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Changes in Collecting Strategy

With the meteoric price increases in unopened, high grade cards, and rookies, has this changed anyone's collecting focus.

It has impacted my focus to a large degree. I have shifted more to football from baseball, have focused way less on unopened, and have given up on high grade cards.

Also bought some hockey wax (I do not even watch the sport)!

Seems like it is all but over prior to 1978 for unopened. Even 78 - 80 aren't cheap anymore (baseball).

While rising prices have helped my collection, it has made it less enjoyable and very limiting to acquire new stuff. . .



Comments

  • hyperchipper09hyperchipper09 Posts: 1,438 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I suppose I'm one of the lucky ones. Unopened isn't my shtick and the ebbs and flows of the high grade card market are nothing new. While they may be higher now than in say 1990(as an example, and obviously prices have changed), my income is also different now compared to 1990. Just roll with it. image
  • craig44craig44 Posts: 10,393 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I don't really do unopened, but it has affected my buying. as a player collector, I have always liked to have a nice graded example of the rookie. But now, instead of high grade examples of the rest of a players cards, I am content with nice raw copies.

    George Brett, Bobby Orr and Terry Bradshaw.

  • esquiresportsesquiresports Posts: 1,360 ✭✭✭
    I've definitely struggled with the idea of letting some items go (that is, selling them) because prices have increased so dramatically. On the flip side, I've given up for now on the idea of picking up high-grade examples of some of my favorite cards (e.g., 1954 Aaron, 1968 Ryan, 1986 Jordan).

    Always buying 1971 OPC Baseball packs.
  • My focus has pretty much stayed the same. 1953-1957 complete set run. Lucky for me I already had all
    The big big stars in PSA 7's before the big boom hit this past 6 months or so.
  • DarinDarin Posts: 6,247 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I've found out you can build a really nice collection in low-mid grade for vintage cards.
    I have a PSA 4 Kaline rookie and a SGC 4 Clemente rookie. A PSA 6 Schmidt rookie.
    All great looking cards, I think its kind of fun to find mid grade gems that have great eye
    appeal for the respective grade.
    Slowly building a Clemente set and have several PSA 6's, will never have the highest
    rated set but they will still be great looking vintage cards.
    DISCLAIMER FOR BASEBAL21
    In the course of every human endeavor since the dawn of time the risk of human error has always been a factor. Including but not limited to field goals, 4th down attempts, or multiple paragraph ramblings on a sports forum authored by someone who shall remain anonymous.
  • Nicely centered vintage in collecter grade are great to collect. Every show I go
    To there seems to be a million to choose from.
  • grote15grote15 Posts: 29,479 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I don't buy as much as I used to but unopened remains king for me. There are still deals to be found, but they are fewer and farther between.



    One thing I have been doing lately, and enjoying, is finally putting together into binders all of the pack fresh singles I've accumulated by ripping over the years. I like the visceral aspect putting together these raw sets entails, and upgrading each card every time I come across a nicer one for the set. There is something to be said for the feel of cardboard vs the feel of plastic when set building, though I still enjoy upgrading my graded sets, as well.


    Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
  • A bet you have some great raw sets
  • robert67robert67 Posts: 1,336 ✭✭✭✭
    edited April 4, 2017 7:13AM
    ,
  • Indy78Indy78 Posts: 802 ✭✭✭
    Originally posted by: TheMick6
    Nicely centered vintage in collecter grade are great to collect. Every show I go
    To there seems to be a million to choose from.


    I agree, and have only begun to appreciate this sentiment within the last year or so. With the exception of one registry set I'm finishing up, ungraded, collector condition (i.e., GD/VG/EX-ish) for pre-1974 baseball is what I predominately target now.
  • unopened will only go higher..it wont go down in value ever...every day goes by with people ripping them open in hopes for a psa 10 common is just helping the value of unopened rise
    Back in the hobby after hibernating for many years... Collector from the overproduced years of 1986+
  • mintonlyplsmintonlypls Posts: 1,711 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Koufax RC went from purchasing an 8.5 to a 7. Clemente RC went from an 8 to a 6.5 or 6 or not at all since my collection only contains one 7.
    mint_only_pls
  • ndleondleo Posts: 4,064 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I have given up chasing a nice PSA 9 Brett RC, PSA 9 Schmidt RC, or PSA 8 OPC Gretzky RC. At one time all were in my budget but that changed 6 months ago. Now the cost for me would be irresponsible. The cost of those three cards combined would be a nice starter college fund.

