Ever think of dropping a player collection?

muskiesfan · Mar 20, 2009

I've been battling with this idea for a few months now. I collect 2 players and I have been thinking about trimming down to one. I don't know if I'm just in a rut or what, but for some reason I just keep thinking about how much I could improve my collection if I only collected one player instead of 2.

I'm not asking anyone to tell me what to do or anything, just wondering if anyone else has hit this wall before. This is something that I do not take lightly and has been weighing on me (as much as cardboard can :lol: ). Part me of thinks I should do it and not look back, but the other part of me thinks that it may be something I would regret.

Joe

notoriousrmb · Mar 20, 2009

I collect 2 players full time, Ray Lankford and Brad Smith. It works for me since Ray has the neat-o 90's inserts and not a lot of rare 1/1's and patch autos to chase. Brad has the new shiny patchy stuff.

To keep from burning out both mentally and financially, I only look for the rarest of the rare items when I'm feeling a crunch. I may see some stuff pop up I don't have, but if it's something lower end that may come around again I tend to pass at times.

Just shoot for the 1/1's and real rare items for a while and not worry about picking up every $5 card out there. Then when you feel more motivated go back and pick up some of those more common releases.

RL24 · Mar 20, 2009

I've pretty much always collected three players, it has it's ups and downs. I collect Rickey Henderson, but can't really afford to battle it out with the big collectors like I used to. Or maybe spending that much money on cardboard just got to me, I do a lot more saving these days. That's what I like about collecting Jason Jennings- I've picked up press plates for $2, superfractors for $10... I got a certified auto OMLB w/ 2 inscriptions for less than the cost of a blank OMLB! Of course, if I ever decided to get rid of these I would probably just have to send them to Jason Jennings for free. Well, I guess if I was giving them away people would take them, but they would still think "eh, Jason Jennings." I also collect Sabathia who went from cheap in 2002 to an expensive habit these days...

I like things like the 1999 Bowman set, all 3 of them are in it. I can lay the cool parallels out and see all 3 of them in the same set! It's also cool how sometimes one guy is in a set, and another guy in another set... I find out about 2 sets instead of 1. I find that I have apx 0 knowledge about 90s sets that Rickey wasn't in.

What I don't like is the way that keeping 3 want/have lists is a lot of work, 3 collections take up a lot of space, it takes way too much money to keep up with 3 player collections. Of course these days I limit myself to cards that I really NEED, you know how that goes...

miguelcabrera · Mar 20, 2009

RL24 said:
I've pretty much always collected three players, it has it's ups and downs. I collect Rickey Henderson, but can't really afford to battle it out with the big collectors like I used to. Or maybe spending that much money on cardboard just got to me, I do a lot more saving these days. That's what I like about collecting Jason Jennings- I've picked up press plates for $2, superfractors for $10... I got a certified auto OMLB w/ 2 inscriptions for less than the cost of a blank OMLB! Of course, if I ever decided to get rid of these I would probably just have to send them to Jason Jennings for free. Well, I guess if I was giving them away people would take them, but they would still think "eh, Jason Jennings." I also collect Sabathia who went from cheap in 2002 to an expensive habit these days...

I like things like the 1999 Bowman set, all 3 of them are in it. I can lay the cool parallels out and see all 3 of them in the same set! It's also cool how sometimes one guy is in a set, and another guy in another set... I find out about 2 sets instead of 1. I find that I have apx 0 knowledge about 90s sets that Rickey wasn't in.

What I don't like is the way that keeping 3 want/have lists is a lot of work, 3 collections take up a lot of space, it takes way too much money to keep up with 3 player collections. Of course these days I limit myself to cards that I really NEED, you know how that goes...

you have a sick sabathia collection, how much were those 3 supers if you dont mind me asking, also sweet mirror blacks and finest white frames, also love the 05 bowman red 1/1

markakis8 · Mar 20, 2009

When I first started collecting again, I had five guys: Brian Roberts, Nick Markakis, Eric Chavez, Victor Martinez, and Mark Teixeira (this was back in 2003)

I quickly dropped Chavez and VMart b/c I saw the two big PC's guys and didn't want my wallet going up against theirs. I eventually did the same with Markakis even though he's an Oriole b/c of StarWarsFan2003 collection. Teixeira I stopped b/c I wanted to focus on one and I had THE Brian Roberts collection if you asked me. Had most of the supers, most the plates, most of the autos, etc. but my family needed money and there were just sooooo many Brian Roberts cards coming out (the Milestones of 2008 set helped me make my decision quickly).

