T206 - Monster Advice

[Cmount76]

I cannot thank everyone enough for all of your advice. I have been collecting for many years and have finished everything I set out for and always wanted to tackle this set (the challenge), but knew I didn't know enough to get going. I am taking it all in and will certainly begin this beast as soon as I polish off a few others and get all of my ducks (and cash) in a row.

To those of you who offered future advice, I will reach out when the situation arises.

I look forward to joining all of those great threads about "my monster number" -

'Stache - I have already been working on the backs for some time now and think I am going to deal mostly with the fronts for this. I'll be in touch!

Thanks to all!!!

[wolf441]

Great advice by Bill, as usual! You'll find some great folks on this site that are willing to help.

My advice would be to take in everything that the forum members have said, research the T206 threads (some great stuff in the archives as well as the more recent threads) and then jump and a start your set. You'll probably change direction several times as you go (when I started, I didn't care about particular grading companies vs. raw before I finally settled on either SGC graded or raw - I like the way that SGC display in a wall mount and I also like to be able to flip through an album of 15 card sheets, organized by team).

There's a great excel spreadsheet on t206resource.com. Under the Checklists tab, it's down in the bottom right corner - Bill Brown's Superset checklist. I used this as I tackled the monster, highlighting each card by row in yellow and the back cell in green. It was kind of fun to watch it get filled in as I progressed.

Best of luck!

Steve

[T206.org]

Good luck if you dive in, Cmount76! You're certainly in the right place. I say pick up your first common, even if it's a beater, and once you have it in your hands you'll appreciate them even more. Even the smell is an experience.

[Mountaineer1999]

I got started on this thing about 3 months ago and have about 75 cards. Most of what i have bought are eBay sales that I thought were good deals. Most cards are PSA 1 to 4 (63) with a few raw (12) because I wanted to compare and hold the raw card. I prefer the raw cards but also like tracking my progress with PSA. I've started mainly with commons and low grade HOF to keep the cost down and build up inventory. I assume I'll have a bit more available cash later in life and can worry about the expensive cards then. Good luck and keep us posted.

[freakhappy]

All good advice here and I don't believe I have too much to add, but will just let you know what I have learned in the three plus years that I've been tackling the Monster.

The very best thing you can do at first is learn the basics about the set, which means the backs, differentiating the value between commons, HOFers, SLers, tough variations (tough commons, horizontals, freaks, etc.,), and different grade pricing. I'm sure there are a few others to research, but this is most of the basic that you will need to know about before jumping on the Monster's back

When I first started the set, I didn't know much at all about it and just jumped right in and luckily I didn't get burned or anything of the sort. After a short while you will learn what you prefer and things will start to go in different directions....like if you want to collect certain backs, team sets or just certain conditions. The beauty of it is that it's up to you...no one tells you what and how to collect but yourself

If you are like me, you cannot simply jump in and buy huge lots of T206's to jump start your set and spend 1-2k or more doing so. If you can, that's great, but most people aren't so lucky. I've just pieced my set together over three and a half years and I'm close to the 200 mark. I'm hoping to add around 40 a year, but I don't pressure myself to do so for reasons that Bill Gregory has already mentioned. Make this journey fun and enjoyable, not like a job that forces you to have deadlines and such.

Quite often the journey is the fun part of collecting, not the end point. Can't tell you how many people zipped through sets just so they could finish and then they turn around and sell them...what's the point of that?

Anyway...good luck on your journey!

[BicycleSpokes]

I definitely agree with all the great advice above.

I started collecting T206 cards quite randomly, but have enjoyed it a much more once I started dividing it into fun sub-sets that were more attainable over shorter terms. Going "Full Monster" is just too daunting for me, though I will eventually piece my way there!

Regarding books, you may already have found it, but Scot Reader's Inside T206 is free and excellent:
http://www.oldcardboard.com/t/t206/i...al-edition.pdf

Also, "The T206 Collection: The Players and Their Stories" is a nice coffee table book focused on short player bios by Tom and Ellan Zappala. (My only complaint is on the choice to use reprints for the card images within, rather than true T206s; Did anybody else have a problem with that??).

Best,
David

[Luke]

I started the set about 5 years ago, and today I am collecting it in a much different way than I had anticipated when I started it. I had planned to start with the HOFers, and then do commons and SLers, and finish at 520 cards. I got pretty close on the HOFers, and then realized that collecting a ton of commons really didn't appeal to me. I was bidding on a Jeff Sweeney with a common back, and just realized I didn't really want it very much. I ended up starting a few other sets that I plan to finish, while still collecting t206s on the side.

As of now, I don't think I'll ever try to complete the set. Giving up on trying to get them all actually made me love the set more. Now I just go after cards that I really want, which lately, are really nice HOFers, and tough and rare backs.

So, my suggestions would be:
-First of all, ask yourself: "Do I have/want to spend in the future $30,000 on one set of baseball cards?" if so:
-Go in with an open mind, prepared to change course when your preferences change along the way
-Start with bargain hunting for HOFers. They are easy to sell, and if you get them at good prices, you'll have no problem selling them for what you paid if you decide to go in a different direction with your collecting.
-Be prepared for your condition preferences to change as you get further into the set. You may start liking low-grade, and decide you really like nicer conditions, or vice versa.

If you really like the cards (why would you be here if you didn't) you will probably find your own way to collect them. Everyone does it differently, but the most important thing is to enjoy it. Feel free to send me a PM if you have any questions.