20 years from now...

Boopotts

Guys (and gals) who were born in 1985 or so are going to be in their 40's, and some of them will probably get serious about collecting cards of Favre, Clemens, etc. etc. Which makes me wonder-- do you think those guys will have more, or less, fun then you guys do when it comes to putting together player collections? On the one hand it will be a daunting-- if not impossible-- task to put together any kind of master set. But a nice basic set should be attainable with a little dilligence, and they'll also have the option of pursuing all these fruity parallels, refractors, and so on. So what do you think-- if the player you currently collect (assuming you collect someone who retired pre 1993 or so) had as many base cards and inserts as today's player does, do you think you'd enjoy collecting that player any more or any less?

Lothar52

i think they will see the error in their ways and decide the golden era of the 50's is a much better investment and proceed to purchase commons so as to build 50's sets

but thats just my vision

loth

ColleSystem

Vinstage Star Wars Cards!

ColleSystem

Seriously,

The story of the original trilogy of Star Wars will be around for many, many years. Not sure about the new movies though . As such, I think high grade 77 topps star wars cards will hold favor for some time. I realize they won't be the flashiest set in town, but they'll probably still be my favorite.

-Scott

kcballboy

I will be one of those people (born in 81), and I for one would have no desire to put together a 18,000 card Pujols master set. I would probably just collect a random smattering of cards that I liked or players I liked. I haven't bought new stuff for about 10 years as it is.

What I hope for the most is that when I am that age, I will finally have some extra income so I can actually purchase cards of my own, instead of living through you all.

montanafan

all i can say is thank god montana retired in '94.. the master set is completely manageable and reasonable up until about 1991-92 then it just goes nuts with first day issues, division winner parallels, stripe cards, refractors, etc etc etc etc until it mercifully ends in 1995.. i would want no part of a more recent player's master set because there are just too many varieties and parallels of cards from too many companies... part of the reason i love the montana master set is that it is very diverse and challenging but at 300 cards (and growing) it is actually achievable...

softparade

I am and have always been a set collector. I would never entertain doing any player only set. I am a SLAVE to complete sets with cheklists that come in the PACKS

digicat

I dunno. I was born in 76, and I'm far more interested in 50s and 60s stuff. I don't have the deep pockets to go after complete sets, but I can go after team sets for my Giants. There's enough HoF and All-Star history in the Giants to make my collection pretty fun and interesting.

edit to say:
However, once I had a real cash flow, I went back and finished off all the sets I had ever started from the 80s and early 90s. Cheap and easy, but man, it takes up a lot of space!

Boopotts

<< <i>all i can say is thank god montana retired in '94.. the master set is completely manageable and reasonable up until about 1991-92 then it just goes nuts with first day issues, division winner parallels, stripe cards, refractors, etc etc etc etc until it mercifully ends in 1995.. i would want no part of a more recent player's master set because there are just too many varieties and parallels of cards from too many companies... part of the reason i love the montana master set is that it is very diverse and challenging but at 300 cards (and growing) it is actually achievable... >>



Very interesting. So you're actually looking forward to finishing the set one day? I've always kind of thought that part of the fun was in the pursuit of new stuff, which is something that ends (save upgrades) when the set is completed.

Buccaneer

I started collecting as a kid in 1970 and bought a lot of 70s cards. Later on I bought way too much 80s stuff. So what do I collect? 50s and 60s sets. The quality and design of the sets from 1973 to the early 80s were crap, imo. I even noticed how bad some of the pictures were when I was kid looking at 73-76 cards. There are many born in the 40s collecting 50s/60s. There are many born in the 60s collecting 50s/60s. There are many born in the 70s and 80s collecting 50s/60s. 20 years from now, collecting 50s/60s will still be better than collecting 80s.

calleocho

I think current player collecting is dead.

Its simply too overwhelming.

Probably autographs and maybe even game used cards might still be popular ...but complete master sets are a thing of the past.

Stone193

Tough question Boo

Who knows? I would guess there will always be set collectors and star card/HOF collectors.

I would guess there will still be people who are up to the challenge of chasing 19,000 cards of player xyz.

Thanks to the computer and excel spreads the task is easier to track.

