Starting T206 set Looking for advice on how to begin

[Robextend]

Hey Luke,

Welcome aboard!! I am 29, and I was pretty much in the same boat as you a couple years ago. Well I am sure others will chime in about ideas on how to collect "The Monster"...here are a few ways.

1 - Team set
2 - Portraits
3 - HOFers
4 - Specific Back

Plenty of more, but those are a couple for thought.

Good luck in your quest!

Rob

[Comiskey]

Well, I am pretty much like you, 29 years old and I love the game of baseball and history. I started collecting the T206 set by teams, specifically the New York Giants, after I read a great book called the Old Ball Game by Frank Deford. I read this book about baseball and I realized that I could collect the actual baseball cards from this time in history. So, I bought a Mathewson, then McGraw, and then I went on to complete this subset.

Well, a couple of hundred cards later I am in love with this set. There are so many ways that you can collect by teams, alphabetical, numerical, advertising backs, etc.

What I would suggest is finding a team that you want to start off with and maybe a piece of literature that goes with the team!

The monster can be a little overwhelming, but if you collect slowly and with determination, you will get there.

Good Luck and Happy Collecting
Jeff

[sreader3]

Wow--29, 29, 27--great to see all the young blood in the hobby!

Luke,

Before making too many purchases, you may want to educate yourself about the set. There are a number of resources, including my online ebook, Inside T206, which you can download for free from the Old Cardboard website.

Welcome to the T206 community, and good luck!

Scot, age 42

[AndyG09]

Luke,

You have definitely come to the right source for help. Scot's T206 "Bible" is a must when it comes to collecting 206s. I have only been at the "set" for 8 months, and have become addicted to the hunt. I planned on getting one or so a week, but have about tripled that. No matter how you decide to tackle the set, enjoy the ride!

Best,

Andy

[ChiefBenderForever]

Welcome to the world of T206 and good luck. I started putting the set together in 2004 and two years later reached my 100th card. A few months later at about 115 or so I threw in the towel and QUIT. I gave up on it and then in 2008 I started collecting Chief Bender after always wanting to collect his cards. I just picked up my 14th different T206 back of Bender no trees. I ventured outside of T206 and discovered more issues than I could imagine. Now I pick up different T206 I like and different Caramel issues and as many different Benders as I can find and absolutely love it. Who knows where your adventure will take you but it will be a fun ride and many great cards, most of all it will be a lot of fun ! Be easy,

Johnny just turned 40, it's all down hill from here................

[4815162342]

I am 29 as well, and collect alphabetically. As many have said before, remember it's a marathon, not a sprint. In my short 18 month span on net54 I've seen a few who went really really fast and burned out just as fast!

[ethicsprof]

I would suggest that you proceed slowly, gain many new friends and T206 scholars on this board, take a look at the list of publications by folks on this fine board and see whom you'd like to talk with a bit further(click on vintage links above), and remember the dictum: The Monster wants you to quit; don't listen to it.
all the best and welcome aboard,

barry

[MacDice]

Start off with the Wagner...after you get that one the rest of the set will seem easy and inexpensive.

[mrvster]

LUKE!!!

you have found the right place ! great choice on t206!.....pick up a few commons and get your feet "wetter" ....t206 is pretty much all i collect..



anyway, keep the questions flowing, we'll be here...all the experts are here , ted, scot, the list is goes on and on...

PEACE

Johnny v

[Jewish-collector]

You can probably pick up an off condition Wagner quite easily in Robert Edward Auctions next Spring.

[lharri3600]

well welcome aboard and good luck with the dreaded monster

[Luke]

The advice in this thread has really been awesome. The common theme seems to be patience. This hit home yesterday when I had combed through all the listings on ebay and still hadn't found anything I wanted to buy right this minute

[curch]

I started on the Highlanders set back in October of 2009 and I am still on that same set with only 6 more to go But I do enjoy it. I am 35.

[T206Collector]

...run up the mountain that is the Monster. (Borrowing from the name of the Metallica documentary, I refer to my latest collection as Some Kind Of Monster.) The first time around, I was condition conscious and went after some really nice examples of Hall of Famers.



But this time, I am pushing for quantity over quality. And I could really care less about condition.



But even so, I often accidentally fall into really nice VG-EX cards that are being lumped in with the beaters, and for hardly any additional cash whatsoever.



What has always been daunting to me is the sheer quantity of cards required for completion. But when you eschew quality of cardboard and player, the quantity part takes care of itself pretty quickly. In a few months of trolling the B/S/T thread and an occasional hit on ebay, I have managed to accrue about 300 new T206 cards, virtually all for under $20 -- and many for less than $15 or even $10. Indeed, I am now less than 200 cards from completion. While I need almost all the HOFers and Southern Leaguers, I only need just about 70 commons now. When I get those knocked off, then the Monster will become a much more manageable beast.

While it is certainly fun to collect HOFers, they are a slower collection. Given that patience has never been one of my strong suits, I think going the commons route has really helped me this time around, because I can see quicker progress.

Also, one of the things that makes collecting T206 so hard is the constant temptation to sell. If you've got a few mid-grade HOFers, they are easy to sell for $100+ as singles. But low-grade commons take a lot more effort to part with and the return is obviously much, much lower. My low-grade T206 commons collection actually makes it harder to just cut bait. It creates its own disincentive to sell.

The Monster may want me to quit, to be sure, but it hardly cares for my approach here either. In this way, I sort of feel like I am sneaking up on the Monster. In a few acquisitions, I'm sure he'll turn around -- "What?! You again, eh?!" -- but for the time being, he sits silently, unconcerned that I am anywhere nearing completion. I have him right where I want him.

[Luke]

Originally Posted by Robextend

Hey Luke,

Welcome aboard!! I am 29, and I was pretty much in the same boat as you a couple years ago. Well I am sure others will chime in about ideas on how to collect "The Monster"...here are a few ways.

1 - Team set
2 - Portraits
3 - HOFers
4 - Specific Back

Plenty of more, but those are a couple for thought.

Good luck in your quest!

Rob

thanks for the tips Rob! You have a very cool collection, fun to look at.

[Luke]

I am going to get started on Scot's e-book. Thanks for lettting me know about that.

Luke