How the 90's killed the Player Collector Completest in 10 Steps

[gracecollector]

My answers to that is all unopened product will eventually be opened and everyone eventually passes away. What your family does with your stuff at that time is how things can surface on eBay.

Ebay has 145 million users. The population of the US is 331 million. Not everyone uses eBay, let alone sells on it, including card collectors. Any player collector will tell you - not all cards end up on ebay. Lots are in private stashes and lots just don't ever get listed and some are in unopened boxes tha may never get opened during your lifetime and a small percentage are lost or damaged (floods and fires do happen). That's why we all have holes in our collections.

 

[tunahead]

I disagree strongly. I know personally I have over 10 1/1 cards of players I don't collect but pulled and never listed. They've just sitting in a box. And if I do that, surely others do to. Plus there are cards in unopened product, cards that were damaged, cards that collectors kept just for the novelty of being a 1/1 they pulled, and cards that weren't recognized for what they were and put in common boxes. There's absolutely no way every 1/1 will surface and be made available for public sale. Impossible.

Another thing to think about is 1/1 cards that have been destroyed by whatever means or lost in the mail.

*edit* Looks like you already mentioned that in your next post

 

[smapdi]

The print run of 241 copies for 93 Finest refractors was widely known on release. While serial numbering had been around for a couple years by then, and it certainly isn't a low number by today's standards, this was seen as a really tough get back when there were a lot more collectors and no internet.

But even aside from cost and availability, the thing that killed my Frank Thomas completism was what you might call too much variety leading to not all cards living up to my standards. I remember being at a show when I was about to buy a card, a 1996 Score "Numbers Game." It was $10, a reasonable price for that level of insert at the time. I had the money in hand, and I took a second look at the card. It was ugly. It had probably 1.5 seconds worth of thought in the design. It was just a completely "nothing" card. A worthless piece of ephemera that I was about to buy because it was a Frank Thomas card I didn't have and I collect all Frank Thomas cards, QED. So I put it down, realized that not every card was worth having, especially at $10 (when I made about $6.50 an hour). Ever since then, I've been able to be selective, and been happier for it.

Of course, I am still a Sizemore completist, so what do I know?

 

[gracecollector]

The print run of 241 copies for 93 Finest refractors was widely known on release. While serial numbering had been around for a couple years by then, and it certainly isn't a low number by today's standards, this was seen as a really tough get back when there were a lot more collectors and no internet.

That print run was never stated, just based on odds and product run numbers. It has been widely debated and many, including myself, feel that it is not accurate and more than 241 were made per player.

Good point that the overall glut of offerings during the 90's helped kill the completest too. It surely was a contributing factor.

 

[weight333]

Just got to keep on keepin' on. If you stay in it long enough, some of your fellow player collectors decide to sell out. I've been able to pick up quite a few rare issues this way. As of 100% completion, I think we can all agree that is impossible even with unlimited funds. I've found that some of the regional oddballs have been my toughest to track down (ie, still looking for 1993 California Highway Patrol and 1998 Circle K phone card). It's always a big kick when something pops up that you had no idea existed. Here's to hoping this year's NSCC has more modern era cards!

 

[predatorkj]

Unless the family has no idea what they're doing and they decide to trash the cards.

Doubtful. Every Tom, Dick, and Harry I run across thinks Sports cards are worth a fortune and that's why people collect them. Of course I haven't spoken to everybody on the planet. But the train of thought is still very prevalent.

 

[predatorkj]

As for fires and floods, yeah, if that happens we are screwed.

 

[1st4040]

I gave up collecting in 95 because it already was starting to get rediculous so I missed out on all the best the mid to late 90's had to offer. I got back into the game hardcore in 2007 and I accomplished the goal of owning the 96 Select Mirror Gold, 97 Totally Certified Platinum Gold and the 98 Red Crusade.. the 3 best inserts the 90's had to offer IMO.

growing up collecting having the mentality of getting 1 of every card the whole 1/1 craze destroyed that along with very low numbered parallels. I've had my fun with my collection over the many years and the memories cannot be replaced.

 

[Austin]

I was a Rickey Henderson completist collector from the mid '80s until the late '90s, and then the low-numbered floodgates opened and I became a casual player collector.

 

[BBCgalaxee]

When I really started collecting promos, I had no thought or desire to having every card made.

Even if money wasn't a factor, it still wouldn't be a realistic goal since many are literally impossible to find.

On top of that, the amount of promos produced in last 5 plus years is minuscule. I can't even imagine what you player guys go through with all the autos gu and parallels from New releases yearly.

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[Philip J. Fry]

Doubtful. Every Tom, Dick, and Harry I run across thinks Sports cards are worth a fortune and that's why people collect them. Of course I haven't spoken to everybody on the planet. But the train of thought is still very prevalent.

True, but every Jane, Jill, and Mary will think this "hobby" is nothing more than a phase...unless of course, they're collecting together And don't get me started on ex-spouses who destroy for revenge...

 

[predatorkj]

True, but every Jane, Jill, and Mary will think this "hobby" is nothing more than a phase...unless of course, they're collecting together And don't get me started on ex-spouses who destroy for revenge...

Lol! Fair enough.

I suppose I'm being optimistic. I just see a lot of low numbered Bagwell stuff all the time that isn't what I'd call highly sought after parallels and whatnot. And I own a slew of cards numbered to /100 or less. Even see a lot of stuff numbered /25 or less. So a lot of the stuff does come up. Also, with new releases I've learned the lesson that if you want a chance at owning as much of it as possible, the best time to scour eBay is right after release.

So I'll somewhat agree that guys who have rare 90's stuff might be impossible. Might be. But any of the newer stuff is findable to a large degree. It's almost absurd how easy it is to find the 1/1's and low numbered stuff today. I think if you hang around long enough, some of those big fish from the 90's surface too.

 

[MansGame]

Very cool thread and read.

I would agree that it's nearly impossible to get EVERY card of said player but I would also agree that the hobby does kind of boil down to (1) time and (2) money.

Also, IMO having 90% or more of all cards released of your player is the real "100%" in my eyes all things considered. I've got close but keep getting pushed back with each new release in the past couple years.

 

[Therion]

The only one I don't really jive with is #4 . Otherwise, dead on article. I would love to end up with every Darryl Kile card ever, but I have no expectation of ever touching all of those 1/1s. I have three of them and will be lucky if I ever double that.

 

[BBCgalaxee]

Every extreme you can think of, I hear.

"New cards are worthless"
"Old cards from the 80s are worth money"
"Crap from the 80s is worthless"
"70s and 60s are gold"

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[predatorkj]

Every extreme you can think of, I hear.

"New cards are worthless"
"Old cards from the 80s are worth money"
"Crap from the 80s is worthless"
"70s and 60s are gold"

Sent from my HTCONE using Freedom Card Board mobile app

Now, granted I don't ever buy to resell, but it's been my experience with sports cards and even comic books, you always can do well with a little forethought as to what you're buying and by buying what's not hot and what other people aren't going nuts over. That should be common sense but as a collector, you're normally just as caught up in the fray as anyone else is. But I've used this method to buy a lot of stuff on the cheap. Yes it would help to resell if I needed to but I use it to obtain my collection cheaply. I break the rules sometimes but only for certain reasons where ends justify the means. My means anyway...

So how this relates to what you are talking about is...we all see what's being purchased here or there using this boards, our local card shops, and shows. My advice would be if you simply look at quality stuff nobody else is, and it's not hot, you can usually make a good purchase as a collector or as a dealer.