Player Collectors: Quality > Quantity question

[ThoseBackPages]

im wondering how many player collectors out there have the discipline to do quality over quantity.

and those that do, do you have any particular cutoff points? meaning, only /100 or less, /50 or less, etc.

ive tried my hand at Player collecting a few times the last few years and it always winds up turning into
"hording" and getting as many as possible, which lead to burning out on it all.

i'd like to start looking at picking up my guys again, but being more strict about it and going quality over
quantity.

id love any input that your guys care to share

 

[smapdi]

I'm usually a 'quantity of quality' collector. I not only want every Sizemore card (except plates, I am usually not excited by them), but I want every copy of the best cards if I can manage it. For instance, I want all 5 copies of BC red refractors. I don't know if most, or many, or any other collectors are like me with Sizemore, but I'd guess most lean more towards that than the other way.

But I know what you mean. Often times I've wanted to start a Mike Piazza or Shawn Green collection but limit it to cards #/100 or lower, plus really nice patches or autographs, and just let the umpteen different base cards go. That would make the collection more concentrated on the 'good stuff,' but at the same time, having a wide breadth of material to choose from makes it more fun in the long run.

 

[abncollectsautos]

i personally want every available Wes Hodges card. some of the common ones i will not make deals on because i have hundreds, but anything else i fight for. any auto, plate, numbered, hard to find, and rare one i do anything i can for. that is just me though. good luck

 

[Zambrano38]

For me I just buy what I like. I don't have a cutoff or anything, but if I don't like the set, I will not buy any cards from it :lol:

 

[TBTwinsFan]

For me, if it has Glen Perkins on it, I want it... Simple as that. I am trying to put a un-unprecedented collection together. It isn't for re-sale value, or because someone MIGHT start collecting him... it's just a hobby for me.

 

[RZimm11]

I like Quality over Quantity.

I used to want one of everything. This day and age it just isn't possible, and sometimes it is hard to tell yourself that.

I'm really into Chromes, so I try and limit myself to those. I always end up drifting off into others though. Especially now that I'm down to a few very limited ones needed, I'll get bored and I'll pick up something just because it looks neat, or seems cheap.

I've pretty much told myself recently that I'm getting rid of everything except the Chromes, and my new target - Full Game Used.

Everything else is going.

The hard part is always ignoring the small, cheap stuff while trying to save up for the nice bigger ones.

 

[adamcore]

I just want to collect things from the guys I might see play in Omaha. Base seems best to get signed outside the park... So I will take any and all base of prospets or major leaguers who might end up back in AAA. But after like fifty or so I feel like it silly to have that many of the same card signed. High end just seems out of my price range and I can never pull anything good from packs at Target.
But in a trade I would probably take anything Moustakas or Hosmer or Giovatelli...

 

[Fandruw25]

Quantity over Quality mainly because this is a hobby. I don't intend to sell my Jones collection so there is no reason to spend the extra money on a 9.5 vs 9/raw. Another thing regarding quality is that grading has become so subjective that it's hard to take the grades serious. Hell just look centering on the 97 donruss pref precious metals BGS 10 I have.


One thing that has helped me keep my collecting interest is focusing on certain sets or years to close out. Right now I'm focusing on 2001-2002 Game use cards. Before that I worked on the Andruw's 07 moments and milestones black set /29. That was a 191 cards and took over a year to complete. By focusing in on what I wanted it kept me more involved by looking for certain cards.

 

[hive17]

I collect Everything I can find of Yount, but only 1 of anything. I try to fill out sets and the fact that 2009 Tribute had a full rainbow for the first time of my guy, I put that together.

I try to set mini-goals to keep myself occupied. "Only autos" for a while, then maybe only patches. I think I'm going to try and get as many PSA 10s of all of Yount's commons through the years, with some grade exceptions being made at 1976/1975 (for both money and reality/existance).

 

[steve-a-reno]

I am quality over quantity on my maddux collection. I mainly collect autos and nice/unique gu, not everything ever created. I figure if I buy tons of base and inserts, I could buy a nice auto or two just w/ the shipping I save. Don't get me wrong I've got several plain jsys, a decent amount of base, and some inserts, but that's not what I focus on.

 

[All The Hype]

With my player collecting, I've struggled over this too.


I find that it's virtually impossible for me to get all cards of a player. One reason is because it's simply very difficult to find all cards. Another reason is that I'm not willing to pay $4 ($0.99 +$3.00 shipping) for base cards and low end stuff that probably isn't worth more than 50 cents.


