Player collector doldrums

[trickey]

Where does everyone search for their harder to find needs? I PC Jesse Barfield, and while I have pretty much all of his cards from 78-93, the rarer numbered stuff from 2004-2013 are harder to find. I’m thinking they’re just in a box in some guy’s basement.


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[nevermore]

Seeing this thread, I was curious to see what I had picked up over the past year or so. Happy to realize I had put my totals above here making my math easier. Here is an updated tally of my needs:

53 Inserts/Parallels
16 GU
15 Auto
88 Diffractors
44 Tek
37 1/1s

I've also trimmed my checklist another way. I made a conscious decision to stay away from aftermarket, oversized, convention, and unreleased proof cards. First, O'Neill doesn't have many of these. Second, I've owned 10-11 of the 13 listed in the Beckett OPG at one point and I don't feel the need to chase them down again. Lastly, with regards to the handful of oversized cards, they are quite easy to find, but a pain to store, and each has a smaller counterpart anyways, not making them terribly unique.

The only oversized that has really eluded me all these years is the Scores Rules Jumbo. I even bought a sealed 1995 Score Collectors Kit hoping to pull one myself. At this point, I would like to find a Score Jumbo just so I can say I found one, not because I really want it. How's that for twisted logic?!

Nice to hear everyone's updates, most of you have advanced collections. If you don't collect current releases, it must get really slow tracking down those last few. Do you just save up knowing they will cost a pretty penny or keep your self distracted with side projects? Creating a graded registry, finding minute variations, creating custom cards, etc.

 

[mrmopar]

@trickey

You are probably doing what the typical collector does. You might get some replies from some of the more aggressive collectors to see what they might do above and beyond.

If I were advising someone, I'd suggest at a minimum, setting up daily search(es) on ebay first.

Getting active on the various trading card boards, facebook groups, instagram and getting the word out that you collect Barfield, so it becomes synonymous with your name. I bet, especially here, that if you said Jose Canseco, Mouschi comes to mind for most, even though there are more collectors than just him.

Daily searches on other more popular card sites like COMC, Sportlots and that i all that come to mind for me, but others may know more.

If you have shops and shows near you, spread the word there too. With someone like Barfield, you should probably tell any dealer that you collect him. They may have buried stuff they figured was not worth their time. Especially with show dealers, they only have so much space and will probably bring what they think will sell the best. I can't tell you how many times a dealer has asked if i am looking for something in particular, and after I tell him, I hear the "Oh, I have tons of that player in my basement. I'll try to bring some next time." For me, that is pointless, since I am not on a rotating show/shop circuit and I won't be back "next time". However, if someone does say something like this now days, exchange phone numbers. It might prove worthwhile.

Participate in a blog. It seems that there is a pretty dedicated trading network via blogs from what I have seen. I have one that I dabble with. I don't really know how to find other blogs on the site that might interest me, so I have bookmarked some active pages and see who is following or if they have links to other sites:

I have no idea how many different blog sites there are either. This is a member who I recall being on the Topps site and may be elsewhere still. He assembled a list of card related sites that I have kept:

Sports Card Blogroll

A Blogroll That Features Many of the Best Writers in the Sports Card Hobby Blogging Community!!! <p> Sponsored by <a href="http://www.bdj610bbcblog.blogspot.com"><b>bdj610's Topps Baseball Card Blog</b></a>.</p>

bdj610scblogroll.blogspot.com

Google searches can help sometimes, but guessing that is few and far between. Sometimes an image leads back to a blog or post somewhere and you can track down the author, other times it just leads to a dead end and frustration.

I guess the best advice, among everything here, is that you have to be willing to put in the work. Stuff usually won't fall in your lap until people know you well. If time or effort are limited for a collector, then searching ebay and taking what you can get is probably the best one can hope for.

 

[trickey]

@trickey

You are probably doing what the typical collector does. You might get some replies from some of the more aggressive collectors to see what they might do above and beyond.

If I were advising someone, I'd suggest at a minimum, setting up daily search(es) on ebay first.

Getting active on the various trading card boards, facebook groups, instagram and getting the word out that you collect Barfield, so it becomes synonymous with your name. I bet, especially here, that if you said Jose Canseco, Mouschi comes to mind for most, even though there are more collectors than just him.

Daily searches on other more popular card sites like COMC, Sportlots and that i all that come to mind for me, but others may know more.

