"To have and to hold"or..... sell someday sooner or later?

RayBShotz

I am 42 years old. I have been assembling my 1969 Topps baseball card set since I was 9 years old. I am not ashamed to say I still enjoy it immensely. I completed this set in 1997 and began adding an occasional PSA graded card in 1998 after discovering ebay. Ebay changed the landscape and grew as a source of supply for the growing acceptance and desirability of graded and authenticated material. I was hooked. I felt that as I upgraded the condition of my beloved 69' set I would do it with PSA graded cards.
Because I have basically upgraded this set card by card I dont invision a day, even after I complete the set in graded form, that I would bail and sell it. I dont have a burning desire to build many sets of different years and feel that I will always want my concentration to remain on my childhood set. The memories are an enormous source of nostalgia.
I think I am committed to the idea that I have it and will hold it... and upgrade it for many, many years to come.

Question - Are there others out there who feel this way? How attached are you to your primary set? Do you invision selling it sooner, later, or just passing it on when you go?

Lastly, this particular message board is just one of the things that makes this continued pursuit so much more enjoyable. 99% of the civilized world would look at you cross eyed if you spent this much time gushing over cardboard... so we'll just keep the fun to ourselves.

RayB69Topps

FB

Ray,

Of all the cards that I have, I have to say that everyone has their price. I admit - it would be a very steep one for my 72 set, but there would definitely be a point where I would say "OK - but can we have a minute alone before you take it?"

The other sets/partial sets that I have would not have the same emotional attachment.

Will I actively pursue selling them? No. Would I listen to offers for anything and everything that I have - Yes.

Has my wife talked about selling my 72 set? - yes. Have I in response talked about dropping off her clothes at Goodwill? - yes.

So - I think in response. I don't foresee it happening in the near future. But, if my life priorities change down the road - I could do it.

dude

Ray,

Great thread! I feel exactly the same way about my '69 set (and mine is not even complete even in raw form). I collected as a child from 67-72. I'm still working on those years and hope to have them all completely graded in 8 or better the next 10-15 years. Even after they are complete, I'm certain I will still be upgrading.

When I started collecting cards as an adult in the late '80s and 90's, I expanded my collection from '59 to current - all Topps baseball. When I got into the grading thing, I too was hooked. Because of the costs involved, I sold my '59-'66 cards just to generate revenue for upgrading and completing my '67-72 sets. I didn't really want to do that, but my '59-66 didn't have the emotional appeal compared to the 67-72 cards. I never plan to sell those '67-72 cards unless I'm in a real squeeze. I also just sold my partial '75 graded set. I didn't want to sell that set because I think its one of the best sets of the '70s. But I was recently approached by another collector who had 7 very rare cards (5 were 1 of 1's) that I needed for one of my sets and bought them for a premium price and have no regrets.

Again, great thread!

mikeschmidt

I don't envision a time in the next five to ten years that I would sell my set, unless I would have to.

Of course, I would always consider an "outrageous" offer on my sets. After all -- if someone offered me a few times what I think the set is worth, I would be hard pressed to think that I couldn't find some other avenue in which to pursue my interests.

I can't see myself ever breaking apart my Mike Schmidt player set. Too much of a labour of love, with so much time and energy invested. But one thing I am not 100% sure about is what happens in the day when/if I am basically complete with my sets: e.g., upgrade becomes once every few months, and most of the other potential upgrades out there I can place in other serious long-term collections.

When you are done with a set -- does it really change your outlook and appreciation for the set? For some collectors, the answer is definitely no. (Charlie Merkel). For other collectors, the answer is not quite so clear. For me -- I think I will try and hold on for a long time, but I would be sad if it got to the point where I stopped looking at the cards or everything became "too familiar"

BigKidAtHeart

This is why I could never own a card shop...
how do those guys SELL off all those GREAT CARDS!

I went to a shop last week that had Mantles, Williams, Mays, Aarons and so many other great HOF stars in near mint condition examples ...

Who sells these cards?!

dom

Jeff...For the guys selling the Mantle's, etc. it's like selling chopped meat. It's a commodity, pure and simple. There is no emotion attached to it.

As for selling what has taken years to assemble...it's tough. The day will come eventually. For the younger folks out there, it hardly seems a consideration. I imagine when we reach 75 or 80 we will start thinking a little differently.

I have no kids and three nieces. I could envision my lifelong work and love affair with my collections being dumped for pennies on the dollar and turned into this week's hot lipstick shade without a second thought. Selling becomes a very real option in that case. So does burning it.

So, for the time being the stuff is safe. I have no intention of breaking up my cards or other collectibles. But, as Frank and Marc have suggested everything has its price. (Gulps hard) As Dan properly puts it, the operative word is upgrade.

FB

Dom,

I don't think that I've ever heard it expressed better... "into this week's hot lipstick shade". What a disturbing thought!!!