For our young people who choose to go down that road...I wish them luck! I'll, hopefully, be watching from the cheap seats!

mike

ToppsCo1lector

Well of the few players I collect, I have already decided I can't put together a master set. Too too many cards. So I've basically gone and just collected their rookie cards(Minor and Major league).

montanafan

Very interesting. So you're actually looking forward to finishing the set one day? I've always kind of thought that part of the fun was in the pursuit of new stuff, which is something that ends (save upgrades) when the set is completed.

ain't that the truth... yes, i absolutely do hope to finish it though. At least with the current composites, i think it's "do-able" although there are a few very tough and expensive cards required.. adding cards to the set and expanding it is one of the things i enjoy most, and the set has grown to 300 from about 260 cards when i first started participating a couple years ago.. although i will probably be working on it until the day i die.. you just plug away and plug away and fill those slots and over time it can be done... that's why i said thank god montana retired.. i don't know if he'd played even one more year if the set would be achievable..

i was sad to see him go at the time, but in retrospect i wish he'd retired one year sooner...




- upside sports collection

Boopotts

<< <i>Tough question Boo

Who knows? I would guess there will always be set collectors and star card/HOF collectors.

I would guess there will still be people who are up to the challenge of chasing 19,000 cards of player xyz.

Thanks to the computer and excel spreads the task is easier to track.

For our young people who choose to go down that road...I wish them luck! I'll, hopefully, be watching from the cheap seats!

mike >>



My guess is that what we'll start seeing is stuff like 'Topps Master' or 'Topps Basic' , or 'Griffey Mariner' or 'Griffey Red' sets, or other such subcatagories that will make things a little more achievable. But it will be interesting to see what happens!

Sheamaster

<< <i>I think current player collecting is dead. >>



I agree that current player collecting could be overwhelming but who says you have to collect everything. I collect several current players in baseball (A-Rod, Pujols, Bonds, Clemens) but stick to primarily their Topps regular edition cards.

Boopotts

<< <i>

<< <i>I think current player collecting is dead. >>



I agree that current player collecting could be overwhelming but who says you have to collect everything. I collect several current players in baseball (A-Rod, Pujols, Bonds, Clemens) but stick to primarily their Topps regular edition cards. >>



Right on! This is what I'm getting at. Player collecting will always be a staple of the hobby IMO-- in fact, I can't imagine the hobby without it-- but the parameters will shift to better accomodate the rapidly expanding supply of cards. Or at least this is what I 'think' will happen. You'll start seeing all kinds of subsets of different players--- GU cards that are either unnumbered or numbered to 500 or more, say, or the aformentioned 'Topps only' or 'team only' subsets, which will take the place of the end-all be-all master set.

I think it's going to be a lot of fun, and really interesting, to see how the hobby reacts in the next 20 years to this huge influx of cards. I don't doubt for a minute that some guys will just get turned off and end up collecting vintage sets, but I also think that a lot of collectors will do what many on these boards do- i.e., put together sets of the teams, players and eras that they remember as a kid. Childhood nostalgia is a powerful tonic. It will take more than just a daunting checklist to turn people off from collecting cards that recall the better days of their youth.

Ahmanfan

I don't think you guys realize that the vast VAST majority of modern collectors (and collectors in general) collect raw cards. They know nothing about the 'master set' or 'basic set' of a player. they just want all the cards they can find of their favorite player, whoever it may be!

Player collecting will always be popular as long as people have favorite players.
JOhn

AISAVDBBALLINPHILLY

Right on! This is what I'm getting at. Player collecting will always be a staple of the hobby IMO-- in fact, I can't imagine the hobby without it-- but the parameters will shift to better accomodate the rapidly expanding supply of cards. Or at least this is what I 'think' will happen. You'll start seeing all kinds of subsets of different players--- GU cards that are either unnumbered or numbered to 500 or more, say, or the aformentioned 'Topps only' or 'team only' subsets, which will take the place of the end-all be-all master set.


Boo,

I think you are on the right track here.

John

Carew29

I feel some of your pain out there. My Carew Master Set went from 151 cards to 207 just from last year to present.

Stone193

As the list gets larger, I think you guys are correct - the categories of collecting will increase along with the number of individual copies.

I was just thinking about the "personality" of the inveterate collector and a key ingredient to that pursuit:

a hard whit - the person who steadfastly adheres to their goal with an unerring eye on the finishline.

The quick whit personality starts fast, easily gets discouraged or distracted and drops off the CU radar screen.

Collecting isn't for everyone.
mike

montanafan

was just thinking about the "personality" of the inveterate collector and a key ingredient to that pursuit:
a hard whit - the person who steadfastly adheres to their goal with an unerring eye on the finishline
The quick whit personality starts fast, easily gets discouraged or distracted and drops off the CU radar screen.

poppie

<< <i>For our young people who choose to go down that road...I wish them luck! I'll, hopefully, be watching from the cheap seats! >>

You will have a private suite, Mike. Front row !!