The ebb and flow of collecting

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Posted By: Leon

SO I was speaking with a friend, collector, yesterday at work, and on the phone (go figure), and we were talking about the up's and down's of the mental aspect of collecting. (way too many comma's in that sentence) Sometimes I get a little tired of it and other times I get jazzed up about it. I think there is a niche for some psychological counseling in our little group ....I have only been collecting about 6 years so how do all you veterans stay "up" about it? I guess the thrill of the hunt is great but there is no game I am looking at right now Just some idle thoughts (as Tbob would say) on a lackluster day..Today I am rather ho hum but ya never know what tomorrow will bring....best regards

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Posted By: jay behrens

A ten year break did it for me. At the time I got out there wasn't much of anything I hadn't seen or owned in the hobby, but I had grown tired of the quick buck artists that had come into the hobby and I had other priorities in my life that lead to me getting out.

Now I don't have anywhere near the money I did back in the 80s, so the challenge for me now is to build my collection on a very limited budget.

Jay

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Posted By: Hankron

Diversity. I'm interested in a wide range of areas, so if I get tired of, say, baseball there are other areas to enjoy. Kind of like cross training.

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Posted By: Hankron

One other thing: what really wears me out and makes me sick of a hobby is the constant focus on high value (PSA realized values, MastroNet sets new records, Mark McGwire ball sells for $3 mill, etc). The longer I've been involved, the more I've come to realize that value means something but far from everything. Some of the favorite items I've owned have cost $500, and some I couldn't sell on eBay for $5.

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Posted By: warshawlaw

Oddly enough for a lawyer (I am supposed to be thick-skinned and confrontational), what turns me off the most from collecting will be a bad encounter with a fellow collector or dealer. That's when I chill out for a day, a week, whatever. What usually brings me back is the thrill of the hunt for something else to add to my rather esoteric collection. Writing does it too. I get an idea for a card-related article (usually from spotting something interesting on a card in my collection) and I am back into the swing of things. Sometimes I see a card in a catalogue or on line and it answers a question I have about some obscure issue or fills in a gap in my collection.

While ebbs and flows are normal in any endeavor, I think that as you advance in your knowledge and your appreciation of the art of collecting, you refine your focus to items that really interest you from an artistic or historical perspective, and this contributes to feelings of malaise and/or energy. We all start out hepped up on everything and scattered as to what we collect. I found that over the years, I narrowed my "collecting" to a few 1950's sets, a few T sets, and the ever-present Exhibit cards. Everything else I bought with an eye towards profit. Consequently, I sometimes get disgusted with the whole $$$ aspect of collecting and have to sit out for a while.

Sometimes switching from baseball to other items can kickstart your spirits. I got into boxing cards several years ago when I received a Becketts mag with checklists and prices on some of the sets and have found that rather unexplored field to be the most fun of late simply because the cards are (relatively) cheap and there isn't a lot of knowledge out there.

I also find that collecting releases a ton of tension for me. When I am really stressing out, like when I am trying to get to sleep the night before a trial, I "count cards" to relax, planning my collection, and it affects me like meditation. Collecting is so far afield from what I do for a living that I can use it to completely relax.

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Posted By: julie

What do i ansolutely have to have again? What do I really not miss as much as i thought? Lots of surprises! (I'm afraid to tell you, because some all time favorite cards I can do without permanently!)

Then the 19th century showed up, and has kept me famished for 6 or 7 years. Such characters: Radbourne, kelly, Hoy, Delahanty...

I find that talking to other collectors does it. I mean, sometimes i couldn't care less about the things thy're raving about but sometimes, something I didn't even know existed will tweak my interest. Like the first goalie to leave his feet in defense of the goal...cards of Brown that show his injured hand...fell in love with the goofy guy on the back of a peck and Snyder... discovered that there were black men playing in the majors in the 19th century.

Hey, there's even a well-centered Eckersly rookie!

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Posted By: julie

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