Modern day collectors, question on SPs and SSPs

[AGuinness]

With the release of 2019 Topps Series 1, I'm seeing them hit eBay and am noting the SPs and SSPs. I put together a Topps team set for the Red Sox every year, and once again I'm questioning whether or not to include SPs and SSPs.
One one hand, the base team set is just too easy, as anybody with $10 or less can put one together. I like adding a little challenge to the endeavor.
On the other hand, and especially in recent years, some of the SSPs are selling for a couple hundred dollars each, when they hit the market. With a few each year, I can't help but think of the nice vintage cards I could be looking for instead of tracking down SSPs.
It looks like there's at least four SSPs for the Red Sox just in the 2019 Series 1, and while some of the prices might drop over the coming months, it makes me question how to proceed.
Anybody else in the same or similar boat? What did you decide?

[Jim65]

I collect Topps Heritage Mets and I feel like the team set includes eveything except Relics and autographs.

I usually buy the SP and SSP cards in a year or 2 after the prices come down.

[AGuinness]

Originally Posted by Jim65

I usually buy the SP and SSP cards in a year or 2 after the prices come down.

I like to wait, too, for the price drops, although I'm still on the hunt for a couple of SSPs from the 2016 Topps Update set that still sell for hundreds when they are available (which is almost never). Has me re-thinking some of the waiting part, which is why I took an early look at Series 1 from this year.
And this year's SSPs annoy me, in part because the Red Sox have a bunch: 4 out of the known 24 at the moment, just behind the Yankees, coming in with 5 (I would think that Topps would want to spread the wealth a little) - and that's just for Series 1, who knows how many the total for the year will be. Also, I'm not a fan of an SSP for a card that doesn't share the same team as the player on the base card (card #344 is Max Scherzer, SSP is Pedro Martinez). And while many times the SSP image variation is a pretty nice shot, sometimes it can be pretty lame (the Boggs this year) or even completely lazy on the part of Topps - the Pedro SSP this year is the exact same image as an SP from last year's set.

[swarmee]

Did you buy all 10(?) SSP versions of the 2017 Topps David Ortiz card?

https://www.comc.com/Cards/Baseball/...r,+350,ot,i100

I would have thought that would make you quit. I think the SSPs are reasonable enough that if you are only buying one team per year, it's affordable (notwithstanding when they do the Ortiz thing).
Maybe not if you throw in Heritage Throwback SSPs because those are nuts, especially right after release.

But it's your money and your collection, you get to choose what you want to collect.

[frankhardy]

I have 21 albums full of Cardinals Team sets from 1948 to present. I get all SPs and SSPs. I recommend waiting a little bit on the SSPs, but not too long. I wait about a month. If you wait a year, they have a tendency to dry up. Topps started doing variations in 2009. Try finding some of those older ones. If you wait about a month they always come down a little.

[Jim65]

You have to draw the line somewhere, with the 1/1s, a true master team set is impossible.