Why are you holding onto or collecting ?
 

I'm sure this question has been asked in many forms prior but I am struggling with keeping my collection or not. It's not my only interest, I don't need the money but I don't want to increase my collection necessarily as no one in my family is interested. All my cards are from childhood on and none are graded. Lots of sentimental and childhood memories.
Anyone else struggling with this ?
Thanks.

I collected in my childhood, as most of my buddies did, and I am currently collecting to try and finish off the partial set my father gave to me (52 Topps) which I find enjoyable, although somewhat expensive.

My son has a bit of interest in what I do but being as he is only 19, as expected, hasn't got much.

I've thought about selling some of my other collection but then I ask myself, am I going to regret that?

Like you, I also have other interests so I am not as vested in it as some on here are but I do enjoy it in my spare time and when money dictates.

In the end, I will likely pass my collection onto my son like my father did for me, but with life changes happening all the time, plans change.

I would readily admit that cards are my preferred escape from the everyday pressures of reality. In addition to a decades-long interest in baseball, collecting makes me feel like I'm 12 again - surrounded by the love of my parents, and like everything is going to be ok. That has certainly helped out recently in extended times of worldwide pandemic. There are times I get overzealous and too involved and have to check myself, but I feel like at least a good 90% of the time or more, cards do for me what a hobby is supposed to.

I'll have to sell my cards when it's time to buy a house and then hope the market crashes so I can buy them all back. Until then I'm happy to sit on them for as long as I can.

First and foremost because its sooo much fun, but wasnt always that way for me TBH.

I collected as a kid in the mid 80s up to about 1991. Loved it, was cheap and had a huge worthless collection. Then in 2012 picked it up again and it was about value, grading and totally stressed me out.

It took me until about Nov/Dec of 2019 to scale back my approach to something now where I pick up a few cards here and there and focus only on Koufax...............

The silver lining is I now found my nitch where I usually am just enjoying the cards I have and add a few here and there but no stress, just the love of collecting.

I used to think I had to have everything, now I'm content with simply having fun and keeping a modest budget. Actually the budget is so modest I dont even pay attention to it anymore.

So, I now I'm back to having fun and honestly appreciating what I do have rather than what is next and what I need (which was a vicious cycle of not really caring what I already had, hence no enjoyment).

The hardest part of my lessons above was scaling back and selling, because everything I had trouble letting go of. Now I know I did the right thing, its no longer about value or not buying a card because its $5 too high, I simply buy what I want when I want and just enjoy what I have.

My two cents anyway............the hobby for many years was a crutch and found a way to enjoy collecting again.

I collect because I enjoy the history of the game, and it's a way for me to connect with players I never saw in person. While I'm glad that the rising prices over the past year mean that my collection is worth several times what I paid for it, I won't complain if a correction means I can pick up the ones I still need at more reasonable prices.

Collecting baseball cards is in my blood. There is no other way to explain it. My older brothers got me started, so a lot of it takes me back to the 'good old days,' but if I was ever asked, "Why, specifically, do you collect cards?" I wouldn't have a concrete answer. It is just a part of my DNA. Perhaps one day Ancestry.com will be able to isolate this cardboard gene.

Like everyone else, the crazy upsurge in pricing has (in theory, because I rarely sell anything) benefitted me while also kicking me in the ass. Were I to sell some stuff (which I'm debating), I could make a nice piece of change, but on the flipside, the stupid runaway prices have made it impossible to pick up anything 'new' unless I sold something else (that I don't want to get rid of) to be able to pay for it. This saddens me. And then you gotta throw in the ole "Why sell my Mantles today, when next week they'll be worth twice as much??" scenario.

I'd have to say that I love baseball in the 1950s and everything associated with it. It's pure nostalgia for me, as I wasn't born until 1973. The Topps and Bowman cards capture my imagination as do photo packs and other pieces of ephemera from that period. Admittedly I sometimes invest a little too much time into my endeavors, but this hobby still captures my imagination even after many years.

I have recently turned to collecting MiLB Billings Mustangs. They were my hometown team when I was a kid and collecting them for the last 6 months has honestly brought me lots of enjoyment. Brings back good childhood memories. And it's a heck of lot cheaper than modern!

