Do you prefer to buy already completed sets or build your own?

slum22

Wondering what people like to do.

Steve

RonBurgundy

Complete or near complete. I particularly like to buy sets that are advertised.

Juggs

Sort of both ways....I like to complete my own, but if I find a nice set at a decent price, I'll buy it, then work on upgrading condition of the cards within the set.

At some point I'd like to have all sets from '70-85 in binders in beautimus condition. I'm working on it, but it's a daunting task.

itzagoner

i enjoy building the perfect beast. slightly less painful than smashing my thumb with a hammer, but not by much.

WalterSobchak

Building my own, for sure. I think that's the #1 thing that makes this hobby fun.

BobH

<< <i>i enjoy building the perfect beast. slightly less painful than smashing my thumb with a hammer, but not by much.[/q

Perfect Response
I built a raw NM to NM-MT 61 set back in the 90's from a pretty decent starting point. Their was no Ebay so I scoured all the available local shows,SCD adds, ect. Bill at Polo Grounds loved me. Traveled to Chicago a couple times to the Sun Times shows and just beat my head into the ground finding the best cards. especially the high #s and all star cards. PSA was new to the scene and looking at PSA 8's (forget about 9's) just threw salt into the wound. No Idea how much time ,energy and money I had in that set.

whaleteeth

what do most guys store these GIANT 700+ CARD SETS IN??? i currently only have one complete 78 topps set in a binder. Is there a better/safer way?

frankhardy

I have complete Topps sets and Traded sets from 2012 down to 1969. I will continue working my way forwards and backwards.

On new sets, I have a local contact that builds new sets. I get one from him every year already built.

On vintage sets, I always try to buy large lots and then fill in the holes. I am working on 1968 Topps right now.

So, in answer to the question - I do both.

mrmopar

Starting in 1981, I bought the three sets each year. I added the Score sets in the late 80s, but stopped buying the sets shortly thereafter when i joined the Navy. I have only built a few large sets (78 T baseball and 79 & 81 T football when I was a kid) before a time when you could buy a couple boxes and get the sets and well before a new time when you couldn't build a set at a all w/o the WWW and days upon days of scouring, emailing, calling, waiting and wheeling/dealing.

I have bought a few smaller, older sets that I have always wanted that were relatively cheap (late 70s OPC, hockey, football, etc). I think for me, there will not be any set building again in my future because I just can't bring myself to invest the time (and money) when a full set is so quick and often cheaper. For the joy of the hunt, i do player and team themes and I don't have to track down and buy tons of commons I don't need/want other than to complete a set.

1957Braves

There is an auction site I use for some game used equipment and other things. People may be familiar with the name, MEARS Authentications. They have a monthly sports auction. Anyway, they will usually have some cards each month, but this month they have a lot of sets. And some with multiple per lot, such as one lot of four total 75 baseball sets and lots of other vintage partial and complete sets. Condition seems to be on the lower end, though. From my observations, things also tend to sell a bit lower here than other places. I would highly suggest people giving this months auction a look. Ends tonight, if I remember right. I am not affiliated with them in any way, but I have won auctions in the past and have always been satisfied. Mearsonlineauctions.com.

Dodgerfanjohn

When I initially tried to go backwards from 1978, I just found that buying raw sets was cheap...at least for mid-late 70's. But as the proverbial saying goes...you get what you pay for. And even 80/20 centering in those sets described as ExMt or better is optimistic.

When I decided to tackle an older set..1960...every set I saw had either absolutely atrocious centering on many of the cards or quite a few of the cards in beat up condition. Combine that with the ability to dumpster dive on the cards in set breaks that no one was paying attention to, and it became easy to go ahead and build the set one card at a time. Fewer than 65 cards from completion in less than a year...I have a feeling I'll next tackle 1956 or 1957 in VG-EX condition, or 1969 in Nrmt. Not sure yet, and theres a bit of money to spend still on the 1960 set.

WalterSobchak

<< <i>what do most guys store these GIANT 700+ CARD SETS IN??? i currently only have one complete 78 topps set in a binder. Is there a better/safer way? >>


*For pre-1980 sets I put each individual card in a penny sleeve, and then into a Card Saver II (and don't push the card all the way down to the bottom), and then store them in 800-900 ct. long boxes.
*For post-1980 sets, same thing except the non-star cards get penny sleeve only.

I can't stand binders, as the cards often slip out a little- particularly on the top row- which exposes the top corners to damage. I would store my sets in an empty pizza box before I would store them in a binder.

SidePocket

I started building raw sets a few years ago and since I'm a stickler for centering I build them pretty much one card at a time. But I try to minimize shipping expense by buying multiple singles from a seller when he has a break going. This way I'll buy anywhere from 3 or 4 cards at a time up to 20 or 30.

I've finished 1954 Red Man (VG to EX condition mostly), 1956 Topps (EX to EX+), 1961 Topps (NM) and am halfway through 1959 and 1960 Topps (NM). You have to be willing to spend a lot of time on eBay to do it but I enjoy it.

Even commons are striking when in NM condition and well centered. And it's very cool when you finally hit on one of those hard-to-find-centered commons that you've been looking for for 6 months.

lwehlers

I like to buy a complete set and then upgrade the cards that need to be replaced

ClockworkAngel

Yup, I buy the sets if they are Near Mint or better for the most part. From there I upgrade. I am working on a run from 1970-1989 and just missing 1972, but constantly upgrading the others. The 1971 is one I'm really proud of

Stone193

I like the hunt.

Plus, try doing a set well centered. A challenge of a life-time!

72skywalker

The fun for me is tracking down the cards I need to complete a set and to cross it of of my list. once sets are complete I don't look at them that often. i just move onto the next set to build.

LarkinCollector

In short, both. For late 70s-mid 80s, I usually buy 3-5 sets and pick the best of each and sell the rest. I'll buy a few singles to upgrade key cards if none of the sets contained whatever grade I'm looking for. For earlier sets, I usually start with a near/partial set and track down the rest as singles/small lots. For anything newer, usually purchase a variety of unopened and build my own from scratch.

whaleteeth

For those of you who buy the complete set, then upgrade the caRDS... What do you do with all of those OC commons that are being replaced? especially if its late 70s stuff with little value.

BostonAmericans

Put me in the both column, although I lean heavily on building from scratch. I only just recently evolved from collecting only certain cards from each year to building the whole damn set. I would prefer to build from scratch (the thrill of the hunt), but I have seen some sets on BBCE for some hockey that I have zero cards for that are at a good price. Only if I could absolutely trust the buyer for an online transaction or reviewed the entire set in person would I buy a complete set.

Guru

I like piecing my own together, but every once in awhile I'll buy one.

LarkinCollector

<< <i>For those of you who buy the complete set, then upgrade the caRDS... What do you do with all of those OC commons that are being replaced? especially if its late 70s stuff with little value. >>


Some send them swimming, others into the fireplace, I prefer letting my son put them in his bike spokes.