How many people are successfully "slowly" collecting a set?

tkd7

I've said this to myself often, that I will slowly collect a set. An example is the Perez-Steele Great Moments autos. I've said to myself that I will pick up maybe one a month. Then I see an ebay auction for a bunch and I say "Wow, I can pick up a few for less than the grading fee." So now it may be 2-3 a month.

I've found that I either actively collect a set or put it away for a while. I've done this with my '55 All American set. I have about 33% of the cards, but I really don't search them out right now. Maybe I will start now that football season is here.

How many people have been successful at slowly collecting a set? This doesn't include collecting to the point when you need a couple of cards and you just can't find them. If you are looking that hard, you are actively collecting the set.

Obviously it starts with a budget and we all have one, but enthusiasm sometimes overrides the budget in the short term.

Stingray

Not very!! I do not seem to have the focus to stay on track too long. Especially on big sets. I need to try and do a set under 400 cards or so and see if I can do it.

Griffins

I am. I've got sets I really like that I"m very aggressive on, but a couple of years ago I decided to start on some sets and put them together slowly, bottom feeding and picking up a card here and there. I'm about half way on Sport Kings, '41 Goudey and '49 Bowman, and about 10% in on '40 Playball. My goal on all of them is mid grade, PSA 5 or so.
I just finished '35 Goudey using this method, and found it to be really fun. As much as I'd like to collect them raw it's just too hard doing it online.
I still make steady progress and haven't lost any focus, and by not having to win every offering probably saving a lot of money as well.

schr1st

I've been working on a lot of sets "slowly", and for the most part successfully. It's always nice to have something to go back to when either you get bored with one project or if cards start drying up for them. I've been working on my Gold Refractor sets as of late, but couldn't help myself when a nice group of 1957-58 Topps basketball cards showed up on eBay, so I switched gears and grabbed 3 nice 6's for my Set Registry set. It may not seem like much, but it was enough to push me to 10% complete on the set, and they were nice diversion from my normal mailday findings.

PSARich

I have been working on Topps baseball sets from 1959 to 1974 for about 10 years in PSA 9. I have a limit I will bid on PSA 9 commons for each year and stick to it. It works out because I have only so much $$$ to spend each month and I have no trouble spending it at the prices I want to pay. I tend to bid at the low end but as I said have no trouble spending my limit. For many commons that were quite high in costs a few years ago, I am able to get now for much less as the PSA populations grow. I recognize that a some point I will be down to a few high cost items, both commons and stars, but I am patient. I will soon reach 75% in PSA 9 for one year and I am in no hurry to complete the set. When I get there...I get there. After all, its not the getting but the going there that's good.

Cincyfan01

I have worked hard on my 76 Topps set, but I am also putting together a 61-62 Fleer Baseball Set together in PSA 8 or better. I may pick up 8-10 cards in one month and then none for the next few months. I like the set, but am not aggressive like I am with the 76 set.

Downtown1974

Ive been slowly building my 1974 Topps BB for a while now. Its the only set I have in the registry but I am also working on a vintage HOFers collection and a Mantle basic set. I dont plan on putting those in the registry. I would love to do a 1967 set in 7 or better but I want to finish my 74s first.

Ahmanfan

Cincy- did you mean 61/2 fleer basketball? because in psa 8 that is pricey!!

I am a wayyyy bottom feeder, so I'm working on a bunch of sets very very slowly. 55 all american, 61/2 fleer basketball, 57 topps football, 86 fleer basketball, 69 topps basketball, 70 topps basketball, 55 topps baseball, 55 bowman football ugh!

gemint

I'm building the pre-1975 sets slowly. Aside from 1961, I'm building most of my sets through my own submission of raw cards. It's very slow going but I'm in no hurry. I've built many to over 5% and some over 10% in PSA 8 or better. It doesn't sound like much but when you sum all the cards together from those years, it's quite a bit. The 1961 set is the only one I'm buying graded cards in. I've managed to get it to ~55% in less than a year. Even that set, about 10-15% are my own submissions and the remainder were bought at under SMR (even when factoring in shipping and handling for eBay purchases). At some point I'll need to bite the bullet and spend big bucks for the Cerv, Gibbon and other tough cards but I bet I can get near 90% before I have to start paying over SMR.

1977topps

Been working on the 2000 Gallery Players Private Issue set since 2000. I am in the home stretch, closing in on 75% finished, though not all graded yet. Link to set is below.

mtcards

I have been working on the 1999 SP Authentic Football Master Set for about 6 years now. I have the entire regular set, 65% of the silver parallel, 6 of the gold parallel, all of the regular insert sets, 38 of the 45 regular autos, 17 of the 46 purple autos, and 10 of the buyback autos. Basically about 50% complete. Will take years and many thousands more (2 Walter Payton autos in the set).

nearmint

I'm fooling around with the 1965 Philadelphia football set, picking up a 10 whenever I get a chance. I'm at 6.57%, all commons. I'll see how far I can get before the wife finds out.

