Observing your collection

Guru

A couple of days ago I was having lunch with a buddy that doesn't collect, but does hunt. We were talking about our different hobbies and the question came up about how much time we spend observing our collections (for him his antlers, etc.) during a given week and how much of that time is spent preserving our collections or working on them. Just curious what amount of time you spend working on your collection or just spending time looking at your cards?

DanBessette

The answer is that I spend a ton of time organizing and protecting/storing my collection and searching for new items to buy. But I don't spend nearly the time I should looking at and enjoying what I already have. Really unfortunate.

belz

No better time then the present to observe collection. The better display the more attractive to view. My Seaver rookie I look at every morning, and continue to wonder why nobody wants to buy it!!! I love enhancing my collection, but half the fun is looking at it and showing it off!!!! Great thread.

raiderguy10

<< <i>The answer is that I spend a ton of time organizing and protecting/storing my collection and searching for new items to buy. But I don't spend nearly the time I should looking at and enjoying what I already have. Really unfortunate. >>



I never really thought about it, but I agree with this statement. Maybe it's greed, but I continue to get the feeling that I'll never be satisfied in my collection and will ALWAYS be looking for the next to item to add. I do wish I'd spend more time taking satisfaction in what I have been able to accomplish

Jakt

A sad reality for me is that the REALLY good stuff that I have is safely tucked away in a safe deposit box at a bank. I have pictures and scans but it's obviously not the same thing. Whenever I have one of those that sell, or I need to get in the box for some other reason, I do spend some time looking over the cards that are there.

At my house, I have display case of some mid level cards, but my gems don't see the light of day. Maybe I should just sell those and only buy stuff I am comfortable keeping at my house.

TheMick6

I spend a good amount of time hunting down my future purchases as opposed to sitting down and just enjoying my collection. At the moment my collection is scattered due to my job. Once I can get it all together and in one place I'll display it. Some of my favorite threads here are those about how each of us display there stuff. Always great to see and possibly get some ideas for my own.

begsu1013

to me, it's about the hunt. its organized already and I wait til I have a few cards to actually "put them up", so I may look at my recent purchases for a week or so before they never see the light of day again.

Beck6

I tend to sub alot of cards raw, so I spend most of my time going through raw cards to sub. I have cards that I have looked at and measured and critiqued for months that never make it into a sub. Once they are in a slab I either sell them or file them away. I am basically done with them and "the hunt" is over. Higher value cards I will look at every once and awhile. Not very often though.

Edited to add: After typing this I realized I have looked at a 1982 Topps Robin Yount card almost every month for about a year trying to decide if I should sub it and I have not looked at my 1952 Jackie Robinson more than 10 times all year, which includes the one full day I walked around with it at the National. That is kind of sad.

itzagoner

observe them? it would take weeks to figure out where everything is just so i could routinely ignore it.

i've dedicated more effort to acquiring raw cards that i like just to look at them for awhile. i got lost in the process of hustling cards, preparing orders, shipping to PSA and waiting for grades.

the past year has been very pleasant without that part of the routine.

72skywalker

i look through my box of good cards at least weekly. These are in top loaders or graded slabs. My other cards that are great but not my top cvards I sit and put into penny sleeves and add to another (2nd tier) box. then a week later i take them out of penny sleeves and put them into 9 pocket pages. A few months later i take them out of the pages and put them back into penny. sleeves. Believe it or not this relaxes me and i love it. My wife thinks i am nuts and just shakes her head as she walks a way to rearrange the living room for the third time this month.

itzagoner

<< <i>My wife thinks i am nuts and just shakes her head as she walks a way to rearrange the living room for the third time this month. >>



+1

dennis07

I have pictures of each card in my 1970 Topps Baseball graded set and whenever I want to look at my collection I click on a
picture viewer and view away. For me that beats pulling out 4 MJ Roop cases every time I want to view them.

hyperchipper09

Display case and numerous card stands. Rotate cards regularly. I appreciate everything I have. Display it as such

aldridgemj

<< <i>Display case and numerous card stands. Rotate cards regularly. I appreciate everything I have. Display it as such >>



Not to sound like a stalker, but would love to see pics of your display if you have any to share. I'm thinking of doing this same thing in the man cave but am having a hard time finding manly curio cabinets or display cases.

Guru

Try IKEA.

zep33

I've made websites to be able to keep track of what I have and to view them whenever I want in the comfort of my chair or couch without having to dig them out.

