A collecting shift; insights needed HELP!

[Cardiac kemba pc]

Calling on all experienced collectors that may have had a shift in there collecting journey at one point in time or another.

Since returning in 2018 I've had a couple of different journeys however have been hyper focused on Glen Rice and Kemba Walker for the past 2-3yrs. I've managed to put together good player collections in that time. To the point my player PCs are drying up as the cards on my wish list are ultra rare and may never show up.

This is where I enlist your help in going through your thought process to shift in collecting focus.
Have you gone through this before?
Did you collecting change entirely?
What were your collecting focuses or motives?
How do you finally come to your decision?
Graded or raw? NM or Gem?
Etc

I've really been thinking about this for about 3 months. My mind changes constantly, and now that I've decided to open up my options I've noticed that there's sooooooo much I'd like to buy .

How does one make up their mind on what to collect? (This is meant to be the easiest decision in collect what you like. But I've found this one of the hardest decisions in my collecting journey, ironically)

Fyi for now I'm thinking HOF high pop bgs 9.5 (or raw)
High pop bgs 9.5 hof RCs flagship brands.

Tomorrow I could be thinking something completely different.

[dengbang]

The beauty of this is there is no right or wrong answer. I've tried many different ways of collecting and you won't know what you like until you try it. My main collection consists of MJ but because I still watch and play basketball, I have smaller collections of current players. I've collected many different players through the years and usually sold off entire collections once I started collecting someone else. There's a difference between collecting,investing,flipping and hoarding. The key is to understand which one applies to you.

[FrankAZHP]

I had a big shift in my collecting habits in the mid 2000s.

I realized that my PC players I had collected since I was a kid in the 90s wasn't worth much, and although I had fun collecting my all time favorites, I had too many guys I collected and not enough focus on any long term value. Though I'd still PC guys like Dan Majerle, I had to let go of a lot of the other guys in my fave top 10. Duncan, Richmond, Glen Rice, Dominique, Marbury, Rodman, and others were offloaded except for a few exceptions.

I also had too much variation in my collection from so many brands and decided I wanted to narrow down. Decided to just do a few PC players, but got rid of almost everything that wasn't Topps/ToppsChrome/ToppsHeritage/ToppsArchives (minus a few of my favorite Fleer & UD inserts) and started focusing on almost exclusively HoFers, Future HoFers, and notable rookie cards in those Topps cards, since that was the brand that I enjoyed and appreciated the most.

[AbraCalabro]

I've gone through this before and my collecting did change significantly. Previously I had the second largest player collection of my guy, so basically "super collector" territory. I was missing maybe 10-12 cards. Long story short, the prices on things became more and more untenable, people wanted way more than the card was worth, every one was trying to make record sales...I grew tired of it pretty quickly and decided to just stop.

I also did a lot of set building, but finding someone to trade with is next to impossible, it's tough even when you and others are building the same set, or sets. I found that I had a ton of cards and when I halted, I asked myself just what the hell I was going to do with all this crap. I decided to make preparations to sell off a bunch of stuff, sets, player PC cards, that bunch of stuff became an even bigger bunch of stuff and it snowballed from there.

Then, like you, I decided to expand the variety in my collection. Every time I went looking for singles from new sets, or releases that I didn't have in my collection, I was turned off. That outcome is still the case today. I have added very little and I want to emphasize that, I have been doing a lot more selling off than I have been doing any buying. I got back into it around 2010 and I find that these cards are simply not worth the money, it is/was a hobby for me and contending with gamblers, profiteers with no scruples, wealthy guys who lowball, or overcharge you and corporations doesn't make any sense, it's just not so fun anymore. At times I'd find myself wondering if I should spend the money on this Exquisite card, or that 90s parallel card and I end up deciding I'd be happier just keeping the money.

It wasn't worth it and it's not worth it. This was exacerbated by the fact that a lot of guys who were regulars around the forums I'd post on became sellouts in the worst way. Complete two faces and shameless, ass-kissing whores who sold out for self serving purposes, money, or attention, or all of the above.

