How do you build your sets, single or all in?

[tcdyess]

As Joe states above, I just can't see buying and entire set, for me it is too much fun buying the invdividuals. Also I feel I learn a heck of a lot more about the set, and player hunting down the cards. From what I see so far, looks like most have the all in approach of mulitasking. Looks like Bunst takes the total scrambled eggs approach. As usual, I guess there is no right answer, boils down to your individual "plan", and of course, resources available.

[pgellis]

I think the answer depends on which set (or sets) you are collecting. For me I am collecting T206 and only that set. There are other sets that I love and will collect some day, i.e. Cracker Jack, T3, T205, etc.

But with T206, it is a big set and they are readily available. I am approaching 300 cards and if I started dabbling in the other sets, I would get side-tracked with T206. I think that if you are collecting a set (or sets) that are rather rare, you may not see a card you need come up for sale too often, so then I could see where you may start collecting other sets that you like.

But for me, I need to stay focused on T206 and when I finish it it (520), then I will start another set.......probably about 5 years away from that goal.

Phil

[Zach Wheat]

I am an opportunistic buyer and therefore do not concentrate exclusively on one set when I am trying to complete a set. I agree with Phil that it also depends upon which set you are trying to complete. T206's are abundant and therefore I try to pick up blocks of cards to save on shipping. This means, of course, that I end up with a lot of duplicates.

ZWheat

[BleedinBlue]

For me it's a financial equation. I always have a number of projects going on at any one time but the time and money is usually focused on one set. For instance, I will always be collecting and upgrading my 1941 Goudey Master set. Whenever these cards come up I am in the market. A couple of years ago I started a T206 set and this was my primary focus but I was still looking for 1941 Goudey's. Because of the easy availability of the T206 cards and the significant size of the set I could not financially justify any other projects. Now that I have reached the 500 card number on the T206 set, finding new cards is more challenging. So, I continue to look for the 1941 Goudey's, I continue to look for the missing T206's but I have started picking up cards for my next project.

I think it depends on what you collect though. If you are working on a T206 set, there are so many cards that I needed to stay focused on small subsets in order to get some occasional gratification from completing a project. The problem was not availability of cards but funds. If I was collecting something scarce like T5's, I would make sure to go after each one because the next one may not come up again for quite a while.

Most of your sets are readily available. The issue isn't going to be finding the cards (generally) but rather finding the funds to pay for them. In this case I would prefer to go after the cards set by set until I neared completion on one. I would then start going after the next on the list until I was through with the project.

[vintagecpa]

I admire anyone that can stick with collecting the same set for years. I am personally 0-12 in trying to complete a vintage set. I generally get a 15-20 cards into it before I find greener pastures.

[Samsdaddy]

Originally Posted by vintagecpa

I admire anyone that can stick with collecting the same set for years. I am personally 0-12 in trying to complete a vintage set. I generally get a 15-20 cards into it before I find greener pastures.

Same here. My hats off to those who stick with building a set but I am so impatient at times that I find it is easier for me to stick to collecting some favorite players and other stars of the 1960's (the era I enjoy collecting most).

With all that being said, I did put together two vintage football card sets from the 1960's but had a lot of help to start one of them.

[Tim Kindler]

I'm a singles guy. I love the thrill of the hunt. I have put my E98 set together 1 card at a time and it is almost done. It is such a rush when I get a new card for my set!

Of course, I have no choice but to build my sets 1 card at a time! I would never be able to affordall the cards at one time!!!

[HANKCADDY]

I usually have 3 or 4 sets going at any one time, and buy in small lots or singles for budget reasons....when the budget is tighter i work on my raw cheaper sets... when budget is a little stronger i go back to a graded set

right now focus is on
1974 topps in PSA 9 (about 91% complete)
R312 SGC 20-50 range (about 52% complete some raw)
T205 in SGC 20 or so (12%,just starting with HOF for now)
1948 bowman in PSA 4 better (33% now)
1989 topps in PSA 10 (AT 80% or so)
2004 SPX in PSA (also at about 80%)

when i get a little bored with one i move back to another, or if there is not much out there i look at something else.

[frohme]

Originally Posted by Tim Kindler

I'm a singles guy. I love the thrill of the hunt. I have put my E98 set together 1 card at a time and it is almost done. It is such a rush when I get a new card for my set!

Of course, I have no choice but to build my sets 1 card at a time! I would never be able to affordall the cards at one time!!!

Generally I'm exactly the same, Tim. Though I've found that small groups of cards go a long way to help the journey go by faster (and more affordably) the level of appreciation for the individual cards gets lost when they all come in together.

The same thing happened for me when I was collecting multiple things (e.g. T207, E-cards, Pirates), even with only one card at a time. I needed a singular focus to keep the appreciation and interest.

-- Mike

[t206blogcom]

Multitasker here as well. Been working on T206 and W512. Down to needing 1 for the W512 and around 40 T206s. I briefly started a 34 Goudey set, but quickly lost interest about 10-15 cards into it. Along the way I've also picked up a couple of Old Judges, T210 Series 2, Obak and T213s when I've come across good deals thinking perhaps one day I'll take a stronger interest in them.

With my W512 set nearly complete, I'm trying to decide whether or not to soley focus on T206 given the last 40 or cards I need contain a lot of the expensive ones (Cobb, Johnson, Young, O'Hara, Demmit, etc) or start on something else at the same time.

If I listen to my wife, I'd focus on saving up for a bigger home or selling my cards as a downpayment. My argument is if we had a bigger home, it would be more expensive to maintain, thus giving me a much reduced card buying budget. I've found a quick trip to Tiffany or Gucci gets her mind off this for at least a few months.