Now I'm just gonna focus on tough sets b/c I don't need to ever worry if one or two slip by. There will be some out there a few months later.

PC'ing can be very addicting though, I'll give you that.

miguelcabrera · Mar 20, 2009

markakis8 said:
When I first started collecting again, I had five guys: Brian Roberts, Nick Markakis, Eric Chavez, Victor Martinez, and Mark Teixeira (this was back in 2003)

I quickly dropped Chavez and VMart b/c I saw the two big PC's guys and didn't want my wallet going up against theirs. I eventually did the same with Markakis even though he's an Oriole b/c of StarWarsFan2003 collection. Teixeira I stopped b/c I wanted to focus on one and I had THE Brian Roberts collection if you asked me. Had most of the supers, most the plates, most of the autos, etc. but my family needed money and there were just sooooo many Brian Roberts cards coming out (the Milestones of 2008 set helped me make my decision quickly).

Now I'm just gonna focus on tough sets b/c I don't need to ever worry if one or two slip by. There will be some out there a few months later.

PC'ing can be very addicting though, I'll give you that.

were you the one who sold the 2 supers and sterling red for 250 on ebay

ThoseBackPages · Mar 20, 2009

not knowing who the two guys are, but being able to guess one, i can imagine its difficult to keep up with everything.

for me, it's just the opposite. i collect McGriff, Delgado, Aloma, Jefferies and to the most extent, Jay Bruce.
i focus on 90's rare/htf/cool looking for my first four fools, and everything that i can afford on the latter.

i too have a "problem" with adding guys lol in fact, i am thinking about adding another youngin' because the Bruce stuff i need is not showing up on ebay lol crazy, i know

Therion · Mar 20, 2009

I'm considering this as well. First Donruss overloads us with unreasonable amounts of parallels with pretty much every release. Then UD overloads us with unreasonable amounts with Documentary. Now Topps is overloading us with retail exclusive parallels with their own 1/1 versions. It's too much.

So I'm pretty much giving up my Berkman, Lidge, Bruntlett, and Ensberg collections and just focusing on Darryl Kile. To illustrate how ridiculous it is, 16 of Eric Brunlett's 56 cards are 1/1 printing plates. So almost 30% of all of his cards are printing plates. I think it is very nearly impossible to player collect modern players without deep pockets. I'll just be picking up nice cards of these guys when they pop up with decent prices.

markakis8 · Mar 20, 2009

yes

miguelcabrera said:
markakis8 said:

When I first started collecting again, I had five guys: Brian Roberts, Nick Markakis, Eric Chavez, Victor Martinez, and Mark Teixeira (this was back in 2003)

I quickly dropped Chavez and VMart b/c I saw the two big PC's guys and didn't want my wallet going up against theirs. I eventually did the same with Markakis even though he's an Oriole b/c of StarWarsFan2003 collection. Teixeira I stopped b/c I wanted to focus on one and I had THE Brian Roberts collection if you asked me. Had most of the supers, most the plates, most of the autos, etc. but my family needed money and there were just sooooo many Brian Roberts cards coming out (the Milestones of 2008 set helped me make my decision quickly).

Now I'm just gonna focus on tough sets b/c I don't need to ever worry if one or two slip by. There will be some out there a few months later.

PC'ing can be very addicting though, I'll give you that.

Click to expand...

were you the one who sold the 2 supers and sterling red for 250 on ebay

ffgameman · Mar 20, 2009

Occasionally. I have considered dropping my David Wright collection since many of his cards are out of my price range, but I think I would regret it in the end.

Tomlinson21RB · Mar 20, 2009

I did exclusively Hanley for a long time, and then added Billingsley near the end of last year. I've since added Shoppach, James Posey, Damon Stoudamire, and a master set of Topps Gold Label Basketball. I agree my Hanley collection would be even nicer without the other collections, but I like having the different guys for a couple reasons. Billingsley I have a very high percentage of already, so I get to just watch for new ones and the occasional older issue that appears. Shoppach I have a lower percentage, but he is low cost and stuff I need doesn't show up that frequently. The basketball is the lowest priority, but gives me a chance to get in on some of the nicer looking cards from the 90's which my 3 baseball guys don't have. The master set is fun and something that I can pick up a few cards for now and then when I find some deals. So having the different collections keeps me well rounded and into a couple different ways of collecting, but most importantly it gives me some stuff to bounce around with so I don't get bored. I might be on a hunt for new Hanley cards one week and then decide I want to grab some new Shoppach cards the next. It just keeps it more interesting for me.

allstars · Mar 20, 2009

One of the biggest mistakes I ever made was dropping my Don Mattingly collection, I sure do miss it. When Donnie Baseball retired it was commonly accepted that he would have very few, if any, additional cards. At the time I had about 3500 different Mattingly's, and I was heartbroken. If only I knew that he'd be getting tons of new (& oh-so-cool) cards in the future, I'd have never dropped the collection! Now every time I see a customer pull a Mattingly I can't help but think what "could have been".