Cincyfan01

I am doing the 61-62 Baseball. It is listed that way in the registry. I think the second series was issued during 1962.

lawnmowerman

I am working on the Emmitt Smith master set. I have a long way to go but it sure has been fun so far searching for cards. Here are the numbers so far:

Percent Complete: 65/950 = 6.84%

Weighted GPA: 1240.00/130.5 = 9.5019157
Set Rating: 1240.00/2,524 = 0.4913810

On the bright side, I started out in the cellar and I am in 4th place currently. Not that the position I am in matters but its fun to watch the percentage go up while adding cards.

Matt

ajw

<< <i>I am working on the Emmitt Smith master set. >>



Really? We haven't noticed.

themetalsign

I'm 4 years into a 56 Topps Baseball set with 25 to go. 160 total graded psa 7, sgc 84+, gai 7.5 and BVG 7.5 and better and I had a bunch of pauses in between. Lots of time and money. I just buy bunches of cards in spurts and at some point I will amass a pretty impressive collection.

twoinar

Not sure if anyone has any interest in basketball, but I started collecting Topps Basketball Gold/99 in 03-04 and have continued with 04-05 and 05-06. I'm now only nine cards away from finishing the 255 card 05-06. I'm getting really anxious to find those last few elusive cards. These sets have been really difficult, but a lot of fun. It's cool to meet people through bidding on items that collect the same set as you. I met a couple of great collector friends in the process and a fierce bidding rival in another.

03-04 Topps Gold/99 (223/249 89.6%)
04-05 Topps Gold/99 (146/249 58.6%)
05-06 Topps Gold/99 (245/255 96.1%)

Allen

86-87 Fleer Basketball sets. I have managed to complete a few in the past 5 years. Just started 96-97 Chrome over the summer and have a full set minu the kobe and pippen as well as 2 near sets. I am also working on 98-99 SP Authetic basketball a little bit, I could knock it out easily in a month or so, but I have just been sidetracked. I am soon going to start a set of the NBA 50 Greatest players certified autograph issues, I like PSA/DNA and GAI Certified Autos better than the pack pulled ones, so that should cut the costs on some cards.

helionaut

1941 Play Ball since 1992, 1955 Bowman since 1993, 1994 SP Holoview Reds since 1994, 2001 Heritage and Chromes since 2001, I've made glacial progress on all of them. It's just a matter of focusing and finishing. But there is always a shiny new modern set that takes precedence. That and at least the first 3 sets all have some high dollar cards that I haven't acquired yet and don't know when I will.

jskirwin

I got back into the hobby about 3 years ago, and decided to knock off 1967-78.

The first year I finished 73-78.

For the past 2 years I have focused primarily on 1972. 787 cards with the excruciating high series taking up the bulk of that time. I have purchased, poured over and sold thousands of the things in order to build a decent NM set.

Now I'm 10 cards away but doubt I will complete it by Thanksgiving.

Up next after that are the 70 and '71 "black beauties".

I don't expect to ever finish all 12 sets, but I'm having fun in the meantime.

Love of the Game

I'm doing a T206 set this way.

Once in a while, when the inspiration strikes, I look around and bottom feed on some beaters, or a lower-grade lot. I buy them all raw. Sometimes I get them as part of trades. I have about 60 or 70, so I have a long way to go, and probably will never finish.

I trade them away all the time for other cards, I sell them sometimes. I almost don't even consider them part of my collection. One day I'll wake up and I'll have a few hundred of them, then I'll try and focus on the set a little more.

I'm 37 now, I've been picking them up since I'm a teenager. I've had as many as 150, so you can see I really don't focus on this at all, and I'm "building" it so slowly that I'm going backward.

-Al

Fabfrank

mtcards- are you building the 99 SP Authentic football set for the Registry? I don't see a Master set listed. I'm working on the basic set and the Players Ink Auto set. If you have any graded dupes I would be interested. You can PM or email me.

RonBurgundy

Great thread. For newer sets (post 70) it's easier for me to take my time. I figure there are more high quality raw cards out there so I can wait for the cards I like.

For older sets, I tell myself I'll build them slowly, but it never works. I started a '57 set last May, and now am one card short. I just got going and could not stop. I was building the set in high grade with mostly raw cards and figured if I saw a card I liked, I had to buy it because nice raw from the 50's is tough. If I had been buying graded to build the set I would have taken much more time, but it would not have been nearly as much fun.