    I've started to take a hard look at my collection and started to select cards to sell. I don't think I will reinvest those profits for now. The one good thing about the market rise is that it forces you to decide if a certain pursuit is worth it.

    From the unopened side, I don't participate in the breaks as much since most of them are baseball products. I would jump in for football. I'm glad I kept most of my vintage FB unopened since it has risen mostly across the board. Like Grote said, there are still some great buying opportunities in unopened, especially at shows or locations where a lot of people don't fish (if you know what I mean), but I do sense those days are coming to an end. I have been looking at modern football boxes 1993-2005. I do think those will rise significantly as the market moves on. I think the 1993 SP and 1996 Topps Chrome FB are nice value buys.

    My main focus right now is completing the Chrome Camo Football Refractor sets 2012-2015. I have the 2012 done and the 2015 is close. Now that Topps is out of the football card business, I don't think these sets will be coming back anytime soon.

    Mike
  • ClockworkAngelClockworkAngel Posts: 1,994 ✭✭✭
    Similar to grote, I have been focusing on raw sets and putting together sets as visually appealing as possible, and have built raw sets going back to 1970. I am also focusing on building up my autographed baseball collection.

    I have played with selling some stuff just because of the amazing values of these cards, but then I consider where I could put the money instead and realize nothing can touch the return of these cards
    The Clockwork Angel Collection...brought to you by Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Chase
    TheClockworkAngelCollection
  • Stone193Stone193 Posts: 24,351 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Originally posted by: KurtisJoseph

    With the meteoric price increases in unopened, high grade cards, and rookies, has this changed anyone's collecting focus.



    It has impacted my focus to a large degree. I have shifted more to football from baseball, have focused way less on unopened, and have given up on high grade cards.



    Also bought some hockey wax (I do not even watch the sport)!



    Seems like it is all but over prior to 1978 for unopened. Even 78 - 80 aren't cheap anymore (baseball).



    While rising prices have helped my collection, it has made it less enjoyable and very limiting to acquire new stuff. . .




    All good points.



    I collect board games which is relatively inexpensive. I do some BB but not like others here.



    I do feel I missed the boat since I could've just as easily started to pick up PSA 7s/8s of RCs back around in the early 90s when PSA launched and prices weren't insane.



    But, I do look at it as water under the bridge.



    IMO, there's still plenty out there to collect for the enjoyment of a hobby.



    E.g. I picked up this nice Neil Allen (Set 1 1989) GU Cleveland Indians jersey for $123 from someone I know and gives me a lifetime guarantee on my pickups - Jon Richmond.



    image



    Mike
  • eliteco3eliteco3 Posts: 25 ✭✭
    I am a slaboholic to PSA. Love the look and am really getting into vintage. I am 31 years old. I think maybe an influx of millenials my age getting into vintage may have also pushed vintage higher among other factors.
    A proud collector of PSA products and avid hobby fan
  • Stone193Stone193 Posts: 24,351 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Originally posted by: eliteco3

    I am a slaboholic to PSA. Love the look and am really getting into vintage. I am 31 years old. I think maybe an influx of millenials my age getting into vintage may have also pushed vintage higher among other factors.




    More power to the millennials if they have 40,50,60K to drop on a card. image

    Mike
  • Autos4AlexAutos4Alex Posts: 442 ✭✭✭
    My collecting focus has been signed hall of fame rookies from all sports.

    I've for the most part put on hold buying any of the big 4 sports as I'm being priced out of the market. For example I was watching a Tom Brady rookie and signing prices and it would probably run me 5-10K to get that card signed. For now I'm holding my collection in hopes prices go back down. If they don't go down in the next year and I can't continue to add to my collection I'll probably end up selling most of my collection from the big 4 sports.

    For current collecting focus: In terms of sports cards I'm more focused on Tennis/Golf now as those cards are still affordable. My last 3 big collectible purchases were all non-sports cards because of the high prices: a vintage chess set, a vintage comic, and the start to a 12 Caesar's denarius collection.
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