I'm Sick And Tired

[vintagebaseballcardguy]

Originally Posted by jingram058

And ^^^ this ^^^ sums it up for me. This says what I couldn't find the words to say, why I don't care about graded cards. I want them to look like what they are, old, with creases, rounded off corners, thumb tack holes, tape, whatever. I want to hold them in my own hands and look at them, not through a plastic slab, from time to time as I did with my cards as a kid. I don't care about card grading. I don't care one iota about the flip and the bar code, if they're trimmed or even worry if they're fake. Could not care any less. That's not why I collect. I am all over beaters, many of which I have "picked up" from folks right here on net54, just look at my signature. I treasure all of them, they are priceless to me, and I love the stories and bios of the players, when it was baseball in it's absolute glory My wife and daughter will be all set when I up and croak. And not from selling off my cards, either.

If I can adjust and overcome some of the OCD crap I used to worry over, then I know you can. It's your collection, James. Do what you want to do with your collection. If you don't like grading, buy ungraded cards. Buy graded cards and free them if you like. Put them in binders, stack them in toploaders on your desk, do whatever makes your collecting experience work for you. This is just for fun. Net54 is a great site, and there are some solid collectors here with impressive collections. Net54 has helped me figure out what I do and don't like. Don't worry about keeping up with the Joneses. You'll always encounter collectors who have more than you, and you'll always encounter collectors who have less than you do. People (like me...LOL!) will give you advice, but you have to make your collection your own. It sounds like you already know what you like. Go forth and do it, and don't worry about what anyone on this site (me included) or any other site tells you. You do you. Have fun with it.