The rookie/worst mistake you made?

[siuwongkee]

For me, it was

1: Sending all my valuable cards (45 in total) to BGS in 1 shipment.
2: Declaring value of the cards base on Beckett Online price guide.

I understand 1 cards from a collector might already worth more than my lot; but I guess it is not JUST about money. I can imagine a case even I declare the 90s card value assuming all will be graded BGS 10 (we know it is basically impossible because rarely we see BGS give a 10 for 90s parallel, 9.5s are their mercy) I will still feel empty getting the insurance money because in the end, I lost a part of my memory and a shameful one that always reminds how my reckless behaviour hurt people I love.

The feeling is so strong that I will feel extremely sad even 1 card from the collection is lost. (I am ok if my new purchases have problems) Just like I feel really bad when I am quite certain BGS make a cut on the surface of my E-x2001 Danny Fortson future (/5), I do not believe it worths a lot of money. But I know will never find another copy of the card with the same condition like I sent them. (Even so it is not the same card) It is like childhood photos, when they were lost, there is little we can do.

So even I believe 10-20% of the cards can be graded better, I will never take the risk sending them again. It is pretty much like the one ring of lotr, my precious.

[Depitydog]

Selling my Jordan Classic 61

[FrankAZHP]

- Deciding to PC Marbury in 1996 instead of Kobe lol
- Not going all in on Brady rookies after he won a few Super Bowls

[bcspecialist]

Not selling my Chris Bosh Topps Chrome Refractor RC BGS 9.5 for 3k during the boom. Not sure what I was thinking or doing. I don't even like Chris Bosh lol

[siuwongkee]

- Deciding to PC Marbury in 1996 instead of Kobe lol
- Not going all in on Brady rookies after he won a few Super Bowls

I have a very similar problem like you. But it was Antoine Walker.

[Attila]

Since I was one of the people who got back to the hobby at the beginning of 2021, I would say my worst mistake was buying base rookies quite expensive. (Lebron, Donovan Mitchell, MPJ) It was a somewhat costly mistake on my scale, but also accelerated my journey as a collector.

[SacKingsCards]

Trading the Spencer Hawes 1/1 SPx Logoman Auto I pulled in a break a few months after I started collecting. Been looking for it for like 10 years now. PC logoman auto "pulled" myself...what was I thinking?

[green_stiller]

Player collecting way too many Lakers at first. So many random relics and numbered cards in a box…

[darz90scardz]

Overpaid for a couple cards during covid boom-boom but thankfully it wasn’t anything earth shattering.

Even though I’m a raw guy, I think what I still regret the most is not grading cards bit by bit over the years. I’ve still never submitted anything before and with how much ungraded stuff I’ve amassed at this point, just the thought of going over everything stresses me out, nevermind the fees.

[SoTexCollector]

My biggest regret is selling my 1996 Flair Row 0 Legacy Collection #18/150 Kobe Bryant for $450 ish about 20 years ago. That is my biggest regret as far as selling a card to early.

[ZOMBIExZOMBIE]

I’ve been high on Shohei since he entered the league and in 2019 when his prices were the most reasonable I never pulled the trigger on autos or anything rare.

[tastycardsandwich]

Not thinking cards could ever get popular again.

After initially getting out around late 96/early 97. I didn't collect or think about cards again until 2005. From 05 to about 12 I would bounce in and out. I didn't have a lot of money. So, basically I would treat myself to a box or two every now and then. Got back in pretty hard from 2012 until about 2014 before taking a break until really getting back in in 2019.

Throughout all those in and out periods, I just thought I was a weirdo who likes cards and that us people who like cards would always remain a weird little subculture. I never thought in a million years that cards would ever become popular again. And therefore, I had a very "I'll buy one of those in a few years" mentality toward a lot of cool cards. Then, one day, those cards all became too expensive.

I also never bothered to go back and learn about what came out from 97-2005. Wish I had because even though I have no nostalgia for that era, I really love it and that's where a lot of my collecting money goes now. I feel like had I known about that stuff in 2012 I woulda been buying then for much cheaper.

I remember buying a Michael Jordan ntense for $60 in 2018 because I loved emotion in the 90's and always wanted an intense. I stared at it in my ebay cart for like five minutes and when I finally bought it I was like "Did you really just blow $60 on a 90's basketball card?"

It just never crossed my mind that cards would ever be a thing again. And as a result, I slacked and missed out on getting some cards I can no longer afford.

[darz90scardz]

I remember buying a Michael Jordan ntense for $60 in 2018 because I loved emotion in the 90's and always wanted an intense. I stared at it in my ebay cart for like five minutes and when I finally bought it I was like "Did you really just blow $60 on a 90's basketball card?"

Lol. When I got back into cards in 2014, I remember buying a bgs 9 mj holding court refractor for the same price.

Sounds like a deal now, but at the time I didn’t even realize I should’ve been checking sold items. The $60 was actually over comps, but I hit the BIN thinking all the other higher priced copies were the going rate and this seller “messed up.”

[ChrisP57]

Biggest regret was getting out of the hobby in 2011 and selling mostly everything. I had a lot of good stuff MJ 90's inserts..Lebron Rookies..a PSA 7 Oscar fleer rookie 86 Fleer MJ rookie bgs 7.5..numerous Jordan Kobe and Lebron patches just to name a few and that stuff has jumped up considerably in price and I'll never be able to rebuy most of it now. I ended up coming back to the hobby in 2016 but man do i miss my old collection. Sometimes i go back to my old blog and look at what I used to own and jusr cry lol

[workingclasscards]

I’ve been high on Shohei since he entered the league and in 2019 when his prices were the most reasonable I never pulled the trigger on autos or anything rare.

I bought at 2019 Heritage High Numbers Auto /75 PSA 10 for $1,400 and thought I made out like a bandit selling it for $2000.
Shohei was definitely a guy I wondered why he was so cheap when he is doing something that hasn't been done 100 years.

[dengbang]

Selling/trading any 97 PMGS and 97 Credentials. Knew I shouldn't have done it at the time, but was helping out other collectors.