Advice for former collector?

[Brad Harris]

I collected heavily from elementary school up until my late twenties. Had a huge collection that through a series of personal misfortune I wound up parting with, leaving me so depressed that I haven't kept up with the hobby and it's been nearly a decade since I purchased anything. I own no cards but have recently been musing about getting back into the hobby on a limited basis. I thought I'd focus on specializing in the cards of all-time greats. They don't have to be the originals, of course, but I was looking for some sets like the old Fleer Greats of the Game series and such that would be nicer cards (and easier to track down) but still have the old-time players on them. I'm not averse to inserts either, of course, but obviously don't want that to be a focal point of collecting as that would significantly boost the cost of my investment.

Just looking for a way to enjoy the Ty Cobbs, Willie Mayses and Johnny Benches of the world without forking out too much dough.

Any suggestions on sets that would be good for me to target along these lines? I think the last set I bought (for my son) was a 2002 or 2003 Topps. As I said...it's been a while.

[xholdourownx]

I would try buying some older boxes online. Like you said, the Fleer Greats of the Game set is pretty good. Higher end stuff with some older players, you might want to look at the Legendary Cuts sets. That set has newer and older players mixed together. You'll probably be spending about $100 a box, but can probably get a lot of singles on ebay for great prices.

Ebay has some of the best prices for boxes and singles. Just search a player you are looking for. Reprints are pretty easy to find. Check out sportlots.com as well. They have a lot of cards.

[topherkris]

If you send me your address, I'll fire you over some junk I pulled this year. It won't be spectacular, but it will be free.

I can't think of anything off hand other than a few Yankee Stadium Legacy Cards, a Joe Dimaggio SPX card, maybe some UD 20th Anniversary.. I'm sure I can find stuff w/ HOF on 'em.

I'm slow as hell giving away free stuff, but you'll eventually get it.

[RuthMayBond]

Do you mind single cards here & there?

[dmbfan]

If you send me your address, I'll fire you over some junk I pulled this year. It won't be spectacular, but it will be free.

I would be happy to do the same for you in terms of sending you some cards that are simply collecting dust in my closet. In 1988 and 1989, Pacific put out sets with some of the All-Time Greats. If you search ebay for 1988 Pacific or 1989 Pacific, you will be able to find a good number of these cards and even sets. Please let me know if I can assist in any way.

[Mike D.]

If you're looking to get back into the hobby, and want to focus on all time greats and hall of famers, you may have better luck buying single cards than modern packs.

I did that for quite a few years. Until 3-4 years ago, I was buying almost no new packs. When I wanted to buy something for my collection, I was on eBay or Sportlots grabbing an older card of a star or hall of famer. Never huge money, but I liked the idea of getting all the key RC's...I started with the 80's and am pretty close, and then moved into the 70's.

Several others have mentioned low-cost sets for all time greats to consider, and those are great places to start on the cheap.

You may want to grab a few random packs next time you find yourself in Walmart or Target anyway, just to see what's out there, but best to focus on what you're really interested in.

[Extra Innings]

I would be happy to do the same for you in terms of sending you some cards that are simply collecting dust in my closet. In 1988 and 1989, Pacific put out sets with some of the All-Time Greats. If you search ebay for 1988 Pacific or 1989 Pacific, you will be able to find a good number of these cards and even sets. Please let me know if I can assist in any way.

1989 and 1990 Swell also produced a set of 'Greats of the Game'. It includes a bunch of HOF's and stars from decades past. They can found fairly cheap on ebay.

[Brad Harris]

Appreciate all the help, guys! My kids have been with me this past week and we were at a flea market this weekend. Passed by a booth or two with cards and - wow - brought back some memories. The really interesting thing to me was the sheer number of cards with modern players on old backdrops. Topps designs from the 57-76 era, for example, featuring guys like Jeter, Santana or Pujols. Just amazing the kinds of things they're doing with cards these days!

The small handful of cards I've still got include a couple of singles I just couldn't help but pick up in "dollar bins" as I've browsed yard sales and such over the years. My "prized" possession among the few hundred cards I still have is an autographed '72 Topps Bobby Grich rookie. (The only shoebox my ex-wife didn't find in the divorce.) ;) Got it for $2 plus shipping on e-bay about a decade ago, if I remember correctly.

Thanks for all the great tips. Definitely going to look at the sets mentioned above and, yes, singles are definitely the bulk of what I expect to be focusing on, but I would imagine there are a number of "greats of the game" or "legends" or "hall of famers" sets that would be a good starting place to hunt for many of these players without actually going back and searching for the "originals" from the 70's and earlier.

Just wanted to say how grateful I am for any pointers or other assistance provided here. You guys are all first-rate! I'll keep you posted on how things go over the next few months. :) In the meantime, if you think of any other suggestions, please don't hesitate to pass them along.

[Brad Harris]

So I found a couple of local hobby shops, picked up a discounted hobby box of 2006 Topps Chrome ($30 was an attractive price) and spent about $100 on various single packs over the past week. Icons, Masterpieces, A&G, Goudey, UD, SpX, Topps, Sweet Spot, LegCuts,...just wanting to get the look and feel of a bunch of the different sets so I could see what I'd like or not like. Had a few decent pulls; mostly guys I'm not particularly interested in collecting. Which got me to some questions I hadn't thought of before...

1. How do I find trading partners online? (I'm unlikely to frequent the local shops enough to do this.)

2. How do I go about cataloging what I have for trade in an easy-to-search fashion?

[yankeesr#1]

So I found a couple of local hobby shops, picked up a discounted hobby box of 2006 Topps Chrome ($30 was an attractive price) and spent about $100 on various single packs over the past week. Icons, Masterpieces, A&G, Goudey, UD, SpX, Topps, Sweet Spot, LegCuts,...just wanting to get the look and feel of a bunch of the different sets so I could see what I'd like or not like. Had a few decent pulls; mostly guys I'm not particularly interested in collecting. Which got me to some questions I hadn't thought of before...

1. How do I find trading partners online? (I'm unlikely to frequent the local shops enough to do this.)

2. How do I go about cataloging what I have for trade in an easy-to-search fashion?

1) They are many sites that have trading online, When of which is a great site Tradingcardcentral.com and there are many others.

2) They are a few ways to have your cards. So, for game used some people use plastic holders. Also for base cards they are a few ways to hold them you can either have them by card type like brand. Also you can also have them by team or even both of them at the same time.