Has anyone ever given up on set collecting?

[conor912]

I am a set collector and always will be. That said, in recent years I have taken to subsets as well. There isn't any set in existence you can't slice and dice into any subset that interests you.

[pokerplyr80]

I only tried to complete a couple of sets and gave up on them both. I'd rather focus on just picking up specific cards that I find interesting.

[ruth_rookie]

Originally Posted by pokerplyr80

I only tried to complete a couple of sets and gave up on them both. I'd rather focus on just picking up specific cards that I find interesting.

This is exactly how I feel as well. I completed the ‘33 Goudey set about ten years ago (sans Lajoie). Then when I was done I realized it just wasn’t worth the effort to me. It was fun to put together, but when I thought about the cost to put it together I found myself wishing I had spent the money on HOF’ers I didn’t have in other sets, rather then forking out money for a bunch of commons.

[glchen]

Yeah, like many of the other posters on this thread, I've given up on set collecting on expensive sets. I collected the 1933 Goudey, and was working on other sets, but it really bothered me that I was spending hundreds of dollars (if not more) on cards for common players that once I purchased, I would put in a box and never look at again. It was crazy money to be spending on cards that I wouldn't be interested in always looking at over time. Therefore, I've moved to collecting player sets of players that I really liked (mainly Ruth and Gehrig now) and one-offs for cards of other players that I've always really wanted (e.g. Brunners Cobb). So I've since sold of my 33 Goudey set, and been doing this type of collecting the last few years, which I've found that I enjoy a lot more. No regrets and wish I had done it sooner. I still do some set collecting on "cheaper" sets. I've basically still have sets from my birth year (1973) through the sets that I collected when I was a kids (through 1987) for nostalgia sake. The 1980s sets are basically worthless, but I still enjoy looking at those cards, which reminds me of when I traded with my friends. Or how after a Little League baseball game, I would save my money to purchase one of the "shiny" Donruss packs after a game. Great memories.

[KMayUSA6060]

Originally Posted by conor912

I am a set collector and always will be. That said, in recent years I have taken to subsets as well. There isn't any set in existence you can't slice and dice into any subset that interests you.

Piggybacking on this, you might want to consider strictly team sets of your favorite team from each year.

[ronniehatesjazz]

Originally Posted by KMayUSA6060

Piggybacking on this, you might want to consider strictly team sets of your favorite team from each year.

^^This.... I completed a t205-t207 Reds subset and had a blast doing it. Finished out the 33-34 Goudeys recently and have slowly started working on caramel cards. Due to the history and them being my hometown team even the commons are fun to collect. I'm also working on the complete T205 set but it isn't nearly as fun. Am considering a mid 50's Topps set that is manageable (200-300 cards) but it's hard to get excited about the commons. At least with prewar you get to collect a bunch of characters. All one has to do is look at the stories of people like Larry McLean (Died in a barfight) or Bugs Raymond (quit during the end of a season to become a bartender) to get a kick out of collecting anyone from that era. Would love to do a junk wax set of autos at some point. Have seen others collect sets like 87 Topps autos and it seems like a good challenge and the cards are actually really good looking with the sigs.