If you could do things over, what would you collect?

raykasa

if i could do it over again, i would collect nothing but cards of Mantle and Clementes. Maybe a few Jordans during the first four years.

what would you do over and collect under this premise?

jeffcbay

I would still collect Ripken cards as much as I have been, but I would stay away from the modern junk. I've done well with not spending my money on the game-used and stick-on-auto cards, but I just can't seem to stop buying the new wax. I'm starting to concentrate and enjoy the older stuff. Thinking about building a base set of every Topps year, including 1952. That would be a blast!

Dboneesq

When I was going to shows in the mid/late-80s, I would have bought every box of '86 Fleer that I could find ... I could have had all I wanted for $10 - $20 per box!!!

Tedw9

I would have bought every pre '70 card I could get my hands on and passed on all the junk 80's and 90's cards I blew my money on. I did trade a bunch of it for vintage, but I should have sunk all my money into vintage. Oh, and bought all the $75 UDA Ted Williams signed baseballs I could have when I had the chance.

initialD

I would just buy as many 2 for 1 specials on 86 Fleer Basketball wax boxes that I could.

2 for $9.00!!!! At least I got some of that juice back in the day

Man, a couple/few cases woulda been nice

PoppaJ

Gold Bullion!

lawnmowerman

I would buy up all the Cal Ripken Jr cards so I could sell them to jeffcbay for triple their worth

jeffcbay

nyce... lol

akuracy503

If I could do it over again i'd been born in 1900 and started a compaign to swap up all the T206 Tobacco cards as a 9 year old.
And my grandchildren would baseball card icons today, you'd be reading about me in Joe Orlando's book.

akuracy503

I was born in 1977 so there is little I could've done....except maybe kept all my Star Wars toys in the package...

akuracy503

Turn back time....Maybe buy cases of Bowman Chrome 2001 baseball...although at the time I could barely afford 1 box

hotmush

Late 70s, Early 80s OPC hockey. I was buying reams of baseball back then, and hardly any hockey.

billwaltonsbeard

without a doubt, no question.....I would have purchased 86 Fleer basketball packs instead of 86 Topps baseball packs at the 7-11 near the baseball fields.

Obviously, I've thought about this many MANY times, and I always comfort myself with the realization that if I had actually bought 86 Fleer basketball in 1986 as an 11 yr old, they would most likely not be anywhere close to Mint condition today. But then again, a few MJ RCs with a couple of dinged corners would be worth a little more than a stack of NM 86 topps Astros cards.

MBMiller25

I would have laid off all the shiny cards and put that money into vintage.

WinPitcher

100.00 bills.

Steve

revmoran

I would have collected the Topps 1955 All American football cards in 1955 and had as many signed as possible -

CrimsonTider

Easy, I would have collected cards that were 50/50 centered with four razor sharp corners and would have not cared about the rest, or just simply bought stock in Apple in 82.

TomGshotput

Absolutely nothing. Just saved all my money. Which is what I should do from here on out. Assuming I had no magic future-telling powers. If I had the ability to predict the future I would have collected winning powerball tickets

summerof68

In the early 1980's the first baseball card shop opened in my town and the owner had on display a "mint" condition 1952 Topps Willie Mays in a 1" screw down holder for $200. He also had a 1953 Topps Willie Mays in "mint" condition in another 1" screw down holder for $375.

I was new to the hobby then and I thought the prices were outrageous especially when compared to a 1956 Topps Mantle in "mint" condition that he also on display for only $50. But even in the early '80s $50 for the mint Mantle seemed absurd.

I asked him why the cards were so expensive and he said that a new nationally recognized price guide had recently come out and as a result old baseball cards now had real monetary value. It was then that I got my first glimpse at a Beckett price guide.

I remember walking out of the shop shaking my head and thinking what a scam this hobby is. Well all these years later I still regret to this day not walking out of that shop with at least that beautiful Mantle.

Collect quality vintage and you will never go wrong!

markj111

My local dealer had a nice 1954 Bowman #66-Ted Williams. I wanted it, but could not afford it (this was 20 years ago). Somebody else bought it, and I have never seen another one since.

bobbybakeriv

I AM doing it over!

joshr90

Unquestionably, I would have never touched the newer stuff and only collected vintage, mainly pre-war.



