The bottom line is this: I'm struggling with both my collection and what I want to collect.
For instance, I still want to collect Rendon, but my Topps Chrome Auto Rainbow quest has essentially fallen by the wayside. Not as in, "I grab one when I can," but more like "I should just sell these so I can get other cards I want."
And my Matt Derosier Bowman Chrome Rainbow? Not interested anymore.
My fear is that all of my collections will go through this cycle. Does anyone else ever go through something like this? If so, what did you do? I know this all sounds silly, but it is a genuine concern for me at the moment.
There are some player collections that I have no problem with though, and I have been steadily adding to those. For instance:
I haven't added a card to my Harper player collection in a while. I found this one on COMC for a good price and I had to have it. It might be my favorite card, which is really saying something considering how much I dislike Panini. The black background is awesome, but the scan did something crazy. In reality, below the Panini name, there is a black box with Harper's name in silver leaf, like so:
CQ!~~60_57.JPG)
I stole this image from eBay. My card isn't the cracked ice/atomic version like this one, but it is exactly the same in every other way. It's strange that my scanner weirded out on the name plate. Regardless, awesome card, glad to have it.
I also added a few cards to my Jordan Zimmermann, Anthony Rendon, Ryan Zimmerman and Nelson Cruz PC's. Go check those out of you want.
I also picked up this card because the price was awesome:
Two things about it. First, the seller charged $2.50 to ship. It arrived two weeks after I bought it in a Christmas card envelope with a $.66 stamp on it, half-way hanging out of the top loader it was in. I was pretty livid over the whole ordeal.
Second, I don't know why I bought it, other than the fact that it was relatively cheap. I'm not collecting Beltre, so I don't have a purpose for it.
Anyway, that's my obligatory post for the day. Hopefully, you can offer up some advice on my dilemma.
Collecting is supposed to be fun (though there's a lot of work in sorting cards)...don't abandon things necessarily, but it's ok to put them on the backburner and come back to them. interest waxes and wanes, but i wouldn't go making sweeping proclamations, enjoy whatever you choose.
ReplyDeleteListen to my brother above, smart man!
ReplyDeleteIt might sound weird, but having old players to collect is helpful when it comes to slumps. For instance, I collect Tony Gwynn cards. He wasn't ever my favorite Padre, but he was easily the BEST Padre ever. Will I ever tire of Gwynn? No. Is it possible to track down EVERY Gwynn card ever made? Probably not. The slow & steady accumulation is easy on nerves, and even though I've surpassed 400 cards of his, there's still plenty to go get.
ReplyDeleteI've soured on some newer players and had some semi-regrets about spending money on cards (especially rainbow-type quests), even though they were still pretty cheap. I was way high on Yonder Alonso and Chase Headley last year, but after not bad but not good seasons, I've turned my sights to Andrew Cashner and Chris Denorfia. I think the love for Denorfia will last, regardless of on-field performance, but if Cashner doesn't maintain his late season dominance, I could see myself saying, "Aw man, do I even WANT these anymore?"
But, like I said, guys like Andy Benes and Fred McGriff are already in my own personal Hall of Fame, so I won't get tired of them, even though it may not scratch the itch as far as finding "new" (2014) cards. It also helps my budget that they are usually way cheaper as well.
You're not the only one. There have been times when I've thought, "I've never personally met anyone else who does this (blog and collect baseball cards), why do I even bother doing this?" I usually decide to take a break until I feel like doing it again (checking eBay or writing post), which usually gets the best of me after two or three days.
gotta agree with Dan as well. when the hobby get overwhelming for me i just put everything away and slowed down. rather than abandon the collection, i would just go on a sabbatical. collecting cards has always been something to take my attention away from other stressful things in life...like work or school, so the last thing i want to happen is for my hobby to be too much to handle.
ReplyDeletesometimes a little separation is the best medicine. good luck with whatever decision you make
I was in a similar funk a couple of years ago and unfortunately I went with the nuclear option, I went through my collection and sold off about 75% of my autographs, relics and limited/SP cards and donated about 90% of my base cards and inserts. To make it worse I sold off the cards in two bundles just so I didn't have to go through and list each card separately. I got nothing close to the value I should have gotten but I was at a point where I was frustrated with organizing everything. I regret doing that now.
ReplyDeleteTake some time and re-evaluate your collection and focus on what interests you.
I've been collecting off and on for over thirty years and I've been in your shoes a bunch of times. Sometimes I just take a break without touching the collection. Other times, I've jumped off the deep end and sold a huge portion of the collection. These days, I try to avoid the latter, because I don't want to have any regrets. Although I'm sure they'll come a time when I streamline my collection and dump everything else in order to save space.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck in whichever direction your collection takes you. Whatever you do... I hope it makes you happy, since that's why we all collect... right?
Try looking outside your typical collecting zone. Maybe there's an old set or retired player (as Marcus said) that you might have fun collecting. I'm a big fan of variety. My post today is four cards from a set put out in 1911. They didn't cost me much more than a couple of of 2014 packs but they made me happier. The occasional sixties Batman or Beatles card gets my juices flowing.
ReplyDelete