"Why are you selling?"

[Snapolit1]

One of the things that pushed me persobnally away from cards a bit is just the never ending sales of more and more. And more and more discoveries. I have a decent looking card I'm happy with, and now there are 15 of them at auction this very minute far superior to mine. I know the answer is be happy with what you have, but the specialness of some of this seems to have waned for me in the never ending auction cycle we now live in. A massive catalog gets dropped on my front steps now once a week. What was special now is just a regular churn. Obviously many people feel differently.

A card is a card is a card. The player never owned it and never touched it. Memorabilia is a different story in many cases.

Originally Posted by 3arod13

For me, when I was collecting cards, it just became too much for me. I wanted to collect everything (with modern cards that's easy to do). It became too expensive, plus I had boxes and boxes of cards that I rarely looked at. That's when I decided to switch from baseball cards to baseball game used memorabilia. There's not a lot of baseball game used memorabilia to choose from, so it's much easier for me to be selective in what I buy, and it helps me keep things under control with my spending. I think I just hit a wall with collecting cards, so it was easy for me to sell them. I didn't have any regrets.

[bnorth]

After 35 or so years in the hobby my wants have changed many many times. I sell the stuff I no longer care about to feed my newest collecting wants.

With the bigger cards I do what I call card renting. Over time I have owned many of the big cards. I just don't have more than a few at a time. I sell one to own another.

I was gifted many vintage(1960s) cards as a little kid. I never got into collecting till my late teens. So I have always sold cards to make new purchases. After those 35 or so years in the hobby I have never spent a single penny out of pocket for any of my collection.

So if you see me selling something it is to buy something else.

[steve B]

I'm nearly the opposite of the OP.

I hardly ever sell anything.

And my collection, while generally cheaper stuff other than some lucky buys is very wide ranging. I suspect some of it is in the "unique but not really desirable" category. Like newspaper ad supplements with sports figures in the ads. Not old, and who saved that stuff from the 80's or 90's?

Now that I'm pretty sure the kids won't want to continue the collection that's changing. Sort of sad and happy all at once.

[SyrNy1960]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

A card is a card is a card. The player never owned it and never touched it. Memorabilia is a different story in many cases.

That is one of the reasons I switched. Collecting cards for more than 30 years was a blast! But with modern cards, it was just becoming too much and too expensive; and I quit long before all of this craziness of today. If these current modern collectors, flippers, or investors think 10 years from now they will get even close to half the amount they are paying today for these high dollar cards...it's not happening.

But even since I stopped collecting cards, I still like looking. Just don't have the desire to pull the trigger for a $75,000 rookie card of a player who is in their 1st or 2nd year and has a lot of potential.

Collecting game used memorabilia is at a much slower pace, but still enjoyable. With cards, I couldn't keep up with what I was buying and what I had in my collection.

I plan to sell all of my stuff before I die; however, I don't know how to determine when that is

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

One of the things that pushed me persobnally away from cards a bit is just the never ending sales of more and more. And more and more discoveries. I have a decent looking card I'm happy with, and now there are 15 of them at auction this very minute far superior to mine. I know the answer is be happy with what you have, but the specialness of some of this seems to have waned for me in the never ending auction cycle we now live in. A massive catalog gets dropped on my front steps now once a week. What was special now is just a regular churn. Obviously many people feel differently.

A card is a card is a card. The player never owned it and never touched it. Memorabilia is a different story in many cases.

For me, I need to collect cards that I don't see every day.

And you only get 1 massive catalog a week? You don't bid in enough auctions, apparently!
.

[LEHR]

At 49 I've been collecting for 40+ years and looking back it seems like once a decade I have a minor/major sell off for one reason or another. This last one has been the biggest and started in 2019/2020 when we decided to build a house, and hasn't really stopped yet. Every month I'm selling more than I'm buying and the more I sell the more I seem to be okay with it.
I'm sure I'll always collect something, but the desire to collect everything and amass rooms full of stuff seems to be long gone.

[jingram058]

I only buy and collect cards and other stuff I like and plan to keep. Occasionally I trade. My wife and daughter know what I have and what to do if I should croak. Pertains mainly to the high-value items that are in the safe deposit box.

[Snapolit1]

[QUOTE=Leon;2314063]For me, I need to collect cards that I don't see every day.

That I totally get.

[Bigdaddy]

I had a friend who replied, when asked if he would sell any of the 'find' of 1950s Topps he uncovered, "No, that would be like selling my kids"