I get the sentiment and rarely, if ever, purchase anything anymore. I’ve even sold some stuff I never thought I would on occasion to help fund other purchases (I.e., a 52 Topps Mantle when we were looking to buy a house). At the end of the day, I really don’t need the money from the collection, I have a good checklist together for my wife if something were to happen to me, and I hold on to them because I still love chatting with people about cards, hope my son will ha e an interest, and am optimistic they’ll hold their value if he never is interested.

I've been collecting since I was a kid in the late '70s. Loved going to the liquor store and buying a pack of cards, loved trading cards with my friends, loved pulling out all the Dodgers players.

Somewhere along the line my dad gave me his old cards, mostly from the '50s.

Then in the late '80s and '90, I got carried away buying cases, buying sealed complete sets, looking for inserts, premium cards, etc. I just ended up with too much stuff. Filled up closets and bins, took up too much space in the garage. Plus it just got overwhelming with all the different offerings, figuring out what the "true" RC was. And to add insult to injury, most from the wax era was effectively worthless. So I set it all aside.

In 2017 I picked up a large collection from my Uncle and really started thinking about what I wanted to collect. Since then I've been selling some things, adding more, getting cards graded, keeping some and moving the rest.

Really trying to focus on cards I enjoy looking at and that I think will hold their value over time. I've got a great collection of Mantles. I'm working on completing the 1953 and 1955 Topps set. I'll keep at it as long as I'm having fun.

Collected as a kid, had a box and a couple of binders of nice cards when I got back in the game. Even as a kid I had centering OCD and a good eye so my base collection was good. Included some biggies, a few CJ's, 51 Mays, 52 Jackie, 53 Mantle, a few others but not much.

Sat down and decided what I want my collection to look like and built a list of 300 cards covering 100 years 1880-1980. I'm a type and image collector so things are pretty straightforward for me, I'm good with 12-15 cards of the year I'm collecting. Each year is different for me. 51 Bowman has to include Mantle and Mays along with Williams, Spahn, Campy, etc but not much else. 53 Topps, Mantle, Robby, Paige, Berra, and about 8 others but not Mays cuz it's an ugly image imo. The 53 set is so beautiful I don't even bother with 52's.

I found selling was a cathartic experience and made me focus on my original list. Sold my 52T PSA 5 Jackie so I could buy a CJ14 Cobb for example. I couldn't have both so I had to decide what I wanted.

Found this place and got hooked on pre-war, decided to chase a E98 master set and an E94 set. God help me. I'll be done someday, my list will be about 500 cards covering 100 years and I'll stop.

I would only say, collect what appeals to you, be passionate about it and challenge yourself in what you collect. Stay focused and have fun. The best thing about this hobby is the people you meet. Good luck and happy collecting!

Well said, John. Except for a brief break from 1981-1988 I've always collected. It is my go-to relaxation activity.

Skyrocketing prices drove me out of mainstream baseball about 20 years ago, so i went whole-hog into boxing cards. I went back to baseball cards sporadically, and I am glad I did given the prices now.

Several years ago I had to go full 'kill-eat' on cards because my daughter wanted to go to medical school and I needed every dime of discretionary income and more to fund it. She did some clinical work as a volunteer in college and decided she's not suited to it, so I am paying for two years of grad school instead of four, and no internship or residency to subsidize either. But I digress. When I lost all discretionary income I had to ask some hard questions about my collecting and one of the things I realized is that my passion for it is not in accumulating slabs with large numbers (and prices), nor is it in set building (I don't want the Joe Shlabotniks), it is having cards of stars in albums like I did when I was a kid. That's where I've focused. I buy lots of cheaper cards to fill out my collection just as I would have when I was ten. VG or NM? Who cares...Just get me the cards.

The COVID run-up has mostly been a selling event for me, getting me out of the slabs I accumulated earlier in favor of lesser grade raw cards I can just enjoy. The money I just hold for the inevitable price crash so i can start buying collections again and turning them out for a profit. My goal is to beat the ROI our financial planner achieves with traditional investments over the next ten years. So there is a money component to it too; has to be in this day and age. But for my personal collection, gimme this in an album over the same thing in a high # PSA slab at 20x the price any day of the week:

https://photos.imageevent.com/exhibi...Wagner%201.jpg

Nostalgia and the love of the game. Started collecting as a kid in 1972 and have collected on and off since then. Like some have mentioned also my childhood collection was pretty amazing. I was interested in and bought/was given a lot of vintage cards growing up so I had an opportunity to put together a pretty good collection at a young age. Attached are a few of my childhood cards I acquired. I'll never sell because I just love baseball and collecting baseball cards. I have other hobbies as well and they all stem from my youth.