I don't buy graded unless it's the only thing available and even then, I have to really want the card and the price has to be right. I've been grading some stuff as of recent, simply to protect the cards long term. Thought about getting into graded stuff as far as purchasing goes, but with Kunt's Card Care making its rounds, even as far as being unquestioned by PSA, (not that I'd ever collect PSA stuff, but that's another story). ...looked at graded stuff within the parameters of my card interests, also astronomically priced, no-go.

I became pretty focused and decided to stick only to a particular parallel from the mid 90s, that in addition to other low end parallels have made up the bulk of my buying and it's not very much. Overall, I have a lot less cards and my purchasing is extremely selective. I should also mention I got back into cards near the end of the final golden age for the hobby, around 2010. As such, my perspective will differ from yours...I found 2018 prices to be egregious as well...and it's the same cabal of douche bags making things go a certain way all for their own personal gain.

I could walk away from cards now and not bat an eyelash.

I would try one thing, or another, until you find the sweet spot for your interests. I like Electric Court Gold from 95/96 and I have basically all the ones I really want. I like them because they scan really well and the gold holofoil pops. They're spectacular in hand as well, photography is among the best, no one is hyping them up and they're not serial numbered. It's also PEAK 90s in my opinion, with the only "lowlight" being it was one year too early for the 96/97 draft class...but then again, no Kobe RC parallel, no big $$$, no problem.

[Cardiac kemba pc]

The beauty of this is there is no right or wrong answer. I've tried many different ways of collecting and you won't know what you like until you try it. My main collection consists of MJ but because I still watch and play basketball, I have smaller collections of current players. I've collected many different players through the years and usually sold off entire collections once I started collecting someone else. There's a difference between collecting,investing,flipping and hoarding. The key is to understand which one applies to you.

I appreciate the feedback.

I would almost certainly put myself in the collectors bin, maybe a little investor but not tying to "make" money just more not trying to "lose" money . I've never flipped a card yet either hahaha.

I guess your right in that the beauty is the collection can be torn down to start again if need be,.and it's not a race anyways.

[Cardiac kemba pc]

I had a big shift in my collecting habits in the mid 2000s.

I realized that my PC players I had collected since I was a kid in the 90s wasn't worth much, and although I had fun collecting my all time favorites, I had too many guys I collected and not enough focus on any long term value. Though I'd still PC guys like Dan Majerle, I had to let go of a lot of the other guys in my fave top 10. Duncan, Richmond, Glen Rice, Dominique, Marbury, Rodman, and others were offloaded except for a few exceptions.

I also had too much variation in my collection from so many brands and decided I wanted to narrow down. Decided to just do a few PC players, but got rid of almost everything that wasn't Topps/ToppsChrome/ToppsHeritage/ToppsArchives (minus a few of my favorite Fleer & UD inserts) and started focusing on almost exclusively HoFers, Future HoFers, and notable rookie cards in those Topps cards, since that was the brand that I enjoyed and appreciated the most.

This is sounding quite familiar, I too from month of reflection have pinpointed certain sets that I'd like to focus on. I might be around 8 at this stage so still some trimming to do. I do have some Rice cards to sell at the moment to try and fund this new venture

[Cardiac kemba pc]

I've gone through this before and my collecting did change significantly. Previously I had the second largest player collection of my guy, so basically "super collector" territory. I was missing maybe 10-12 cards. Long story short, the prices on things became more and more untenable, people wanted way more than the card was worth, every one was trying to make record sales...I grew tired of it pretty quickly and decided to just stop.

I also did a lot of set building, but finding someone to trade with is next to impossible, it's tough even when you and others are building the same set, or sets. I found that I had a ton of cards and when I halted, I asked myself just what the hell I was going to do with all this crap. I decided to make preparations to sell off a bunch of stuff, sets, player PC cards, that bunch of stuff became an even bigger bunch of stuff and it snowballed from there.

