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So if you’re leaving the hobby does that mean you’re selling your collection?
And if you’re selling, do you plan to grade anything first as a means of maximizing your proceeds? Just curious! …and maybe a little snarky…. |
I am poor. Thirteen years ago I got back into the hobby I loved as a kid. I wandered into a card store and discovered I could buy the cards from the 80s, 70s, and 60s I wanted but rarely saw back in the day, and for less than they would have cost me in 1992. I spent $5 a week building a collection of stuff that meant something to me for nostalgic reasons or because of the team I followed. If I skipped a week, I had &10 for the next. I got complete sets of 84, 85, and 86 Topps for $2 a $5 each. i soon discovered a Gold Medal Foods Ducky Medwick on eBay for $15. I couldn’t believe that someone as poor as me could acquire a pre-war HOFer. This led me to Net54 and a whole new world I never dreamed of having access to. Then I found a Ty Cobb without the Cobb price tag, and a Sisler, and a Ruth. And I eventually put together the whole Gold Medal WS set. It was great fun for a while. Now, all that stuff is 10x what it was ten years ago. Which is good for the stuff I already have, but bad for the $5 a week budget. I’d like to say my situation has also improved ten-fold and a $50 per week budget would be nothin to me. But unfortunately I can’t say that. Instead, what I’ve tried to shift to is trading. And that has been a blast. The trouble is that it is very time consuming. I often have to take extended breaks. Why do I write all this? I don’t know. Maybe just to recognize the OP’s frustration about how the hobby changes and that there are consequences - and that it is kind of lousy when you are in a groove with it and it all makes sense for you and then it gets turned upside down. If you are limited in how you can enjoy the hobby, and the hobby changes on you and messes with your limits, then you’ve lost your hobby, and the loss is real. But sometimes there are ways to pivot and discover a new angle to take and still find a similar enjoyment. I liked what that 60s Post Cereal set collector is up to (not for me, but I like the idea).
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Give me the serenity to accept the things I can change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. (Or something like that)
The hobby is different than when I started opening packs in 69 and buying vintage (at the age of 10) from Gar Miller in 71. Things in life change. Either we adapt, see the good in the changes while accepting the difficult, or we move on. We never will return to before, but that doesn't mean today can't be special. I love collecting. Some aspects I love more than others, but it's all part of the tapestry. I find plenty of reasons to be grateful that I can participate as my means allow. I loved watching Gibson, Seaver and other great starting pitchers of that era. We'll never see their likes again. But then I got to love watching Maddux, Glavine and Johnson. And now I really enjoy deGrom, Scherzer and Kershaw. Be present in the moment and you'll find reasons to smile (collecting) today without lamenting what never will be again. This place gives this collector reasons to smile every day. And I thank you! Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk |
Oops, accept the things I CAN'T change
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Have hope and shift your focus, since the paradigm of (some) cards have changed.
With the price of cards through the roof to meet the increased demand brought on by work from home plus stimulus money in 2021 resulting from the pandemic, I created a post a while back asking how have you supplemented your card collecting and still found ways to enjoy the hobby. My example (cost less than a few hundred $ total) is below and the thread is here if you'd like to contribute: https://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=317438 |
Yep…
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Grading is dum
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WTF means Where's The Food? (or sometimes Why The Face?) And LOL means Lots Of Liquor. |
"WFT" means her grandson is dyslexic.
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I guess our own little hobby isn't that different in many ways. |
No matter what happens from here on out Mr. Ingram........you still had a bunch of great R&B hits in the 80's!
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If Don Henley were here he would say to you
All this whinin' and cryin' and pitchin' a fit Get over it Get over it |
I have a love / hate relationship with grading. When they screw up too often or offend my OCD, I don't submit for a while and sing the praises of raw cards.
I would agree with those who have said there is plenty of room in this hobby for you to do you. For me lately that has included low grade raw vintage, high grade slabbed vintage, and an entirely too-expensive jumbo hobby box of '23 Topps Series 1. |
I get where the OP is coming from. Many have been priced out of cards they want. One may have to alter their collecting habits to a "cheaper" version of collecting. However, this many times is not the answer as one has to try and create a passion for certain sets or grades, and that usually falls flat. Baseball cards have become more of an investment than a hobby. Personally , I would love to see a huge correction so I can finish off my 1953 Topps set (mantle, robinson, mays). Not going to hold my breath.
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In doing the latter, I've realized that there is still enough stuff postwar, 1950's - 70's that I don't have that I'm still interested in that I can probably stay busy for at least a couple of decades to come. So instead of worrying about pricey prewar, I'm going to finish my '72 Topps set, and maybe get to work on something fun and cheap like a '73 Kellogg's set. I guess some people get fed up and don't want to do that, but if you are open to casting a wider net and figuring out more stuff that you like within your budget, I think most collectors would be surprised at what they can make happen. But each unto their own. |
I have found that mass quantities of Tequila seems to "dull" the pain of all of this.............
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I primarily collect 19th century cards and what I've found to be a fun, and much cheaper, is to create starting lineups/teams with the cards. I've been able to research a lot of non-HOF players who've had amazing careers with the bonus of putting together a solid mostly non-HOF team.
Forgotten stars like Dave Foutz, Adonis Terry, Mike Tiernan, Chief Zimmer, Oyster Burns, and Mike Griffin. |
In the immortal words of Sergeant Hulka, “Lighten up, Francis!”.
