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what is the reason you collect.......

is it a business, hobby or investment or all 3?

i do it as a side business but as long as i can remember & i'm 34 theres nothing better then getting a card i really want.

Comments

  • Primarily as a hobby. I will occasionally pick up a few cards that I feel could get a good grade and will sell.
    Looking for Los Angeles/California/Anaheim Angels in PSA 8 or better
  • Hobby. I'm not under any illusions that my investment will be worth anything in the future.
  • joestalinjoestalin Posts: 12,473 ✭✭
    Whats started out as a hobby is now an addiction. Im just waiting for the day when I can get out.

    JS
  • jskirwinjskirwin Posts: 700 ✭✭✭


    << <i>Whats started out as a hobby is now an addiction. Im just waiting for the day when I can get out.

    JS >>



    Yeah but it's cheaper than crack, and the only hangover you'll ever have is after a bidding war on Ebay.image

    I collect for fun - and to give the grandkids something to argue over after I'm dead.
  • bobsbbcardsbobsbbcards Posts: 3,254 ✭✭✭


    << <i>...Yeah but it's cheaper than crack... >>



    Either you get a better deal on cards than I do, or I get a better deal on crack than you do. image
  • As a hobby...and a way to perpetuate my childhood. image I still love collecting the cards that were around when I was growing up.

    Todd
  • RipublicaninMassRipublicaninMass Posts: 10,051 ✭✭✭
    For hobby basically, but I have "junk" to sell on ebay, and some nice commons worth grading lying around. Focusing is the hardest part for me.
  • I collect mainly for hobby. I like putting together sets, grabbing nice copies of heros of the past. But, I feel pretty confident that I can turn around and sell if necessary and not lose to much.
    Ted Williams, Willie Mays, Tom Seaver, Mike Schmidt, George Brett, Bob Gibson, Lou Brock player collector
  • RipublicaninMassRipublicaninMass Posts: 10,051 ✭✭✭


    << <i>Whats started out as a hobby is now an addiction. Im just waiting for the day when I can get out.

    JS >>

    LOl
    check the title and despriction of this set (my own)
    funny
  • EagleEyeKidEagleEyeKid Posts: 4,496 ✭✭
    As a hobby.
  • I love baseball. I own an advertising agency and do a lot of printing. I love history.

    I collect because it's a great combination of the three things above.

    I view it as a hobby, but I justify the expense by collecting cards I'm likely to be able to sell and recover my investment, if need be.

    -Al
  • I love the cards dated 1960 and before. It is not only a hobby, but an investment, but, more importantly, I love the thrill of the hunt. Finding a rare card and them competing for it. Vintage sports cards are also true Americana, little pieces of artwork created and manufactured a half-century and more ago. It's baseball, too, a part of our history that has changed little since it's inception over a century ago. And, with the steroids, huge contracts, team jumping, and all else that goes on today, collecting the star players from long ago . . . Mantle, Williams, Clemente, etc. (even though they weren't perfect) . . . gives a finer appreciation of the talents of those athletes then. What a great hobby we have!!!!

    Your friend,

    Bill
  • Investment Only.
  • I buy what I like but hope someday some of it will be worth something.

  • hobby only
  • I enjoy these "psyche" threads.

    I enjoy the activity of it all: searching, going to the USPS, cataloging (my favorite), updating the Registry and spreadsheets, message boards, etc. Camaraderie is another big reason. I've been collecting players who were part of my childhood. However, I plan to go down the pre-war road to imagine what it was like collecting during that time.

    Investment is secondary: I belong to a few collector groups where cards are given away for free or at cost.

    For those who get a little burned out by inaccurate grading, rude posters, loss of value, etc., just take a complete break from message boards and Ebay for two straight weeks to get re-energized.
    “Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.” - George Carlin
  • Hobby only... I don't even look at smr or price guides anymore.
    I sell stuff on ebay when I get sick of it.

    I like what charliehustle said.... a way to perpetuate my childhood...
  • kobykoby Posts: 1,699 ✭✭


    << <i>.... just take a complete break from message boards and Ebay for two straight weeks to get re-energized. >>





    image

    Two weeks? You can miss so many good deals in two weeks. You can also miss that rare card that you have been searching for for the past ten years.

    If I could step away from thsi for two weeks, then I would not consider this an addiction.
  • definitely Hobby.. I collect Chris Osgood and Canadian football; I'm under no illusions that these are going to make me rich.. image

    But it is an obsession. I'm trying to get one of everything.. image
    Collecting Edmonton sports cards - all Eskimos CFL cards and O-Pee-Chee Oilers as well as Chris Osgood hockey cards
  • AxtellAxtell Posts: 10,037 ✭✭
    Definitely hobby...but do plan on selling some cards here and there.

    I collect sets that interest me...and like the others, I am under no illusion that these pieces of carboard with photos on them will be worth anything in the future.

    I also like knowing I'll be able to share these memories of card collecting with my kids (when I have them, that is). I think preserving them long term in PSA slabs helps with those thoughts.

  • MorrellManMorrellMan Posts: 3,241 ✭✭✭
    Hobby - I buy, I sell, I snipe, I trade, I yak, I catalog, collate, inspect and enjoy - but the whole thing is a hobby.
    It becomes an addiction when it becomes a way of life - stepping away is the only way to gain sanity if you feel it slipping away.
    Gotta go now, auction closing soon - image
    Mark (amerbbcards)


    "All evil needs to triumph is for good men to do nothing."
  • To meet women........
  • frankhardyfrankhardy Posts: 8,120 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Many reasons.

    I love baseball. I love the history of it. I follow the Cardinals. That is my main collection. I collected when I was a kid in the mid 80's and still have some of those cards. BUT - I am always looking locally for collections to buy in order to resell. I take the Cardinals out, and mainly sell the rest. I have had some very nice cards and sets (including a 1953 Topps Complete Set), but really can't afford to keep them.

    This fact is key (especially with my wife) - when I buy cards, it's not like I am throwing money away. At any time I want, I can resell the cards and get my money back or make money.

    Shane

  • Lothar52Lothar52 Posts: 2,664 ✭✭✭
    i collect because my prostate tells me too image
  • Stone193Stone193 Posts: 24,435 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I am one of those who is "compelled" to collect - a natural born pack rat - so if you couple a love for the game of baseball and football with the tendency to save everything - and you get a collector (at least this kind).

    your friend
    Mike
    Mike

  • -Hobby. It's fun adding onto the collection I had as a kid (age 7-14). I use to dream about cards like an 81/82 OPC Paul Coffey Rc or an '84 Star Celtics team set. I don't expect to make money from any cards after '78. Fun nontheless.

    -Stable investments. A different portion of my collection entirely. These include vintage PSA 9's and vintage wax packs. They are fun to buy, they should stay relatively stable and they're a reflection of my love of sports. Hard to beat that.....
  • ctsoxfanctsoxfan Posts: 6,246 ✭✭
    It is a hobby for me, and like previously mentioned, a way to relive my childhood in little bits and pieces. Of course, having a graded collection gives you liquidity with ease should you need to sell, but I am not using important money for my card adventures, just the money I would probably blow on other vices image
    image
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