Baseball cards helped me acquire…
 

With life happening outside baseball card collecting, what are some things cards have helped you acquire through trade, sale, etc.? A needed car? A bucket list vacation? A dream home? A rental property? Trading up for a dream card!? Etc.? A safe and affordable SUV for the family and young drivers!

The best
 

The greatest thing I have gotten from cards is the long lasting friendships and great stories through the years. The “stuff” is not as important to me as the relationships! Thank you to the many friends I’ve met on here and done deals with…..

In my case, baseball cards and memorabilia have hindered me from acquiring other things outside of the hobby. :rolleyes:

But am interested to hear how other people can achieve a different result.

My thoughts exactly!

Like posted above I have made some great friends and sometimes we even still email about cards.:)

As for other stuff i have used cards for many many things including a German made Walther PPK, many vacations, all my weights and all the gear for it, vehicle repairs/upgrades, and a LOT of other stuff.

I bought/hoarded outrageous amounts of cards from the 80s until early 00s. The main thing I wish I would have done differently was buy tobacco cards back then. In my area you couldn't give them away and I could have bought a lot really cheap like I did the 50s-60s cards nobody wanted.

Just in this past year cards have helped me acquire two lifetime dream cards, my dream home and so many great hobby friends. I’ve been extremely blessed and thankful daily for that. It’s been unbelievable. Now I’ll ultimately
acquire and add until I retire or my health begins to fail to provide for my family.

Awesome! Great timing and a little luck too. Any for examples? Card images?

Being debt free.

More baseball cards of course!!

Ditto!

It's the memories for me . . .

Baseball cards helped my acquire tons of memories with my father. Back in the 80s, before the Internet, most Saturday mornings he would go get the newspaper and we would look through the classifieds in search of card shows. It would usually be an interesting road trip! I do have most of the card sets we collected still in my PC (1966 Topps, 1972 Topps).

Also, I can still remember most of the card shops I frequented back in the 1980s. There was one card shop on Roseland Ave in Caldwell that me and my friends spent hours every week at, just hanging and talking baseball with whoever was there. I remember everybody who worked there and most conversations had, and I still have the Munson rookie card I bought there. Today, I can't remember my family members birthdays haha.

I remember that kind of stuff way more than the trades and other items I've acquired thru collecting.

I bought this about 3 weeks ago using proceeds from when I sold most of my collection in 2021-22. It's a 2024 Camaro 2SS

Yeah…no.

I’m still in the accumulating phase. So financially, anytime I’m selling cardboard, it’s because I’m buying more cardboard.

I’ve definitely made some solid friends during the journey, including a few fellow collectors who have gone waaaaaay out of their way to help me chase down impossible to find stuff for my collection. Thanksgiving has come and gone, but I’ll always be grateful for all of their help.

A long weekend in Paris with my daughter and her family that cards help finance.
Thank god my British son-in-law speaks excellent French.

2023 Mercedes 580 s sedan stupid move lol

Had some health problems back in 2018 and needed cash to cover the almost 5k out of pocket limit. Sold my 52 topps Mays and another card. The Mays is worth 5x as much now but I have no regrets.

Sold my 55 Clemente and a few others to help buy a car with cash at the peak of the bubble. Again, no regrets as my favorite Clemente is the 56. I love my no debt Dodger blue Dodge Charger named "Campy"

A Private school education for my children. My biggest investment, my kids.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

most of the money i've received from card sales...I've reinvested back into the hobby.

I DID sell a t206 solly hofman w/drum back...the only one known i believe back in the early 2000's to buy a leather recliner...that my cat destroyed.

I will sell my collection someday to help fund early retirement/healthcare...atleast that's the "thought."

[QUOTE=Bcwcardz;2393567]A Private school education for my children. My biggest investment, my kids.

Love it…the best investment there is!

I sold my 57 Topps set for a down payment on my first house.

In 2012 I sold half my collection to buy Sterling Auctions!

Two of the best decisions I have ever made.

I have always bought what I liked and it thankfully has turned out quite well for me.

Lee

My three most cherished ones. Lotsa luck I agree. I’ve been
blessed.

Baseball cards helped me acquire...
 