Oh, when I quit collecting Mattingly's, Donnie had *zero* certified autographs & *zero* memorabilia cards lol

muskiesfan · Mar 20, 2009

ThoseBackPages said:
not knowing who the two guys are, but being able to guess one, i can imagine its difficult to keep up with everything.

for me, it's just the opposite. i collect McGriff, Delgado, Aloma, Jefferies and to the most extent, Jay Bruce.
i focus on 90's rare/htf/cool looking for my first four fools, and everything that i can afford on the latter.

i too have a "problem" with adding guys lol in fact, i am thinking about adding another youngin' because the Bruce stuff i need is not showing up on ebay lol crazy, i know

Good point Eric. I forgot to mention who I collect.

My player collections are Pete Rose and Ken Griffey Jr.

Great posts by everyone. Both of these players can get expensive and I end up neglecting one to pick up cards for the other. I enjoy collecting both, but they're both a pain in the ass too. :lol: I think both of my collections are nice, but if I were to decide to just collect one or the other, I think my PC could really boom.

Pete's older stuff is more expensive obviously, plus all the new autos and gu are pricey (thank you Sportkings and DLP). Griffey is well, Griffey. :lol: I don't really have the pockets to keep up with both, plus (as mentioned by other) with all of the paralells that Griffey has it becomes quite exhausting.

Thanks,
Joe

notjomommasclint · Mar 20, 2009

hey joe, i am there with you right now. it sorta stinks knowing that i have put all that energy and cash into something i am going to give up on but due to the lack of income and the future addition in the yeager household a major cut is coming. as of now i collect nomar garciaparra, zach daeges, manny ramirez, mark teahan, chris young, and chris sabo. i have been considering going to one retired player and daeges. i will be keeping and displaying the other collections but not be actively pursuing them.

NECpilgrims8 · Mar 20, 2009

I had three players going (Craig Biggio, Manny Ramirez, Tino Martinez), but I decided to stick with my big two.

Tino had to go bye-bye. I am 99% rid of his stuff, with only a few remaining. I will be giving them away when I gather my stuff for the Ultimate Player Collectors Contest!

RL24 · Mar 20, 2009

miguelcabrera said:
you have a sick sabathia collection, how much were those 3 supers if you dont mind me asking, also sweet mirror blacks and finest white frames, also love the 05 bowman red 1/1

Thank you for the compliments! I really don't remember how much any of those were honestly, I'm guessing since I don't remember they were neither very cheap or very expensive. That seems to be the only time a price sticks in my head.

I see a lot of people say things like this:

First Donruss overloads us with unreasonable amounts of parallels with pretty much every release. Then UD overloads us with unreasonable amounts with Documentary. Now Topps is overloading us with retail exclusive parallels with their own 1/1 versions. It's too much.

I don't understand. I used to have this dream when I was a kid, I was going to get every Rickey card ever made. Then I quit collecting until about 2001, and at that time I learned what a 1/1 is. Then I got access to a Rickey wantlist, and realized that he had already had a couple 1/1's made. My dream was shot down right there, I'm never going to own every card. Nowadays, this completist attitude baffles me. If you collect Corvettes, you probably have 5 nice corvettes. You don't set out to buy one of every different corvette ever made, and have a few new ones hit your wantlist each year.

Since I have taken on this new attitude towards trading, I have been much happier. I didn't mind that Donruss made 300+ Rickeys in 05 Absolute, because I knew going into it that I was only going to buy the ones I like, the ones that make me happy. With 300+ to choose from, I was able to get some really hot Rickeys! Of course, at the same time, if I could just land these 2 OPC stickers from 84 I'd have 79-85 taken care of.

