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Do you find restraint difficult when you start a focus?

ThoseBackPagesThoseBackPages Posts: 4,871 ✭✭
in Trading Cards & Memorabilia Forum
i know i cant be alone in this! lol

it's difficult to set guidelines, and even harder to FOLLOW them! LOL
Big Fan of: HOF Post War RC, Graded RCs
WTB: PSA 1 - PSA 3 Centered, High Eye Appeal 1950's Mantle

Comments

  • jeffcbayjeffcbay Posts: 8,951 ✭✭✭✭
    Like when I was going to limit myself to only PSA 9 Ripken cards? ALL TO WELL!! I wish there was a 12 step program... image
  • HeritageAddictHeritageAddict Posts: 3,266
    I find restraint difficult in all aspects of life, but it is particularly bad when it comes to card buying.
    Cut Auto Cards 4 sale

    My Registry Sets
  • DboneesqDboneesq Posts: 18,219 ✭✭


    << <i>I find restraint difficult in all aspects of life, but it is particularly bad when it comes to card buying. >>



    B-I-N-G-O!!!!
    STAY HEALTHY!

    Doug

    Liquidating my collection for the 3rd and final time. Time for others to enjoy what I have enjoyed over the last several decades. Money could be put to better use.
  • BrickBrick Posts: 5,001 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I've done quite well the last coule of years in maintaining my focus on finishing my 1960 Topps Baseball set or upgrading my 1955 Topps Baseball already completed.
    Collecting 1960 Topps Baseball in PSA 8
    http://www.unisquare.com/store/brick/

    Ralph

  • RoarIn84RoarIn84 Posts: 859 ✭✭
    i dunno, but i always say a small prayer when i start my 2000 Focus.... It's green, beat up, bad brakes, makes unfunny noises, a burning smell, bald tires, about 10 unrepaired recalls and is at least 150% past it's life expectancy.... I'm a GM man now.
  • shagrotn77shagrotn77 Posts: 5,631 ✭✭✭✭
    Absolutely I do!
    "My father would womanize, he would drink. He would make outrageous claims like he invented the question mark. Sometimes he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy. The sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament. Our childhood was typical. Summers in Rangoon, luge lessons. In the spring we'd make meat helmets. When we were insolent we were placed in a burlap bag and beaten with reeds - pretty standard really."
  • GDM67GDM67 Posts: 2,526 ✭✭✭✭
    If you have a wide enough focus, you can create something of a balance.

    It's kind of a Goldilocks operation.
    My Sets
  • GarabaldiGarabaldi Posts: 2,004 ✭✭✭


    << <i>i dunno, but i always say a small prayer when i start my 2000 Focus.... It's green, beat up, bad brakes, makes unfunny noises, a burning smell, bald tires, about 10 unrepaired recalls and is at least 150% past it's life expectancy.... I'm a GM man now. >>



    I had a funny feeling someone was going to post about the Ford.
  • frankhardyfrankhardy Posts: 8,171 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I really am very focused. The key is finding an area of collecting that allows you to expand. I think expanding within an area is different than loosing focus. For instance, my collection is mainly three areas - Cardinals team sets, Signed Topps Cardinals, and Complete Topps Sets from present date back to 1974 (working on 1973).

    With my complete sets, I plan on expanding backwards. Once I get 1973 done, I will start 1972. I am very patient on these sets and on these older ones, I'm not worried about condition. I just want completion (for the most part).

    With my signed Topps Cardinals cards, I have gone about as far as I can go with TTM, but I constantly look for good deals on Ebay and other places for ones that I don't have.

    With my Cardinals team sets, it is a never ending project that keeps my main focus. Every year, I get new Topps base, Topps Chrome, and Topps Heritage. As far as going backwards, I will always look for vintage Topps inserts and test issues until I get them all (which will probably never happen due to rarity and expense). With these, there is always room for expansion. In the near future, I plan on trying to get all Topps Tiffany team sets. Eventually, I will try to do low grade T206, T205, Goudey, Play Ball, etc, but that is way down the road.

    My point with all of this is that my three main areas of collecting is distinct, but not so precise that I can't expand. The way I look at it is that the card collecting hobby is so vast, my three areas of collecting is a way to keep my sanity. I stay focused on those three areas - the rest is just background noise.

