Chasing the wind..

[Jantz]

Depends on the set and costs of shipping individual cards.

If I'm building a modern set I would rather buy in bulk at a show than piece out each card and pay $3 shipping per card for 10 cards or more.

Trading cuts down on the costs if I find another collector working on the same set.

Of course the same can be said for a vintage set I'm building. I usually buy heavy at the National than buy individually on the internet. Cuts down on "lost package percentage" as well.

I like the thrill of the chase, but it all depends on the set itself.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

I build sets as a dealer. How, you might ask, is it possible to make a profit? I buy thousands of cards in lots and assemble sets from them I don't even look at individual cards until I'm at LEAST 90% done. If I buy a lot of 5,000 1975 Topps that's easily the base for 6 sets but I might get the lot for $200. Maybe I'll buy a lot of 70's rookies. Maybe 100 mixed rookies for a few hundred. Out of that I may get 2 or 3 or more Bretts, Younts, Rice, Carter etc... Also I try and do EX or better sets, so I can sell of all the lower end singles in bulk lots of my own.

I have actually put together sets virtually for free when you take into account cards I've sold from lots that I didn't need for sets. Time is the real cost for me, not money.

[savedfrommyspokes]

Originally Posted by Aquarian Sports Cards

I build sets as a dealer. How, you might ask, is it possible to make a profit? I buy thousands of cards in lots and assemble sets from them I don't even look at individual cards until I'm at LEAST 90% done. If I buy a lot of 5,000 1975 Topps that's easily the base for 6 sets but I might get the lot for $200. Maybe I'll buy a lot of 70's rookies. Maybe 100 mixed rookies for a few hundred. Out of that I may get 2 or 3 or more Bretts, Younts, Rice, Carter etc... Also I try and do EX or better sets, so I can sell of all the lower end singles in bulk lots of my own.

I have actually put together sets virtually for free when you take into account cards I've sold from lots that I didn't need for sets. Time is the real cost for me, not money.

I have built almost my entire collection on this exact premise.....like many, when I get down to needing just a few cards to finish a set, I do tend to purchase those cards individually(and regretfully pay $3+ for s/h for each). For me it is about the chase also, I just prefer the chase to be realized by going through bulk lots I recently purchased (and will later resell for a small profit) versus paying s/h on each card that I add to my collection. If I took the route of buying each card individually (and paying s/h on each card), I would be lucky if my collection would be 10% of its current size.