Stay classy,


Ron

tkd7

Thanks for the input. Sounds like a lot of people have a set or two simmering on the burner, adding to it as money, interest, availability, and fiscal responsibility allow. I have a few sets I wax and wane on myself. I've been a little choosy on collecting stadium postcards as I realize that there is nothing to really complete and if I pass on something, there is always something else out there. That being said, there are a few postcards that I would chase aggressively if I saw them.

I have to admit that vintage material has opened me up much more to learning about the history of the game and the cards. That learning has refreshed my collecting.

mafoliq

five years working on the t206 and t205 sets. The t206s stand at around 460 cards with about 8% graded. The T205 set is #19 on the registry withh about 25% graded. I don't care if it takes 10 more years to do, I wanted to do something that would make me stay focused. For me, the getting there is most of the fun.

Stone193

I may hold the record for a small set.

I have been working on the 63F BB set for almost 3 yrs and am at 55%.

My goal is to keep it under smr.

mike

NickM

I'm basically working on everything slowly, both raw and graded. Occasionally, something gets a major boost (usually from a catalog auction lot). About the only things you could say I pick up "quickly" are my Hall of Fame sets - football especially (baseball has reached a point where other than 1960 and 1961-62 Fleer, almost everyone left requires pre-WWII).

Some sets I search for regularly, which is part of why I've broken 20% on a few graded sets (and player sets); others I pick up as part of player searches, seller's other auction searches, or items ending soon searches.

Nick

roastedcat

I've been working on my HOF autograph set really slowly, I could have picked up many cards and had been almost complete by now, but I guess I've been hit by the lazy bug. Lately, I've been thinking I'll just find complete sets and submit them to psa just to have them on the registry, like this one I won today for $38. did I get a good deal on this?




1970 OFFICIAL BASEBALL CARD GAME by Milton Bradley Co. in Near Mint Condition. Complete w/32 game cards & 28 player cards. Includes 14 HALL OF FAMERS (yes Rose). These 14 show almost no wear & probably should be graded. These include:

BROCK
ROSE
SEAVER
CLEMENTE
MAYS
AARON
KILLEBREW
JACKSON
McCOVEY
MARICHAL
CAREW
ROBINSON
BANKS
NIEKRO
The game itself is in excellent condition, NO splits on the lid, field & scoreboard are nice. Very clean game! Buyer pays $5 shipping. NO RESERVE!!

RemynSkyler

Hello all,

I have been working on the 1981-82 Topps Basketball set for 4-5 months now and I am currently 8th on the registry. It has been a slow, but enjoyable process. I don't know why I like this set so much, but I do. I think it's because it is the beginning of the glory days of the NBA IMHO. Boy I miss those days! LMK if anybody out there has some PSA 9 or 10's or high grade raw you want to get rid of.

Thanks, Mark

sagard

I've been working on my 1963 Topps PSA graded set since 11/02 according to my email records. Still need two cards.

Stone193

<< <i>I won today for $38. did I get a good deal on this? >>



Jery

I picked up the game last year - I think I paid 30 bucks. Yes, I think ya did good. The games have a range value between 50-125$ and the Standard Catalog of BB has the "complete boxed set" booking Nm for
150$.

mike

stown

The beauty of slowly building a set is that you never feel rushed to purchase a particular card. There is no timetable, so technically, you never "quit" the set. Getting a little bummed losing a few auctions or starting to lose a little focus? Put it on the back burner a couple of months.

5, 10, 15, 20+ years? Pfht.. Who cares? It's not a race.

Take your time, spend the cash when you want to, buy the cards that appeal to you, and enjoy the ride.

When you are done, your countless hours will be truly rewarded and you will have a greater appreciation for the set.

Stone193

<< <i>When you are done, your countless hours will be truly rewarded and you will have a greater appreciation for the set. >>


Very well put Stown.

I have said many times - the hobby is more like a Marathon than a sprint.

mike

tkd7

<< <i>I have said many times - the hobby is more like a Marathon than a sprint.

mike >>



Or maybe a decathlon. Many different but related events but with slow steady progress in each with the occasion focus in one or another area, you build a winner.

That's the great thing about a hobby. It never asks more than what I put into it.

RipublicaninMass

yes

1911 T205 Gold Border 3.000 .91% collecting this set raw as well
1955 Topps 6.556 81.07%
1963 Fleer 7.830 23.88%
Nolan Ryan Basic Set 7.370 49.00%
1951 Bowman Red Menace 5.382 70.83%
1954 red man raw
EXTREMELY HARD to stay focused...especailly when Stone keeps posting his T3's !

