Player collectors ... anyone else moving in new directions?

[Matsuicollector]

First of all, new member yankeejetsfan, accurately pointed out "I would have thought you collected Matsui based on your username," or something similar to that effect. Should I finally change my username? I'm Posadacollector on a couple other boards, but I've been Matsuicollector for so long on here that I've never been able to pull the trigger and change it. Back with the original beckett boards, I collected Matsui and Posada, but mainly Matsui so that seemed more appropriate. But now it's all Posada in terms of a player collection. What do you guys think? Time for change?


Anyway, back to the main point of this post....


This year topps went crazy with putting Posada in their releases. He's had more autos released in this one year, than the period from 2005-2013. Granted a majority of his new autos are on-card, which is great. But there are a couple thoughts that have crossed my mind:

1) This is bad for my wallet. I'm spending at a greater rate than I think I ever have before on Posada stuff. Thankfully I've been able to sell a few things as well to pay for this as I'm still a medical student making goose eggs for another year.

2) This is bad for my investment. Now I know, most player collectors don't view their collections as an investment, and neither do I really. But in the back of my mind, there's always the thought that if I ever do decide to part with my collection, I'd like to be able to make back a nice chunk of change. And with Posada, his values have actually risen since I started collecting, and I could make a profit on most things that I've bought if I took the time to resell individually. However, with this new outburst of autos,logic would tell me that it will hurt the value of all older autos as well.

3) I'm really burning out with plain ol GU. While there really isn't much of a difference now between a plain GU piece and a regular insert, they usually sell at a premium compared to inserts of the same rarity (for the most part), and I'm a little over paying that premium as I could maybe rebuild an entire jersey with all of the GU I currently have lol.

So, all of this has really got me thinking as to what direction I should move in now. I'm leaning towards focusing on cards produced during his playing days (i swear there was a post about this recently but I cant find it) and just picking up stuff I like from new releases. Granted this will still be alot. But at least I won't be compelled to keep buying anything and everything. I've also decided to not to keep anything from unliscenced products. Not that there's anything wrong with them, but I need as many ways to narrow my focus as possible. Anyone else burning out with the massive parallels and cards per player in every release? Anyone else having to move in new directions? I'd love to hear thoughts from all of you other player collectors.

 

[Brewer Andy]

I change directions several times a year. Keeps this fresh. My Jeff Cirillo collection has been the only stable project I've ever maintained, otherwise I start new collections and break others up pretty frequently

 

[1st4040]

I started having thoughts about getting out but I've collected forever so it was odd to think that way. To be honest its quite liberating not having to scour Ebay endlessly trying to snatch up deals on everything you need. My guy hadn't seen cards other than Leaf for years.. This year Topps has flooded the market with recycled designs and autos of his. I'm glad I decided to piece out my collection before this all happened. The market has never really been higher for my guys rare cards and to this point I've made some rediculous profits on my rare items. I've reinvested some of the money in what I consider a more stable market(firearms) and obviously more functional than cardboard and I have stashed a nice chunk of change as well. I still have ALOT to sell as well so I'll just keep building the nest egg! I will always have the love for baseball cards but now I can just refer to my thousands of scans if I want to see what I've owned over the years as the thumb drive doesn't take up much space at all...

 

[DaClyde]

With the sheer volume of new stuff that comes out every year for Dave Winfield, I set a strategy of just picking up the cheap new stuff and then trying to clear the older stuff from my want lists. For the most part it's working. I've managed to clear 1973-1996 of all but the most obscure or test issue items. I've also got a fairly strict $10 limit on any but the most obscure cards, so it keeps the spending in line.

Doing that also let me put a significant dent in my Roberto Kelly collection. Mostly what is left there is really tough Pacific parallels. I've pretty much given up on my Matt Williams collection, which means financially it is a total loss since almost no one collects him. Maybe I'll get him another try once I finish up the Roberto Kelly collection (380/417, so I'm almost there!).

 

[Austin]

I used to buy everything new of Andre Ethier from 2005-2009. Then in 2010, I realized I was kind of wasting money and it wasn't fun, so I just bought Ethier stuff I actually liked, without worrying about being a completionist.

I also sold off many of his rare cards for a nice profit during one of his hot streaks, and to be honest, i haven't missed those cards.
I still have a nice collection of my favorite current player and I just buy what I want now, without stressing out over winning rare cards.

As 1st4040 wrote, it's been liberating not scouring eBay daily worrying about winning everything.
It's become a much more relaxing and enjoyable hobby, and I have more money to spend on building sets, which is my real passion in this hobby.

 

[Mark70Z]

[h=2]Player collectors ... anyone else moving in new directions? I continually move in new directions on my single player collection, but I personally haven't deviated from the player I collect.[/h]To the next question... Yes; I would change your name if you don't collect Matsui anymore.

