Priced Out?

[LincolnVT]

With many people cashing in and certain card prices being too high for the average collector to actively compete, how do we stay relevant and happy as the baseball collecting world continues to evolve? Where does this leave those that don't want to be on the sidelines? Time to put a low to mid-grade set together? Time to gravitate toward other types of vintage memorabilia? What is the next wave that we can consider riding for a bit before we are priced out again?

[deadballera]

few options:

sell some cards in your collection that you may not be too attached to and buy what you want at the condition level you want.


move down in the grade condition.

[bnorth]

The best thing would be quit buying the silly(to me) slabs and just buy cards free from imprisonment. You can own the exact same card for a fraction of the price.

[Dead-Ball-Hitter]

Add some Art Cards like these? I admit I cannot resist buying them every once in a while....

[Exhibitman]

Get into premiums, team issues, etc.



There are a wide variety at various entry points. Or photos. Vintage snapshots are card-like and can be had for a fraction of the cost of a card. Some were even made by professionals with field level access:



Jimmie Foxx with the Cubs



Satchel Paige



Marshall Goldberg, college AS game, 1939



1961 Chamberlain, Russell, Cousy at the 'Gahden'.


Jack Dempsey sparring with Bill Tate, Toledo, OH 1919. Had to slip in a boxer

There's always something to play with, you just have to be creative.

[conor912]

I think a lot of guys spent the run-up scrambling to get cards they'd had their eyes on, knowing they'd soon be out of reach. I'm in the middle of a couple sets that are going to be painful to finish now, but I'm in too deep to bail.

The last two years have pretty well burned me out. I both made and paid extraordinary sums of money for cards. I'm mentally exhausted and taking a break. I have a trip booked for Chantilly in April and won't be buying anything until then. I've been enjoying the time away have been thinking about my next project. I have several ideas that I'm excited about. They'll undoubtedly shift between now and April but that's ok, too. My point being that I'm always shocked how much clarity some time and space can bring.

[jingram058]

Pursue trades and lower-grade pickups. Build lower-grade sets and collections. Avoid graded, over-priced cards.

This thread needs a couple of low-priced, really nice cards. "Arky" Vaughan has to be the single most underrated ballplayer in the HOF.

[x2drich2000]

Personally, I think if you are a collector you're still going to collect. It might mean that you are buying 1 card every 3 months instead of 1 card per month. Or it might mean moving to a different, less expensive set or type of collection. Personally, I'm still looking to complete the sets I'm working on, but definitely feeling like some sets might not be completable based on current prices...at least not in the foreseeable future.

[chadeast]

Originally Posted by bnorth

The best thing would be quit buying the silly(to me) slabs and just buy cards free from imprisonment. You can own the exact same card for a fraction of the price.

Shhhhh!!! Don't listen to him. Nothing to see here

[T205 GB]

Originally Posted by bnorth

The best thing would be quit buying the silly(to me) slabs and just buy cards free from imprisonment. You can own the exact same card for a fraction of the price.

👆👆👆👆👆👆👆 Ben nailed it on the head. I would add to Only buy graded when it’s for resale or is a big ticket item that is best protected by a slab.

[hauntedcomputer]

This is my third go-round in the hobby over roughly 50 years. Which of course tells me sports cards are in a bubble. I just use current values to sell nice 70s cards and put that into a handful of older grail cards, so boom/bubble prices don't hurt me and are at best a sideways trade. I never intended to keep everything anyway. If cards didn't "go up," it would be very hard to justify any serious collecting.

Every card gets sold sooner or later, whether you are alive to see it or not. And I don't mind leaving room for the next guy to make money, either. Plenty to collect at all levels. I still enjoy messing with junk-era cards where there is no money.

[glchen]

My opinion here is that you have to continue to buy cards that you love. If you buy stuff you don't like just to pickup stuff, you'll likely regret it as the hobby will just become a grind. If you don't find anything you like, just go on pause until you do. Hopefully, you'll be able to find something else within your hobby budget that you can enjoy. There are so many types and ways to collect, so you might find your niche in that area.

[Seven]

Originally Posted by glchen

My opinion here is that you have to continue to buy cards that you love. If you buy stuff you don't like just to pickup stuff, you'll likely regret it as the hobby will just become a grind. If you don't find anything you like, just go on pause until you do. Hopefully, you'll be able to find something else within your hobby budget that you can enjoy. There are so many types and ways to collect, so you might find your niche in that area.

I think the one thing about the rise in prices, however, it's led many of us to find different collecting interests, or approach something we wouldn't before.

For an example, being of Mostly, Italian descent, and hearing stories in my childhood, My great uncle would always tell stories about Carl Furillo. He was a hardcore Brooklyn Dodgers fan, and Furillo was his favorite player. I've recently started slowly buying Furillo cards and really enjoying the little project I'm putting together.

[Gorditadogg]

Try to put together the 1988 Donruss set with the most eye appeal. Stay focused, make sure every card is gem mint.

When you're done with that, sell it on ebay for $20 and start on 89's.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[ullmandds]

One adapts...or one dies in the wild! I've lived the hobby since the late 70's...took a break from 86-91. I've never been able to afford any card I wanted in the hobby. So in that regard nothings changed?

My collection has appreciated handsomely and if I want a certain card I may have to sell others to fund it...and I've come to peace with this.

And also to repeat the hobby is much...much more enjoyable when you take the slab out of the equation!!!!!

[Exhibitman]

James, Pete, good points. I'm more in Pete's position; been a collector since I was kid with breaks but continuously active since 1988. Over time I've gone out and amassed cards I wanted when I could and I've never sold off, so I have a lot of cards that are worth a lot more than what I paid for them. That said, I know if I sell off a Ruth I am not going to get another one to replace it unless the market craters, and I know I am not going to get a new Ruth unless I get rich or it slips through the cracks somehow. So there's a bit of frustration too. Best I can hope for now is to expand with trades. Which is a lot of fun too.

[Seven]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

One adapts...or one dies in the wild! I've lived the hobby since the late 70's...took a break from 86-91. I've never been able to afford any card I wanted in the hobby. So in that regard nothings changed?

My collection has appreciated handsomely and if I want a certain card I may have to sell others to fund it...and I've come to peace with this.

And also to repeat the hobby is much...much more enjoyable when you take the slab out of the equation!!!!!

You bring up a good point, I'm sure there were factors that made it difficult, even back then. It's much easier for me to say the Hobby was easier back then, because of all the context we do now. I also do agree, take slabs out of the equation and the Hobby is much more enjoyable, it's however a difficult task to say the least. Unless it was from a trusted seller on here, there are some cards that I wouldn't be able to take the chance on.