Then, like you, I decided to expand the variety in my collection. Every time I went looking for singles from new sets, or releases that I didn't have in my collection, I was turned off. That outcome is still the case today. I have added very little and I want to emphasize that, I have been doing a lot more selling off than I have been doing any buying. I got back into it around 2010 and I find that these cards are simply not worth the money, it is/was a hobby for me and contending with gamblers, profiteers with no scruples, wealthy guys who lowball, or overcharge you and corporations doesn't make any sense, it's just not so fun anymore. At times I'd find myself wondering if I should spend the money on this Exquisite card, or that 90s parallel card and I end up deciding I'd be happier just keeping the money.

It wasn't worth it and it's not worth it. This was exacerbated by the fact that a lot of guys who were regulars around the forums I'd post on became sellouts in the worst way. Complete two faces and shameless, ass-kissing whores who sold out for self serving purposes, money, or attention, or all of the above.

I don't buy graded unless it's the only thing available and even then, I have to really want the card and the price has to be right. I've been grading some stuff as of recent, simply to protect the cards long term. Thought about getting into graded stuff as far as purchasing goes, but with Kunt's Card Care making its rounds, even as far as being unquestioned by PSA, (not that I'd ever collect PSA stuff, but that's another story). ...looked at graded stuff within the parameters of my card interests, also astronomically priced, no-go.

I became pretty focused and decided to stick only to a particular parallel from the mid 90s, that in addition to other low end parallels have made up the bulk of my buying and it's not very much. Overall, I have a lot less cards and my purchasing is extremely selective. I should also mention I got back into cards near the end of the final golden age for the hobby, around 2010. As such, my perspective will differ from yours...I found 2018 prices to be egregious as well...and it's the same cabal of douche bags making things go a certain way all for their own personal gain.

I could walk away from cards now and not bat an eyelash.

I would try one thing, or another, until you find the sweet spot for your interests. I like Electric Court Gold from 95/96 and I have basically all the ones I really want. I like them because they scan really well and the gold holofoil pops. They're spectacular in hand as well, photography is among the best, no one is hyping them up and they're not serial numbered. It's also PEAK 90s in my opinion, with the only "lowlight" being it was one year too early for the 96/97 draft class...but then again, no Kobe RC parallel, no big $$$, no problem.

I very much appreciate your response.

I think about the Money spent since 2018 and agree I question whether this is a hobby for a long term as it does seem quite sustainable price wise.

I have purchase some nice 90s rice cards in the past. But whilst they are nice to look at, I do regret buying them and definitely think once in hand I've realised they most certainly are not worth the price. Having spoken to some of these higher profile 90s dealers on IG for trades of purchases I have found them all almost impossible to deal with unless money is no objective in your eyes. This is another reason for my thinking in shifting, id fund my new journey with rice cards that are running hot but just don't do it for me and the high end 90s cards feels more like an unlicensed casino run by a select few people. I'm just gonna stay away.

The graded part is still undecided, my thinking is that's a built in mechanism for me to control spending and really want the card at that price. Instead of buying bulk raw then ill have three rows upon three rows.

From what I've seen I'm very much loving the following sets and hoping to start here, with a few oddballs thrown in:

89 and 90 fleer
91 hoops prototype
92 topps gold and archives
93 tsc fdi
And like you 95 96 ecg. I was owned #23 in a psa 8 and it was one of my favourite cards. I wish to have that in bgs 9.5. I think the gold on gold label would be absolutely gorgeous

[AbraCalabro]

I very much appreciate your response.

I think about the Money spent since 2018 and agree I question whether this is a hobby for a long term as it does seem quite sustainable price wise.

I have purchase some nice 90s rice cards in the past. But whilst they are nice to look at, I do regret buying them and definitely think once in hand I've realised they most certainly are not worth the price. Having spoken to some of these higher profile 90s dealers on IG for trades of purchases I have found them all almost impossible to deal with unless money is no objective in your eyes. This is another reason for my thinking in shifting, id fund my new journey with rice cards that are running hot but just don't do it for me and the high end 90s cards feels more like an unlicensed casino run by a select few people. I'm just gonna stay away.