I originally started out collecting "everything" of Brooks Robinson (cards, magazines, pins, posters, ads, etc.), but don't do this, or even try this, at all anymore. This was also before the proliferation of cards. Currently, each year, he has more cards produced by card companies than during all of the years he played and he played 23 years. Therefore, I stay with cards during his playing days and pick up cards now and then that I like the way they look/appear.

I personally don't consider my collection an investment, but no one can keep their items "forever" so I would like it to have value. I have learned that I only spend what I have available for my hobby and my family comes first. Also, I believe you should do what most people say and that's just to pick up items you really like; you don't have to have everything (even of the player you collect). Learn to be happy with others that have items you don't have and share the passion of player collecting. I think it's very cool having other collectors collect what I do and having conversations concerning hard to come by items. I'll give you one example, Brooks has a test card that I will never acquire and it's likely that the other Brooks collector that I know will never pick it up as well...but it's still fun to talk about the card!

What I mean, what I said originally, about moving in new directions is that sometimes I collect higher grade, sometimes focus on pictures, at times try to acquire Orioles memorabilia relating to Brooks, and others I don't collect anything because I'm broke. Oh, I also get in the mood, at times, to sell "everything". Just keep in mind that it's a hobby... Well, at least for me it is...

 

[ASTROBURN]

Right now i am going thru a period of burnout. Bags is coming back in new product, but aside for base cards and low level parallels, im not pursuing much in the way of new. Or old for that matter. Somehow, a fresh batch of Bagwell collectors have joined the Bagwell fray within the past year, making it incredibly difficult to find a steal, and on some items, just a fair price. This has had a profound impact on my collection, for now i just dont care to get one of the three thousand cards i need unless its a great price, which is few and far between. I think for now i will just save my money until winter comes along and hopefully the other newer Bagwell collectors find something else to do.

 

[u2me57]

Nope, still collecting Jim Thome.

 

[EtherealSOC]

With the glut of high-end Justice cards that have come out in 2012 and 2013, I've had to shift my focus to cards that feature him on the Braves first and let everything else come as opportunity arises. A complete collection is something neat to aspire to, but will usually end up being a disappointing, unreachable goal.

 

[TGutta]

I don't really consider myself in the same boat as others as my guy (Denard Span) is a current player and doesn't have as many cards out there as others do (a little over 500 counting 1/1's). He isn't a big name star so the only sets that he has been in the past few years has been Topps, Heritage, and maybe Allen & Ginter or Opening Day. There aren't as many big dollar cards to chase besides 1/1's. When he left the Twins and went to the Nationals I thought about which way I would go, continuing collecting all of his stuff or just his Twins stuff. It started out as just picking up some of the Nationals stuff, but I was picking up rare parallels pretty cheap so I just decided to go ahead and collect everything. The past 2 years he has had autos in Panini products, and while I don't really like cards without the team logos, they are his only newer autos and they still can be had really cheap so for the time being I am still chasing anything Span that I need.

 

[nappyd]

I've shifted to getting very specific for a few players, I.e.going only for cards of a guy in the home uniform only if they're in a release multiple times

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Freedom Card Board mobile app

 

[weight333]

The great thing about Bonds is that as of 2004 he owns his own licensing. There are basically zero new items of his after 2007 excluding these Leaf Memories buybacks. This is a great advantage to me as I can play catch up and not worry about crazy, high priced, new GU/auto pieces coming out. I collect all things with Bonds likeness including posters, magazines, newspapers, cups, pennants, etc, etc.

 

[Matsuicollector]

Thanks everyone. Its been great to hear your input. I think I will be scaling back alot. Like a couple of you have mentioned, it is very taxing scouring ebay everyday, spending tons of money on one player. I'm at almost 1500 different, and that is only ~ half of all Posada cards made, excluding 1/1's. Just to think about "completion" is overwhelming.

I'm not ready to throw in the towel completely though. So for now I think I am just going to start moving some things here and there. I know I'd like to scale back alot on GU stuff, though I think I will still pursue playing-days cards minus regular GU, and new release on-card autos/unique GU that I like. Still alot, but I think this is probably only the start to this liquidation process, and just the start I need.

Its been a great decade plus of collecting anything and everything of Posada, but I think it's time to focus on other things. Definitely still love the hobby is this is no where near a "getting out" theme. Maybe I'll finally start to work more on my HOF auto collection and Yankees cut autos. I've been meaning to do that for a while but just never had to funds due to all I was spending on Posada. It will be interesting to see how much I can get back compared to what I spent, but I've never really been in it for the money. Hopefully this change in collecting will bring back more of the enjoyment and relieve some of the stresses.

 

[predatorkj]

I try not to get stressed out about it. As Astroburn mentioned, Bagwell has suddenly been in a nice chunk of new releases and it's been trying. First set of problems are, anything new will undoubtedly have parallels out the rear, have a zillion different 1/1's, and a ton of autos or redemptions for autos. Now I've been lucky in the fact that every panini redemption I have purchased has been filled. But even then I didn't bid more than $30 on any of them. Secondly, Topps has had a slew of redemptions yet they have brand new cards of his that are on card and some stickers and they are live right now. So I'm glad I didn't purchase and won't be purchasing any IOU's from topps. I refuse to do so. And the fact that they have live autos while the previous product redemptions haven't been fulfilled is the exact reason why. Those people buying those will be lucky to receive them. If they do go live, then I'll buy them.