My wife knows that my cards are worth money - plus I've got my "In Case of Death - contact Chris Porter" sign in with the 72 set - so she'll do better that pennies on the dollar.

Fabfrank

I think that's why I've kept at least 2 sets of every year from 1980 on up. This way I could always tell my wife I sold one. As for my 70's sets, I'm nowhere near the point of considering selling. At this point I'm looking to grade and improve. I believe I will always keep at least one set from every year. As RayBShotz said "The memories are an enormous source of nostalgia"

Mitochondria

RayBShotz,

Great Topic! I feel the same way you do in that I have no intentions of parting with my 1969 set. I have set a goal of having the master set complete by August 1st, 2010. I'll be 46 years old at that time and I'll begin my official "upgrade" phase at that point; of course I do upgrade when I get the opportunity. I'm told that your peak earning years are in the mid-40's to mid-50's. By that time, I will certainly need to be in order to be competitive for some of the superstar cards.

In regards to what will happen to the set later on is uncertain. Most likely, the set would be split apart and sold with the proceeds divided by my family members. However, the thought of simply having the set cremated into ashes has crossed my mind.

Ron

mikeschmidt

<<However, the thought of simply having the set cremated into ashes has crossed my mind.>>

Gee -- that is precisely what my wife thinks I am doing with my money every time I make a new baseball acquisition...

FB

mikeschmidt,

Welcome to married life!!!

boggs301012

Great thread!!!

Guys I think for the Most part we are almost the same... collecting is a passion. Whether we collect Mike Schmidt , Or three stooges cards , it is what we love. I will have to be desperate to sell my Boggs cards. ( I have sold some triples as of late) I am lucky I have a Fiance that dosent care what I buy. As long as I have our bills paid. She understands my passion. And personaly speaking I dont drink or smoke , very rarely gamble. Maybe 2 visits to a casino a year. This is my "habit". My cards arent worth much in value comparred to a 69 set or a Mickey Mantle rookie...BUT I Love my cards as much as any "collector" I want my daughter to have my cards if I pass.

ejguru

Agree that thread is great! My 67's and 68's will be with me forever. I think the other years (70's) that I am building (slowly) will be sold to upgrade my 2 favorites.

Eric

gemint

If I ever sell my sets, it will be much later in life. I've spent too much time and effort building them to let them go now.

purelyPSA

I have a little different tack on this. I think that we all agree that if we "needed" it for ourselves or kids or something, we'd sell out. It'd be hard, but we'd do it.

Now the definition of "needed" varies from person to person. I'm 29, with a wife and a kid. For example: Say I had a business idea I felt strongly about. If I thought I could turn this business idea into reality, and make a better life for my family, my stuff would be up on Ebay in about seven seconds. Selling off something that means so much to you to raise cash for something as nebulous as a business proposition might not constitute "need" to most collectors, but to me it does.

In fact, this exact scenario happened to me a couple of years back. Before I collected PSA cards, I collected autographed cards. I started my collection while as a teen, and had two sets(!) of Topps cards nearly completely SIGNED! You think you can't find a low pop card in NM-MT 8, try finding a Randy Myers signed card. But I digress...my point is that after 15 years of collecting signed cards, and countless hundreds of hours writing letters and hanging out at ballparks, I sold my collection.

Now, my business crashed, and all was for naught, but you know something? I don't regret it one bit. I think I'd be feeling worse if I had held onto something as intrinsically useless as an autographed card collection, and instead missed out on the big break. I do miss my collection, and feel bad about not being around to see the completion of 15 seasons worth of work, but hey, that's life. I just want everyone to know there is indeed life after a baseball card collection.

vorthian

I must applaud all of those that attempt to put together 400+ card sets. Quite frankly, I get impatient and lose interest - even with the 25 and 30 card sets!

dude

purelyPSA,

Thanks for sharing your experience. I too have sold cards that I didn't want to sell, but felt it was necessary. One example is selling part of my collection to the top '68 Topps collector in the hobby. We agreed on a price that was just too hard to ignore. I used a good bit of the proceeds to help pay the adoption of our baby boy. I have no regrets at all even though some of those cards were and still are Pop. 1 of 1's. I'm slowly replacing the cards that I sold at a greatly reduced cost compared to what I sold them for. Speaking of heirs, I can only imagine that my son will inherit my collection unless he has no interest in them at all, then I would sell them and put the money in a trust fund or something. Hopefully, card collecting will be a father and son hobby for many years to come.

Again, this is a great thread. Good work Ray!

mikeschmidt

Vorthian -- as you have been complete with the finest known 1928 Fro-Joy set for a while, do you get bored now that you are complete? Or do you still enjoy it for everything it is?

