How Did You Beat the Monster?

[iggyman]

Merely a myth! One does not beat the monster, the monster plummets its victims into submission. There is no other fate!

Oh, and to answer your question. Took 10+ years (but I'm still collecting it), a bunch of flipping, and now I can die with a smiley on my tombstone.

Lovely Day...

[DixieBaseball]

The short answer is I didn't... I got the 48 Southern Leaguer's completed, and decided I could not focus and dedicate myself to the remaining balance. Was I upset ? No. Did it kick my arse ? Sure.

[Jim VB]

Jeff nailed it in post #4. None of the cards in T206 are really difficult to find. I'll bet every single card in the set has come up for auction in the last 2 years. (I think I remember a Doyle in REA 2009, but I may be wrong.)

It does come down to a question of your available cash, and your definition of "set." If you are satisified with 518 (or 520) out of 524 (or 525 if you like Cobb/Cobb) it's actually pretty easy.

[ChiefBenderForever]

After a couple years I was at around 130 or so and got beat, gave up and let the monster win, I just couldn't stay focused and moved on. Best of luck on your journey.

[tonyo]

Here is another favorite Monster quote from the esteemed Barry Arnold:

"It is an amazingly shrewd adversary,yet a most intriguing friend."

My advice (after only two years of collecting t206's) is:
Don't look at it as if you are going to "beat the monster"

Approach the task with much patience and a disciplined monetary plan.

The cards are so plentiful and available in wide ranges of condition, it's easy to get sucked into spending a little more than you really had intended on each purchase.

[sb1]

The worst way to tackle it is one card at a time. You will pay more and it may take forever. Buy as large of groups as you can find (and afford) and buy them. Keep what you want and sell the rest, just keep repeating this and in a matter of time you will have a large portion of the set. When you get towards the end you will have to buy some singles, but even early on you will be surprised by the number of HOFers, even off grade Cobbs, that are included in small, medium and large size groups.

[Zach Wheat]

Hey Zach,

I am about 75% and I think one of the better ways is to buy cards in bulk either from auctions or on ebay. It is alot harder to buy in bulk now than in years prior, but this saves on shipping costs (which can be a killer) and gives you a fair amount of trade bait.

Regards,

M Wheat

[uffda51]

Scott's advice is right on.

I slowly accumulated 50-75 cards from about 1985-95 and then gave up. A TKO. I still have 5-10 of them. Obviously a great classic set, I just never got the bug to finish.

[Niko]

Originally Posted by Zach Wheat

Hey Zach,

I am about 75% and I think one of the better ways is to buy cards in bulk either from auctions or on ebay. It is alot harder to buy in bulk now than in years prior, but this saves on shipping costs (which can be a killer) and gives you a fair amount of trade bait.

Regards,

M Wheat

Are you going for it raw or slabbed? The problem with bulk lots is they either are all raw or the grades aren't exactly what I'm looking for.

I may go for HOF PSA and simultaneously pick up any decent lots of commons I can find.

Zach