So all that madness aside, Astroburn also brings up another good point...too damn many new collectors. But, it's a weird situation. We've got some collectors on ebay paying more money for cards at auction than they would normally go for and also, in some cases, than burbank has them listed for as a BIN right this very minute. Why? I have no idea. And the BIN's have yet to be hit. There is one particular guy ditching his collection faster than I think any of us can reasonably keep up with and the prices are all over the place. Base gu and inserts selling for a premium. A premium that offsets any combined shipping discount. And I'm pretty confident it's nothing fishy on the seller's end. It looks like legit activity. But just legit activity that makes no sense.

So it's been hard collecting him but I plan to stick with it. It's certainly not getting any cheaper but it gives me something to do. And except for the rare parallels, the new stuff has been sort of easy to keep up with and easy to search for. And knowing, like we all should, that I can't win or have everything helps me not get too stressed out over anything. I buy what I can and keep an eye on the rest. I go after priority stuff, i.e. stuff I won't be likely to see again, and try to knock out the rest when I can. Though I will say I've been overpaying just a bit to have the new inserts as soon as they pop up but it's more about getting them out of the way to me. I'll pay the extra few dollars for that.

 

[yankeesjetsfan]

First off, Matsuicollector, I hope I didn't cause any headaches with my remark.

Second, My problem is I collect more than one player. I collect Tino Martinez and Mark Teixeira. I find their non Yankee stuff is not as expensive as the Yankee stuff. Most of my Teixeira pick up have him in a Rangers uni. I think there was a lot of Tex stuff put out then. Plus, I also have a lot of competition for the Yankee cards because it's the Yankees and there are always Yankee collectors that want Yankee cards.

I try not to limit what I buy to just cards. If they have figures, statues or bobbleheads I try to pick them up. I also have some magazines, autographs and pocket schedules. I want my player collections to have some variety to them.

What I really want to pick up are some game used items. I would love to own some bats of theirs. A bit too pricey right now, but I plan to one day.

Mike

 

[Matsuicollector]

First off, Matsuicollector, I hope I didn't cause any headaches with my remark.

Second, My problem is I collect more than one player. I collect Tino Martinez and Mark Teixeira. I find their non Yankee stuff is not as expensive as the Yankee stuff. Most of my Teixeira pick up have him in a Rangers uni. I think there was a lot of Tex stuff put out then. Plus, I also have a lot of competition for the Yankee cards because it's the Yankees and there are always Yankee collectors that want Yankee cards.

I try not to limit what I buy to just cards. If they have figures, statues or bobbleheads I try to pick them up. I also have some magazines, autographs and pocket schedules. I want my player collections to have some variety to them.

What I really want to pick up are some game used items. I would love to own some bats of theirs. A bit too pricey right now, but I plan to one day.

Mike

lol. No headache at all. It's something I've thought of periodically for the last 6 years or so lol. Mostly whenever someone offers me matsui stuff and I usually have to politely say no thanks lol.

 

[Will Style 13]

I went through this 3 years ago. For years I collected Cal Ripken as well as side projects such as Topps sets my dad collected growing up (1967-1972). 3 Years ago I thought to myself that I'll never be able to afford every fancy low numbered Ripken that comes out. So I picked another favorite Oriole of mine, Brady Anderson. I've been heavily collecting Brady for 3 years and have picked up more than 60% of his cards. However his stuff often doesn't come out of the woodwork.

I've been working on some side projects. Currently working on a 1967 Topps set which I'm down to a few big name cards and high numbers. I'm also putting together a 1994 Pinnacle Museum Collection set because well I love Dufex. I've also been putting together a few other 90's insert sets.

So the real question is do I still collect Ripken yes, but I don't want to be strapped down to one type of collection. I collect what I like. That's why I love the hobby.

 

[predatorkj]

I went through this 3 years ago. For years I collected Cal Ripken as well as side projects such as Topps sets my dad collected growing up (1967-1972). 3 Years ago I thought to myself that I'll never be able to afford every fancy low numbered Ripken that comes out. So I picked another favorite Oriole of mine, Brady Anderson. I've been heavily collecting Brady for 3 years and have picked up more than 60% of his cards. However his stuff often doesn't come out of the woodwork.

I've been working on some side projects. Currently working on a 1967 Topps set which I'm down to a few big name cards and high numbers. I'm also putting together a 1994 Pinnacle Museum Collection set because well I love Dufex. I've also been putting together a few other 90's insert sets.

So the real question is do I still collect Ripken yes, but I don't want to be strapped down to one type of collection. I collect what I like. That's why I love the hobby.

I've got the series one museum collection set put together and they do look awesome!