What to do with 80's and 90's cards?

[David W]

I gave thousands away back about 20 years or so ago to kids in church groups, clubs, etc....

I still have a bunch of monster boxes, shoeboxes, etc.....

This summer I put 2 monster boxes (5-6000 cards) in our garage sale and got $20.

Hard to believe it could be done but someone bought them for his neighbor "Who collects cards and I know he'll think this is a good deal".

I wonder if the neighbors are still talking to each other.

[Centauri]

I collected heavily from 86-93, and still have most of that stuff. And still love it!

I found what to do! I posted this on one of the other forums:

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=197450

since that post, I have been building a group to do 2 more in my office. I have picked up some sweet cards like a 90 Leaf Thomas, 92 Bowman Piazza, 84 Donruss Mattingly etc. that were way out of my price range as a youth. Now I pay pennies on the dollar for stuff I still like.

Note: some cards still get good action on eBay - 93 Finest refractors, Jeter, 89 Griffey UD.

[bnorth]

Been going through 90 Donruss today pulling error cards/Star players to help get rid of junk I did not want. Well a few minutes ago for some reason I turned over a Dave Stieb card and went "glad I did not throw that in the garbage can" as it is a Aqueous Test card. Then I realised hay where is my Jeff Treadway Aqueous card. Well lets just say I helped make them more rare because I am sure it went into the garbage with the junk commons I do not want to store any longer.

No way I am going to go back through 6-7000 cards just to find it either.

[Mountaineer1999]

I had never heard of Aqueous Test Cards, so I went thru my Donruss 1990 and needless to say I have none.

[ALR-bishop]

I do not fit into any one category. I have collected all the Topps sets starting in 1948 and then 1951 forward to 2014....so far. For Fleer 1923 and 1959 to 2007. For Topps I also collected all test and insert sets up to 1994.

I have bought Fleer sets to 2007 and still buy the basic Topps sets and any update. Most of my post 1994 Topps set are still in boxes. But I actively collect the Heritage sets and do put them in binders.

I can never bring myself to throw cards away, no matter what their condition or worth. I give them away, even if it is likely the recipient may throw them away

I do not really get the part about being smart enough not to collect modern cards. Obviously if making money on the cards one buys is the goal, new cards should not be in your collecting parameter. But if you are a just hobby collector, monetary value is not a factor. For me it is fun to keep the run going and keep up with the new stuff, even though I do not collect beyond the basic sets. The hobby did not stop during the war or in 1981

Collect what you like, invest as you like

[Leon]

Originally Posted by ALR-bishop

....

I do not really get the part about being smart enough not to collect modern cards. Obviously if making money on the cards one buys is the goal, new cards should not be in your collecting parameter. But if you are a just hobby collector, monetary value is not a factor. For me it is fun to keep the run going and keep up with the new stuff, even though I do not collect beyond the basic sets. The hobby did not stop during the war or in 1981

Collect what you like, invest as you like

I voted smart enough because I only collected as a kid until the early '70s.....then got back into it in about '96-'97, so I skipped over it. I wasn't smart I just didn't collect in that time frame.

[bcbgcbrcb]

So you lucked out, Leon..........

[Mountaineer1999]

Originally Posted by ALR-bishop

I do not really get the part about being smart enough not to collect modern cards. Obviously if making money on the cards one buys is the goal, new cards should not be in your collecting parameter. But if you are a just hobby collector, monetary value is not a factor. For me it is fun to keep the run going and keep up with the new stuff, even though I do not collect beyond the basic sets. The hobby did not stop during the war or in 1981

Collect what you like, invest as you like

It wasn't an investment for me in the late 80's early 90s... I loved the cards. However, the cards became very expensive and I ended up spending a good deal of money. If I would have known they would be worthless later in life I wouldn't have bought so much at those dollar amounts. An earlier post mentioned their Frank Thomas collection going from high dollars to .75 each! That is a hard hit to take. I guess if I would have known the cards would be worthless in the future my approach would have been vastly different.
Today I am putting together some T206's... I love the cards and want the collection but if I believed they were going to be $1 each in the future I would not be a buyer regardless of how much I loved them.