Thinking about switching direction ... good, bad, indifferent, waste of time?

[wdwfan]

Okay, so this is going to be a long read, and I do apologize. But to preface what I'm contemplating: I've been collecting the 1958 Topps set for about 5 months now. I'm probably halfway to it (I've got about 350 different cards), and I've got lots of stars and HOFers. But I'm missing the big ones (Mantle, Maris, Williams, Koufax, Aaron, Clemente).

I was never interested in this set, but I picked up a nice lot for a decent price at the LCS. So I talked myself into building it. I have already built it once, and I sold it back in 2013 to fund my family's first trip to Disney World. While, looking back, I somewhat regret selling it, I'd do it again in a heart beat.

About 2 weeks ago, I picked up a huge lot of 1957 Topps. Now, 1957 Topps is my absolute, without question, all-time favorite set. It's one I've always wanted to build. It's the first complete vintage set I ever saw in person (a college professor had the class over for dinner one night, knew I was interested in cards and showed it to me). Since then I've wanted to build one. I absolutely love the look of this set, the advertising in the background, the mix of stars, HOFers, couple of key RCs and more.

So this is where I'm at:
I'm contemplating giving up my 1958 Topps quest and trying to trade the stars and HOFers for stars and HOFers from 1957. The lot I picked up was mostly commons with about 20 from the mid series. It had a few semistars (Colavito, Minoso, Furillo, etc), but none of the big names.

If I decide to do this set, I'd be looking to trade my big name stars and HOFers from 1958 for 1957. In the past, I haven't had any luck trading/buying around here for whatever reason. Maybe it's cause I've been around for very little time, and I'm not one of the veterans. Who knows. But that's kind of what I'd be looking to do.

So is this a waste of time? As I said, I've already built the set once and sold it as I didn't really like the look of it (I just built it because I got about 3/4 of the set in 1 big deal, I was able to build the rest and sell for 3x what I had in it and take my family to Disney World). This time I decided to do it again because I got a good deal in a large starter lot, again not really liking the set.

Has anyone built a set close to 3/4 of the way being done only to fall out of love with it? If so, what did you do? Did you sell it and start over? Try to trade for something you liked? Put it in the closet and wait a few weeks, months or years and come back and give it another look down the line? I've thought about putting it in the closet and coming back to it later. But I've already built it once, don't really like it anyway and don't have a bunch of money to be putting towards cards. I do have a budget, and I try and stick to that budget as closely as possible. But I'd rather move the cards I've already spent money on, if possible, for ones I want. Either that, or sell the ones I have (sell the starter lot, maybe sell just the stars/HOFers, whatever, haven't thought selling through to be honest as I love to trade) and buy the ones I want.

Again sorry for the long road down what I'm doing. Just looking for ideas. I guess in the end, it's really up to me and what I want to do. In reality, it's my money, it's my collection. But I just like to hear what others think.

[riggs336]

I've never met a pre-1980 set I didn't like so I can't really empathize, but if you don't like the 1958s and you love the 1957s it seems your path is clear: ignore the first and concentrate on the second.
If it were me I would actively seek out '57s but keep an eye out for bargains in the '58s. In addition to this site's BST and eBay there are many Facebook groups that buy, sell and trade cards from the '50s.

[ALBB]

stay with both..go at a slower pace...

[Cmvorce]

To me the only thing that matters is that you like 57 and don’t like 58. I wouldn’t bother putting in the time and effort I collect something I didn’t like. I’d would try to sell the 58 and use the funds to buy 57.

[hockeyhockey]

based on everything you've written, sounds like you'd much prefer the 1957 to the 1958. if it were my collection, i'd move out the 58 and get the 57 piece by piece (or ideally as you say, there's a person here who has the opposite problem and you guys can just swap a whole host of cards...but it's probably a longer shot).

[bobsbbcards]

I suppose it's possible to locate somebody that's in the same boat as you but "port" rather than "starboard" who hates the '57s and hearts the '58s, but that feels hard. It would probably be easier to simply sell the '58s you've accumulated and use the cash to buy '57s.

Good luck with your transition.

[Zach Wheat]

Originally Posted by wdwfan

Okay, so this is going to be a long read, and I do apologize. But to preface what I'm contemplating: I've been collecting the 1958 Topps set for about 5 months now. I'm probably halfway to it (I've got about 350 different cards), and I've got lots of stars and HOFers. But I'm missing the big ones (Mantle, Maris, Williams, Koufax, Aaron, Clemente).

I was never interested in this set, but I picked up a nice lot for a decent price at the LCS. So I talked myself into building it. I have already built it once, and I sold it back in 2013 to fund my family's first trip to Disney World. While, looking back, I somewhat regret selling it, I'd do it again in a heart beat.

About 2 weeks ago, I picked up a huge lot of 1957 Topps. Now, 1957 Topps is my absolute, without question, all-time favorite set. It's one I've always wanted to build. It's the first complete vintage set I ever saw in person (a college professor had the class over for dinner one night, knew I was interested in cards and showed it to me). Since then I've wanted to build one. I absolutely love the look of this set, the advertising in the background, the mix of stars, HOFers, couple of key RCs and more.

So this is where I'm at:
I'm contemplating giving up my 1958 Topps quest and trying to trade the stars and HOFers for stars and HOFers from 1957. The lot I picked up was mostly commons with about 20 from the mid series. It had a few semistars (Colavito, Minoso, Furillo, etc), but none of the big names.