I have been fortunate enough over the years to have been in the right place at the right time (several times) in 2021 my then 14 year old daughter suggested i part with a piece from my Ted Williams collection to fulfill my childhood dream of owning an old jeep... I did really well on the card so the TJ cost me virtually nothing, but i was still a bit apprehensive...

Turned out to be one of the best moves of my life... We have shared so much time together (beach runs, athletic events, and late night trips to DQ)...

If i had it to do over, I wouldnt.

This is awesome thanks for sharing.

As most Net54 members know, I'm 93 years old, but
 

I have never sold any card for over ten dollars. I'm a child of the Great Depression, and the cost of acquiring has always seemed just beyond my financial reach. And baseball has had to compete with other serious hobbies and raising a family.

I was interested in the Jeep that a member depicted and sympathized with him. Has any Net54 member ever driven a vintage jeep ? I have and still have an Army license to drive the 2 1/2 ton truck. Possibly expired.

Same here. I've made a lot of friends through the board and hobby and wouldn't trade those for anything. Also, when I got back into the hobby and started sending out some of my cards TTM, that led to correspondence with a lot of the old-timers who have since passed.

Relationships #1
New house down payment #2 (about 8 years ago)

I'm a collector and do not sell..

Baseball cards helped me acquire…other baseball cards.

Since the 90s I've shunned chasing hot rookies/prospects in favor of snapping up cards of future HOF candidates (especially graded). It's a very laid back and easy venture...bid/spend low, purchase, store, wait...

I use the realized loot from these eventual sales to help me with my hobby stuff. Getting 2-5x of the initial investment back is the norm, not the outlier. Cards are small and long term storage is easy.

Putting 1K into a bunch of graded 1960 Jim Kaat rookies over the years and turning it into 4K+ is a nice way to ease these elevated price markets.

Scott Rolen, Ted Simmons, Tony Oliva...also somewhat recent realized flips that earned great ROI.

I'm waiting around with a slew of Billy Wagner, Lou Whitaker, etc...and some more "maybe, maybe not" types like Jim Leyland. I haven't bought any Whitaker in years because the price has been driven up by other speculators...same for Dick Allen.

The Joys of Card Collecting
 

Fun thread!

Baseball cards have given me a great hobby and enjoyment. After I stepped down from competitive running in 2018, I was looking for some ways to fill that void that running had played a part in the last 15 years.

During Covid I found my old childhood cards, fell in love with T206, and since then have met so many great people who collect. Baseball cards have helped me learn baseball history, and appreciate every card that goes into my collection. What a privilege it is to be a “curator” of baseball cards, and the stories that surround them.

Shout out to all the n54 folks who have been so kind in my collecting journey. This community has been such a blessing to me. It’s been an amazing two years in the hobby. Here’s to many more!

Matt Galvin

Picking up jaw from floor!

My story is pretty mundane. I sold most of my sets ('57 to 1980) last year and used some of that to build a new fence. The rest went into the bank and hopefully will go towards my grandkids' college education or first cars.

I sold a bunch of cards several years ago to cover what I thought would be a shortfall in money needed for my daughter to go to medical school. She decided she did not want to be a doctor after doing some clinical work as an undergrad, but I was able to fund her masters at Columbia with some of the proceeds, so that was good, and it did plant the kernel of an idea in my head, which I am now in the process of bringing to fruition over the next couple of years, to make cards into a full-time-ish business for my retirement from law.

And of course there were the many, many women who dated me in my twenties because I had a bitchin' collection. You know what they say: once you've had a man with a card collection you can never go back.

OK, that last part may not be entirely accurate...

A new fence makes sense to keep critters at a distance, and minimizes the chance in the future that they will devour your remaining collection.


Brian (my cards can barely finance a fence post, let alone a whole run of fence posts and the stuff that goes between)

You’re two kind. My home is the main thing though a huge down payment on a beautiful place that I believe I can pay off in 15 years.

The hobby has helped me acquire great memories and the opportunity to participate in a hobby that I've always enjoyed, even though I took a 20 year break (1992-2012) to focus on other aspects of my life, like getting married and starting a family. I've seen many great items, and encountered various interesting personalities along the way.