You've got some fantastic cards. How wonderful that you've been able to hold on to them all these years.

David, I'll second what VegasCards said. Just a great collection. I'd look at those and enjoy them every day.

Thanks guys. I guess I'm a pack rat of sorts. I still have most of my childhood toys, cards, etc. I had a great childhood and these things remind me of that on a daily basis. Reminds me of how blessed and lucky I have been in my life. Keeps the negative thoughts away and keeps me out of trouble having so many hobbies. :)

My son and I collect separately/together. I collect more of the vintage stuff and he collects more modern. We go the shows together and sometimes set up at shows together. We are trying to get my grandson involved, which would be great. He is starting to show some interest.
That being said, my son and I already have had conversations about what I have in my collection that he really would like to have someday. I've talked about downsizing, but I won't get rid of the cards/ sets that I really like or the ones he likes. So someday I just might bring a load of stuff to his house and get rid of the rest. Stuff that we have duplicates of, I am already looking to sell.
I don't think I'll ever totally quit the hobby because it's just too much fun, but I do see myself doing less.

See, now that right there is a good reason to collect.

When I first starting collecting again in fall 2019, it was just going to be for the fun of it and there was no sign of a value boom. Then the pandemic happened....and between that and having gotten a lot more stuff than I'd planned to through late spring of last year, the value of the collection became a much more prominent asset than I ever expected.

But despite that, I still have no interest in selling any of the heart of my collection. Even though there aren't a lot of leftovers or doubles that I want to part with.

While I naturally hope that the cards' worth does as well as possible, the most important thing is still how much I enjoy the hobby again, and always will. So (at 46) I see myself growing old with them, regardless of what happens!

This! Cards are a diversion from reality some days.

why
 

Wow, some really nice story's and reasons to collect ..very enjoyable reading these

I agree with that. I would only sell my extras. My boys are not nearly as engaged as I was/am in this hobby and the crazy prices have me confused as to where this is going as far as selling my collection. I kind of buy on the fringe now. Some FB and hockey that haven't escalated as much.

I will hold forever.

I skipped the rediscovery phase most seem to post about. I started with Batman cards when I was 3 years old in 1994, Football when I was 6, Baseball when I was 9, Tobacco when I was 11, Boxing shortly after that. All my cards were creased or dinged from constantly looking through, reading the backs and endless sorting and resorting. I had to stop buying when real life hit and I went to college and was completely broke and struggling, but my interest never waned. I continued monitoring and researching what I was into. Started spending a little after I got a "real job", and that has scaled with job growth. I'm lucky enough to be able to comfortably spend what I want on the hobby, but I still am drawn to the cards of my childhood and not the expensive stuff. Sharp corners still bear no appeal, and so I happily build in poor-very good range. I don't even 'take care of them' now; most of my cards are kept outside of any sleeves or protection. I used to penny sleeve vintage, but stopped seeing any point in it. If this T card is in Fair grade with a heavy crease and around corners, what is the sleeve for? I find it most pleasant this way, using them as I see intended.

I treat hobby money as beer money, what goes in doesn't come out and is my side fun. I've only just started to sell some of my low-end duplicates to clear space and get them somewhere they will not be collecting dust in a box of dupe junk, but the selling will never extend beyond that. If I have a card, it's because I wanted and bought it with the expectation that this picture is just paper that won't be worth anything and I'm flushing the cash down the drain. Keeps it 100% fun, 0% stress. I have no good answer for why cards are my odd obsession and hobby, but as it has been that way my entire life, I doubt it ever changes and I will sell. Low grade = quantity, my heirs will have one heck of a lot of sorting to do one day (and will probably sell off the tough variations for nothing). Hold forever

I have sold off some cards (mostly pre war type cards) due to no longer interested in them and because of the current crazy prices you can get for them... now focusing a lot more on post war stuff. I still have my Topps complete non graded set (70 -79, some 70's cello packs and rack packs) and post war type cards. I kept the tougher pre war type card stuff (Ruth, Cobb etc) because I still like them and also don't want to fork over the money needed now to buy them. It's purely a hobby for me and so I keep what I like until I am no longer interested.

