Why are you holding onto or collecting ?

[jchcollins]

I would readily admit that cards are my preferred escape from the everyday pressures of reality. In addition to a decades-long interest in baseball, collecting makes me feel like I'm 12 again - surrounded by the love of my parents, and like everything is going to be ok. That has certainly helped out recently in extended times of worldwide pandemic. There are times I get overzealous and too involved and have to check myself, but I feel like at least a good 90% of the time or more, cards do for me what a hobby is supposed to.

[packs]

I'll have to sell my cards when it's time to buy a house and then hope the market crashes so I can buy them all back. Until then I'm happy to sit on them for as long as I can.

[gustomania]

First and foremost because its sooo much fun, but wasnt always that way for me TBH.

I collected as a kid in the mid 80s up to about 1991. Loved it, was cheap and had a huge worthless collection. Then in 2012 picked it up again and it was about value, grading and totally stressed me out.

It took me until about Nov/Dec of 2019 to scale back my approach to something now where I pick up a few cards here and there and focus only on Koufax...............

The silver lining is I now found my nitch where I usually am just enjoying the cards I have and add a few here and there but no stress, just the love of collecting.

I used to think I had to have everything, now I'm content with simply having fun and keeping a modest budget. Actually the budget is so modest I dont even pay attention to it anymore.

So, I now I'm back to having fun and honestly appreciating what I do have rather than what is next and what I need (which was a vicious cycle of not really caring what I already had, hence no enjoyment).

The hardest part of my lessons above was scaling back and selling, because everything I had trouble letting go of. Now I know I did the right thing, its no longer about value or not buying a card because its $5 too high, I simply buy what I want when I want and just enjoy what I have.

My two cents anyway............the hobby for many years was a crutch and found a way to enjoy collecting again.

[egri]

I collect because I enjoy the history of the game, and it's a way for me to connect with players I never saw in person. While I'm glad that the rising prices over the past year mean that my collection is worth several times what I paid for it, I won't complain if a correction means I can pick up the ones I still need at more reasonable prices.

[JollyElm]

Collecting baseball cards is in my blood. There is no other way to explain it. My older brothers got me started, so a lot of it takes me back to the 'good old days,' but if I was ever asked, "Why, specifically, do you collect cards?" I wouldn't have a concrete answer. It is just a part of my DNA. Perhaps one day Ancestry.com will be able to isolate this cardboard gene.

Like everyone else, the crazy upsurge in pricing has (in theory, because I rarely sell anything) benefitted me while also kicking me in the ass. Were I to sell some stuff (which I'm debating), I could make a nice piece of change, but on the flipside, the stupid runaway prices have made it impossible to pick up anything 'new' unless I sold something else (that I don't want to get rid of) to be able to pay for it. This saddens me. And then you gotta throw in the ole "Why sell my Mantles today, when next week they'll be worth twice as much??" scenario.

[todeen]

Originally Posted by jchcollins

I would readily admit that cards are my preferred escape from the everyday pressures of reality. In addition to a decades-long interest in baseball, collecting makes me feel like I'm 12 again - surrounded by the love of my parents, and like everything is going to be ok. That has certainly helped out recently in extended times of worldwide pandemic. There are times I get overzealous and too involved and have to check myself, but I feel like at least a good 90% of the time or more, cards do for me what a hobby is supposed to.

I have recently turned to collecting MiLB Billings Mustangs. They were my hometown team when I was a kid and collecting them for the last 6 months has honestly brought me lots of enjoyment. Brings back good childhood memories. And it's a heck of lot cheaper than modern!

[Bestdj777]

I get the sentiment and rarely, if ever, purchase anything anymore. I’ve even sold some stuff I never thought I would on occasion to help fund other purchases (I.e., a 52 Topps Mantle when we were looking to buy a house). At the end of the day, I really don’t need the money from the collection, I have a good checklist together for my wife if something were to happen to me, and I hold on to them because I still love chatting with people about cards, hope my son will ha e an interest, and am optimistic they’ll hold their value if he never is interested.

[Vegas Cards]

I've been collecting since I was a kid in the late '70s. Loved going to the liquor store and buying a pack of cards, loved trading cards with my friends, loved pulling out all the Dodgers players.

Somewhere along the line my dad gave me his old cards, mostly from the '50s.

Then in the late '80s and '90, I got carried away buying cases, buying sealed complete sets, looking for inserts, premium cards, etc. I just ended up with too much stuff. Filled up closets and bins, took up too much space in the garage. Plus it just got overwhelming with all the different offerings, figuring out what the "true" RC was. And to add insult to injury, most from the wax era was effectively worthless. So I set it all aside.