I do have a couple display cases/shelves for things and my entire living room is my man cave but it's not big enough :0

ashabby

1. The hunt is the most fun now. Goes up and down each week based on how busy on am. But can be 1 hour plus a day.
2. I am trying to scan my cards into psa so easier to view any place. This will be. Long process.. But each time I do a batch I do take more time to enjoy what I have ...others times I go why do I have this cards.
3. I don't spend much time protecting any more since I have things pretty organized.

MikeyP

I usually spend approximately one hour per week flipping through my collection.

Stone193

This is a good question that comes up from time to time.

I have to confess that most of my stuff is tucked away in boxes and games stored on a shelf until I get another room done for display.

Plus, I'm the "Prince of Procrastination" and am very slow in cataloging things for future display.

I hope to make that a full time project when I retire.

esquiresports

I am fortunate to have a room for my collection. Almost everything is displayed, which is a primary collecting goal for me. The exceptions are my sets in binders. I rarely take them off the shelf and flip the pages. I have spent probably a couple hundred hours (conservatively) the last few years working on displays and revising as things come and go. I have this issue where I am constantly thinking about how to make the layout better.

belz

<< <i>I am fortunate to have a room for my collection. Almost everything is displayed, which is a primary collecting goal for me. The exceptions are my sets in binders. I rarely take them off the shelf and flip the pages. I have spent probably a couple hundred hours (conservatively) the last few years working on displays and revising as things come and go. I have this issue where I am constantly thinking about how to make the layout better. >>



Sounds awesome

dtkk49a

I look at my collection every day. Anywhere.

Guru

Do you use an app for that?

dtkk49a

Do you use an app for that?

No, just high res scans saved to my phone.

Mintacular

I usually check out a new pick-up closely a couples times that week, and then stow it away in my lock-box. Every few months I'll peruse through said lock-box....However once a week or so I might browse the scanned versions of my pc.

recbball

Every graded card in my registry collection is scanned.
Some times when it is slow at work I look at them or show them off to co-workers.

skrezyna23

Like many others, sadly I rarley ever look at my cards. But in fairness I moved abroad a few months after I got back into card collecting and PSA subbing. As much as I enjoy doing this from afar, it really stinks having my friend do all of this for me (which I appreciate immensely, of course). I wish I was able to open up the packages received myself and start the subbing process. I miss searching through my vault boxes of Mattingly. I will soon record and upload some breaking of Korean baseball boxes.

mcolney1

I look at them all the time because I have them on display in my basement

BLUEJAYWAY

<< <i>I look at them all the time because I have them on display in my basement





>>

A real sight to behold. Well displayed. Do you need a dehumidifier in your basement for moisture control? Always wondered the risks of basement displaying/storing.

flcardtrader

<< <i>I have pictures of each card in my 1970 Topps Baseball graded set and whenever I want to look at my collection I click on a
picture viewer and view away. For me that beats pulling out 4 MJ Roop cases every time I want to view them. >>



While this isn't a warm/fuzzy/touchy solution, it is a good one....nothing like viewing your collection on a never ending stream of wallpaper. I do the same.

I also have a large autographed SI collection that I display by scanning/printing the signed cover allowing me to keep the more valuable magazines set aside while the images are hung in my office = very nice presentation.

belz

congrats on the display there...wow that is fantastic.

Dnice

That is a very nice display indeed. Love all the packs and the vintage cards at the bottom.

I like most of you have scans online and so I whenever I want to see them, I just go into my favorites and click on the link and I see my cards within seconds. I sometimes bring them out so that I can also look at and appreciate them in hand about maybe once every 2 weeks give or take.

flcardtrader

I think I am with everyone when I say, that is a fantastic setup mcolney.

I don't know if I would ever want to leave that room - especially if it is an office with a sleeper sofa and fridge!

DanBessette

mcolney that room looks unbelievable! I'm curious to hear the story of why the 1970 Tommy Harper card is so special to you. I'm sure it's a neat story.

belz

<< <i>I think I am with everyone when I say, that is a fantastic setup mcolney.

I don't know if I would ever want to leave that room - especially if it is an office with a sleeper sofa and fridge! >>



Agreed. I think Mcolney could charge admission. HOF quality for sure. Just love the variety of sports packs.

vladguerrero

Hey guys, finding a good mix of safety/security but still making your collection displayable is always going to be a challenge. A few months ago I bought what has been the closest thing to perfection at least for my collection. If you look up map or blueprint cabinets you'll find a great assortment of high end multi drawer cabinets that work really well for cards. Here's a few images...




