That's the problem I am having getting back into the hobby. With such a large gap in time between card purchases, it's difficult to spend 20-100x what I used to be able to pay.

It's all relative really:

THEN: "I didn't spend 500 on a Goudey Ruth because I was just a kid and didn't have enough money."

NOW: "I won't spend 10k on a Goudey Ruth because I HAVE kids and don't have enough money."

Also finding that (and perhaps this deserves its own thread) that the price of tier 2/3 t206 HOFers are relatively depressed compared to t206 commons in similar conditions. If I were trying to pick up cards right now, I'd be going for the Huggins and Jennings of the world over a Kroh. But yeah, 100 bucks for mid-grade commons.

$146,000

$145,999, because then I would be reassured that at least someone is willing to spend more for a card than I would.

Brian

I used to have a self imposed limit of $500. But then as cards rose in price I thought, $1000 is the limit. But I've already edged past that on a few cards. It really depends on the card and the price. Recently I've dropped the grade I'm willing to accept (with good eye appeal) in order to be able to afford cards I want for my collection.

Also finding that (and perhaps this deserves its own thread) that the price of tier 2/3 t206 HOFers are relatively depressed compared to t206 commons in similar conditions. If I were trying to pick up cards right now, I'd be going for the Huggins and Jennings of the world over a Kroh. But yeah, 100 bucks for mid-grade commons.[/QUOTE]

It's a good point. I backed away from T206 awhile back aside from a few projects I've worked on for a long time. I think they do catch up as you say and surprised that some have not already. Some have already done so and not that Lajoie is a low level HOFer, but it wasn't that long ago that he was a bigger step down from the others. Griffith was a strong buy when I was building the set a few years ago.

[/QUOTE]



Aside from fact that "value" is whatever someone is willing to pay, I think there is a cyclical nature. Guys like Dahlen, Chase, Ciccote going for as much or more than low tier HOFers surprised me on my reentry. Probably bc there is more interest in things that people think SHOULD go up in value...but then that probably creates the increase by itself and it becomes cemented.

Yeah, Griffith cards are great deals. Give me a Griffith or a McGraw any day.

Actually surprised at the snarky responses to what was on the surface a perfectly fine question to ask. Perhaps those that answered cynically thought the OP was asking a cynical question, or perhaps they are protecting their privacy which is totally understandable, or perhaps the twitter mob mentality is infiltrating Net54. I'll take the high road ...

Generally speaking, it does depend of course whether one is collecting for the long term or a quick flip. Flippers might be more willing to spend more thinking they can make a quick buck. It also depends considerably on how much disposable income someone has at the time (and/or how good they are at hiding large purchases from their significant other).

The most I've ever spent on one card is about $400 and I've been collecting for 20+ years. My collection is pretty diverse but definitely at the low end of the grading scale ("buy the card not the holder" mentality). In recent years I've moved away from Baseball/Hockey to mostly Soccer because that is where I still see value. Most cards I've purchased are in the $5-50 range, mostly vintage but a few modern as well. If one of my "holy grail" cards came up for auction, I still don't think I would spend more than $1000 on it, but that's the shallow end I swim in. I collect what I like but also with an eye on my collection increasing in value over time and having a nice albeit small money-making activity to do in retirement if and when I liquidate.