So it's not like there aren't parts of my collection I would like to complete... I just don't get why people let the wind get knocked out of their sails so easily. You can collect cards of a guy ONLY if they picture him with your favorite team. You can just go for all of his cards up to 1998. You could just ditch Beckett's everlovin' list and go freestyle, which is where I gravitate towards more and more all the time. I haven't added a new card to my wantlist since early 08, and if I get a new card to add to my havelist, I feel that I have enough knowledge to call it what I want.

Sorry to rant and ramble so much today. Slow day at work...

NECpilgrims8 · Mar 20, 2009

RL24 said:
miguelcabrera said:

you have a sick sabathia collection, how much were those 3 supers if you dont mind me asking, also sweet mirror blacks and finest white frames, also love the 05 bowman red 1/1

Click to expand...

Thank you for the compliments! I really don't remember how much any of those were honestly, I'm guessing since I don't remember they were neither very cheap or very expensive. That seems to be the only time a price sticks in my head.

I see a lot of people say things like this:

First Donruss overloads us with unreasonable amounts of parallels with pretty much every release. Then UD overloads us with unreasonable amounts with Documentary. Now Topps is overloading us with retail exclusive parallels with their own 1/1 versions. It's too much.

Click to expand...

I don't understand. I used to have this dream when I was a kid, I was going to get every Rickey card ever made. Then I quit collecting until about 2001, and at that time I learned what a 1/1 is. Then I got access to a Rickey wantlist, and realized that he had already had a couple 1/1's made. My dream was shot down right there, I'm never going to own every card. Nowadays, this completist attitude baffles me. If you collect Corvettes, you probably have 5 nice corvettes. You don't set out to buy one of every different corvette ever made, and have a few new ones hit your wantlist each year.

Since I have taken on this new attitude towards trading, I have been much happier. I didn't mind that Donruss made 300+ Rickeys in 05 Absolute, because I knew going into it that I was only going to buy the ones I like, the ones that make me happy. With 300+ to choose from, I was able to get some really hot Rickeys! Of course, at the same time, if I could just land these 2 OPC stickers from 84 I'd have 79-85 taken care of. So it's not like there aren't parts of my collection I would like to complete... I just don't get why people let the wind get knocked out of their sails so easily. You can collect cards of a guy ONLY if they picture him with your favorite team. You can just go for all of his cards up to 1998. You could just ditch Beckett's everlovin' list and go freestyle, which is where I gravitate towards more and more all the time. I haven't added a new card to my wantlist since early 08, and if I get a new card to add to my havelist, I feel that I have enough knowledge to call it what I want.

Sorry to rant and ramble so much today. Slow day at work...

My very quick answer to this?

Only buy Pre-2000 cards. You will never have to chase 1/1's and overkill parallels.

:mrgreen:

muskiesfan · Mar 20, 2009

Before 2007, I felt that I could eventually get my Rose collection to 85-90% completion. I knew there were some cards I may never own like a 1963 Venezuelan rookie card and such, but there was that possibility of owning the overwhelming majority of Rose cards. He was my childhood hero and my favorite all-time player. Don't get me wrong, I am a huge Griffey fan and I enjoy my pick ups, but with all of the low numbered inserts and paralells and the ultra high end cards I can't really keep up.

I don't know if maybe I should just take a break from one and focus on the other or if I should just part ways with one of them and strictly focus on the other. Unfortunately, if I were to drop one, it would more than likely be Griffey. I would keep all of my memorabilia because I really enjoy autographed memorabilia, but I would probably move all of the cards. If I were to ever get what I thought was a fair offer, I would probably move the entire collection and use the funds to really bolster my Rose collection.

It's a pain in the ass being stuck at a crossroads in collecting. :lol:

Joe

brokenliz1 · Mar 20, 2009

I player collect 1. Alex Gordon and 2. George Brett and no I have never thought of quitting collecting either.I had to sell off some of my favorite Gordon auto's to help pay some bills but I would never stop stop collecting either.

nevermore · Mar 20, 2009

NECpilgrims8 said:
I had three players going (Craig Biggio, Manny Ramirez, Tino Martinez), but I decided to stick with my big two.

Tino had to go bye-bye. I am 99% rid of his stuff, with only a few remaining. I will be giving them away when I gather my stuff for the Ultimate Player Collectors Contest!

I am on the same boat....For a while I collected three guys Paul O'Neill, Mariano Rivera, and Tino Martinez. I decided to dismantle my Tino collection back in 2006 and have kept just a few select cards in my PC. Now my main focus is O'Neill, I try and get all his cards. With Rivera I stick to just the stuff I like, that includes the 1992-2003 stuff and select cards from 2004-now.

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