Collecting goals - fork in the road

[Touch'EmAll]

I have hit a wall. Everything is (to me) awesome. It would break my heart to sell anything. The family economic dynamics say no more cards. Wife had a fit the other night when she learned I picked up an SGC 60 Matty portrait (see on pick up thread).

My collection consists of about 15 T206's (all Matty, W. Johnson, Young & Cobb in PSA 5 & 6), and a nice select lot of extrememly low pop and near one-of-a-kind's of Ruth, Cobb, Wagner, W.Johnson, Matty's in PSA 5 to 7. And a few other's such as PSA 8 1949 Satchell Paige and a complete Hank Aaron run in PSA 8.

Should I:

a) just completely stop collecting & be happy with what I have
b) sell a bunch to then go after a handful of super spendy $5-20k each cards
c) sell the T206's in PSA 5 & 6 to fund effort for PSA 7's
d) sell the near one-of-a kind stuff to go after ???
e) ditch the Hank Aaron run to fund more pre-war upper tier HOF'ers

Big sigh, are my collecting days over? Thanks for suggestions, Steve

[carrigansghost]

I have had an extremely fun time collecting since I gave up the wife 6 years ago, but perhaps that route is not for all.

Rawn

[Peter_Spaeth]

No one can know what you want but if it were me I would keep the T206s and use the Hank Aarons, or some of them, to fund additional purchases. Keep the RC and sell the rest, they are always easily replaced.

[Leon]

What Peter said above . Depending on which stuff you like the best, and/or you can't replace easily, those are the things I would get rid of last. If all are are somewhat equal, in sentimental value, then sell the higher dollar ones first. That way you won't have to get rid of as many to get back some of your money you put into them and you can accomplish the same goal. There is a chance you will want to get back into collecting sometime in the future and at least you will still have the difficult to replace stuff. ALL just my 1 cent....good luck with the decision.

[calvindog]

I would choose (f): Sell the Cobbs to me.

[yawie99]

Your collecting days are certainly not over. I've hit many similar forks in the road, but have kinda settled on a "less is more" approach to my collection. I can't have it all so I've come to enjoy the BSTing aspect of the hobby as much as the actual owning of the cards.

I maintain a modest number of cards and try to balance the additions with the subtractions - at least to some extent. I know some people hate parting with their prized collectibles, but in the grand scheme of things, they're just old pieces of cardboard. They come and go. I enjoy 'em while I have them and then recycle them back into the hobby so I can pick up some new ones. I do have a few cards that I'd be loath to sell or trade, but ultimately it's all negotiable. I know that's a terribly unromantic view of the hobby, but it's allowed me to stay involved without going broke or crazy.

[bigtrain]

I agree with Jeff. You should definitely sell him the Cobbs and send the Johnsons my way.

But seriously, I would sell the Aarons.

[Touch'EmAll]

Thanks for input. You are right, keep the truly rare stuff. After all this is the stuff near the pinnacle of our hobby. And the T206's are so prized, keep 'em.

Perhaps it's good bye to the Aaron's, took years to complete in high-end for the grade. Saw Hank as a kid, and was smack dab in the middle of my childhood when he broke Ruth's record. He is one of the most admired men in all of sports, up there with Gehrig, Dimaggio, Mathewson, Satchell & Nolan Ryan.

On a tangent, I saw Nolan many times as a kid at Anaheim Stadium. Dad took me to the game CalTech timed his fastball at 100.9 mph - I think still in Guiness Book. We always used to sit higher up, but right behind home plate. I remember that "hop" on his fastball - INCREDIBLE ! I doubt if anyone will ever, ever, ever break his record of 7 no-hitters. Both mom & dad saw Koufax at Dodger stadium, Grandpa saw Walter Johnson in D.C. All 3 said when "on" Ryan was the best the world has ever seen.

[dennis]

i would sell all the aarons from 1960 onward,they are easily replaced. keep all your other cards as it sounds like they are too expensive (and you like them!!) then get a safe deposit box for the other cards, next open a new bank account with that money, and tell the wife you sold everything and are out of the hobby. from there you can monitor her spending and "have a fit" when she buys herself something.

