Quality vs Quantity

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Posted By: ErikV.

I'm wondering what fellow collectors thoughts are in terms of quantity vs quality. Do most collectors use their resources on purchasing one high quality card or several lesser grade cards. Personally, I'm not condition sensitive. I think I'd rather use my resources on buying several lower grade cards rather than buying one high grade card. Anyone want to comment?

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Posted By: leon

When I first got back into collecting (from "kiddo" days) I asked John Spen. about it. I asked a few other folks too but I specifically remember asking him, about the time I bought his E102 Cobby in gd-vg. I forget what he told me (or why I even brought that up) but I personally collect more mid grade stuff than others. I do have a few high grade pieces but those aren't really the norm unless there is something special about the "higher" grade. I am sure Hal can elaborate on that better than me. I do have my T217 Mono type card in an SGC 80 holder, and as everyone knows the Buchner Gold Coin Kelly in an SGC 92 holder. Generally I would rather have more cards in mid grade than a few impeccable ones . Obviously this is exactly why most intelligent folks say "collect what you enjoy". To each their own. !! regards all

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Posted By: warshawlaw

It would be unrealistic to seek to assemble high grade sets of many vintage cards. Personally, I'd rather own ten nice looking vg T206 HOFers than one near mint specimen. On the other hand, my 1976 Star Trek, 1966 Good Guys and Bad Guys, and 1965 James Bond sets are all nominally nm or better, with many nm-mt cards. And I never buy a 1971 Topps in less than nm condition.

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Posted By: Aaron M.

Without question quality.

I have a limited space to display my collection and I make a concerted effort to display my entire collection (I store a very small number of items). And when I do buy a new piece (or upgrade), I will almost always sell the replaced or displaced item on E-Bay. Consequently, I try to focus my attention and resources to a few carefully chosen high-quality pieces a year.

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Posted By: hankron

"Quantity has a quality all it's own" -- Joseph Stalin.

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Posted By: t-206collector

"To kill one man is a cruel tragedy. To kill a million men is only a statistic." --Josef Stalin.

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Posted By: The Other One (Julie)

Just kidding. Your Stalinisms are both great.

Collecting 19th century if you are not wealthy it's very simple: one card at a time. I try to get ex, but sometimes i don't Occasionally, I'ver gotten better (either before they got so expensive or when I was rich for a year).

But it's pretty strictly--one card at a time...

Then you can always trade: a small slew of Red Border, Tin Top and HOF Colgans for one SGC 50 Old Judge Griffith. Not bad!

And, by the way, thanks to all of your for cleaning me out of Colgans! I now have 1 Wagner, 1 Joss and 1 Chief Myers--because they were my favorites.

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Posted By: Anonymous

For me it's easy, quantity, since I am trying to put to gether a player set of one card from every major leaguer that appeared on a card from 1908-1945. This will involve over 9,000 cards, so my grade requirements are nominal. I look for cards with no heavy crease or paper loss on the face and name legible. Otherwise, paper loss, other creases, round corners and even chunks of the card missing are perfectly fine by me.



Jay

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Posted By: Scottopotamus

Since my T206 collection is strictly for my enjoyment, I am going the "quantity" route. Well over 90% of my collection has gotten a 10, 20 or 30 from SGC.

Scottoptamus
My T206 Web Site

http://www.freewebs.com/scottopotamus

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Posted By: Jason Smith

The main thing I keep in mind is that while I want the best quality I can afford (and I'm talking about t206s on ebay and auctions since that's how I buy), I know that there are deeper pockets out there and they are the ones that really want and can afford the quality. So what I do is buy the items just under that deep pocket threshold. Usually that means PSA 6 is my quality limit. I have yet to win a PSA 7 auction for a T206 and that's cool with me because I am trying to stick to my gameplan, which is to collect PSA 4, 5, 6 commons and the ocasional HOF. I don't get too frustrated, but sooner or later I will upgrade some of my cards to 7s when I can afford to do it.
But if I were doing it strictly for investment purposes, I would go for quality above quantity. The highest graded cards will always go up in value. The demand for those cards will always outweigh the supply.
Jason

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Posted By: hankron

Erik, I think this post demonstrates that you can collect either way.

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Posted By: Gilbert Maines

I am with Jason (and others) on this. To answer your question: most collectors comprimize quality to achieve the quantity which fits their collection goals. However, investors will often minimize bulk.

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Posted By: Gilbert Maines

I am with Jason (and others) on this. To answer your question: most collectors comprimize quality to achieve the quantity which fits their collection goals. However, investors will often minimize bulk.

