How focused are you in your set collecting?

[pokerplyr80]

I was able to focus and complete a Mantle run. I was not able to complete 52 topps or 41 play ball, despite the latter only consisting of 72 cards. It's difficult for me to stay focused on a specific set when there are so many great cards out there I want.

[sedin26]

I'm a set collector whose main focus is usually a single set....1958 Topps baseball at the moment. However, to make sure I don't get bored with it I tend to take on smaller projects as well. Just finished the 1974-75 OPC WHA hockey set at 66 cards. A nice break from 58 Topps but now I'll return my focus there.

[ALR-bishop]

Sedin-- why 1958 ?

Al

[sedin26]

Originally Posted by ALR-bishop

Sedin-- why 1958 ?

Al

I seem to like cards with the bold, bright backgrounds. My favourite set of all time is 1964-65 Topps hockey, which has similar brightly coloured backgrounds. Having said that, I can also appreciate lots of other designs and might make a simple, clean set like 1953 Bowman my next project.

There's not much I actively dislike except for wood grain borders.

[geosluggo]

It's fun to read this thread and see how other people go about collecting. I'm definitely a set builder. As a kid I completed every Topps set going back to 1968 and had maybe a couple hundred cards each year going back through 1957. (In the pre-Internet days of the late 1970s I'd go to card shows with sheets of notebook paper listing the cards I needed for each year; sometimes I'd buy from Kit Young or others who advertised in Sporting News and other publications.) When I resumed collecting about 10 years ago I started by completing 1967, which took me several months. I've finished about one set a year; 1960-66, also 1956 and 1957. Now I'm contemplating 1958 and 1959. I haven't decided which to go after; I definitely prefer choosing one year at a time and being laser-focused. I try to get cards in decent condition but I'm not a fanatic and rarely buy graded cards.

[geosluggo]

Originally Posted by sedin26

There's not much I actively dislike except for wood grain borders.

I always hated the 1962 Topps wood-grain design, but I came to have a grudging appreciation for it when I finally completed my 1962 set a year or so ago.

If you like bright colors, the 1963 Topps set is nice.

[ALR-bishop]

George-- you are building quite an impressive run

Sending-- if given a choice between wood grain borders or color TVs, which do you pick ?

[sedin26]

Originally Posted by ALR-bishop

George-- you are building quite an impressive run

Sending-- if given a choice between wood grain borders or color TVs, which do you pick ?

I guess I'd have to pick the TV designs, though they seem to always have wood grain borders don't they! ;-)

[Section103]

100% effective.

My "sets" are essentially player collections in which there is an over-arching theme to those players. From time to time, Ive branched out like completing a Red Man Giants run - but even that run is complete. Ultimately, if I stray out, I stray into an additional set that Im building. Everything is within a specific goal.

While there are upsides to this approach (size, budget), it may illustrate some character issues as well.

[tombocombo]

A good ways into a signed set 301/407 of 1952 Topps. Collect basically any 1952 Topps sets, including salesman samples.