2dueces

I'm building sets all the time. I have no money to complete them, but I'm building.

tkd7

<< <i>I'm building sets all the time. I have no money to complete them, but I'm building. >>



If your postcards are an indication, I'm sure you have some great set building going on.

2dueces

<< <i>

<< <i>I'm building sets all the time. I have no money to complete them, but I'm building. >>



If your postcards are an indication, I'm sure you have some great set building going on. >>



Thank you sir. I am working on sets, but most are on hold for the moment. T206 portraits (127 so far). 61 baseball raw, 50%. 63 Fleer Football graded, need 4 cards. All 60's football raw in verious stages of complete and completion. Joe

KOBEcollector

After seeing how long the the master set is for Kobe ( over 1700 freakin cards ) i decided about 5-6 months ago to work on the basic set.

It's compiled of 301 cards and im at 11.30 % with a GPA of 10

Currently at 2nd

Dave

Stone193

<< <i>

<< <i>

<< <i>I'm building sets all the time. I have no money to complete them, but I'm building. >>



If your postcards are an indication, I'm sure you have some great set building going on. >>



Thank you sir. I am working on sets, but most are on hold for the moment. T206 portraits (127 so far). 61 baseball raw, 50%. 63 Fleer Football graded, need 4 cards. All 60's football raw in verious stages of complete and completion. Joe >>


That's a lot of stuff Joe.

I'm thinking about cutting lawns on the side.

lawnmowerman

<< <i>I'm thinking about cutting lawns on the side. >>


Mike
I like what I am hearing...I mean reading. You wont be disappointed. Here's the secret to making the bucks, commercial accounts. Shhhh dont tell anyone

Matt

Stone193

I think I'm too old for that Matt.


mike

nascar20

currently working on these raw sets
baseball-73&74 working on now,thinking about a 59 set
basketball-03/04 &05/06 topps black,building these for my son's birthyears
football-thinking about starting a 72 or 75,leaning toward the 75
any help is needed

thanks nascar

Beardown

I've started the '52 Topps set with a 5 year goal in mid-grade (4-6) range. I was fortuante to buy and trade for a PSA 4 Mantle in the summer of 2005 and decided this March to begin the set process. I'm just hitting the star cards when I get a "lump" of cash other wise my goal was 1 card a week this year for commons. Doubt I'll make the 5 year goal but it's fun to try.

GDM67

<< <i>The beauty of slowly building a set is that you never feel rushed to purchase a particular card. There is no timetable, so technically, you never "quit" the set. Getting a little bummed losing a few auctions or starting to lose a little focus? Put it on the back burner a couple of months.

5, 10, 15, 20+ years? Pfht.. Who cares? It's not a race.

Take your time, spend the cash when you want to, buy the cards that appeal to you, and enjoy the ride.

When you are done, your countless hours will be truly rewarded and you will have a greater appreciation for the set. >>



<< <i>

<< <i>I have said many times - the hobby is more like a Marathon than a sprint.

mike >>



Or maybe a decathlon. Many different but related events but with slow steady progress in each with the occasion focus in one or another area, you build a winner.

That's the great thing about a hobby. It never asks more than what I put into it. >>



I really like the way you three guys think.

2dueces

<< <i>

<< <i>

<< <i>

<< <i>I'm building sets all the time. I have no money to complete them, but I'm building. >>



If your postcards are an indication, I'm sure you have some great set building going on. >>



Thank you sir. I am working on sets, but most are on hold for the moment. T206 portraits (127 so far). 61 baseball raw, 50%. 63 Fleer Football graded, need 4 cards. All 60's football raw in verious stages of complete and completion. Joe >>


That's a lot of stuff Joe.

I'm thinking about cutting lawns on the side.

>>



Mike, You line up the jobs and I'll weed eat for you.

Stone193

<< <i>

<< <i>

<< <i>

<< <i>

<< <i>I'm building sets all the time. I have no money to complete them, but I'm building. >>



If your postcards are an indication, I'm sure you have some great set building going on. >>



Thank you sir. I am working on sets, but most are on hold for the moment. T206 portraits (127 so far). 61 baseball raw, 50%. 63 Fleer Football graded, need 4 cards. All 60's football raw in verious stages of complete and completion. Joe >>


That's a lot of stuff Joe.

I'm thinking about cutting lawns on the side.

>>



Mike, You line up the jobs and I'll weed eat for you. >>


That would be great Joe.

But, I think I'ld rather we smoke it.

2dueces

If we can find Bill Murray, we can play 18 holes on it first!!!