If I decide to do this set, I'd be looking to trade my big name stars and HOFers from 1958 for 1957. In the past, I haven't had any luck trading/buying around here for whatever reason. Maybe it's cause I've been around for very little time, and I'm not one of the veterans. Who knows. But that's kind of what I'd be looking to do............Again sorry for the long road down what I'm doing. Just looking for ideas. I guess in the end, it's really up to me and what I want to do. In reality, it's my money, it's my collection. But I just like to hear what others think.

I am primarily a set builder/collector and often have 2 or 3 sets in process. I am an opportunistic set builder and change priorities as opportunities for acquisitions change. I would keep collecting both sets. jmho

Good luck either way.

[wdwfan]

I'm always looking out for vintage "bargains" but they seem to come around less and less nowadays. Seems everybody wants higher than normal asking prices for their vintage because it's "vintage."

And on the BST thing, I've tried and tried and tried. I've listed stuff for sale, for trade, looking to trade for, looking to buy, and I rarely get anybody posting on the thread or sending PMs. Not sure if it's because I'm new or what. But I have little luck moving cards on here. I've had more success in the 2-3 months I've been on Facebook. But I know I will keep trying.

Originally Posted by riggs336

I've never met a pre-1980 set I didn't like so I can't really empathize, but if you don't like the 1958s and you love the 1957s it seems your path is clear: ignore the first and concentrate on the second.
If it were me I would actively seek out '57s but keep an eye out for bargains in the '58s. In addition to this site's BST and eBay there are many Facebook groups that buy, sell and trade cards from the '50s.

I've gone pretty slow on the 58s as I've been working on it about 5-6 months. I'm ready to put it to bed. I don't want to work on a set that's going to take a year or years to complete.

Originally Posted by ALBB

stay with both..go at a slower pace...

That's kind of been my mindset. But that's why I wanted to get some opinions.

Originally Posted by Cmvorce

To me the only thing that matters is that you like 57 and don’t like 58. I wouldn’t bother putting in the time and effort I collect something I didn’t like. I’d would try to sell the 58 and use the funds to buy 57.

I do prefer the 57s. Love the set. And I figured the best way was to post all of my 58s on here or Facebook and see if I could get some trade interests.

Originally Posted by hockeyhockey

based on everything you've written, sounds like you'd much prefer the 1957 to the 1958. if it were my collection, i'd move out the 58 and get the 57 piece by piece (or ideally as you say, there's a person here who has the opposite problem and you guys can just swap a whole host of cards...but it's probably a longer shot).

I'm not a big fan of selling and then buying. The main reason is I'll end up selling for 30-40 percent below comps (will list at fair comp price then get lower offers) and will end up having to buy at 30-40 percent over comps. So I'm basically giving away half of my stuff. I appreciate the words of luck.

Originally Posted by bobsbbcards

I suppose it's possible to locate somebody that's in the same boat as you but "port" rather than "starboard" who hates the '57s and hearts the '58s, but that feels hard. It would probably be easier to simply sell the '58s you've accumulated and use the cash to buy '57s.

Good luck with your transition.

I've always been a set builder. Love the chase. But I don't want it taking a year or more. I want to be done with it. I did start a 57 previously and wound up selling it off to fund another purchase. One of the biggest mistakes I made in my collecting past. I also started a 1962 Topps set and got about halfway done with it before putting it in the closet. Glad I did as it's still in there.

Originally Posted by Zach Wheat

I am primarily a set builder/collector and often have 2 or 3 sets in process. I am an opportunistic set builder and change priorities as opportunities for acquisitions change. I would keep collecting both sets. jmho

Good luck either way.

[bnorth]

Set building is almost always a big money loss especially when you add in all the shipping. So collect what you like. Finding a trading partner on here with the exact opposite problem is very slim. Best bet is to sell the 58s and buy the 57s.

As for trading and selling on here the only way you are not having much luck is if you highly overvalue your stuff.

[NiceDocter]

I think you will find most of the people on here are working on sets or collections over a period of many years and even for a lot of us many decades. If you are in a shorter time frame situation then maybe stick to smaller sets or buy almost complete sets initially and then fill in the blanks. When you try to get in and out unless it is done over a longer time period you usually lose money in the process. The only exception to this is if you find a great deal on a large lot ( such as dealers seek) and buy at a large discount. I’ve found that having a wide range of possible interests makes this more likely to happen on occasion! Good luck and enjoy the hobby! Rocky

[hcv123]

The way I see it there are 2 decisions to make:

Decision 1 - what to actively collect/pursue? The answer to that one seems super clear based on what you shared - stop collecting the 58's and start collecting the 57's.

Decision 2 - how best to turn 58's into 57's? Trading is harder as pointed out in previous posts, but possible - and as stated your best bet to get a closer 1 to 1 value - so put it out there while maintaining low expectations - you never know. If you are getting offers for stars at 30%-40% below comps, I would take a good look at the comps you are looking at and make sure you are comparing Apples to Apples. You could sell your 58's when you feel like you are being offered reasonable prices for them. I understand you are working within a budget, but the 58's I presume are just a part of that equation, so hopefully you can wait for the right deal be it trading or selling while working on the 57 set.

[skelly423]

I'll add my two cents to the conversation as well.

It sounds like you already know what you want to do, but you're hesitant to pull the trigger. Dump the 58s, and grab what you can from the 57s. I've wasted time building sets I don't love, and there's very satisfaction when you finish.

I can't dismiss cost entirely, but I wouldn't spend a lot of time dwelling on what you'll get in the sale of the 58s or what you pay for the 57s. It's not going to be a dollar-for-dollar exchange, but I figure if you're getting rid of cards you don't care for, and are bringing in cards you like, you're coming out ahead.