The graded part is still undecided, my thinking is that's a built in mechanism for me to control spending and really want the card at that price. Instead of buying bulk raw then ill have three rows upon three rows.

From what I've seen I'm very much loving the following sets and hoping to start here, with a few oddballs thrown in:

89 and 90 fleer
91 hoops prototype
92 topps gold and archives
93 tsc fdi
And like you 95 96 ecg. I was owned #23 in a psa 8 and it was one of my favourite cards. I wish to have that in bgs 9.5. I think the gold on gold label would be absolutely gorgeous

I think we're on the same wavelength here. A lot of times I've made purchases and realized that one card, or another, just isn't doing anything for me, even though at the time of purchase, I was totally into the card.

You have a nice list of sets picked out and I think you should focus on those, while keeping whatever cards of your PC guys that you truly, truly love. It will help you maintain the amount of space your cards take up, while at the same time you have the best of the best for yourself and your tastes.

93 TSC FDI is one I was thinking of getting into after I'm completely done with 95/96 ECG. 92 Topps in general is outstanding for any one that likes great photography, I have a few of the base cards and was going to build an album of those on my Flickr with some clean scans, 94 Collector's Choice...another stellar product. I relate more to stuff like this than I do to the majority of what is considered high end today, for the most part, these cards really put you into the moment and a lot of the coveted stuff today is just wrapping paper patterning.

[Cardiac kemba pc]

I very much appreciate your response.

I think about the Money spent since 2018 and agree I question whether this is a hobby for a long term as it does seem quite sustainable price wise.

I have purchase some nice 90s rice cards in the past. But whilst they are nice to look at, I do regret buying them and definitely think once in hand I've realised they most certainly are not worth the price. Having spoken to some of these higher profile 90s dealers on IG for trades of purchases I have found them all almost impossible to deal with unless money is no objective in your eyes. This is another reason for my thinking in shifting, id fund my new journey with rice cards that are running hot but just don't do it for me and the high end 90s cards feels more like an unlicensed casino run by a select few people. I'm just gonna stay away.

The graded part is still undecided, my thinking is that's a built in mechanism for me to control spending and really want the card at that price. Instead of buying bulk raw then ill have three rows upon three rows.

From what I've seen I'm very much loving the following sets and hoping to start here, with a few oddballs thrown in:

89 and 90 fleer
91 hoops prototype
92 topps gold and archives
93 tsc fdi
And like you 95 96 ecg. I was owned #23 in a psa 8 and it was one of my favourite cards. I wish to have that in bgs 9.5. I think the gold on gold label would be absolutely gorgeous

I think we're on the same wavelength here. A lot of times I've made purchases and realized that one card, or another, just isn't doing anything for me, even though at the time of purchase, I was totally into the card.

You have a nice list of sets picked out and I think you should focus on those, while keeping whatever cards of your PC guys that you truly, truly love. It will help you maintain the amount of space your cards take up, while at the same time you have the best of the best for yourself and your tastes.

93 TSC FDI is one I was thinking of getting into after I'm completely done with 95/96 ECG. 92 Topps in general is outstanding for any one that likes great photography, I have a few of the base cards and was going to build an album of those on my Flickr with some clean scans, 94 Collector's Choice...another stellar product. I relate more to stuff like this than I do to the majority of what is considered high end today, for the most part, these cards really put you into the moment and a lot of the coveted stuff today is just wrapping paper patterning.

Yes totally agree. It's taken me some yrs to truly find my feet. Whilst I do love some of the 90s high end like rubies and pmgs. The ones I probably enjoyed the most was ECG, FDI and even Tiffany. Best part is only a fraction of the price

Thanks again

Hoping I can post some of these pickups soon

[mindcycle]

I have purchase some nice 90s rice cards in the past. But whilst they are nice to look at, I do regret buying them and definitely think once in hand I've realised they most certainly are not worth the price. Having spoken to some of these higher profile 90s dealers on IG for trades of purchases I have found them all almost impossible to deal with unless money is no objective in your eyes. This is another reason for my thinking in shifting, id fund my new journey with rice cards that are running hot but just don't do it for me and the high end 90s cards feels more like an unlicensed casino run by a select few people. I'm just gonna stay away.

