Anyone Else Feeling Marooned on Vintage Collector Island??

destijl03 · #1 08-15-2023, 10:10 AM

Speaking from the perspective of someone who returned to the hobby as an adult in 2019, then spent a year or so researching, learning, observing, and finally figuring out what my main collecting interest was by early 2020 (pre-WWI baseball cards), the whole of 2023 has been, for lack of a better word, exhausting. Don't get wrong, I love collecting. I love seeing all of the cool cards posted in the pickups threads and all over the board. Knowing I'll never be able to afford 98% of them doesn't bother me, I'm happy to see others completing their goals, just as I have my own goals I'm working toward.

The exhaustion for me stems from a couple of places. First, as Darren said in the original post, finding the combo of appealing and affordable outside of the B/S/T boards and FB groups has become nearly impossible. As avenues for reasonably priced cards dry up, more and more people flock to the few remaining good ones. As a result, as James has pointed out, you have to be fast or lucky or both to snag from what's posted. What's even more disappointing is there have been several times when I've seen cards on the B/S/T boards or FB groups get scooped up within a few minutes of being posted, then I find them on eBay a week later marked up 40-50% of what they bought it for. I totally understand that there are many who buy a deal to sell higher than they paid so that they can fund other cards they want, I get that. It's just deflating as a collector that would have loved to buy a card to keep forever, but missed out because I wasn't glued to my phone all day long. At that point, I have to either hope I get lucky that another is posted and I'm in the right place at the right time, or I overpay on eBay. Or, as has been my case for most of 2023, I buy nothing. Also, I'm always finding myself debating whether to overpay for something now, knowing it could be my last shot before it becomes forever unattainable, or continue waiting in the hopes that the price will eventually drop to a reasonable level. In short, the hunt is part of the fun of collecting for me, and it always has been. The mental hustle that it feels like it's become, however, is truly exhausting.

I collect by Luke Lyon's philosophy of love every card you own, which has helped me the most when deciding whether or not to buy a card, especially in deciding whether or not to overpay. As prices somehow keep climbing though, the result of that philosophy for me is that my collecting goals continue to substantially shrink. What I would have spent three years ago on five cards total that I loved, I now spend on one card that I love. As others have pointed out, I agree that there are other niches and corners of the hobby to move to, but for me it goes back to the philosophy of collect what you love, and for me that is baseball cards. I do enjoy collecting some pre-WWI soccer and boxing cards, but I'm definitely not as passionate for those as I am baseball. I'm not just going to collect something for the sake of collecting, I want to genuinely appreciate every piece I buy.

Sorry for that long-winded Debbie Downer post

I intend to stick around and continue collecting what I love, I guess I just expected things to be somewhat back to normal by now, and I'm tired

tlhss · #2 08-15-2023, 10:24 AM

I've always been a low budget, well-loved card collector. The prices of these items have also gone up. I chose not to stop collecting, live in angst on something I can't control, or to increase my budget; I just decided to buy no more than one card a month. Once the card is purchased, I don't shop for anything else. I still have fun ... the collection just builds slowly. And I continue to research and document what I have on my website, which costs nothing but time.

And I go fishing more

Yoda · #3 08-15-2023, 11:27 AM

I am pretty well convinced that the run up on tasty pre-War cards is, at least partially, due to the trillion or so passed out by the government for Covid relief, whether fraudulently or legitimately obtained.
And while I agree that Ebay is not the hunting ground it used to be, deals of interest still pop up. For example, last night a nice group of T206 commons, all mid grade 5's were on offer. The average closing price was about $300 with no bp but taxes. I picked up a couple and was very pleased.

perezfan · #4 08-15-2023, 11:48 AM

A good rule of thumb.... Try to focus on what you DO have vs. what you don't. You will be a much happier person.

There will always be someone with more money and better "stuff". There are lots of people on this planet.

And if you just can't get past the envy, perhaps switch over to memorabilia... Whether it's vintage photos, tickets, ad signs, scorecards/programs, pennants, autographs, or game used uniforms/bats/hats, you can still find an endless number of pieces that display beautifully while celebrating the game just as nicely as cards (but at a fraction of the cost).

Hankphenom · #5 08-15-2023, 01:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by perezfan

And if you just can't get past the envy, perhaps switch over to memorabilia... Whether it's vintage photos, tickets, ad signs, scorecards/programs, pennants, autographs, or game used uniforms/bats/hats, you can still find an endless number of pieces that display beautifully while celebrating the game just as nicely as cards (but at a fraction of the cost).

I totally get the appeal of cards, but this.

