window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'UA-12381093-3'); A Cardboard Problem: I collect because I want to

February 26, 2014

I collect because I want to


Collectors are all over social media. It's great. This collecting community isn't as small as it can feel sometimes, especially when your closest trading partner lives three states away.

But there is a drawback that comes with social media.

It seems everyone wants to tell you what a collection should be or what cards you should collect or what packs of cards you should open (none!)

You spend money on cards – FOR SHAME!

How can you give money to these big, greedy corporate card companies who produce the same cards year in and year out?

Well, maybe it's because I like collecting.

I know why some people don't collect certain things – and that is their right. Some will spend hundreds of dollars on hobby boxes where the return value is 20 percent. And you want to know why? Some people aren't trying to make money out of their hobby because it’s fun!

Most people still feel the same rush they did as a child while ripping open a new pack of cards. It could be a 99-cent pack of Opening Day or a $100 box of Triple Threads. At the end of the rip, it's supposed to be fun, and I usually have it.

So just because I don't hate my hobby anymore doesn't make me any less of a collector or make me wrong. You're allowed to your disenfranchised opinions as much as the next person.

Just don't tell me what to do with my cards because I am collector not a seller.


8 comments:

  1. Sure, you like collecting, but YOU didn't just open a case of Panini Donruss. :|

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  2. True, but I didn't plan on buying any either. Also, my choice. :)

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  3. agreed. while I do sympathize w/ folks that get bent out of shape because Topps (or another co) puts out a bizarre super short print or over-parallels - that doesn't mean I have to collect all of those SPs.

    I don't have to rely on Topps (or anyone else) to tell me what to collect. I can make my own decisions there.

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  4. You know what you should do? Just kidding. I'm a firm believer in the "To each their own" mentality to collecting. It's one of the reasons I love the card collecting blog-o-sphere and other outlets. Not only can you decided who you collect, but what you collect. Some people are team collects, player collectors, set collectors, auto collectors, relic collectors, and combinations of all those. Some have very narrow collecting goals, other have very broad interests. We have opinions on how we like to display, store, and even sometimes sell and trade. But the best part about collecting is it's your collection, absolutely. The reasons why we collect are a whole other story involving all sorts of phycology, but the base reason is because we enjoy it. It brings us closer to the games and players we love and there's nothing wrong with that.

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  5. Key word -- FUN !

    I have fun with my cards. There are so many different ways to collect cards. It is up to us, as individuals, to decide what and how we want to collect.

    And if I want to burn all my Jeter cards, I can !! lol

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  6. Well said! I find collecting cards to be fun. I don't expect everyone to feel the same way, but just respect the fact that it's not always about making money.

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  7. You Collect WHAT? Cards? What a silly person. Even girls collect cards?

    Who collects cards anymore? YEP I DO. I'm one of those combination folks that Cynicalbuddha mentioned: I'm a set collector, team collector, player collector, auto collector, baseball, football, hockey, some basketball, Non-Sport and about 90% Vintage collector. WHY? I have no frackin' idea. Been doing it most my life with a couple of hiatus years.

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  8. I'm not in it for the money - neither to get as much value as I've paid for (which is never that much), nor to make when I sell what I already have (which I may never do, except for extras).
    Flippers and mojo hunters who are only worried about cash value are not colletors. Real collectors do it because of some attachment to the game or the players.

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