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I got this T207 in today, it was a whopping $7 plus shipping on eBay. You can collect cards with a tiny budget; you just can't go for the top .1% of investing cards. There's ton of great stuff for the collector who doesn't care about money that can be enjoyed on a budget or no budget. I spent last weekend in the backyard opening 2 boxes of 1990 Topps football looking to make a set of disclaimer backs from them that cost like $10 total or something and had a blast. Enjoy it, invest in it, whatever people do it can't ruin the fun for someone else. That I buy cards for fun and to keep doesn't ruin things for investors, that they buy slabs with their 401K's they've drained doesn't ruin the fun for me.
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Brian |
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Some final thoughts on my rant.
No, I'm not quitting the hobby, just the investment brokerage side of it. Sometimes I get the wild idea that I need to break up the good old boy country club, that pats each member of the club on the back whenever they "pick up" their latest multi-thousands of dollars "card". Jealousy? Perhaps so. Then again, perhaps not. I'm pretty happy with the cards I have to this point. No, I'm not going to rant anymore, or interrupt or hijack threads about graded cards or investments. Sometimes I wish Leon would just go ahead and change the name of the forum to "net54baseball cards investments and associates". No, I'm not going to sell my cards for pennies on the dollar, for someone to send off and have graded and then sell for a small fortune. No, I am not going to have any of my cards graded. There are a multitude of reasons why I am not going to do so. Graded, encapsulated cards is not at all why I collect baseball cards. Yes, I am going to continue to collect. |
Thanks for clarifying!
A little rant now and again can be cathartic. So feel free to let it out every once in a while. Better out than in, I always say. |
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They call it paradise I don't know why You call someplace paradise Kiss it goodbye |
Well James, sorry you are not having a good day! Don't worry, its cool, we all vent sometimes. May I share a perspective?
Many might agree that this world creates and then fills many artificial needs. It's the foundation of most business and commerce today. Only a few of the things we buy are real "needs." Example: My grandfather never needed a TV, he listened to the Sox on radio and that was fine for him. My father enjoyed limited TV, he watched Archie Bunker and not much else. Cable TV wasn't ever an option for him, not a necessity. I, however, watch more sports on more channels than I care to admit. My cable bill is far from a real need, its an artificial one created by people looking to part some of my hard earned wages from me each month. My choice, I'm good. Likewise with collecting. Grade competition, investing, auctions, etc are likely not essential activities, but many find it enjoyable. PSA has created a need for many and that's fine, let them have their fun. Do what you enjoy, what you find valuable, walk to your own beat, and more power to you. As an aside, I always recommend finding something truly of greater value in life and giving it proper attention; you decide what that is.... |
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Brian |
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Love that Lena Blackburne. Just guessing you won't be sending those off to the graders! My kind of cards, sir.
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Glad to hear the OP is staying here. I guess you could say that our hobby of collecting mostly baseball cards and stuff is analogous to what some wag said about the game itself, that it is such a great game that not even the idiots in charge can ruin it completely. Even with its many huge flaws, failures, and focus on the wrong things, this is a fun, even exciting hobby. I don't know why. I'm a smart guy and have always recognized and been amazed at the nuttiness of it all, but I still love it. I'll probably be checking out eBay and Net54 on the day I die.
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And thanks everyone for enjoying my tiny T205 card empire. It looks like Greg is hoarding ripped up T205 Foxen cards in an effort to corner the market, or at least to take off the corners of the market. Brian |
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It seems most of us have adjusted our collecting practices of late. I know that I have. My current project is an all ungraded '50 Bowman set that averages in the VG neighborhood. A few years ago, I would have aimed more in the ex/exmt range. However, cardboard costs a bit more these days. It's more than that for me though. I find that I actually prefer low to mid grade ungraded cards. Most of what I do is related to set building. I like wear on my vintage cards. I like them to actually appear vintage. That makes it feel like more of a hobby to me. I always wonder about where all they have been, who has owned them before me, etc. With this '50 Bowman set, I like to imagine the boy in 1950 who first opened them up from their packs. Like him, I'm just a temporary caretaker. Hopefully whoever owns them after me will enjoy them as much as I do.
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I’m 1 card away from 1950 Bowman. Should have bought a beater Jackie for $200 a few years ago. Now it’s almost $1K in any condition, and I have a hard time rationalizing that price for a mass produced card. I’m having a blast with the no copyright variations in the last 2 series. I need 14 of the no copyrights (and still don’t have Bob Miller or Sam Jethroe with the copyrights! Never thought a common Bob Miller would be one of the last I needed). Gorgeous little works of art. |
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Greg, you always have great taste! I've had the Jackie for a while. It won't win any beauty contests, but I do have it. It's one of my favorites. I have work to do in the low numbers still yet. I'm also collecting the copyright/no copyright variations. Those are neat. I still have a few of those to go, but it's doable. Like you said, they're little works of art. |
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1950 Bowmans are cards I never really appreciated until recently. I picked up a low grade Hodges and wow, the image just pops. Then I got a few more Dodgers portraits and now I might just chase some portraits, like with T206. At least I had this one since I was a kid:
https://photos.imageevent.com/exhibi...an%20Lemon.jpg Not the purtiest but it's signed and it's mine. You gotta love that Bowman included the partial photo-bomb at the left... |
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