I've been on both sides of it. I bought a complete 1974 Topps set maybe 2 years ago. Paid $100 for it and broke it apart. Sold it off and made money. Did the same with a 1975 Topps set about the same time. Paid $200 for it.
Around 2012-13, I built a 1958 Topps set. I started with one single card. I traded for a lot of them at the LCS, and I would buy some here and there. Finally by the time I was done, I had about 6 months in it and just over $500. I sold it to Sean for $1,500. So I tripled my efforts. That doesn't happen often.
Now I'm working on building a 1957 Topps set by hand just like I did then. However, it's a little different. The LCS has changed hands, and they don't trade as much (back then I'd trade modern inserts, parallels and RCs for store credit then use it to get cards I needed for the set).
Chase has been more fun (and frustrating because I can't get anyone over here to trade with me/sell to me), but it's been a long road. I've been working on it since about March, and I'm ready to get it done. In the end, I'll end up losing money if I try to sell it. But my goal is to keep it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mintacular
The purpose of my post was not to discourage collectors from building sets, when I did it with 57 and 71 it was EXTREMELY satisfying and the hunt was fun, and lots of knowledge learned along the way.
However, I don't think I realized the financial downside to it and so if someone entering the hobby is considering "Should I build (insert set)...." I think this info would be useful to know.
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