Have you experienced a Dramatic Shift in Your Collection?
Big80s
Posts: 2,758 ✭✭✭
It’s been a very interesting year for me in terms of collecting, and it all started with last year’s REA (auction). Up to that point, I was heavily focused on two things – vintage boxing cards and my 1930 Rogers Peet set. I ended up winning three prewar baseball cards in the 2012 REA (2 Cobb’s and a Wagner), and I was hooked. I ended up selling off my entire vintage boxing collection, in order to pickup more prewar baseball. I also sold off my entire Rogers Peet set, except the Cobb and the Ruth from the set – since they fit in better with my new found focus.
It’s amazing to me to see how drastically a collection can change in the span of one year. The heart of my collection also shrunk considerably, going from several hundred cards (including a few graded sets) to about fifty cards total. While I miss a lot of the vintage boxing cards I no longer have – I’m thankful I can still look back at the Boxing Card Thread to see some of my old cards and some cards from other collectors that I really enjoyed.
Have any of you ever had a dramatic shift in your collecting focus?
It’s amazing to me to see how drastically a collection can change in the span of one year. The heart of my collection also shrunk considerably, going from several hundred cards (including a few graded sets) to about fifty cards total. While I miss a lot of the vintage boxing cards I no longer have – I’m thankful I can still look back at the Boxing Card Thread to see some of my old cards and some cards from other collectors that I really enjoyed.
Have any of you ever had a dramatic shift in your collecting focus?
Let's Rip It: PackGeek.com
Jeff
Jeff
0
Comments
<< <i>I must have been asleep at the wheel somewhere and completely missed that >>
It wasn't easy to let a lot of those cards go - but I'm at peace with it now. I didn't even know I had it in me, to be honest. I wish I was in a financial position to collect everything, but that's just not realistic. One saving grace for me was that the vast majority of both my boxing cards AND my Rogers Peet cards went to the same collector. As silly as it sounds - I feel better knowing a lot of that collection stayed intact.
Jeff
if you had told me 13 months ago that i would be this "into" comics, i would have called you a liar! lol
WTB: PSA 1 - PSA 3 Centered, High Eye Appeal 1950's Mantle
<< <i>Hell yea, i hear you!
if you had told me 13 months ago that i would be this "into" comics, i would have called you a liar! lol >>
No kidding? That's a pretty big change. What started the move, if you don't mind me asking? Were you always interested in comics or is this a brand new thing for you?
Jeff
I've done it once before, and while I don't regret it, I do wish I had handled it differently. I interpreted a lull in my focus as a permanent disinterest and sold off just about all of it. What I found was that the interest didn't leave as much as I just needed a break from it. Sold a few things that I'll likely never come across again.
Now I feel like I have a well-balanced collecting focus. I pretty much stick to a half-dozen specific sets/categories that range across sports and the last 100 years. So if one area goes dead, be it through the market or my interest, I can usually pick up where I left off with one of the other areas. I've found I enjoy my collection much more this way and it's easier to ride out any temporary spikes in the market.
<< <i>
<< <i>Hell yea, i hear you!
if you had told me 13 months ago that i would be this "into" comics, i would have called you a liar! lol >>
No kidding? That's a pretty big change. What started the move, if you don't mind me asking? Were you always interested in comics or is this a brand new thing for you? >>
prior to last year, i hadnt read a comic book since 1987-ish.
How'd it come about? Honestly, pure boredom with the current state of the card market. My interest started to wane as i was getting closer to completing my Graded HOF RC Collection. i still (and always will) love cards, but its just no longer the same for me.
WTB: PSA 1 - PSA 3 Centered, High Eye Appeal 1950's Mantle
<< <i>I saw that you sold your Lurati Dempsey but I didn't know you were doing the complete purge.
I've done it once before, and while I don't regret it, I do wish I had handled it differently. I interpreted a lull in my focus as a permanent disinterest and sold off just about all of it. What I found was that the interest didn't leave as much as I just needed a break from it. Sold a few things that I'll likely never come across again.