    ******

    I will say that I do have a fourth smaller area, but it is so small that it hardly counts. I have every base Topps Pujols card in a PSA holder. My 2001 Topps Traded Pujols is PSA 9. The rest (2002 to 2010) is PSA 10. That is harder to do than it sounds. Try finding a 2002, 2003, or a 2007 Topps Pujols card in PSA 10. Try submitting your own. If you do, good luck. I have bought over 60 2007 Topps Pujols cards to try to get a 10. I finally got one. Eventually, I will get a 2001 PSA 10, but I'm in no rush. They are fairly plentiful.

    Shane

  • RonBurgundyRonBurgundy Posts: 5,491 ✭✭✭
    Good Lord yes. My ADD diagnosis is confirmed when viewing my collection.

    I'm making a concerted attempt to dial it back this year though. Back to focusing on high grade HOF'ers, and completing 4 different sets in various stages of completion. That's down from 10. LOL
    Ron Burgundy

    Buying Vintage, all sports.
    Buying Woody Hayes, Les Horvath, Vic Janowicz, and Jesse Owens autographed items
  • justmichaeljustmichael Posts: 1,048
    It has taken along time for me to learn restraint in collecting.It used to be when I set my sights on a project I had to try and finish it that day.Budget be damned.In the last few years I have managed to find restraint.Every project doesn't have to be finished in a day and a budget is very important to me now.
    Mike
  • 123Slider123Slider Posts: 851 ✭✭
    I'm a mess. I have a primary focus, but I can be lured away easily by the temptation to cheat on her with other sets. I'm not proud, but I am a guy. What do you expect.

    image
    The best pitch to start a hitter off with is always strike one.
  • MeteoriteGuyMeteoriteGuy Posts: 7,140 ✭✭
    Focus for me is working on 25-30 graded sets and two player collections. Haven't really strayed the last couple years and did manage to cut out and sell off a couple sets. Wish I could focus on just 1 or 2 sets, but that also sounds like paying more. Working on a bunch of sets allows me to keep my bids down more.
    Collecting PSA graded Steve Young, Marcus Allen, Bret Saberhagen and 1980s Topps Cards.
    Raw: Tony Gonzalez (low #'d cards, and especially 1/1's) and Steve Young.
  • detroitfan2detroitfan2 Posts: 3,366 ✭✭✭✭
    I never really start a focus. I think about starting a focus quite a bit, but I'm not disciplined enough to actually start a focus. And if I ever could start a focus, I doubt I could ever get past the start point and turn it into an actual focus.

    All this to say, yes, it is extremely difficult to find restraint. Especially when you have ebay bucks.
  • mike22y2kmike22y2k Posts: 325 ✭
    About 4 years ago I started to focus on only one set. I was able to sell off everything else and now I'm finally down to a small box of misc. stuff and a PSA graded set thats in a great case I bought from a guy on this site.

    The only thing limiting my restraint is the availability of what I collect. It seems that I'll pay whatever to get upgrages because they're just not out there.

    I guess I'm lucky that I focus on 1 thing because there's no restraint when it comes to what I don't have.
    Working my way to #1 1979 Topps Hockey
    I know it's going to be tough!
  • cadets68cadets68 Posts: 596 ✭✭✭


    << <i>I'm a mess. I have a primary focus, but I can be lured away easily by the temptation to cheat on her with other sets. I'm not proud, but I am a guy. What do you expect.

    image >>



    +1
    After those four National League games, Gorman Thomas was never the same, and neither were the Brewers, and come to think of it neither was I.

    Josh Wilker - Cardboard Gods
  • NickMNickM Posts: 4,895 ✭✭✭
    It's easy to remain focused when your focus is on buying sports cards and memorabilia . . . and cool older nonsports cards . . . and political memorabilia . . . and books . . . and artwork . . . and other stuff. image

    Nick
    image
    Reap the whirlwind.

    Need to buy something for the wife or girlfriend? Check out Vintage Designer Clothing.
  • RipublicaninMassRipublicaninMass Posts: 10,051 ✭✭✭
    Finally have figured out how to narrow it down, but it takes restraint.
  • detroitfan2detroitfan2 Posts: 3,366 ✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Finally have figured out how to narrow it down, but it takes restraint. >>



    Says the Red Sox fan who collects 55 Dodgers autographs and who has a thread for 2010 Topps set and subset trading and yet another thread with T3 Turkey Reds for sale.

    image
  • MBMiller25MBMiller25 Posts: 6,056 ✭✭
    I am terrible when it comes to this. I really think I am on the right path now. I have sold a ton of stuff. I have nothing RAW, and am down to just 46 slabbed PSA cards. I think I have my future priorities straight, and have focus for the long haul.
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