Post your Experience - Built a set, sold it, trying to rebuild

[T_Hamilton]

Just wanted to see if anyone else has been in this boat and has any tips, thoughts, experiences to share.

I spent a few years building a very nice 1941 Play Ball set, which at one time got up to #12 on the set Registry... I sold it to fund playing in Kevin Durant's fantasy camp. Now I miss the set and think I want to rebuild it...

Have you been in this boat? any lessons learned? did you still enjoy building it a second time?

Thanks!

[Snapolit1]

Wow. . .that seems like a lot of work. If I built a set and sold it I'm not sure I could look back and start it again.

Good luck.

[whitehse]

I been in the place where I have built a 1973 Topps baseball set as it was the first set I collected as a kid but decided after I was done that I no longer wanted it and used the funds to move onto my next challenge. It was only after doing some serious reminiscing that I realized how much that 1973 set meant to me and decided to assemble it once again. So here I am working on this set for the third time in my life and enjoying the thrill of the hunt once again.

I have also built a 1955 Bowman set due to the fact that it held a sentimental meaning to me for a crazy reason. I had a classmate in third grade give me a shopping bag full of cards that were her grandfathers (or her fathers....time has taken that part of this memory away from me) and I was so excited I could not stop looking at them even though class had started. I was in a strict Lutheran school at the time and old Mrs. Bickle took the cards away from me and I never saw them again. In that shopping bag was mainly 1955 Bowman cards so I always wanted to complete that set to remove the "what if" from my mind. I assembled 95% of the set with most of the big cards and realized whatever anger I held at my teacher was now gone and I no longer wonder "what if" as I had actually owned these cards. I have since sold off the partial set and have not looked back.

For me at least, the reasoning for needing to rebuild the set after selling it off previously was mostly for sentimental reasons. I have no tips or thoughts to provide other than to say you need to follow your heart and do what you feel is best for you. That is what makes this hobby great.

[T_Hamilton]

Originally Posted by whitehse

I been in the place where I have built a 1973 Topps baseball set as it was the first set I collected as a kid but decided after I was done that I no longer wanted it and used the funds to move onto my next challenge. It was only after doing some serious reminiscing that I realized how much that 1973 set meant to me and decided to assemble it once again. So here I am working on this set for the third time in my life and enjoying the thrill of the hunt once again.

I have also built a 1955 Bowman set due to the fact that it held a sentimental meaning to me for a crazy reason. I had a classmate in third grade give me a shopping bag full of cards that were her grandfathers (or her fathers....time has taken that part of this memory away from me) and I was so excited I could not stop looking at them even though class had started. I was in a strict Lutheran school at the time and old Mrs. Bickle took the cards away from me and I never saw them again. In that shopping bag was mainly 1955 Bowman cards so I always wanted to complete that set to remove the "what if" from my mind. I assembled 95% of the set with most of the big cards and realized whatever anger I held at my teacher was now gone and I no longer wonder "what if" as I had actually owned these cards. I have since sold off the partial set and have not looked back.

For me at least, the reasoning for needing to rebuild the set after selling it off previously was mostly for sentimental reasons. I have no tips or thoughts to provide other than to say you need to follow your heart and do what you feel is best for you. That is what makes this hobby great.

Great advice, thank you for giving me hope...

[conor912]

I think it's important to really think about what you miss. Is it owning the set, or building it. As with anything in life you do for a second time, it would be tragic not to apply what you learned the first time around. Assuming you go at it with the same gusto, you already know exactly what it will cost you in time and money. Is going through that again where the fun lies for you, or does it seem tedious? If the latter then maybe just buy a complete set, upgrade a few, and call it good.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by conor912

I think it's important to really think about what you miss. Is it owning the set, or building it. As with anything in life you do for a second time, it would be tragic not to apply what you learned the first time around. Assuming you go at it with the same gusto, you already know exactly what it will cost you in time and money. Is going through that again where the fun lies for you, or does it seem tedious? If the latter then maybe just buy a complete set, upgrade a few, and call it good.

Good synopsis. For a lot of us the hunting is a lot, or most, of the fun. Once I sold my type card collection I wanted to still collect. So what did I do, start a T205 set sprinkled in with type cards. My guess is that over time the type cards win out.

[Huck]

Originally Posted by whitehse

I been in the place where I have built a 1973 Topps baseball set as it was the first set I collected as a kid but decided after I was done that I no longer wanted it and used the funds to move onto my next challenge. It was only after doing some serious reminiscing that I realized how much that 1973 set meant to me and decided to assemble it once again. So here I am working on this set for the third time in my life and enjoying the thrill of the hunt once again.

Different angle. I do understand the childhood nostalgia. I grew up in Hawaii and 1972 was my big year for baseball cards. I never finished the set. I often wonder was it because (a) my interest had waned and I had moved on to football or (b) the third, fourth and fifth series never made to Hawaii (I have a ton of first and second series cards). In the early '80s the failure of not completing the '72 set, brought me back to the hobby. An added bonus was my Mom never tossed out my cards. I often contemplate finishing the '72 set, but at close to 800 cards and where I am at collecting wise, I don't see it happening. Over the past few years, I have tried to concentrate more on quality as opposed to quantity of cards. Also, I don't know how I would display the entire set.

Variations and high numbers and cost aside; with the internet how hard is it to
complete a standard widely available set? To me, searching ebay is not akin to ripping open wax packs.

[conor912]

Originally Posted by biohazard

Different angle. I do understand the childhood nostalgia. I grew up in Hawaii and 1972 was my big year for baseball cards. I never finished the set. I often wonder was it because (a) my interest had waned and I had moved on to football or (b) the third, fourth and fifth series never made to Hawaii (I have a ton of first and second series cards). In the early '80s the failure of not completing the '72 set, brought me back to the hobby. An added bonus was my Mom never tossed out my cards. I often contemplate finishing the '72 set, but at close to 800 cards and where I am at collecting wise, I don't see it happening. Over the past few years, I have tried to concentrate more on quality as opposed to quantity of cards. Also, I don't know how I would display the entire set.

Variations and high numbers and cost aside; with the internet how hard is it to
complete a standard widely available set? To me, searching ebay is not akin to ripping open wax packs.

Years back I went for a '52-present Topps run. Of all the things to break my spirit, it was the '72 high numbers

[bounce]

I probably have a good story to tell, but still need ONE card to finish my 1956 set. I'll save the story for completion of the set, but in the meantime...

Collecting interests change over time, but if you keep coming back to the same set/cards then those are obviously the ones for you. 1956 Topps is one of those for me.

My advice is this:
1 - Be patient. If you're still coming back again, you're obviously in it for the long haul.
2 - Be disciplined. Don't overspend just because of opportunity, because there will always be another opportunity to acquire the card(s).
3 - Be picky. Don't settle for something you know you won't like, regardless of price. You'll just end up replacing it later.
4 - Enjoy the process. The "goal" is obviously completion, but it is the hunt that's probably the most fun part. That and the people you find that help you out along the way.

I've been working on this set for probably 5+ years now, and I've been one card short for a number of months now. I missed one a few weeks ago, but I'm sure another will come up soon. I'm really looking forward to going through them all again when I find it. Who knows what happens after that, but I could definitely see myself building this set again.

[Huck]

Originally Posted by conor912

Years back I went for a '52-present Topps run. Of all the things to break my spirit, it was the '72 high numbers

Yes, the '72 high numbers can be difficult. After re-entering the hobby and completing the '81 Topps set, I had the same dream of completing earlier sets. The explosion of cards in the late eighties, soured me on set collecting.