If you have shops and shows near you, spread the word there too. With someone like Barfield, you should probably tell any dealer that you collect him. They may have buried stuff they figured was not worth their time. Especially with show dealers, they only have so much space and will probably bring what they think will sell the best. I can't tell you how many times a dealer has asked if i am looking for something in particular, and after I tell him, I hear the "Oh, I have tons of that player in my basement. I'll try to bring some next time." For me, that is pointless, since I am not on a rotating show/shop circuit and I won't be back "next time". However, if someone does say something like this now days, exchange phone numbers. It might prove worthwhile.

Participate in a blog. It seems that there is a pretty dedicated trading network via blogs from what I have seen. I have one that I dabble with. I don't really know how to find other blogs on the site that might interest me, so I have bookmarked some active pages and see who is following or if they have links to other sites:

I have no idea how many different blog sites there are either. This is a member who I recall being on the Topps site and may be elsewhere still. He assembled a list of card related sites that I have kept:

Sports Card Blogroll

A Blogroll That Features Many of the Best Writers in the Sports Card Hobby Blogging Community!!! <p> Sponsored by <a href="http://www.bdj610bbcblog.blogspot.com"><b>bdj610's Topps Baseball Card Blog</b></a>.</p>

bdj610scblogroll.blogspot.com

Google searches can help sometimes, but guessing that is few and far between. Sometimes an image leads back to a blog or post somewhere and you can track down the author, other times it just leads to a dead end and frustration.

I guess the best advice, among everything here, is that you have to be willing to put in the work. Stuff usually won't fall in your lap until people know you well. If time or effort are limited for a collector, then searching ebay and taking what you can get is probably the best one can hope for.

Thank you for this!


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[banjar]

Haha...superstition in baseball isn't just for the players!

Don't jinx it man! Never share a card before it's in hand!!

 

[banjar]

Beckett is also worth an occasional search. Their "newly listed" filter has steadily returned fewer and fewer hits over the years though, so unless there's another hard core Barfield collector out there, you probably don't need to hit Beckett more than once a week. Nobody seems to sell there anymore.

A few other long shot websites are Ebid, Mercari, and believe it or not, Amazon. Over the last few years I've found one rarity on Ebid, and maybe 5-10 rarities on Amazon. None yet on Mercari, but I only found out about that one a couple months ago. It seems to be gaining a following?

Where does everyone search for their harder to find needs? I PC Jesse Barfield, and while I have pretty much all of his cards from 78-93, the rarer numbered stuff from 2004-2013 are harder to find. I’m thinking they’re just in a box in some guy’s basement.


Sent from my iPhone using Freedom Card Board mobile app

 

[bstanwood]

Well what is it??

You should have known better than to ask Banjar...you cant talk about the no hitter before it's over

 

[banjar]

OK, OK. I'll wait until you get it. Make sure you take a picture of it next to your tinfoil hat

You should have known better than to ask Banjar...you cant talk about the no hitter before it's over

 

[trickey]

Beckett is also worth an occasional search. Their "newly listed" filter has steadily returned fewer and fewer hits over the years though, so unless there's another hard core Barfield collector out there, you probably don't need to hit Beckett more than once a week. Nobody seems to sell there anymore.

A few other long shot websites are Ebid, Mercari, and believe it or not, Amazon. Over the last few years I've found one rarity on Ebid, and maybe 5-10 rarities on Amazon. None yet on Mercari, but I only found out about that one a couple months ago. It seems to be gaining a following?

I found a card on Mercari, but I can't buy it from Canada. Bummer. Pretty decent selection though...

 

[mrmopar]

OK, OK. I'll wait until you get it. Make sure you take a picture of it next to your tinfoil hat

My reasons for not revealing until in hand is that I don't trust the F-ing USPS to deliver packages any longer. I just got one today that was mailed on 12/28. I show it on the Dodger thread. Its not a record by far, but regular first class parcels should not take 2 weeks and when there is tracking, the number sits w/o update for almost all of that time!

 

[banjar]

I know, I get it.

But personally I'm still willing to throw caution to the wind and post incoming cards before I actually have them! I just did this on the ol' Alomar thread...

Roberto Alomar Collector's Thread

Looks like the collection is coming along nicely Banjar. I just picked up a 1989 Star Alomar Brothers Promo autograph that I never knew existed until I read this thread. I've only been collecting autographed cards of his - i'm too lazy to collect everything like banjar does haha. I feel like...

www.freedomcardboard.com

 

[mrmopar]

Luckily I have not yet had an irreplaceable item get lost, but the odds are growing that it will happen with every piece they lose. I am a pretty select buyer, so most of what I get is not easily replaced to begin with.

 

[banjar]

Sounds like your luck with USPS has been much worse than mine. I've come out pretty well overall, only 2 pieces lost since 2014, if I remember right. Thankfully they were all minor cards.