Because of this, I have striven to reshape my collections to focus them around rookie cards only. These are the cards that hold the best value over time and will always be sought after by collectors. It's not necessarily that I am deadset on re-selling stuff, but I hate the feeling of buying something for $50 only to find that it's worth $15 a year later, simply because product hype has worn off.


Here is my Rick Porcello collection: http://s271.photobucket.com/albums/jj13 ... ollection/
You will notice that all are either a FY card from 08 or a RC logo card from 09. The only exception is a 2010 TC Gold Ref which I gratefully received as a gift. I am happy to stockpile cards as well, especially good ones...I have 7 or 8 Leaf Limited autos and 5 AFLAC autos, which I believe to be his best two Autos.

I consider these to be quality as they are all RCs, whereas going after cards from 2010 and later would be striving for quantity.

 

[Brewer Andy]

I know where you're coming from and I actually subscribe to both methods. With Cirillo, I want them all as long as its doable. With my Burnitz and Vaughn collections I tend to go for quality. Almost everything else in those 2 collections was picked up in "player lots". Picking up cheap lots when there's nothing spectacular available fills holes pretty nicely and unless I was close to complete on a particular set or was getting free shipping I wouldn bother looking for a lot of smaller stuff

 

[pigskincardboard]

It makes sense to go for QUALITY first and quantity when you luck into it. The only time you should actively seek quantity is when there's a lot up or you can save a lot on shipping. It's stupid to spend 0.99 + 2.50 SHIP on every basecard.

 

[TBTwinsFan]

But, say I have $10. I can usually pick a RC auto up for about $5, so I would rather buy one higher quality card than 2 autos that I have a bunch of.

 

[daveyou]

for me, just like how i like my women, car, food, etc, it's all about quality over quantity BUT if the quality is gooood, i get quantities of those that have good quality, get it? lol!!! like gold ref's for example!!!

dave

 

[ThoseBackPages]

Thanks for the input so far fellas.

im thinking about picking up the alomar, delgado, jefferies, mcgriff 90's baton again, but limiting it to the rare stuff

 

[exigussrex]

With my Nomar Garciaparra collection, I try and only get cards of him playing on the Red Sox. This might be an option for you if one of your players had an extended stay at one team. I find this brings some uniformity to my collection, and it also helps me from "hording" a gigantic collection. I would suggest just get into it! Collecting one or two players is a lot of fun and it gives your collecting a bit of direction.

 

[Pinbreaker]

You could even use some of these examples for set collecting..

I got a guy at work interested in collecting.. But his criteria for his cards were...

Seattle Mariners - Autographed but only cards where the player was in a M's uniform..

So a player like Omar Vizquel.. who has several auto's as an Indian, Giant, Ranger, etc.. He found a certified one where he was in a M's uni.. Very rare, but they are out there..

I've been trying to limit my Griffey cards to him in a M's jersey... I have some in others, but I will probably get rid of them..

Good luck and great ideas!

 

[uniquebaseballcards]

If someone's mostly interested in rare stuff, why should they limit themselves to the rare stuff of one player or a few players, money aside? These folks may like collecting rare cards more than player collecting. Or perhaps try collecting a rare set or two instead of/in addition to player collecting if focus is what you're looking for.

It seems that collectors normally have a completist's mentality, so I bet it would be tough to collect something that's rare because it can often be tough to define 'rare' in a way that would be fun for a long period of time without wanting to branch out.

Just some thoughts/ideas from someone who collects 'rare' stuff.

Thanks for the input so far fellas.

im thinking about picking up the alomar, delgado, jefferies, mcgriff 90's baton again, but limiting it to the rare stuff

 

[ThoseBackPages]

If someone's mostly interested in rare stuff, why should they limit themselves to the rare stuff of one player or a few players, money aside? These folks may like collecting rare cards more than player collecting. Or perhaps try collecting a rare set or two instead of/in addition to player collecting if focus is what you're looking for.

It seems that collectors normally have a completist's mentality, so I bet it would be tough to collect something that's rare because it can often be tough to define 'rare' in a way that would be fun for a long period of time without wanting to branch out.

Just some thoughts/ideas from someone who collects 'rare' stuff.

Thanks for the input so far fellas.

im thinking about picking up the alomar, delgado, jefferies, mcgriff 90's baton again, but limiting it to the rare stuff

i hear what youre saying, but yes, wallet (lack thereof) is THE issue lol