Exhibitman · #6 08-15-2023, 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

Originally Posted by perezfan
And if you just can't get past the envy, perhaps switch over to memorabilia... Whether it's vintage photos, tickets, ad signs, scorecards/programs, pennants, autographs, or game used uniforms/bats/hats, you can still find an endless number of pieces that display beautifully while celebrating the game just as nicely as cards (but at a fraction of the cost).

I totally get the appeal of cards, but this.

Absolutely. I veered into that area in the early 'aughts and while it too has gone up there are still myriad backwaters and eddies where you can define a niche for your collecting wants. I like Cubs on Catalina Island baseball stuff, like this snapshot of some players doing their best Seven Dwarves impression, Gabby leading the way through Avalon:

Or Gabby at the spring training facility on Catalina:

Vintagedeputy · #7 08-15-2023, 10:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by perezfan

A good rule of thumb.... Try to focus on what you DO have vs. what you don't. You will be a much happier person.

There will always be someone with more money and better "stuff". There are lots of people on this planet.

And if you just can't get past the envy, perhaps switch over to memorabilia... Whether it's vintage photos, tickets, ad signs, scorecards/programs, pennants, autographs, or game used uniforms/bats/hats, you can still find an endless number of pieces that display beautifully while celebrating the game just as nicely as cards (but at a fraction of the cost).

Exactly what I said. There's tons of great stuff out there.

conor912 · #8 08-15-2023, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by destijl03

I'm always finding myself debating whether to overpay for something now, knowing it could be my last shot before it becomes forever unattainable, or continue waiting in the hopes that the price will eventually drop to a reasonable level.

I hear you. I think we�ve all felt that way to some degree at some point. While FOMO is a real thing, my real life collecting experience has taught me that you have to take that last shot, always. Having prices soften on a card you just bought is a way easier pill to swallow than watching one sail away into the sunset of unaffordability, never to be attainable again. Paper losses come and go. Cardboard losses haunt you forever.

JollyElm · #9 08-15-2023, 03:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by destijl03

Speaking from the perspective of someone who returned to the hobby as an adult in 2019, then spent a year or so researching, learning, observing, and finally figuring out what my main collecting interest was by early 2020 (pre-WWI baseball cards), the whole of 2023 has been, for lack of a better word, exhausting. Don't get wrong, I love collecting. I love seeing all of the cool cards posted in the pickups threads and all over the board. Knowing I'll never be able to afford 98% of them doesn't bother me, I'm happy to see others completing their goals, just as I have my own goals I'm working toward.

The exhaustion for me stems from a couple of places. First, as Darren said in the original post, finding the combo of appealing and affordable outside of the B/S/T boards and FB groups has become nearly impossible. As avenues for reasonably priced cards dry up, more and more people flock to the few remaining good ones. As a result, as James has pointed out, you have to be fast or lucky or both to snag from what's posted. What's even more disappointing is there have been several times when I've seen cards on the B/S/T boards or FB groups get scooped up within a few minutes of being posted, then I find them on eBay a week later marked up 40-50% of what they bought it for. I totally understand that there are many who buy a deal to sell higher than they paid so that they can fund other cards they want, I get that. It's just deflating as a collector that would have loved to buy a card to keep forever, but missed out because I wasn't glued to my phone all day long. At that point, I have to either hope I get lucky that another is posted and I'm in the right place at the right time, or I overpay on eBay. Or, as has been my case for most of 2023, I buy nothing. Also, I'm always finding myself debating whether to overpay for something now, knowing it could be my last shot before it becomes forever unattainable, or continue waiting in the hopes that the price will eventually drop to a reasonable level. In short, the hunt is part of the fun of collecting for me, and it always has been. The mental hustle that it feels like it's become, however, is truly exhausting.

I collect by Luke Lyon's philosophy of love every card you own, which has helped me the most when deciding whether or not to buy a card, especially in deciding whether or not to overpay. As prices somehow keep climbing though, the result of that philosophy for me is that my collecting goals continue to substantially shrink. What I would have spent three years ago on five cards total that I loved, I now spend on one card that I love. As others have pointed out, I agree that there are other niches and corners of the hobby to move to, but for me it goes back to the philosophy of collect what you love, and for me that is baseball cards. I do enjoy collecting some pre-WWI soccer and boxing cards, but I'm definitely not as passionate for those as I am baseball. I'm not just going to collect something for the sake of collecting, I want to genuinely appreciate every piece I buy.

Sorry for that long-winded Debbie Downer post

I intend to stick around and continue collecting what I love, I guess I just expected things to be somewhat back to normal by now, and I'm tired

534. Kiblitzer (Yiddish)
Someone who seemingly has a front row seat to every thread in the B/S/T, and rushes in to buy up everything before anyone else has a chance to even view it.

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