In 2017 I picked up a large collection from my Uncle and really started thinking about what I wanted to collect. Since then I've been selling some things, adding more, getting cards graded, keeping some and moving the rest.

Really trying to focus on cards I enjoy looking at and that I think will hold their value over time. I've got a great collection of Mantles. I'm working on completing the 1953 and 1955 Topps set. I'll keep at it as long as I'm having fun.

[Casey2296]

Collected as a kid, had a box and a couple of binders of nice cards when I got back in the game. Even as a kid I had centering OCD and a good eye so my base collection was good. Included some biggies, a few CJ's, 51 Mays, 52 Jackie, 53 Mantle, a few others but not much.

Sat down and decided what I want my collection to look like and built a list of 300 cards covering 100 years 1880-1980. I'm a type and image collector so things are pretty straightforward for me, I'm good with 12-15 cards of the year I'm collecting. Each year is different for me. 51 Bowman has to include Mantle and Mays along with Williams, Spahn, Campy, etc but not much else. 53 Topps, Mantle, Robby, Paige, Berra, and about 8 others but not Mays cuz it's an ugly image imo. The 53 set is so beautiful I don't even bother with 52's.

I found selling was a cathartic experience and made me focus on my original list. Sold my 52T PSA 5 Jackie so I could buy a CJ14 Cobb for example. I couldn't have both so I had to decide what I wanted.

Found this place and got hooked on pre-war, decided to chase a E98 master set and an E94 set. God help me. I'll be done someday, my list will be about 500 cards covering 100 years and I'll stop.

I would only say, collect what appeals to you, be passionate about it and challenge yourself in what you collect. Stay focused and have fun. The best thing about this hobby is the people you meet. Good luck and happy collecting!

[Exhibitman]

Well said, John. Except for a brief break from 1981-1988 I've always collected. It is my go-to relaxation activity.

Skyrocketing prices drove me out of mainstream baseball about 20 years ago, so i went whole-hog into boxing cards. I went back to baseball cards sporadically, and I am glad I did given the prices now.

Several years ago I had to go full 'kill-eat' on cards because my daughter wanted to go to medical school and I needed every dime of discretionary income and more to fund it. She did some clinical work as a volunteer in college and decided she's not suited to it, so I am paying for two years of grad school instead of four, and no internship or residency to subsidize either. But I digress. When I lost all discretionary income I had to ask some hard questions about my collecting and one of the things I realized is that my passion for it is not in accumulating slabs with large numbers (and prices), nor is it in set building (I don't want the Joe Shlabotniks), it is having cards of stars in albums like I did when I was a kid. That's where I've focused. I buy lots of cheaper cards to fill out my collection just as I would have when I was ten. VG or NM? Who cares...Just get me the cards.

The COVID run-up has mostly been a selling event for me, getting me out of the slabs I accumulated earlier in favor of lesser grade raw cards I can just enjoy. The money I just hold for the inevitable price crash so i can start buying collections again and turning them out for a profit. My goal is to beat the ROI our financial planner achieves with traditional investments over the next ten years. So there is a money component to it too; has to be in this day and age. But for my personal collection, gimme this in an album over the same thing in a high # PSA slab at 20x the price any day of the week:

Nostalgia and the love of the game. Started collecting as a kid in 1972 and have collected on and off since then. Like some have mentioned also my childhood collection was pretty amazing. I was interested in and bought/was given a lot of vintage cards growing up so I had an opportunity to put together a pretty good collection at a young age. Attached are a few of my childhood cards I acquired. I'll never sell because I just love baseball and collecting baseball cards. I have other hobbies as well and they all stem from my youth.

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

Well said, John. Except for a brief break from 1981-1988 I've always collected. It is my go-to relaxation activity.

Skyrocketing prices drove me out of mainstream baseball about 20 years ago, so i went whole-hog into boxing cards. I went back to baseball cards sporadically, and I am glad I did given the prices now.

Several years ago I had to go full 'kill-eat' on cards because my daughter wanted to go to medical school and I needed every dime of discretionary income and more to fund it. She did some clinical work as a volunteer in college and decided she's not suited to it, so I am paying for two years of grad school instead of four, and no internship or residency to subsidize either. But I digress. When I lost all discretionary income I had to ask some hard questions about my collecting and one of the things I realized is that my passion for it is not in accumulating slabs with large numbers (and prices), nor is it in set building (I don't want the Joe Shlabotniks), it is having cards of stars in albums like I did when I was a kid. That's where I've focused. I buy lots of cheaper cards to fill out my collection just as I would have when I was ten. VG or NM? Who cares...Just get me the cards.