Ricky Y

I like this concept. I kind of felt the same way as I collected, except that would have been an awful lot of beer consumed for the same money. As I sit here now, we are in a good spot financially, so anything that may have gone into my collection is not critical to my survival, which is a great spot to be in.

I have spent enough on cards and stuff that it really makes sense to try to get some of that back if I am done though. Whether that is me selling them or an heir selling them after I am gone. If we ever reach the point where pulling money back out is critical, then it will happen. Until them, I may have a hard time breaking the seal on starting to sell stuff I really like.

Expanding on this concept, my notable purchases during the pandemic have been very specific. Rare American boxing type cards, global boxing type cards I needed for my type set, or previously uncatalogued cards of a few athletes I collect.

I got back in after a visit to the Hall of Fame in 2012 with Ken Kendrick's collection on display. They also had a room that had highlights of all of the different years.

For me, it was pretty personal. When I was 8, a nice lady who was my teacher's aide in second grade gave me a shoebox full of 71-75 HOFers. I went to card show in the fall of '80 and sold all of them for the healthy sum of $13. I wanted a 1980 Tops set. It was $14. I had to borrow a dollar from mom just to buy it.

When I got back from the HOF, I was showing the boys all of the cards that I used to have. My wife got tired of listening to me and she said "If you want them, just buy them." That is probably a phrase that she wishes that she had back. From that point, I started set collecting and kept going until I had everything post war except for 49 Bowman, 51 Bowman and 52 Topps. I love my collection, but I regret not starting older and working newer (instead of visa versa). It was almost as if I had to get used to buying a set for $200 before I paid $2000 for one. And I had to pay $2000 for a set before I could pay $2000 for a card.

I did miss out on some big opportunities. I had a chance to buy a 53 Topps with a PSA 5 Mantle for $3000 but I wasn't that far back yet so I passed. I had a chance to buy the Lionel Carter 33 Delong set, but I was still collecting post war. There are quite a few examples. I love my post war sets, but I would have really liked some 33 Goudey Ruth's at 2012 prices.

Now, with the prices so high, it has moved from a collection to an asset class. I could cash out an investment and buy a 52 Mantle, but it is just moving asset classes. With the Mantle, I have risk of fire or theft at home or I keep it in a safe deposit box and have to make an appointment to go see it. If that is the case, I'll just keep it in the investment with the knowledge that I can buy it if I want to (however, I will have to pay buyer's premiums, sales tax, shipping, insurance, and other transaction costs).

I have no real desire to sell. It is fun to show them to people when they come over. It is a nice conversation starter, and my oldest has a keen interest in pre-war (with Jimmie Foxx being his favorite).

In the end though, the reason that I went head first back into it was because of the memories of a little kid. I was the kid who would hang out at the show tables at the mall in the early 80's. While mom shopped for clothes, I would pester the dealers for hours on end and look at their cards. They would tell me to stop breathing on the glass and to watch my fingerprints. No, I couldn't see that card as they knew I had no money and no intention of buying. I was the kid that got taken for a ride at the card show in 1980 when I should have just held onto those cards - I mean, I collected baseball cards. Why would I sell the best stuff that I had?

Now, with a little bit of money in my pocket and comfortable in life, I can buy all of those cards that I was never allowed to touch. I can give a double middle finger to those dealers who shoo'd me away. It is an expensive hobby and now it is too expensive to continue collecting (other than occasional one off), but it is pretty awesome to have them and it purged some pretty bad childhood memories.

I've begun to collect the Topps Baseball sets from 1970 and 1972. I purchased a lot of 72s off of eBay and I'm contemplating purchasing another from a member on this site. I may purchase a lot of 1970s off of eBay, but if there's anyone reading this who can put together a 600 card lot with some high numbers and stars included I'd appreciate it. So far, I've purchased and traded for some stars from another member here and from eBay. These will probably take longer than the 71 due to the price of the high numbers.