Now I feel like I have a well-balanced collecting focus. I pretty much stick to a half-dozen specific sets/categories that range across sports and the last 100 years. So if one area goes dead, be it through the market or my interest, I can usually pick up where I left off with one of the other areas. I've found I enjoy my collection much more this way and it's easier to ride out any temporary spikes in the market. >>
I think that's a great approach. I've found a nice balance through having my main focus (currently prewar baseball) and then a secondary (and much more budget-friendly) focus of the cards from the 80s that I collected as a kid. So basically, if I need a fix but don't have a lot of extra "hobby" budget - I'll pick up a couple of '85 Topps Tiffany cards that put a smile on my face.
Jeff
<< <i>
<< <i>
<< <i>Hell yea, i hear you!
if you had told me 13 months ago that i would be this "into" comics, i would have called you a liar! lol >>
No kidding? That's a pretty big change. What started the move, if you don't mind me asking? Were you always interested in comics or is this a brand new thing for you? >>
prior to last year, i hadnt read a comic book since 1987-ish.
How'd it come about? Honestly, pure boredom with the current state of the card market. My interest started to wane as i was getting closer to completing my Graded HOF RC Collection. i still (and always will) love cards, but its just no longer the same for me. >>
I think this goes back to what Reggie was saying - it's good to have additional collecting focuses to lean on if you're interest in one area is slowing down a bit. I love to learn about new areas of the hobby, and who knows what I'll be collecting a year from now - but I think finding a good balance will be the key for me.
Jeff
<< <i>Have any of you ever had a dramatic shift in your collecting focus? >>
No.
But with the way prices on unopened baseball have gone, I have begun to focus on my raw sets again.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep."
"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."
Collecting:
Any unopened Baseball cello and rack packs and boxes from the 1970's and early 1980s.
<< <i>
<< <i>Have any of you ever had a dramatic shift in your collecting focus? >>
No.
But with the way prices on unopened baseball have gone, I have begun to focus on my raw sets again. >>
Hey Mike! I haven't posted any PackGeek videos for a long time. So if your focus ever changes - I hope you'll let me know
Jeff
<< <i>
<< <i>
<< <i>Have any of you ever had a dramatic shift in your collecting focus? >>
No.
But with the way prices on unopened baseball have gone, I have begun to focus on my raw sets again. >>
Hey Mike! I haven't posted any PackGeek videos for a long time. So if your focus ever changes - I hope you'll let me know
I have problems selling even duplicate packs I've collected, LOL. I'm in it for the long haul, but if that changes there be one heck of a group break.
I can't believe I've been collecting unopened on and off since 1986, just wish I started a little earlier.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep."
"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."
Collecting:
Any unopened Baseball cello and rack packs and boxes from the 1970's and early 1980s.
Either I am having an acid flashback or like you I have some 80s nostalgia emerging...all I need to do now is buy a 80s greatest hits CD and listen to Flock of Seagulls, Asia, and Night Ranger...
<< <i>all I need to do now is buy a 80s greatest hits CD and listen to Flock of Seagulls, Asia, and Night Ranger... >>
And what's wrong with that? Crap, now I have Madness stuck in my head.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep."
"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."
Collecting:
Any unopened Baseball cello and rack packs and boxes from the 1970's and early 1980s.
<< <i>all I need to do now is buy a 80s greatest hits CD and listen to Flock of Seagulls, Asia, and Night Ranger... >>
I don't think you can go wrong with any 80s Greatest hits album.
Jeff
I love unopened packs and boxes and I've started to narrow down to only that. I'm proud I even narrowed down farther to wax packs only and those with stars showing. Well I did slip in that 69 blue cello last night but it's almost like a wax pack!
Luckily Ebay and a better economy make it pretty easy to change direction rapidaly and liquidate. Unbelievably I think I'm focused for now.
<< <i>
<< <i>all I need to do now is buy a 80s greatest hits CD and listen to Flock of Seagulls, Asia, and Night Ranger... >>
I don't think you can go wrong with any 80s Greatest hits album. >>
The problem is the dissonance created by switching from AC/DC, Aerosmith and Zepplin to Huey Lewis and the News...the makings of a high school chemistry experiment gone bad
To answer your question, I did the same about 2 years ago when I went from multiple copies of "modern" rookies to what I call my All Time Greats rookie card collection. For example I went from 10+ copies of Troy Aikman 89 Score PSA/BGS 9 cards to one PSA 10. With the excess $$$ from my duplicate rookies, I started buying vintage low grade rookies of all time greats in all sports. My collection went from 10 vault boxes to two wall displays (80 slabbed cards).