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Posted By: Tom Boblitt

can collect and acquire T206's in 5-6, that's pretty good anymore. Mastronet just sold a T206 set (with Demmitt/O'Hara) that averaged 5.26 and it sold for 95K (before the juice). That's pretty strong although there was 5K worth of grading in it. There was something like 180 or so 6's, 250 or so 5's with nothing less than a 4. Demmitt/O'Hara were both in 4 holders.

On T206's, my set is about in 4-6 condition with some lower like my Cobb greenback. Unless you want to pay $150-$300 for 6-7 commons, 4-5's are about the only 'reasonable' bet and some of the 5's are going well into the lower $100+ range.

While they are widely available, it seems like MANY people are streaming into the vintage market and even issues like T206's are going up in price even in the lower to mid grades. Guess it's good for everyone who have been collecting them for a while!

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Posted By: Hal Lewis

and I will say it again.

Just because I go for QUALITY ... it does NOT make me an "investor"!!

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Posted By: Gilbert Maines

Is being an investor something we must hide? I bet that price and appreciation potential is a factor in many of the selections which are made by collectors. And I similarly believe that many persons primarilly motivated by diversification of their portfolios to include the upside of baseball cards have an interest in viewing the cards, heck, some may even assemble one type in part because they like them due to asthetic reasons.

But in general, I agree, baseball card investors typically prefer minimizing the bulk of their holdings, while collectors feel that bulk is a good thing.

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Posted By: petecld

If you are collecting for the sake of owning the cards then quantity is your best approach.

If you have ANY concerns regarding re-sale then you HAVE to go with quality.

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Posted By: jay behrens

Hal, we know you are a card collector and the real investment is in the plastic slabs :-p

Jay

I like to sit outside, drink beer and yell at people. If I did this at home I would be arrested, so I go to baseball games and fit right in.

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Posted By: hankron

3 important points for baseball card investments that are often lost on total beginners:

1) Diversification, or variety, is important. It's a mistake to invest a lot of money in one or two cards. In this sense, a nice collection that you enjoy looking at can be a sound invenstment.

2) Buy at great deals. Some people think that if the card has 'investment potention,' it's fine to over pay in the beginning. Common fatal mistake. If you overpay by 2x, that card has to double in value before you break even.

3) Regular selling, such as on eBay. These people have a more honest feel for the market, including the practicalities of selling, and will make better buying and investment choices.

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Posted By: hankron

A famous high end art dealer was once asked what a potential dealer should do before going into the business.

He said, "Buy a painting and try and sell it."

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Posted By: Loren Arthur

I personally enjoy buying cards in bulk, carloads in fact, of Topps and Score cards especially from the 80's. Also, if the paper is thin I can fit many more into my Public Storage unit. Enjoy!!

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Posted By: The other One (Julie)

will never show it to a soul...

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Posted By: jay behrens

I take it that "The Scream" was never found. That truely is sad if that is the case. And any collector that would actually buy that picture, or any other stolen collectible and hide it from the public, should be strung up and slowly castrated with a fingernail clipper dipped in tupentine. Death is too good for them.

Jay

I like to sit outside, drink beer and yell at people. If I did this at home I would be arrested, so I go to baseball games and fit right in.

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Posted By: The other One (Julie)

the most famous "Scream," which was stolen, and then found, years ago (it's in black and white). One was just stolen day before yesterday, a color one, not quite as good. It has not been found. Edvard Munch, the artist; both were in Norwegian museums.. I was just thinking about the rich people who hire expert thieves to steal great paintints--and then hide them away in a cellar room, where nobody ever goes but them, and they sit, and look at the painting, all alone...kind of gives you the creeps!

Within the last ten years, a man stipulated in his will that he was to be buried with his Degas--or Monet, I forget which. His family either talked him out of it on his deathbed, or snatched it away after he was dead.

The idea that a great work of art can only be enjoyed by one person gives me the creeps!

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Posted By: jay behrens

It doesn't give me the creeps, it just pisses me off and amazes me that people would be so shallow as to want to deprive the world of things like that. It makes no sense.

Jay

I like to sit outside, drink beer and yell at people. If I did this at home I would be arrested, so I go to baseball games and fit right in.

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Posted By: Judge Dred

Quantity or Quality ----- Quality or Quantity.....

