firmly strikes the proverbial bucket.

To me, it's finished when you have all of the cards that you've always wanted to have, with the eye appeal you want, within your financial means. Or the hobby is no longer interesting to you, and collecting cards no longer brings satisfaction. Whichever comes first.

Cheer up Mark. Just have fun. If I had a point where I would say "I'm finished", I would probably just stop now.

For me off the top of my head:

1. It must always be fun/an adventure
2. If it stops being fun, it is time for a break
3. Being happy with my purchases while staying within budget and keeping it in proper perspective
4. Being focused and having goals but not so rigid that I pass up opportunities outside of the focus (some may call that unfocused :))

This is a really good question. On the one hand I am a finisher of things, on the other I always need a project. I like having a set done while still upgrading. Like with my t205 set, it's done, minus a few rare variations that I likely won't get, but I still upgrade and find tough backs and keep an eye out for those variations. Mark, I your position I would find my favorite set of the bunch, flip through and double check to see if all the cards are in the optimal shape for your eye. Then maybe buy a few random pre wars or bow and and just look at them and ask yourself do I want to complete any of these? I've been kicking the tires on diamond stars for a bit, buying one or two I like and slowly coming to the decision that I might want to complete the set.

Collecting success would be curing myself of the addiction so I can stop collecting. I'm getting there but fear myself susceptible to relapse.

+1

I used to collect small vintage sets, but by the time I completed them, I was bored and ready to get rid of them.

I like the open-ended aspect of photo collecting - while there aren't an abundance of 19th century 'in action' baseball albumens, there are enough to where my collecting of them should never end. And now that I've expanded to pre-wwi silver gels, there's really no end to it. I also have started a 'type' collection of baseball tin-types, trying to get one of each style;i.e-team, action, group, etc. Easy to find them and easy to upgrade.

Oh yeah - 'success' is purchasing without using a credit card.

With the exception of a few scarce 1920's Cuban issues and a few other obscure issues, I'm not a set collector, so I only have that particular bug on a few occasions. Shameless plug for a decent Billiken Lloyd, which would complete my HOF run in that set. I stupidly sold mine years ago. An Eggleston card would be cool too.

Since I'm more of a HOF/star type collector, my basic definition of success is finding a card of that type of player that I have long desired and looked for. Unfortunately, I still have lots of room to be successful :(

+1

Collecting is about the chase for me.

They're are so many great cards out there I don't think I'll ever be completely finished. Like others said as long as you're having fun and enjoy it then collecting is a success.

Since you achieved your life long collecting goal, perhaps you should spend some time looking through your sets until another goal strikes you. Maybe it's pre-war, memorabilia, or something not even sports related.