I've been a 90's collector for many many years and I will tell you this is exactly the reason I stopped buying the currently more hyped 90's stuff. There's a group of guys who are essentially holding these cards hostage at this point and the price of entry is just absurd. If they don't hold the card you want you can pretty much guarantee you'll be trying to outbid them for the scraps that do show up. I guess I just don't understand the point of paying lots of money to buy up multiple copies of rare cards of mid-level players that you likely don't care about. All that does is drive up the price while keeping player collectors from obtaining a card for a reasonable price.

Thankfully I grabbed most of what I was looking for as far as the rarer 90's parallels go for Nuggets players so I don't have to be involved in that game at all now lol.

What I did recently when I dropped 90s cards was started to focus more on nice stuff from the 2000's. There are some nice sets that are under the radar that the pumpers haven't gotten to yet.

I've also ventured into non-sports as well. Mostly pre-war non-sports tobacco cards. There is a lot of cool stuff out there that is still very obtainable. It'll likely never be featured in the "Elite" auctions and be pumped for hundreds of thousands of dollars, but all the better for me lol.

[darz90scardz]

A lot of good advice already, so I'll just mention my personal pivot.
In 2014 when I got back into things, MJ was the primary pc. We all know how crazy his prices got, even before covid, so I switched to one of my favorite childhood players in Penny. It's also extremely helpful that they are both in so many of the same insert sets, which is what I gravitate to. There's been an issue of late though with how expensive even Penny has become. He has to be the most expensive non-hofer ever. I even sold a pc card this weekend just because the prices have gotten so high. I plan to just replace the copy in lower grade / raw.

Speaking of, I still try to pick up lower grade / raw MJs from time to time, just take a lot more patience.

[Cardiac kemba pc]

I have noticed Penny is quite expensive. I see a theme amongst the group to sell now in hoped to buy back later.
Appreciate your response

[Cardiac kemba pc]

I have purchase some nice 90s rice cards in the past. But whilst they are nice to look at, I do regret buying them and definitely think once in hand I've realised they most certainly are not worth the price. Having spoken to some of these higher profile 90s dealers on IG for trades of purchases I have found them all almost impossible to deal with unless money is no objective in your eyes. This is another reason for my thinking in shifting, id fund my new journey with rice cards that are running hot but just don't do it for me and the high end 90s cards feels more like an unlicensed casino run by a select few people. I'm just gonna stay away.

I've been a 90's collector for many many years and I will tell you this is exactly the reason I stopped buying the currently more hyped 90's stuff. There's a group of guys who are essentially holding these cards hostage at this point and the price of entry is just absurd. If they don't hold the card you want you can pretty much guarantee you'll be trying to outbid them for the scraps that do show up. I guess I just don't understand the point of paying lots of money to buy up multiple copies of rare cards of mid-level players that you likely don't care about. All that does is drive up the price while keeping player collectors from obtaining a card for a reasonable price.

Thankfully I grabbed most of what I was looking for as far as the rarer 90's parallels go for Nuggets players so I don't have to be involved in that game at all now lol.

What I did recently when I dropped 90s cards was started to focus more on nice stuff from the 2000's. There are some nice sets that are under the radar that the pumpers haven't gotten to yet.

I've also ventured into non-sports as well. Mostly pre-war non-sports tobacco cards. There is a lot of cool stuff out there that is still very obtainable. It'll likely never be featured in the "Elite" auctions and be pumped for hundreds of thousands of dollars, but all the better for me lol.

Yes, I can almost certainly say I've bought some nicer 90s that I've unfortunately regretted. They just are not as good in person as I was lead to believe. Living in Australia with little to no shows and no lcs I've never had a chance to see things in person first. It's made it all the more harder but then again makes me appreciate the ones I like even more.

Thanks