Set building strategies

[mcap100176]

I buy a one day VCP pass once a quarter and pull off the average prices for the cards in the set. This beats manually entering Ebay information but keep in mind VCP doesn't catch everything. I did the Ebay-thing at first and found VCP easier - it is whatever your preference is.

I agree with going after the big cards first. And settling on a condition, I am doing A - 2 but just got a good deal on a 3 so I bit and now have a duplicate that I can sell.

Also, use "special days" to your advantage. For my 35th birthday last October, my fiance purchased a card I needed. We got married in November, so I got another card (along with something else) as a wedding gift and for Christmas, yet another card. Knocked out 3 cards by doing nothing (well, the wedding was something).

But don't let the set consume you. Don't be afraid to buy something else that you like and can afford. This will ensure you won't get bored waiting for other cards to show up for sale.

[Ronnie73]

I like to manually do the price tracking over using VCP only because you get a better idea of what cards come around more often and then figure out what commons are actually more difficult. Also, the more time you spend researching your set, the more enjoyable it is. If you had unlimited funds, you could just spend your time purchasing all the cards but if you buy one or two cards a week, your gonna need a way to enjoy the set without spending money till its time for the next purchase so research and learning helps pass the time. I personally don't have a preference on wether commons or key cards are bought first. My purchases are done in order of whatever good deals come first. By doing it this way, you get a good mix of commons, stars, and HOFers all at prices you can be happy with.

[Bridwell]

Collecting T206 helped me get comfortable with the idea of collecting a set that will never be complete, since I don't plan to ever buy a Wagner, Plank, or Doyle variation. The same is true of many sets. 2 or 3 rare cards can cost as much as the rest of the set! I'm comfortable with having a group of cards from a set, but I'm not obsessed with it being 100% complete. With that in mind, I start with cards I like that I can get for a reasonable price. Sometimes a group of 10-20 commons is a good way to start.