Set collectors: which school of thought do you subscribe to?

[oldjudge]

John-those cards are amazing. They almost make a non-T206 collector like myself consider collecting the set, almost. In terms of answering the OP's question, I agree with Rick. I have collected the Old Judge set for over 20 years and the only strategy I have had has been--if I need it and can afford it I buy it. In a set with truly rare cards you can't be thinking about getting a high grade copy because a high grade copy may never come to market. You have to be satisfied with what you find and upgrade later if a better copy comes along.

[wonkaticket]

Originally Posted by oldjudge

John-those cards are amazing. They almost make a non-T206 collector like myself consider collecting the set, almost. In terms of answering the OP's question, I agree with Rick. I have collected the Old Judge set for over 20 years and the only strategy I have had has been--if I need it and can afford it I buy it. In a set with truly rare cards you can't be thinking about getting a high grade copy because a high grade copy may never come to market. You have to be satisfied with what you find and upgrade later if a better copy comes along.

Thanks Jay, perhaps now I get a little payback and get you on T206's because you were the guy that got me recently hooked on OJ's! Which btw I'm finding aren't cheap thing to get hooked on.

[stewbacca]

Lots of good info in this thread!!! Been working on the set for 13 months and am sitting at 139. With a limited teacher budget, I decided to go for lower grade(well loved), raw card type set, with the plan to finish as quick as financially possible. I have not gone the AH route yet for bigger lots, but have thought that it could keep the price per card down. Reading that it has worked for others is encouraging.

[Lgarza99]

Bill,
Great question. I'm in the same boat. I just joined here in July and love all this great info and discussion found on this sight, and to see all the great cards fellow members have is a plus! I'm currently at 51 and I have asked myself this same question.

I've tried to stay with PSA 3-4 with the HOFers at 4 as financially possible. I've got 10 HOFers. I was going to build my set with a rare back run in twined into it but that makes it to expensive and pulls down set GPA. So what I'm trying to do to not consider backs for my set is to do the back run in SGC holders. Cards in SGC holders look great!

I have a bought a few 2's but they have great color and centering! But this is usually to get a fix!

I have found myself bidding on HOFers and tougher cards lately unless the common is at a very fair price. Tough for me to be patient but when I am I love the rewarding feeling.

Luis

[steve B]

I have a different approach than most people.

I'm more of an opportunist collector than set or player collector.

What I look for is a card that's a good value at the time I'm looking.
My Group of T206s has some nice ones, and a lot of them that are not so good. Currently I look for ones that are ungraded but that I think have a good chance of being a 50. if I can get a good looking card with minimal corner wear for a bit less than a graded 50 that's great.
I also look for cards with something that's interesting to me, like print errors or some small difference. T206 has a lot of these.

I haven't always done things this way, for a time I bought based on quantity. So I'd buy maybe 2-3 cards in G instead of one that was EX. Great for the budget, but not for display. But I still buy low grade cards if they're a good deal.
I've never worried much about uniformity. I like to have some really nice cards, but for some cards that's totally unrealistic. So I'm happy with the Cobbs I have that are P-F, and happy with commons I bought in the 80's that got really good grades. I wouldn't pass up a good deal in my price range just because the card is nicer than the rest, I also wouldn't pass up a good deal on an expensive card because it was a bit more worn.

When you ask about long term value increase - That depends on your idea of long term. If you want to finish the set and sell it in say 2-3 years, stick with graded around a 50/4 and go for HOF players first.
If long term means a few decades, get whatever looks nice to you. (Do backs matter to you? If not there are some very nice looking 10s and 20's with back damage.) I bought my first in I think 1978. 25 cents, HOF and less common back too. Also horrible condition. At the time VG commons were around 1.50 and most HOF players were $10 or less. Prices tended to increase in steps, next was commons at $3, then 9 then 15. I went through periods of denial about the increases. $9 ! that should only be $3-4!
So over a long time even commons won't do so badly, especially nicer ones.

The best approach is to take each individual card and ask
"do I like it"
"Do I like it $X worth"
"Do I like it MORE than another similar card for the same price?"
"Do I like it enough to pay over the current price for the grade?"

If the answer the any of the first three is no, it's not the card to buy.
If the answer to the last question is yes, just buy it and don't worry about price.

I read an article recently about a stamp collection where the collector bought items only if they "spoke to him" - The result is simply spectacular.

I'm guessing John has a similar approach, with similarly spectacular results.

Steve B

[the 'stache]

Great post, Steve. It's all about making sounds decisions, isn't it? You have a system that works for you, and ultimately, I need to take what I'm learning from you and everbody else, and find what works best for me. I want that sharp PSA 4 Ty Cobb green background, but I also don't want to go more than two months between adding a new card to my collection because I'm saving for just one card. Decisions, decisions...

Spending $50 now on a good-very good common that will cost roughly the same three years from now is not the best use of my funds. If I take that money, and put it towards the Eddie Collins I want, knowing full well that he is (in my opinion) an undervalued Hall of Famer with a lot of upside potential from a collectible standpoint, in essence I will be spending less to "check him off" the list. Spend $200 now, or spend $300 two years from now. The monster is tough enough to defeat, and throwing money away just adds to the difficulty level. Based on what you guys are saying, it's about intelligently picking and choosing my battles.

Here's an example of a common with great eye appeal that didn't break the bank. To be honest, it's one of my favorite cards thus far, and at the end of the day, we all collect because we enjoy what we buy, so it was money well spent (thank you, again, David!) While it's certainly not on the level of John's cards aesthetically speaking, I am quite happy with the overall look of the card.



From a technical standpoint, the card deserves a 2 grade because there is a very slight, almost imperceptible amount of paper loss on the back (in the 'A' of Caporal). And by PSA's grading standards, paper loss automatically = a specific grade. But I think this little card, which has survived God knows where for a century, is beautiful. I look at it, and ask myself if I will upgrade this anytime soon, and honestly, I can't see myself doing it until I'm done with the Hall of Famers, and Southern Leaguers, and working on commons. I am perfectly content with this card. The registration is spot on. The color is beautiful. The centering is awesome, and the corners overall are actually quite nice. I'd wager that this card would have superior eye appeal to similar cards in a PSA 3 to 4 range. So, therein lies the conundrum that really shouldn't be. I am buying for my own enjoyment, right? So in this case, why do I need to pay more for a card with a higher grade because somebody I've never met thinks a spot of paper loss makes my example somehow inferior?

[steve B]

Sounds like you're well on your way.

That Rucker has really nice color for that card too. Even with a 50 you might not find one that looks that nice.

There are plenty of commons in solid VG for under $50, but buying the HOFers does make sense.

A lot of what I buy lately is nice but not graded, I wait till a good special and then send in a few. Most of them are VG-VGEX, but I've had a few that have been a lot nicer. It's a good day when the common that was $40 comes back an 80

Steve B

[jlehma13]

I am up to approximately 240 t206's at the moment. I decided my version of the set will include one card of each player, less the two big guys. No worrying about breaking the bank, finding out that a card has been trimmed, or how they would grade. Just well-loved, written on, beat up cards for me.