New Collectors Opinion - Pls give Feedback

tjf

Here's my story. I Collected baseball cards from 1977-1990 and loved the hobby. Then as we all know came the proliferation of junk sets and cards - toooo many of them. So my response was to quit collecting- I was fed up with the manufacturers. I started to collect baseball autographs and from 1990-2002 I traveled to all the major shows (3,000 hit, 500 hr, triple crown, team reunions, etc....) on the east coast and over the course of the 10 years met every living hall of famer and just about every superstar. my collection includes over 10,000 3x5's, 150 balls, 25 bats, 5,000 signed cards etc.....

Well, now the current players and the more recent retired stars are just asking for huge!!! fees and I have decided that I'm NOT paying it - so no more autographs. But what to do next? Having attended hundreds of shows and seen the proliferation of graded cards over the years I always wondered if it was possible to put together a complete graded set of cards. Then about a month ago I read about the set registry program. After doing some research and checking this site along with PSA I was hooked. Now what set to choose - I had put together a NM 1967 raw set about ten years ago but wanted to do something that I really loved and was possible to complete.

The cards I had always loved were the 1950,51,and 52 Bowmans. The color was great, the size was unique, and they were of the really great historical players. So I am here to announce that I AM IN!!! I am starting with the 1950 Bowman set in PSA 7 or better. Having looked at the population report I think 7 or better is the way to go. Hopefully when that is near completion or the cards start to dry up I will move on to 1951 and so on.

I hope to form relationships with some of you and look forward to reading your opinions about the PSA market in the future

Virtualizard

Welcome tjf. I was in the same boat as you (except I never did the autograph thing). I collected cards from the mid 70's to the early 90's and then got out. In 1999, I began buying a couple boxes of cards each year and began to enjoy collecting again. I narrowed my focus and stuck to Topps (there is just so much out there that it is insane to try to collect everything). About two years ago I decided to go back and complete the Topps sets from the 1960's and 70's and eventually started getting some graded cards on auctions just because it was what I needed to complete my sets (not necessarily graded and I couldn't find good raw cards). At some point it clicked and I decided to just focus on graded cards. I had accumulated 30,000+ raw cards from the 60's and 70's and started getting some of the better ones graded. I learned a lot about grading standards this way. I think completing vintage sets (no comments on what is vintage please) is so much better than trying to focus on the newer cards.

I guess what I'm saying is: pick a set that you really like and focus on it (I chose 1970 Topps as a starting point because I had the most cards from that set).

Good luck with whatever you choose and remember, you have a great resource here for feedback on any questions you have.

JEB.

qualitycards

TJF - Welcome aboard!
There is no RIGHT way or WRONG way to collect. If you look at any 2 collections they will vary as do our tastes. I'll give you the same advice I used to give everyone at my store for years...."Buy what you like and what you can afford" Then you will be happy and buy more...jay

brucemo

Ha.

My '50 Bowman page.

You have excellent taste, but expect to spend several years doing this set. Many of the populations are very low in PSA-7, often lower than in PSA-8. Some of the cards are very hard. I've read that '50 Bowman low (1-72) is the hardest Bowman series to do, and this has to be true, with the probable exception of '53 Bowman B&W, which barely exists.

I wish I could tell you how it is to try to do '51 or '52, but I've never tried to do '51, and I haven't tried to add to my '52 set (1/2 done) for a long time. It used to seem pretty easy to do '52.

If card collecting has become "boring", and you are looking for a challenge, you've walked right into one.

bruce

Virtualizard

Well put Bruce. I had lost interest in the hobby until I started collecting graded cards a few years ago.

JEB.

LuxuryWines

TJF,

Welcome to the Board. My experience is fairly similar I collected cards as a Kid and bought large quantites of cards in the 70's ... (Including some early 60's and late 50's Topps. Around my senior year of high school (1982) I stopped buying cards and basically left the hobby... I jumped back in about 4 years ago and to be honest was buying anything that struck my fancy (mostly modern) after a while I started to think about how many modern sets there were and the fact that they did not seem to hold value ... The crowning moment for me came in 2001 ( as I was working on the 2000 Fleer Greats of the GAme Auto Set) and getting Outbid on a Mattingly auto at $500 almost 2X book and almost bidding $1000( I was 2 cards away from finishing the set). I kind of had some remorse and look at Beckett and saw what I could be buying for those prices..My jaw dropped ... From their I progressed back into raw vintage cards but soon figured out most people overgraded their cards and moved into graded cards.... I think the early Bowman Cards are awesome and would be a wise choice from aesthetics and from a value standpoint... Good Luck in your collecting.... By the way here is what I bought with money I was going to spend on the Mattingly

KING KELLOGG

tjf....

Welcome to the board!!!

You might want to attempt a smaller set...Say....1970 through 1983 KELLOGG'S....Hmmmmm!

Give me the word and I'll send you 3 FREE PSA 9's just to get you started, and a box of Rice Krispies to boot!!


Good luck!!!


Larry.

62toppsfb

I'm also just returing to the hobby after a long break. I started collecting in 1988 when I was 8 and quit when I started high school, just had too many other things going on. I'm a really big fan of the Chicago Bears, and football in general, so for my first graded set I'm going to try to do 1962 Topps Football in 8 NQ or better, as well as collect unopened packs. I've always thought it would be fun to build up an old wax box a pack at a time, maybe I'm the only one.

mrichards

Welcome TJF. I believe any set from the 50's is tough to complete in 7's or higher. Some of the lower pop (population) cards will cost you an arm and a leg. I wish you the best of luck.

Mike