I've always loved the Babe Ruth's grip card. That card and the Conlon photos of Mathewson's grip are some of my most memorable images in baseball.... just me, though.

I, too, couldn't imagine having the patience and restraint to put together a set that has 600 - 800 cards. I think the 1955 Bowman, with 320 cards, is problem enough in and of itself.

chrisrenaud

Thanks everyone again for the nice thread.

I do not think that I would ever want to sell any of the sets that I am building. I am 32 now, and have been collecting cards for 27 years, and my biggest regret with cards ever was selling all of my cards when I was a university student so that I could buy a better car - pretty stupid financial and emotional decision in retrospect. I remember selling 50 McGwire rookies to pay for gas in the pre grading days - never a mistake I want to make again.

I have tried to avoid having a primary set amongst the 70's (although I do like 1975 and 1978 a lot) so that when the common fever gets really really expensive I can shift my focus to another set in the decade for a period and then come back. Hence that is why I am 15%-40% with a number of sets but not near complete on any of them.

I also try to pace my spending so I never would be in a position to take an outrageous offer for my cards just so that I could buy other cards. It is kind of like dollar cost averaging on stocks.

Looking at these cards now lets me remember better a lot of fond memories from my childhood and I think that when I am older I would like to remember the fun of collecting all through my life.

So my advice to everyone - don't sell (unless I need the cards for my sets - just kidding) - you only live once and we do not get to come back to try to collect the cards again.

Thanks
Chris

FB

Wow Dude,

There's a trade for the ages! A three way - 68 Topps - cash - children. Ya gotta love this hobby!!!

Todd

Another great thread !! I am presently working on two sets, for me though it is the thrill of the chase. Although I love my cards, I do believe I could and will sell once each set is complete and start on another set or two. I enjoy trying to find raw cards and get them graded myself, although I do buy graded cards(for the right price) too. Hopefully when I have completed each set I will have graded about 60%-65% of it myself. That should make for a nice profit and enough seed $$$ to start on my next sets. My one problem is the longer I work on each set the harder it will be to let go of it.

vorthian

<< Vorthian -- as you have been complete with the finest known 1928 Fro-Joy set for a while, do you get bored now that you are complete? Or do you still enjoy it for everything it is? >>

MS:

As you know, I get bored very easily. My interests change with each passing week. At this point, graded comic books and ancient Roman/Greek coins have more of my interest than cards do.

Regarding the Fro-joy set, there is a person who is interested in the PSA 8 copies - but I see that as a major selling point, so look for the set to be placed on eBay in the near future.

thegemmintman

I'm dumping my '64 Topps Giants set and '70 Kellogg's set in the ocean like Topps did with those high number '52 Topps. No one is getting their hands on my babies .

BigKidAtHeart

<< <i>I'm dumping my '64 Topps Giants set and '70 Kellogg's set in the ocean like Topps did with those high number '52 Topps. No one is getting their hands on my babies . >>

let me know... Pinhigh and I will have our scuba gear ready!!!!!!!

hench1

This topic is exactly the reason I decided to expand my T205 collection from one set to three- I am entertaining the thought of selling either my best or number two set (if, of course, the price put a very bright light in my eyes), in case the right buyer were to come along- right being a buyer with a very good home for the cards and a lot of money with which I can console myself over the loss...

pinhigh

Gemmint - Just let BigKid and myself know when you plan this excursion. We would be happy to oversee the project. . . with scuba gear ready of course.

thegemmintman

Bigkid and Pinhigh - you're of course welcome to the drop zone, but you will have to walk the plank if you want a shot at the sunken treasure.

pinhigh

Do you think it would be possible to grab all those 10's before they hit the water?

BigKid + Pinhigh = 4 arms . . . so, that's like, 40 PSA 10's per hand. I think we could pull it off.

riccaboni

I, well, being at the young age I am at, face a different situation. While agreed my collection isn't as large as most, I plan on going to college, hopefully to Lehigh University to become an engineer at some point. Should I need money for books, or maybe the folks won't have enough money, I could be forced to sell off part of, or all of, my collection to pay some of my expenses at college. Thankfully though, my mom has been saving money for the past few years, my dad is a workaholic, and well, I have a few bucks, not that much though, from the paper route stashed away. I hope I don't have to part with my collection as a way to get into college, but if I do, I'll just have to wait until I start making the big bucks, yeah , to repurchase everything.

Ian

FB

Ian,

I'll tell ya...

I sold off my complete collection when I was 16 for $150 in order to buy a car. So, basically - complete sets from 68 - 76 along with partial sets from 77 & 78 and a bunch of singles back as far as 39 were swapped for a 1972 Pinto that looked like a babboon tried to find a banana under the seats.