The COVID run-up has mostly been a selling event for me, getting me out of the slabs I accumulated earlier in favor of lesser grade raw cards I can just enjoy. The money I just hold for the inevitable price crash so i can start buying collections again and turning them out for a profit. My goal is to beat the ROI our financial planner achieves with traditional investments over the next ten years. So there is a money component to it too; has to be in this day and age. But for my personal collection, gimme this in an album over the same thing in a high # PSA slab at 20x the price any day of the week:

Expanding on this concept, my notable purchases during the pandemic have been very specific. Rare American boxing type cards, global boxing type cards I needed for my type set, or previously uncatalogued cards of a few athletes I collect.

[jl4jc2001]

Originally Posted by jchcollins

I would readily admit that cards are my preferred escape from the everyday pressures of reality. In addition to a decades-long interest in baseball, collecting makes me feel like I'm 12 again - surrounded by the love of my parents, and like everything is going to be ok. That has certainly helped out recently in extended times of worldwide pandemic. There are times I get overzealous and too involved and have to check myself, but I feel like at least a good 90% of the time or more, cards do for me what a hobby is supposed to.

This! Cards are a diversion from reality some days.

[ALBB]

Wow, some really nice story's and reasons to collect ..very enjoyable reading these

[BillP]

Originally Posted by jl4jc2001

This! Cards are a diversion from reality some days.

I agree with that. I would only sell my extras. My boys are not nearly as engaged as I was/am in this hobby and the crazy prices have me confused as to where this is going as far as selling my collection. I kind of buy on the fringe now. Some FB and hockey that haven't escalated as much.

[G1911]

I will hold forever.

I skipped the rediscovery phase most seem to post about. I started with Batman cards when I was 3 years old in 1994, Football when I was 6, Baseball when I was 9, Tobacco when I was 11, Boxing shortly after that. All my cards were creased or dinged from constantly looking through, reading the backs and endless sorting and resorting. I had to stop buying when real life hit and I went to college and was completely broke and struggling, but my interest never waned. I continued monitoring and researching what I was into. Started spending a little after I got a "real job", and that has scaled with job growth. I'm lucky enough to be able to comfortably spend what I want on the hobby, but I still am drawn to the cards of my childhood and not the expensive stuff. Sharp corners still bear no appeal, and so I happily build in poor-very good range. I don't even 'take care of them' now; most of my cards are kept outside of any sleeves or protection. I used to penny sleeve vintage, but stopped seeing any point in it. If this T card is in Fair grade with a heavy crease and around corners, what is the sleeve for? I find it most pleasant this way, using them as I see intended.

I treat hobby money as beer money, what goes in doesn't come out and is my side fun. I've only just started to sell some of my low-end duplicates to clear space and get them somewhere they will not be collecting dust in a box of dupe junk, but the selling will never extend beyond that. If I have a card, it's because I wanted and bought it with the expectation that this picture is just paper that won't be worth anything and I'm flushing the cash down the drain. Keeps it 100% fun, 0% stress. I have no good answer for why cards are my odd obsession and hobby, but as it has been that way my entire life, I doubt it ever changes and I will sell. Low grade = quantity, my heirs will have one heck of a lot of sorting to do one day (and will probably sell off the tough variations for nothing). Hold forever

[Rickyy]

I have sold off some cards (mostly pre war type cards) due to no longer interested in them and because of the current crazy prices you can get for them... now focusing a lot more on post war stuff. I still have my Topps complete non graded set (70 -79, some 70's cello packs and rack packs) and post war type cards. I kept the tougher pre war type card stuff (Ruth, Cobb etc) because I still like them and also don't want to fork over the money needed now to buy them. It's purely a hobby for me and so I keep what I like until I am no longer interested.

Ricky Y

[mrmopar]

Originally Posted by G1911

I will hold forever.

I treat hobby money as beer money, what goes in doesn't come out and is my side fun.

I like this concept. I kind of felt the same way as I collected, except that would have been an awful lot of beer consumed for the same money. As I sit here now, we are in a good spot financially, so anything that may have gone into my collection is not critical to my survival, which is a great spot to be in.

I have spent enough on cards and stuff that it really makes sense to try to get some of that back if I am done though. Whether that is me selling them or an heir selling them after I am gone. If we ever reach the point where pulling money back out is critical, then it will happen. Until them, I may have a hard time breaking the seal on starting to sell stuff I really like.