I bought one similar to the metal one, the thin drawers (like the metal cabinet) are a little harder to find and work better for me since the cabinet then accommodates more drawers thus more cards. The metal cabinets weigh a lot! They are stackable but if you don't want a full run of drawers you can pick up a garage storage type desk which are rated for a lot of weight and use that as your base. That's what I did and it worked out really well. I have my desk and this cabinet kiddie cornered in my office so as I browse the internet I can just pull out a drawer and review potential upgrades for cards instead of looking at an image file saved on my computer which won't show all defects as well as if having the card in hand. The drawers have full extension so I can look at 40 cards at a time. I collect one set in BGS slabs (which are quite a but heavier than PSA slabs) and the drawers fully extended and have no problem supporting the weight. These are a lot more plentiful than they used to be as businesses and govt sectors transition to mostly digital files. I bought my 10 drawer for about $225 off a craigslist type site, the local used office furniture store sells them for $450, and they are very expensive brand new. Govt auction websites are also a great source.

esquiresports

Vlad, very cool idea. I like it.

Here is a run of every major color box Topps set from 1974 - 2012. 72 sets in all. No factory sets 1974-1981. 1983 and 1984 were plain brown only. Beginning in 1998, Topps released three primary sets - retail, hobby and "Home Team Advantage." I usually wait to add additional years and have room to add one more row.

An entire set run like this, excluding 1974, would cost you less than a 1978 Topps wax box.

Sorry about the photo quality. Took it this morning with phone.

Stone193

Great job Tony. Very nice to see.

As I've shown many times, I've got parts of the house that look like this:





and this is just a part of what I have stored.

Hope to show something nice down the road. Stay tuned.

Rudedawg

Good thread. This is an issue that I try to keep in perspective all the time. I have certainly found "the chase" is what drives me as a collector. Once I achieve a goal, it is onto the next one. Only one of my collections has retained my constant attention and viewing over the last four years. I actually am selling a good part of my overall collection for the very reason of "not looking at it" anymore. It frees up some money for other things and doesn't make me feel like I'm neglecting.

Great displays from you guys, as well. I love the blueprint cabinet idea. I don't know if I would want my collection completely exposed on the wall over the long term due to exposure issues, but it is certainly the best way to admire it.

esquiresports

<< <i> I don't know if I would want my collection completely exposed on the wall over the long term due to exposure issues, but it is certainly the best way to admire it. >>



This is a good point. I had all my windows covered with UV-eliminating film. That was like $150 or so, and also acts as a partial heat blocker as well. I changed all the light bulbs to UV-free LED bulbs. Also very little heat given off.

hyperchipper09

<< <i>I look at them all the time because I have them on display in my basement





>>





Nice

aldridgemj

Beautiful basement display. I would have to sleep down there or have multiple sump pump back-ups and failsafes.

Well done.

TNP777

"What's a basement?"

- California



I don't spend as much time as I should just enjoying my collection. Some of it is on display in my office (bats & jerseys), and I do get to look at my T206 Superbas every time I post here and elsewhere. I'm actually thinking of getting rid of the majority of the newer stuff so I can go after more vintage - Turkey Red and Cracker Jack come to mind. Get 'em slabbed and display them on the walls.

Beautiful displays from some of the fellas here, btw.

ashabby

Awesome did you make the cases

MikeyP

Mcolney, that is an amazing exhibit. You deserve to enjoy every minute of it.

mcolney1

Thanks for all the great comments - really need to update the photos because it looks even better now. This is our family/tv room so we spend a lot of time there. The rule in my household is I can buy all the cards I want they just can't spill out of the display cabinets...great wife!

I live in a wet area, but have a very dry basement. No mold or moisture. I also have lots of desiccant packages spread around in the corners of the displays. Very small windows that are covered so no light damage.

Tommy Harper is a Seattle Pilot and I love anything to do with the Pilots/Mariners/Seahawks/Sonics, etc.

Cabinets are from Ikea, binders from Unikeep, wax from personal collection and BBCExchange.

DanBessette

Inspired by this thread, I got out my Tippett binder last night and slowly perused it for like half an hour. I really enjoyed that.