Collecting: The Journey or the Destination

[ullmandds]

a little of each for me...but once a card is obtained...I like looking at a scan of the image on my screen more than the card itself usually!

[orly57]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

a little of each for me...but once a card is obtained...I like looking at a scan of the image on my screen more than the card itself usually!

Pete, you have just made me feel a little less crazy. I feel the same way. It is easier than opening the safe, getting out the cards, etc.. And you can zoom-in too!

[T206Collector]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

a little of each for me...but once a card is obtained...I like looking at a scan of the image on my screen more than the card itself usually!

Originally Posted by orly57

Pete, you have just made me feel a little less crazy. I feel the same way. It is easier than opening the safe, getting out the cards, etc.. And you can zoom-in too!

Same here, guys. People always ask me how I can enjoy my cards when I keep them in a safe deposit box at the bank. Then I take out my iPad, show them my killer scans, and zoom in on the dot-matrix faces. Man, it's nice to slide through a gallery of pre-war cards on my train ride to work!

As far as the initial question, the hunt is great -- moreso than ownership usually, but sometimes the ownership is identity-driving. Some pieces complete me!

[doug.goodman]

It's all about the hunt.

[Rich Falvo]

I've purged almost everything except my run of Topps sets back to 1976. I doubt I'll go back any further, but I still buy the new set each year. We don't have many dealers or shows around here, so I've become very narrowly focused on a few T206 cards that I want. The hunt is fun, but it needs to lead to a success at least occasionally.

[brian1961]

The thrill of the hunt is fine, good, and dandy. However, if you don't reach your destination, where is the thrill? What good was all that time in pursuing the cards and coins you really wanted, if you came up empty?

Aside from my childhood, when I collected the penny ante gum cards, I have not pursued large Topps sets. I gravitated to players I really wanted, or small sets that had eye appeal, a fascinating background story, and a promotion that made the cards challenging to collect even in the year they were issued. I realize this mode of collecting is not done that much today. Collecting cards has morphed into concentrating on 1-3 sets due to the sheer expense of collecting them. The value of the cards has made getting them more futile as the years go by.

My own cherished memories are when I came upon something I really wanted, and often did not expect to find, or even did not know existed, and seized that moment, and bought the card or coin, or won it in an auction. Though I did not internalize each occasion as "a chance of a lifetime", in the ensuing years I have come to the understanding those moments were THE opportunity for me to get that particular item.

We all have missed chances, and some can be very discouraging or irritating, and not easily shrugged off, but hopefully in the long run our prized pieces have a conversation story that at least makes us very happy.

God has been very good to me, and graciously helped me get some dream pieces, even before I was aware of His help. This concept is where I believe the late Bruce Dorskind was coming from when he habitually referred to his collecting efforts as "we". Hence, he and Almighty God were a collecting dynamo, but all of us would only know the tandem as "we". It was almost as if God's help was Bruce's exclusive relationship. Soon it got extremely annoying to many on the boards, but he never would explain his use of the first person plural pronoun. I believe what was actually getting under everyone's skin was his intense arrogance and equally intense rude, crude, and insulting remarks to everyone else. It was all about Bruce, and everybody else can eat hog manure. I may be wrong about the explanation of Bruce's use of "we", but I doubt it.

One thing is for sure, God is by no means exclusive. He wants to reach out to any and all of us, if we would let Him into our heart. The choice is up to us. However, this forum is not a platform for theology and evangelism, and I shall stop now.

Suffice to say, our prized pieces almost always have a great sea story of how we came to own them. The journey is part of the juice of the destination, and its aftertaste continually pleases our collecting palate. So, ultimately, the answer is both are very important, with the primary emphasis going to the destination.

Good topic. ---Brian Powell

[Jobu]

I like both. I am addicted to the hunt and get a lot of enjoyment from it. I also like the stuff I have, but the heart pounding and goofy grins that come with finding something awesome are not there when I look through my collection. With that said, I still do have a lot of fun looking through my cards and I might enjoy my collection most when I get to share it with others - either in person or on Net54.

[clydepepper]

The journey for sure!

I spent years and many bucks completing Topps sets 1954-1980, but only held on to that entirety for less than a year.

The 1954-56 sets remain with me, however, to represent that destination.

Meanwhile, my 'monster number' got to 100 before my interest in that goal waned and I sold back to a 'harder' but lower number.

There are no more Sandy Koufax cards needed and the two earliest Mantles are forever outside my range.


What's an addict to do?

Well...since the new year, I have been picking up HOFers and other notables in the 1957-69 sets.

I am also about to purchase an insurance policy on the major portion of my remaining graded cards.

These sellers are just as willing to sell to me as the Burger King less than a block from home.

[Leon]

Well said. I have to say after selling off my first collection it has been a lot more relaxing on the second one. And I am still having a ton of fun. Now if I could find the perfect T205 Cobby I would be all set.....till the next card I need.

And Brian Powell- It is usually thought of Bruce's use of the word "we" as in an old English vocabulary type thingy... Personally I doubt it was God he was referring to when using the term "we".

Originally Posted by Jobu

I like both. I am addicted to the hunt and get a lot of enjoyment from it. I also like the stuff I have, but the heart pounding and goofy grins that come with finding something awesome are not there when I look through my collection. With that said, I still do have a lot of fun looking through my cards and I might enjoy my collection most when I get to share it with others - either in person or on Net54.