Criteria for building a post-war set...

[mintacular]

I tend to build mid-grade/midgrade+ raw sets then buy a couple of the key cards PSA or SGC Near-Mint...But still kinda new at this...I definately don't ever see myself buying PSA grade commons, etc.

[jb217676]

If you're buying raw, look for large lots of cards and buy the stars individually. Best to look for lots if you're collecting a 700+ card set. Personally, I'm working on a 1963-64 Parkhurst set all PSA graded. I find baseball sets too huge with too many commons. Older hockey sets are usually around 100 cards or less and filled with stars. If you wanted to do a smaller set, I personally like team sets. That way, you could do a graded set since you wouldn't need so many cards. I'm thinking about doing some team sets where I already have the best card and then fill in the rest.

Lastly, don't overbid or overpay. If you find yourself in a battle over a card, let it go (unless it's super rare or the last card for your set). I've done this and I usually get the card cheaper at a later date (not a Sunday night!)

[Doug]

I've always been for just picking up the key cards myself. You get all of the important players without sinking a lot of money into commons, but it depends on personal preference. If you are actually wanting the project of building a set I'd take the above approach of buying commons in lots and get the star cards separately.