Phil aka Tere1071

Complete 1953 Bowman Color, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, and 1975 Topps Baseball sets under revision as the budget and wife allows.

Under construction:
1967 Topps Baseball - 332/533: Overall p-g, missing all of the bigger name stars and many commons, no high numbers or posters.

1968 Topps Baseball - 423/598: Overall good, missing almost all of the bigger name stars; no game cards.

1969 Topps Baseball - 427/664: Overall good to vg, missing most of the bigger named stars; no deckle edged cards or stickers.
1969 Topps Baseball Team Stamps- missing Twins; Cardinals; Braves; Tigers; Orioles; Mets; Giants; Pirates; Red Sox; Pilots; Astros; and Reds. I'm satisfied with booklets in g- vg condition with the stamps pasted inside.

1970 Topps Baseball Insert sets:
Booklets- missing #15
Posters #8 and 17
I do not have any 1970 scratch offs yet.

1971 Topps Coins- 123/153 in g to vg/ex condition
I do not have any 1971 scratch offs yet.

1974 Topps Baseball Washington variations- 32; 53; 77; 102; 173; 241; and 309. I'm collecting these in ex-mint condition.

I would prefer to trade for any of missing items on this list.

I used to own that Hofman. Mike S and I traded it back and forth a couple times it’s now the Drum in his back run. Great card.

They got me this...*

Attachment 599587



*But only after using a coupon.

Jolly that looks Goood !!

The referenced Hofman?

In college, my card sales funded my partying. When I was a youngster, I was at a poorly attended auction, and I picked up pages of 54B, 54T, &56T stars. A couple guys on my floor were big card guys, and I would piece out a card here and there for big profit and have money for beer, concerts, and the like. These were the days before grading, but I remember a 56T Robinson so crisp and clean, it was one I shoulda kept. Cards come and go, but the fun memories last forever, and selling cards kept me afloat in college...all 6 1/2 years

Card sales have allowed me to purchase great photos and memorabilia.

That’s the one.

To answer the thread, in 2000 I sold my then-collection to pay for 2/3 of a master’s degree in tax law from Georgetown (I wish I still had the cards!!)

that is the one...i purchased it at a show at the silver spring armory in 92'ish in md. I was shaking when I turned it over...I didn't even try to negotiate off the $37 asking price.

Selling my first collection I was able to put my daughter through undergrad and graduate degrees at SMU, acquire 3 new cars, pay for a big wedding, keep some decent savings and this, on 4 acres high on a hill in horse country, about 1.5 miles from where I live. I might live there someday. It's painted white with black trim now....

Baseball cards have helped me re-connect with my youth. Can't put a monetary or material things value on that. I never set out on this or any of my other hobbies to somehow parlay these things into some kind of fortune. Not my bag. I make enough money in other endeavors.

Wow so much done with collections in this thread

Friends, cards, cars, education, homes and more.

I agree it is something that has given me memories, enjoyments. Friends, investments and so much more(never forgeting the scraping to save to buy things. The loss of sleep on many auction nights/mornings, the regret on selling/trading something that I wished I could get back, and so much more)

But loving it and the people on this forum and contacts made make it worth so much more

That’s truly incredible and what it’s all about even though we all love our cards.

I sold this T206 Drum a few years back but I couldn't help showing it after seeing the other PSA 1 Drum. I am still mystified by the grade. If someone has an explanation, I'd sure as hell like to hear it.

As for use of proceeds from card sales, I was able to put three kids through college, so they came out debt free - well, except for my daughter who went on to earn a law degree - that one's on her. Selling cards on occasion is also a great way to stay happily married (and continue collecting guilt free).

All cards that I bought in 2021 at the peak of the market have put me near poverty level if not for some of the savings I had put away over the years.

I sold much of my collection before the big run up in 2020 to buy a cabin in the woods that we airbnb! although it was a great decision, i think about the cards I sold daily!!!!

I've repurchased about half of them back. One of my biggest was a 51 Mantle PSA 3, not sure ill replace at that same grade level now :-(

here is the link to the cabin I remodeled from the studs and even added an outdoor tub!

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/4572233...a-982ba9235834