How do you decide what to collect?

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by Brian Van Horn

I had always been eclectic in my collecting so as long as I liked it and could afford it, I bought it.

+1 It makes completing a set or player run next to impossible but I have an extremely wide variety of stuff.

[ajquigs]

When I got back into the hobby as an adult I gravitated to the cards I wanted as a teenager (around 1980) but couldn't afford. Aaron RC, Koufax RC, 53 Paige, Jackie Robinson, 55 Dodgers, 50s Willie Mays, Goudey 181 Babe, a HOFer T206 (which ended up being Matty Dark Cap), a Ralph Kiner, cards of all the guys who broke the color barrier starting their MLB careers in the 1940s.

I got these and found a few other things to pursue ... Diamond Stars HOFers (not a set on my radar 35 years ago, but they're pretty affordable and I love them), Mets cards (one inexpensive project was to get all the Topps team picture cards ... 1963 to 2011, no 1969 card but they made up for it with the awesome No-Team-Name-Necessary 1970 card), and a number of cards I really like that aren't especially collectible such as 64 Uecker, 52B Garagiola, 58 & 70 Curt Flood, 55B Jocko Conlon, 40PB Connie Mack, etc.

I display them all and I think they look great. If I'm fortunate I'll have them all until I die.

I've bought very little over the past year and that's fine. I see getting a 1915 CJ Branch Rickey the next time a large purchase is justified, and I'll pick up cards I like from some sets not yet represented in my collection ... T205, 50B, etc. I still have to finish putting my 1973 and 1975 sets in pages (which I acquired as nature intended ... standing outside a candy store saying 'got him, need him, got him, got him.')

I'd love to get the full Jackie run (I have all the Topps) and a Walter Johnson. Maybe someday, maybe not. Either way I enjoy the hobby a lot, especially reading this forum.

[Section103]

It can be a real struggle. Im extremely deliberate in what I collect. If a card isnt part of a set / goal Im collecting; I generally dont acquire it. On top of that, Ive been working on one particular collection for the past 12-15 years and Im down to the very end - I may not add more than one or two cards a year going forward.

Not sure where I'll go next because there are so many things to consider. I cant over-extend myself on my next collection in case one of the tougher finds comes up in my first collection. I also want to start a collection that I can actually finish.

In the end, this is a long winded way of saying Im looking into a new collection centered around either a) some of my favorite historical players or b) all of the players from my favorite team within some of my favorite sets.

But Im looking long and hard before I start on any of them.

[drcy]

I've always liked variety, so would follow the auctions and pick up neat things at fair prices. In cards and memorabilia, there are many quality items that are affordable. High price often doesn't mean something is higher quality, just in higher demand. Further, I was never enamored with high grade, which saved me a lot of useless money.

[kmac32]

I collect E121-80 and E121-120 Giants and Yankees as my great great uncle Elmer Miller is in this group and they surround the 1921 World Series in which he played.

I also collect T205 and T207 Cubs with emphasis on different reverses as I am a die hard Cub fan. Banner year for me as my Cubs finally won another World Series.

My point is collect what you enjoy for whatever reason. You do not have to collect everything. Only what you want.

Kmac

[VoodooChild]

I'd recommend finding something "cheap" to collect when your funds are dry or when cards from your wantlist are not readily available.

For example, my primary focus is pittsburgh pre-war types. However, one of my side projects is where I collect the "Topps All-Star Rookie" cards from 1960-present. You know, the ones with the little trophy icon on them. While some can be expensive, I can pick most of them up for a couple bucks.

[swarmee]

I collect things that are related to things I love:
1909 T51 Murad College Series because I love college sports
Cards and autographs of every Georgia Tech athlete who played in the pro sports leagues (BB, BKB, FB, PGA, WNBA) or luminaries: astronauts, generals, CEOs, etc.
Knights of Columbus cards/postcards/ephemera: they are in the T56 Emblem Series, plus some silk issues
T121 Sweet Caporal WWI war scenes because of the military and US Air Force history

[Enfuego]

I am big on major contributors to the game and being born and raised in NY, I go with the Yankees, since my family are diehard fans.

[Bored5000]

I have posted this on here before, but I love the rare and the esoteric. With baseball cards, that usually means expensive. One of my favorite subjects to collect is auto racing cards. I like collecting racing because there are only a few cards that individually sell for more than $500. Even an extreme rarity like the card shown in my avatar is "only" an $1,100 card. Some of the racing cards on my bucket list are only $200-400 cards, yet finding one is nearly impossible.

[Exhibitman]

It is all about enjoying what you are doing. If they money is an issue, don't do it.

Look at the other forums here. It doesn't have to be prewar baseball HOFers. If you like other sports, lots of great stuff is out there. Ditto for nonsports. While a few marquee cards can get expensive in any field, most cards are a fraction of the cost of equivalent baseball cards.

One alternative for prewar HOFers are the sets issued in the 1950s-1970s. Callahan HOF, Golden Press, Fleer, even 1976 Topps All Time All Stars. Beautiful issues that can represent HOFers in your collection for a very modest price.

If you follow the current game, they still make cards. I had a great time with Topps Now in 2016 and ended up with every Clayton Kershaw card they made last year.

I regularly pick up the cards formerly known as 'shiny crap' when they catch my eye. Hell, I spent a really enjoyable afternoon at the National last year going through large dollar boxes of 1970s cards looking for chase cards that I recall seeing 20 years ago for a lot more.

I like cards from when I was a kid. One of the things I actively search out are 1970s issues. Especially at a show, there is great stuff available in slightly lower condition for a pittance. One dealer at the show last year basically gave me a free stack of 1960s-1970s HOFers when I bought a single graded card from him. Postwar Topps and Bowman, for example, are very reasonably priced if you don't have to have high end slabbed cards.

Buy stuff you like and try to get decent deals so you can sell it if you change your mind. Also you can never go wrong with iconic HOF'ers even in low grade.