How long do you keep a set??

vintagebaseballcardguy · #1 05-04-2017, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leon

As a type set collector it was time to look to something new when I had acquired all but a few of the cards I needed. Plus by the time I paid for our daughter's college, which was always a plan with the cards, it was going to take a good chunk of them so the time was right to just start over. I am a happier collector today by far..Plus some of the first collection has made it back to the second one. And a few other new additions have kept it exciting. The hunt is always exciting and maybe more so than the long term ownership, for me.

This is turning out to be more difficult than I had thought. It turns out that I might be more greedy than I had thought.

My interests are shifting to prewar, especially the PCL. I am troubled that I am having difficulty wanting to let go of some of my postwar collection. I appreciate your insight and the insight of all who have responded. It really does help me think it through.

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vintagerookies51 · #2 05-04-2017, 12:18 PM

I've never owned a complete set, but I assume the answer is different for everybody. As for me, I like the hunt the most because I collect cards that are hard to find. So if I completed a set I don't think I would keep it for very long

pingman59 · #3 05-05-2017, 10:23 PM

I met a fellow years ago who only collected 1959 Topps Baseball sets one card at a time. When he finished his set, he would sell it and start over again. He said it kept him happy and into collecting and it kept his wife happy because there weren't thousands of BB cards lying around the house.

AGuinness · #4 05-05-2017, 10:58 PM

I can't say that anything I've got holds a candle to what most people on this board have, but in general, I used to be too sentimental with my possessions. It used to be so difficult to part with something I cherished, but it also meant that when I moved a couple times, it was really a bear because I just had too much stuff.

I've learned that selling/parting with things is really part of the process, and it's gotten much easier over the years the more I do it. Now there are the select "heirloom" pieces that I'll hold on to and cherish, but everything else can be dispersed with in due time.

Exhibitman · #5 05-07-2017, 09:55 AM

I only collect a few sets, from my youth, and those in lower grades. The one I've 'finished' so far (1969 basketball) I just keep revising (not upgrading necessarily) to add cards that are visually consistent in place of cards that stick out.

I prefer to start with a base set that mostly meets my acceptable criteria and work from there. That's what I did with the 1969s. I had a handful from my childhood including a Chamberlain, bought a lower grade set at auction, blended it with my existing cards, then targeted about a dozen cards to replace so the whole thing looks similar.

I also like to do subsets. My next project will probably be the 1960-61 all star subsets or the 1961 MVP subset. Plus the 1975 MVP subset.

I also put together every Clayton Kershaw from the 2016 Topps Now issue; I enjoy the modern issues too.

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