Would you rather have (10) T206 HOF cards in VG condition or (1) HOF card in NrNt condition? Lets just say (10) average HOF players or (1) average HOF player. Obviously Cobb, Wagner, Plank and a few others don't count.

Since I don't collect on an investment basis I would probably settle for the lower grade lot of (10) because there's a lot more history in (10) different players than only (1) player.

Now if I felt the other way I guess I'd get my NrMt card and have it graded. Then I'd piss and moan that it wasn't graded high enough and then I would rationalize paying a lot more than normal for the card because it's beautiful (regardless of the grade).

I don't collect for the investment aspect. I collect because I like the history of the game and I figure that the more cards I have, the more links to the games history I'll also have. I can care less if my cards don't increase in value, I don't buy them for that purpose.

I have my cards encapsulated for a few reasons, the main reason is that I want to protect them for future generations to enjoy.

I'd rather have quantity although I surely appreciate a beautiful NrMt card just as much as the next person. The only problem with NrMt is that examples of NrMt (for vintage pre war, not Vietnam but the big one, WWII) are much more costly than in the past. Sure, I'll never have the nicest looking cards but at least I'll have a diverse collection of players that "I" will appreciate.

My Cobb maybe ugly looking but at least I have one. Now if I were to have unlimited funds I'd probably look for higher grade material but I'll be happy with my modest budget and card buying habits.

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Posted By: The Ohter One (Julie)

I would take the vg/ex Cobb over 10 average players, mint.

Or, to be strictly factual, a T206 PSA 2 Cobb with green background over any number of average players, mint.

I do not need a T206 Wagner of any kind--but I DO need a couple of Wagners, an action photo (Collins-McCarthy) and a portrait (perhaps just coincidentally, the same photo that the T206 was based on), perhaps a Fan Craze or a Colgans. Over any number of common Collins-McCarthys and common Fan Crazes.

Is this quality over quantity? Dunno...It sure doesn't lend itself to set building, though!

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Posted By: Aaron M.

"I'd rather have quantity although I surely appreciate a beautiful NrMt card just as much as the next person. The only problem with NrMt is that examples of NrMt... are much more costly than in the past.... My Cobb maybe ugly looking but at least I have one. Now if I were to have unlimited funds I'd probably look for higher grade material but I'll be happy with my modest budget and card buying habits."

I think you hit the nail on the head. More than quantity vs. quality, I think what dictates a collector's habits are the budget he has to work with and how that enables or shapes his priorities.

If someone has $1,000 to spend on cards, depending on his personal preference he might choose to buy 5 cards in VG condition or 2 cards in NM for the same amount. Investment might be the furthest thing from his mind--he just might prefer buying better condition cards, even if it means it takes him longer to build a set or he has a smaller collection. That's the essence of "quality vs. quantity", he prefers quality.

OTOH, another collector might choose the 5 VG cards because conditioned is not that important to him, or he would rather build his set and/or collection more quickly. He prefers quantity.

As you state, if you could afford it, you'd probably shoot for the higher-quality cards, but as it is are more than happy to settle for lesser-conditioned ones.

So, ultimately, it's a question of resources and prioritizing within them.

If the question is: "Do you think quantity or quality makes the better investment", then I would agree, quality is probably the way to go.

If the question is: "Do you prefer quantity or quality in your collection?" (as I think the question was phrased here), then the answer is completely dependent on the collector's preferences and budget.

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Posted By: honus3415

For the true "collector"......quantity.

No point in having even a single card though if you're not learning from it.

How much time do each of us spend DAILY concentrating our attention on just our FAVORITE CARD? Probably not much.... even if it isn't locked away in a safe.

Any card is only worth as much as a mind can learn from it, otherwise it's just another bead on a necklace slabbed away in a showcase.

If "learning from them" ever changes to "making money off them" ... you might want to reconsider.

Feed your mind with quantity..........Feed your ego with quality.

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Posted By: Gilbert Maines

As has recently been mentioned in another thread: the carmel stains add character to a Cracker Jack that the pristine examples of this issue do not have. I find that I agree with this statement, and expand on it a little. Specifically, it is my preference to own cards that have actually "been there", around their time of issuance. That is, I prefer a card with some wear over that which is in unused condition.

To me quality is a used card, not one that will score very high on a grading scale. Heck, I own very nice cards which have graded PSA3, and others which are 5s or 6s. I guess that my eyesight is failing, but a card better than a 5 or 6 just can not be measurably better (by my yardstick).

So my vote is for quality (by my definition), and quality by Julie's definition ie. "only the best players". Now ... which are the best players?