After getting back into collecting, then dealing and show promotion at 20, I had over 18 pallets of cards stacked floor to ceiling in my parents basement (83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88 Topps wax and traded sets) when the call came in from Goldman Sachs saying that Topps was going public and was going to be able to produce 10 times the number of cards they do today - because they know they can sell them!!! So, I liquidated everything again for more like $250,000 as the market was starting to tank.

This is my third time with the cards. If I get laid off tomorrow - I'll hold on until my severance package runs out and then you'll start seeing my cards go up onto eBay - 69's, 68's, 71's, 70's, 73's, 74's, miscellaneous, 67's and if I'm not working yet - yes, even the 72's.

gtbeaker

Riccaboni- I know exactly what you're facing with the possibility of having to curtail your card pursuits for college. My collection didn't grow much during my college years, since I had a hard enough time finding money for food. But now that I'm making the big bucks as an engineer for an oil company, my collection seems to be growing everyday!

Just think of all those great graded cards you'll be able to buy when you get out of college and start work!

r00kies101

<<
MS:

As you know, I get bored very easily. My interests change with each passing week. At this point, graded comic books and ancient Roman/Greek coins have more of my interest than cards do.

Regarding the Fro-joy set, there is a person who is interested in the PSA 8 copies - but I see that as a major selling point, so look for the set to be placed on eBay in the near future
>>


Glad I'm not the only one that has changing interests each week. I probably will never stop collecting cards, but I am also interested in graded comic books lately, especially first appearances of characters (similar to rookie cards). I guess now, I'll have a tougher time deciding whether to use my money for comics or cards.

Fabfrank

Riccaboni- I have a better solution. Study hard, get top grades and get a scholarship. I was fortunate that I received academic as well as sports scholarships when I graduated high school. I did work as a waiter through college, but there was never overwhelming pressure to make tuition. When funds did get low I applied for student loans. I say all this because not only do I collect cards, but am also an avid comic book collector. Actually, comics are my first priority.
I always resisted selling my collections because the comics and cards cost me very little to accumulate. To replace them would have been close to impossible. Education comes first, but it doen't mean there aren't other ways to pay for it.

riccaboni

Thanks guys for the ideas, I kinda forgot that you guys went through these things when you guys were my age

Fortunately, I do well in school, and one incentive to that is my mom usually buys me a ton of cards and such when I make honor roll. I took 2 out of 4 honors courses last year, this year I am tackling 4 out of this years available 5.

I run cross country, I did alright for a 5'9", 180lb freshman. This year, after losing around 15lbs of fat during cross country, the best thing I ever did for myself, and gaining some muscle, I'm at 6'0", 185lbs, and looking for a spot on the bench of the varsity basketball team. Right now as it seems, I am going to be at the least a starter for the JV team, because I've started every game for the JV coach in the summer league us JV and varsity hopefuls are in, but I may be too young, not experienced, and not nearly as tall as I need to be to play varsity. I'm pretty tiny for a power foward, but I use my weight pretty well .

I am very involved in music, I play oboe for the school concert band, viola for orchestra, and bass guitar for jazz band. I also sing in chorus, which is also one of the better things I've ever done because 1. 40 girls, 1 guy 2. I sing the AC-DC covers my band, Cutting Edge, does. We have a female lead singer right now, who can't really sing AC-DC the way it should be sung, but she is learning. Look for us soon If anyone wants a CD, shoot me an address, I can send you one. Not only that, but I spent last season as the back-up catcher for the JV team for baseball. Looks as though I'm going to start next year, Korey is going to be a senior. I am the class advisory president, also.

Now that I've listed my resume , I guess I have a few things that might help me get into college and hopefully won't have to sell my collection after all...

Ian

Todd

How do you have time to collect cards? What a schedule.

mikeschmidt

Ian -- If you are at Lehigh and short of funds, you can always try and open an on-campus Yocco's franchise!

Fabfrank

Riccaboni- That's a GREAT HS resume. You are going in the right direction. After SAT scores and grades, colleges look to see how well rounded and unique you are. Music, sports, school government all add to chances of getting accepted. They also like to see volunteer work, and real world experiences (creating a web site, blazing trails in a park, planting a community garden, etc.)
And don't forget your card collecting. That's another thing that makes you unique.

riccaboni

Todd - That's where the problems start . I've gotten warnings from my mother, and my computer science teacher for surfing eBay during his class, that other things should come first, not card collecting . I've gotten a few B's on tests that should have been A's because I neglected to round out my knowledge of the information because I was too busy doing something, usually involving my cards.

Mike - Never thought about it, but hey, I could give it a shot. They still do a heck of a business at all the locations I know of. (Hamilton Blvd., the two in Trexler town). Lehigh Pizza though seems to have the college food demographic corned though for college kids around here.

FabFrank - My mom always told me the more that I do now, the better, and easier things will be later. I'm hoping that statement holds true.

Ian

Fabfrank

Ian- Your mom is right.