[Bicem]

just keep the stuff that can't easily be replaced.

[FUBAR]

Would you miss your cards or your wife more??

Women don't get it... Mine has no problem spending $1800 on a damn Chanel purse, or $300 on her 423rd pair of shoes, but cant understand why i would spend $150 on a box of cards.

[ChiefBenderForever]

I just sold a bunch of cards I said I would never sell, including my Gehrigs and Mantles. It sucks but that's how it goes. I would sell the whole Aaron run, or just keep a couple you like the best. I couldn't part with my 55 Bowman Mantle but the rest went down like Dominos, once you let one go the rest fall much easier. Best of luck !!

[Kawika]

Originally Posted by yawie99

. . in the grand scheme of things, they're just old pieces of cardboard.

Moderator. Ban this heretic!

[nolemmings]

I vote none of the above. Why sell any? If you need cash, that's one thing, but it sounds like you just need to curb spending. Selling some to fund others is a temporary fix, unless you keep doing it over and over. If you're happy with what you have, focus on spending less or none, if only for awhile.

Personally, I would not jettison the Aarons. I assume you did not just grab the first "8" of each you saw, but instead handpicked what you own. That makes them less easily replaceable. It is also an accomplishment, a definable goal, if that's of any importance to you. Me, I am no huge fan of t206 (pardon the sacrilege), and those white bordered cards you own will not be scarce anytime during your grandchildren's lifetimes. Still, if you find them more attractive than others, keep them.

If you can't stop spending, it is still possible to slow down. Many of us have pet projects or inexpensive cards we chase when we need a fix. When I'm bored and/or poor I look for '66 Topps Rub-offs at $10-20 a pop, just to keep the juices flowing. Other esoteric or niche items may start to look appealing. There are many ways to enjoy this hobby without dropping tons of cash. No need to do anything rash

[steve B]

Maybe just take a brief break, maybe a week or two, and use the time to figure out what you want the collecion to be and what you can actually afford it to be. Maybe that leads you to pick certain cards to go for, and to set aside the money for them, or maybe you decide to sell some. Or maybe you figure that maybe some cards that aren't so fantastic have something going for them too.

I've been an opportunistic sort of collector for a long time, and as a result the collection has some nice stuff, and some pointless stuff. When I started collecting racing bikes (Ok now! they're "game used" sports items, so it's ok)
I concentrated on one particular area. And since they're not often cheap, my wife and I usually discuss new additions to the collection. How cool is it really? How does it fit in with the others? How much do I think it will sell for and would I be happy paying that? I've been convinced to pass on some interesting ones, that were just a bit more than I'd pay based on my interest, and been surprised at getting the green light to bid big on a few others.
We only do this for big stuff, the little stuff is just fine to buy, but the same thought process has become a habit.

Steve B

[BCauley]

I kind of hit a similar scenario a few months back. I have a LOT of cards, mostly modern, that I just don't care for anymore. The cards I have that I care about are my vintage, both pre/post war. So, in order to fund the vintage, I've been selling off my modern stuff. Though I will keep modern RC's and a couple that I just like, everything else is going.

I look at it as one huge trade. I sell off all the stuff, the $$ accumulates in the Paypal, and then I purchase the vintage I want.

I'm not a big $$ spender but will splurge once in awhile with "splurge" being a relative term. The three cards I wanted to obtain during 2010 were 1) '53 Bowman Color Reese, 2) T206 Walter Johnson Portrait, and 3) 1938 Goudey Heads Up Bob Feller. I've got the Reese and am looking to target the Johnson next. The Feller I still want but my interest is waning slightly on that one.

Aside from those three, I am now picking a player for post war and collect his "run" of cards. I always liked Tony Conigliaro so I did his Topps run. I'm just about done with my Bob Gibson Topps run and have started a Reese Bowman run. It's cards/players I like and the groups are small enough that they hold my interest. I would love to work on sets but I just don't have the patience to do it.

I don't really know where I was going with this other than just go after cards that will mean something to you and you'll enjoy. It's what makes the hobby world keep spinning.