A good friend of mine lost his entire collection to Hurricane Irene.
He's been in the hobby for many many years, with ups and downs along the way. He's thinking about collecting again, but he's not sure, and if he does, he doesn't know what his focus will/should be.
That got me to thinking...what if that had happened to me?
Such a loaded question, so many answers.
Focus Focus Focus
Focus is so difficult in this hobby of ours, and it is such a key to collecting that many do not have.
My friend is a Yankees fan, he has been for a very long time, he's not one of those annoying Yankees fans. I told him that he should pick a player from his youth, and be a hardcore collector of that player, even dabble in the PSA registry.
The PSA registry is a powerful drug. VERY powerful let me tell ya!
So what would I do? I have no idea really, but I'd probably pick one or two guys, collect them hardcore and build a nice registry.
What would you do?
Great question. I think I would probably quit and not start again. Lately I've been very disenchanted by what's out there. Too many sp's, too many dumb inserts, not enough enjoyment anymore. I would be in the same shoes as your friend, (a Yankee fan) that is. I'm finding it harder and harder to put together a full Yankee team set (I include all inserts in mine). I thought about putting together a Marquee set, but the inserts of Mantle and Dimaggio are just ridiculous. Some of us have wives (just one), kids (three) and mortgages (two) to pay for. How can people afford this stuff?
ReplyDeleteI'd definitely rebuild my Ron Santo collection, not regrets there. From there I think I'd stick more to vintage (for me, say 1967 back). In terms of modern stuff I'd be more selective. I'd buy more tobacco cards. I'd also try to build a vintage pennant and program/scorecard collection. Right now money being as tight as it is I'm sticking to very small purchases of anything.
ReplyDeleteI really havent had a focus since Ive been back to the hobby from a 14 year hiatus. I went from collecting all Patrick Ewing cards, to Jordan Shipley, to Chrome/Finest rookies. Now I am slowly transitioning to overproduced era rookies to graded everything. Man...I wish I would have started collecting graded cards sooner, its like crack. I cant wait to gather my first order to send off to PSA.
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff fellas. i appreciate your input. i always like to hear what others have to say and think.
ReplyDeleteyea, graded cards ARE quite addictive!
Finding a focus is so important, but so damn difficult.
That's a great question. I'm not sure what I would do, but you've got me thinking about it.
ReplyDelete