Things you hated when collecting cards as a kid

[ALBB]

feel free to add to the list -

1) not understanding the whole " cards by series " thing...and kept buying packs and getting same players

2) getting a card of a player with no hat on

3) getting a card/insert of player with no team logo

4) seemingly getting the same player repeatedly ..and of course a no name/ out of state common

[Jim65]

Getting a card of a player no longer on the team pictured.

Looking through every loaf of bread on the shelf looking for the last Wonder Bread card I needed.

[Puckettfan]

When I was a kid I hated the local Coin/Card shop owner.

He was an older version of the comic store owner from the Simpsons.

He had a coin-first shop and showed real disdain for card collectors. Most of whom were pack junky kids not interested in coins in the slightest. I got the feeling that he hated kids in general but really hated kid card collectors who's pallet was not refined enough to know that the resurgence in cards was just a passing fad (in his mind).

He clearly resented the fact that coins were not enjoying the same renascence and that he had to shift his store's focus more onto cards.

Kris

[nolemmings]

I hated the fact that I always believed stuffing 5-7 sticks of that gum in my mouth would taste better this time than the last 200 times I tried it.

[AGuinness]

Growing up in Vermont, OPC cards really bugged me and I hated running across a card I wanted only to realize it was an OPC and not Topps.
Funny thing is, now I'm fond of OPC cards...

[gonzo]

Duplicate checklist cards. During the 70s and early 80s, even the first copy wasn’t much to look at, but once I had it and knew who was on it, opening a pack and seeing another one was a disappointment. No one ever wanted to trade for “Checklist 133-264”.

[rats60]

Not getting the last series cards in the store or them coming in so late that there weren't enough ordered to complete your set. I never understood why the lower series were so plentiful that you could easily collect them all, but the higher series were not. I only completed one set, 1968, by buying packs and trading prior to the "one series" release of 1974. All the others required mail ordering the cards that never made it into our area in sufficient quantities.

[jchcollins]

Originally Posted by ALBB

feel free to add to the list -

1) not understanding the whole " cards by series " thing...and kept buying packs and getting same players

Unfortunately this was way before my time. I never understood the "why" behind vintage high numbers being worth more until I was no longer a kid...

[jchcollins]

My active years for "kid" collecting were 1986-94. Here is what comes to mind:

* Dealers who literally believed Beckett was the gospel. Yes kid, I know that card has been sitting in my showcase collecting dust for nearly a year, but I can't let you have it for $5 less because "that's not what Beckett says..." For the record I'm talking about cards like maybe an '87 Fleer Bo Jackson or an '86 Topps Traded Jose Canseco. Really dealer dude? For the record this was several years before I went on to major in economics in undergrad, but even as a kid I understood the principle. And as we all later learned, the canon according to Dr. Jim B. wasn't nearly infallible.

* I often traded cards for vintage (back in the 80's simply called "old cards") with dealers that were willing to humor kids. I made some great acquisitions this way, including some Mantle cards and various other HOF'ers. What I hated is the times when I would visit these stores (with my mother, I had no other means of transportation at age 12...) after elaborate planning and begging in some cases to be driven 30+ minutes away - only to realize that the owner or "decision maker" of the card shop wasn't there that day. In those cases I was more than welcome to buy whatever my eye fancied in the case that day - but trading was out of the question. I was usually told "oh sorry kid, Mr. Harold isn't here today, he's the one who makes those kind of decisions." :-( Dang it, guess I'll have to wait until next time.

* Jerk dealers at card shows who didn't want to deal with me just because I was a kid. Most kids were there to get an auto or try to score boxes of Upper Deck cards, but I was interested in the vintage stuff. It didn't happen often, but the times it did I remember. Dealers who gave me a hard time wanting to see a '50s card in the case that they had a $100 sticker on, or worse were the ones who would just sit on the other side of their display and ignore me. Just because I'm small doesn't necessarily mean I don't have a wad of cash in my pocket, mister. I was always glad to move on to someone else who was more eager to help me. :-)

That's basically it. I remember a few unpleasant experiences as a kid, but the positive always far outweighed the negative. I was an only child who if I didn't have the money saved myself from my allowance or whatever, could usually persuade my mom into covering a loan for the difference on whatever it is I wanted at the moment. I realized later in life that not nearly so many of my contemporaries were that lucky.

[Nick55]

In order of most hated when I was a kid:

(1) black and white photos used for certain inserts in color photo sets (e.g., 1979 Topps rookie cards).

(2) any kind of air-brushing of the card photo

(3) heavy wax/gum stains on the card backs (I still hate it)

(4) manager cards

(5) checklists (today, I love them!)

(6) miscuts

[Yastrzemski Sports]

The only things I hated about it was not having enough money. But almost every spare dollar I had went toward cards. Good times.

[Fuddjcal]

when I would buy 4-boxes and they didn't have anymore in the back. I'd have to ride my bike around, collect pop bottles and then, spend all the $$$ on cards stopping at every liquor store that had them.