-Josh

divecchia

I would still collect what I am collecting now, which is Nolan Ryan and HOFers. The only difference is I would reverse the order I collected them in. I would have collected the HOFers in the early 90's when those card were cheaper and I would collect Ryan now when his cards are cheaper. The Ryan cards were much more expensive when he first retired in 1993.

Donato

ElToroLoco

Let me see, my first box was 1989 Topps. So my choices would have been the other brands. Upper Deck Factory Sets were running $55. They are the same price today. Now, my 1981 Topps football set is another story, I bought that for $17. So I'd have to say I would have bought every 1981 Topps, and 1984 Topps set the local hobby shop had. Oh, the Mint 65 Namath for $100 wasn't a bad choice either.

zep33

I would collect my thoughts

ploobims

pencils

itzagoner

wouldn't change a thing.....been doing this for 42 years almost, and each and every card or piece of memorabilia that touched my hands did so because it was part of a tapestry.

Estil

I can't imagine not collecting what I already collect. I only wish I had the funds to finish up my current projects and work on 1960s/early 1970s sets, especially 1971.

cincyredlegs

My dad got my brother and I collecting in 1976 (we were young 5 and 6 years old) so we would have a hobby and keep us out of trouble. The funny thing is that my dad got into it just as much as we did. The great thing is that he really got us focusing on the vintage cards (which is what I love). Like everyone else, I have a ton of 86-92 junk.

A couple of quick stories on what we should have bought:

In 1986, I was at a card show in Dayton, Ohio and one guy had a case of 86 fleer basketball. I picked through about 10 cards he had on the table and paid $5.00 for them. Got Akeem, Barkley rookies along with Majic, Bird, Jabaar and Dr. J that I can remember. Didn't buy the first Jordan. Wax boxes were $10.

The second was in the early 80's and my Dad and I were at a flea market. There was a guy walking around with about 30 football cards from the late 50's and early 60's. He had a Jimmy Brown rookie, Gayle Sayers rookie, Unitas, Starr, etc....all HOF's. He wanted $20 for the lot. I begged my dad to buy them but he wanted us to stick with one sport. Finally another guy we knew convinced my dad that it was a steal. We tracked the guy down as he was selling to another person. I am still kicking myself over that one.

Mark

Ironmanfan

card wrappers for my bar top

lsutigers1973

Beanie Babies. Those things are going to be hot one day.

itzagoner

<< <i>Beanie Babies. Those things are going to be hot one day. >>



can't wait. when's the Burning Beanie Festival, i got hundreds.

ajw

I wouldn't change my collection one bit. Sure, we could all look back and pick the players/sets that have seen the most appreciation, but that's not "collecting." The one thing I would change, is to not stop collecting for a couple of different stints in my 20s and early 30s. And, even with that, I'm really happy with my collection.

nightcrawler

It's sad for me to say that if I could do it all again, I would've invested all that wasted time and money into my family. But we live and learn.

craftyvet

03-04 Basketball. Lebron, Lebron and more Lebron!!! Wade and Anthony are not that bad either.

jivan

more postage stamps.. when i was a kid they were 5 cents each.. now the yare 44 cents...would have made a killing !!!!!

Yankees001

Nothing, I grew up in the 1980's. I always collected Nolan Ryan cards and 1970's.

I was a weird kid, already collection the old stuff. Things never changed.



My pride and joy

Dave

chaz43

Sorry, none of your business.... been through too much pain and too many years to let that info out. chaz

mike92694

<< <i>if i could do it over again, i would collect nothing but cards of Mantle and Clementes. Maybe a few Jordans during the first four years.

what would you do over and collect under this premise? >>



"There is no such thing as a stupid question", but your rhetorical answer is very dumb. Your answer appears to be that you are only concerned with value, and nothing more.
Thus, your question is actually very stupid, as it asks people to essentially create a time machine and make everything perfect.

To answer your question literally, I wouldn't change a thing. You can't change the past, so why bother? I collect cards just for fun, so why should value matter for me? I have other methods of potentially increasing my monetary portfolios, like CDs and stocks, so why should I care about the value of my cards? I'm rambling on, but you get the point.