Similar with my other focus: Texas Longhorn players. I went from everything Longhorn to higher dollar auto & jersey cards. From a few hundred to about 50.
My most recent change has been moving all my All Time Greats cards to 100% PSA slabs. The only cards I have left in a non-PSA slab are my 84 Star Jordan BGS 8 and 93 SP Jeter BGS 9 rookies.
Doug
Buying Vintage, all sports.
Buying Woody Hayes, Les Horvath, Vic Janowicz, and Jesse Owens autographed items
<< <i>I changed my focus when I realized that none of this matters. >>
So what does a nihilist collector collect?
Buying Vintage, all sports.
Buying Woody Hayes, Les Horvath, Vic Janowicz, and Jesse Owens autographed items
<< <i>It’s been a very interesting year for me in terms of collecting, and it all started with last year’s REA (auction). Up to that point, I was heavily focused on two things – vintage boxing cards and my 1930 Rogers Peet set. I ended up winning three prewar baseball cards in the 2012 REA (2 Cobb’s and a Wagner), and I was hooked. I ended up selling off my entire vintage boxing collection, in order to pickup more prewar baseball. I also sold off my entire Rogers Peet set, except the Cobb and the Ruth from the set – since they fit in better with my new found focus.
It’s amazing to me to see how drastically a collection can change in the span of one year. The heart of my collection also shrunk considerably, going from several hundred cards (including a few graded sets) to about fifty cards total. While I miss a lot of the vintage boxing cards I no longer have – I’m thankful I can still look back at the Boxing Card Thread to see some of my old cards and some cards from other collectors that I really enjoyed.
Have any of you ever had a dramatic shift in your collecting focus? >>
If you still have the Lindy Rogers Peet let me know I would love one.....back on topic though I went thru 4 major changes in the last 15. Bob Ross paintings, to concert posters, to Michael Phelps tickets and unopened packs. I don't think my timing on unopened packs could have been any better from an investment standpoint and when I started with the unopened packs my goal was to win the unopened pack set of the year so I just feel doubly fortunate to have made this last change when I did.
By the way if anyone would like to change their focus and join the 1980 cello packs with rookie stars on top the link is in my signature and I would love to see you join and help out in any way I can.
Join the Rookie stars on top PSA registry today:
1980-1989 Cello Packs - Rookies
<< <i>91 Topps >>
isn't that what the masochist collects?
Great post Jeff. I went from vintage FB to boxing around the same time you got out of it. enjoying the chase and discovery of it all, as well as finding pieces that are much much tougher on average than cards from the 'big 4'. will work to keep the boxing card thread alive in spirt for ya!
<< <i>
Great post Jeff. I went from vintage FB to boxing around the same time you got out of it. enjoying the chase and discovery of it all, as well as finding pieces that are much much tougher on average than cards from the 'big 4'. will work to keep the boxing card thread alive in spirt for ya! >>
Thanks Jason! I still read all of the posts on the boxing thread, I just don't have many pickups to contribute anymore.
It's very interesting to read all of the changes board members have made in their collecting habits. I'm happy to hear that many of you have returned after a short hiatus away from the hobby. I think one of the advantages of collecting sports cards is that there are so many different aspects one case focus on - whether it be vintage, modern, unopened, different sports, etc.
Jeff
I started out buying Topps baseball and football to complete sets in the early 80's.
Then as more manufacturers entered the market in the late 80's, I focused only on football.
As makers peaked in the mid-90's and started to release multiple brands (i.e. Topps, Topps Chrome, Topps Finest, Topps Laser, etc.), I switched to being a player collector.
Once super limited editions cards (i.e. 1/1) and high end products blew past $100USD a box, I started to focus on vintage cards I could only dream of owning as a kid.
One of the great things about our hobby is that there are so many different ways to collect for just about any budget.... modern/vintage, raw/graded, low-end/high-end, $1000+ boxes/free TTM autographs.
You just have to be willing to adapt as your interests and the hobby inevitably evolve.
Snorto~