The New Guy...

[Jewish-collector]

Todd,

You wrote "the funds are on the low side". You will find out very soon that this hobby is not for the financially challenged.

[Bosox Blair]

Originally Posted by Jewish-collector

Todd,

You will find out very soon that this hobby is not for the financially challenged.

This hobby makes us financially challenged.

Cheers,
Blair

[drdduet]

Hi Todd and Welcome!

Barry A.'s advice is solid and take it to heart. Another saying we live by is "buy the card, not the holder." Once you get the swing of how this site works post your cards of concern and in no time you'll have several expert opinions.

I'd advise you to download Scot Reader's "Inside T206" to turbo boost your t206 IQ. Also the latest issue of the Standard Catalogue of Baseball Cards can be a tremendous resource to the vintage collector.

Along the way read "The Monster", Lew Lipset's "Encyclopedia of Baseball Cards," and visit the T206 Museum online. As a sidebar to the history of the players themselves I recommend Ken Burn's Baseball documentary--especially the early years. WARNING--watching it results in the immediate expansion of your want list!

[Jewish-collector]

Celoknob,

I agree with you 100 percent. I probably spend the least amount of money as any member of this forum does, but I still find the hobby personally rewarding.

Alan

[DeanH3]

Welcome Todd,

You will find this is a great place to learn and interact with a lot of good people that will help whenever needed. I lurk more than I should but I feel that there are dozens of people that I would trust 100% eventhough I have not had any contact with them. You will learn who they are if you frequent the board enough.

Also don't worry about your lack of budget. I'm exhibit A for having eyes bigger than my wallet. I bought one card last year, a T206 Young Port PSA 4, but believe me, I wanted more. Hopefully 2010 will have more purchases in store for me. We all have different backgrounds and we all collect at our own pace.

Good luck on your journey and there literally is a wealth of knowledge here.

[Leon]

Welcome Todd,
I think one of the keys to enjoying the hobby is to just do the best you can with the means you have. Whether it's 1 $20 T206 a month, or even less, you can be proud of whatever you manage to put together. I sort of did what most people advise against, I put some of my savings (some= a lot) into cards.....which is not necessarily the smartest move but it has been fun. I have won many and lost almost as many . Once you learn what you are doing you might even take $100 and try to buy a few good buys to turn them into a little bit more...or maybe buy and sell enough to make a card for your collection. Be patient, make friends, read this and other boards and you will get to know more about the hobby. It's a lot of fun if you don't stress over it. Being on a limited budget means you will mostly be buying cards in collector grade condition...(maybe 1-3). Collect what you enjoy and don't be a stranger. There are a ton of people on this board that enjoy helping other collectors, myself included. To start off you did do the right thing in buying cards that were graded by one of the top three grading companies. That isn't foolproof but it is better than buying raw when you are brand new to collecting. Nice cards too, btw. take care and happy collecting!!

[Iwantmorecards77]

Thanks again, gang! I certainly will pick up, in time, some other examples from different sets other than T206. The sickness is rising! But I just have that soft spot for the T206's.

It started when I was younger. I knew about the greats of the game and read up on them. I even saved up some money as a kid and purchased the "Monster" reprint set from a magazine. I've dug the set up and still go through it, picking out cards I'd like to have one day (other than the obvious Hall of Famers). That Pattee horizontal card is one of the nicest I've ever seen.

I've always been into baseball's past and perhaps it is in the genes! There is a little bit of baseball in my family history, as my Grandfather was a photographer and spent a lot of time with the NY Giants in the 40's and early 50's. One of his photographs (at least the negatives) is still in the family and marks one of the most dramatic moments in NY baseball history.

Believe it or not, baseball is my "second" sport, as I live, breathe, play (and am employed in) the great game of hockey!

Again, I appreciate everyone's input and will certainly use this site as a great source of information.

To the member "Willow Grove," is that in reference to Willow Grove, PA? Going through some old family photos (not taken by my grandfather I mentioned previously), I came across a handful of photos of a series of baseball games played in 1907. Some of the photos were at Willow Grove. The players appear to be from a club team, "town" team or something similar. The uniforms look like Pittsburgh or Philadelphia, but they're not. I just found it interesting, and ironic, that the name "Willow Grove" appeared in this thread after I found these old photos.

Todd

[carrigansghost]

Please feel free to post those photos as that starts our collective detective juices flowing.

Rawn

[celoknob]

Originally Posted by Jewish-collector

Todd,

You wrote "the funds are on the low side". You will find out very soon that this hobby is not for the financially challenged.

I don't think this is true across the board. Not everyone on this board is collecting rare prewar HOF cards and memorabilia. Or they might just buy a few of these a year.

Also, even "financially challanged" people often have some money for recreation. So, maybe instead of going to the movies, nice restaurants or buying expensive clothes, huge flat screen tvs or even having cable tv etc, they choose this hobby (I do).

I would not discourage someone not to collect just because they are not rich. Collecting can be fun even if everyone on the board is not impressed with your collection, as long as you are.