The best way to build a set

theczar

When you go to buy a house they suggest that buy more than you can afford today because if you don't you will outgrow it soon. I think the same strategy should apply to building sets. If you start building a set of 7's when you can afford higher, my theory is that soon you will be buying 8's and will be wasting time dumping off the lower grades.
Any thoughts or experiences with those who have found that they upgraded their sets and wished they had started at a higher grade. Unless you start at a 10 or collect a set where there are few 10's (or 9's for vintage sets) a set builder may always face this dilemma.
That PSA 9 that may be highly priced as a 1/2 gets a lot more reasonable when it is a 1/10 two years down the road.

cardinarky

There is no way to WIN once you contract this disease. Also it is not probable you will break even.

tennesseebanker

I dont try to build a set in just one grade, If I am building a high grade set I will build in 9 or 10. If I am building a mid- grade6's, 7's and 8's. I have in mind what grades I would like the set in before I try to complete it. Sometimes this works and sometimes it doesnt, Because I get tired before I finish and move on to another set.

Southerncards

When I build a set, I just look for cards that catch my eye as being acceptable. If its a 30's card, a minor crease doesnt bother me, a 50's card should have no creases and halfway decent centering, a 70's card should have nrmt corners etc. Sometimes I send a card in for grading and it comes back an SGC 80 and looks as good to me as an 86 does. As long as I'm happy with the card, I dont need mint cards.

RonBurgundy

I buy the cards, not the grades. How they look is paramount, not what number is assigned to them. That said, anything less than a 7 goes up on my dartboard or to the dog.

Pharber

For the last month I've been building my first vintage set -- 1958 Topps baseball.

I'm doing it for two reasons.

1. I have a rainy day money fund that I was going to spend on a new set of golf clubs, but I think I can play with the old set for another year so I deciced to use the money to build the set.

2. I've been stuck in the house recuperating from knee replacement surgery so I thought I'd do it because I've seen just about every movie on the tube and I'm bored to death. (and if anybody has undergone knee replacement surgery, you know you can't sleep at night so it's a great time to be on EBay.)

In a short period of time I am just six cards from completing the set.

As for commons, I purchased a bunch of mid-grade lots on EBay. I looked for ones advertised as VG-EX or better. I picked up a bunch at some pretty good prices.

As for the money cards, the Mantles and Maris cards, I stayed away from graded cards because I don't have that much money. I had the time to look for bargains and made a lot of good buys as the final seconds ticked off the EBay auction clock.

Yes, I'll have plenty of duplicate commons and after culling the best ones for my set, I throw the rest back on EBay as a set starter.

However, although I will be finished getting all the cards very soon, I'm far, far from done with the set. I can see myself gradually improving the set, picking up a card here or a card there.