Do you all shift the focus...

thehallmark

..of your collection frequently?

Two months ago I wanted every card I could find of like 25 of my favorite players. After a couple weeks of that, I wanted the basic sets of like 15 players in the highest possible grade. After a couple of weeks of that, I realized that I was collecting cards that meant nothing to me at all, so I chopped my wantlist by like 75%. This week, I'm obsessed with 1983 Topps baseball and I feel like selling everything else. Tomorrow, it will be something new, I'm sure.

Is this normal? Do you guys all ping pong back and forth with different collecting themes like that?

lawnmowerman

Not really .

I used to just buy rc's of stars and players I liked. Now I just buy Emmitt, Troy or Irvin cards for my sets. I will sub cards of other players if I think they are 10 worthy but mostly stick to my "big three".

MuckyMutt

I only buy cards that I like - but I like a LOT of cards.

I often add to my wish list when I look at the "Mail" thread. There are some really great cards there. Just the other day I ran across a couple 1947 Bond Bread cards, liked them, and now I have about half the set. I like discovering issues that I didn't know about before. But no matter what new cards I'm going after, I still like all the cards I already have. I haven't yet given up my quest for Spahn, Aaron, and Mathews cards and they were the first ones I was collecting.

cravetopps

in the beginning, yes. I started complete sets of every Topps set from 1970 to the present; graded Topps from 70-75 and graded Topps 52-56. It was costly, time consuming and not really all that satisfying.

I was trying to do too much and it was a mistake.

I still am working on a few complete graded sets but primarily focus on a HOF "type" card collection. That has given me the variety without losing focus. And, instead of paying hundreds of bucks for low pop commons, I am at least paying the bucks for HOFers most people never even heard of but HOFers nonetheless. Good luck hallmark.

RipublicaninMass

I am trying to complete a few sets, but I will always pick up a bargain or two

originalisbest

I flutter back-n-forth between set-building (some '50s, some '60s, some 70's, none even CLOSE to complete, but I have the stars in the sets I like) and pursuit of individual HOFers, a lot like cravetopps I guess.

Only need a nice Matty of some kind, and I'll then have an example of a card for the original 5 HOFers from their playing days - which I'm pretty happy about. And besides those yahoos, some guys named Young and Speaker. This is probably my fave thing about my collection, but I am still missing that Matty...

baseballfanatic

I was lucky since most of my sets were already completed in the 70's, so I have been just floating along ever since.
When I buy a card, its only because I can get it at the right price.
I could care less about competing with people with unlimited "deep" pockets who strive to be #1 on the registry board spending hundreds and thousands on commons just because they are low pops.
I dont think I've bought more than two cards consecutively from the same set in over 20 years.
I just have fun picking up this and that to toss them in the pile to be sorted when I finally sit down and decide one day to do it.
That pile now has grown to a 24 hour a day job for months IF I ever decide to do it.....

originalisbest

Good luck baseballfanatic!

Goot

Due to my funds, I pretty much focus on base and inserts of Braves, Bucs, a few D-Rays and now some Steelers. Primarily though I go after Chipper, Andruw, Carl Crawford and some other guys. I also try to get any CHEAP gu or autos from those teams. I did 2007 Topps S1 and I'm about 30 cards shy of S2 which is at a stand still right now because I don't have the cash to keep buying stupid boxes from Walmart when I only get 2 cards I need for $10. Definitely the last time I do a set for a while. So basically to sum it up...... I'm Cheap!!

GDM67

I wouldn't say "frequently", but I've concentrated on one thing for a while, then moved on to something else before finishing, or even getting close to finishing, the original thing(s). The way I look at it, the cards aren't going anywhere and the set is always something I can go back to and start adding on to later. I'm in no rush and I like having multiple irons in the fire.

Cubby

Constantly - Always going back and forth between graded vs. unopened.