The End of a Player Collecting Era

[Yipper]

The last month have been quite a bore for me.

Frankly, I want more cards for Brandon Yip. And I haven't got anything other than the short splurge in Titanium.

LOL, I would really appreciate a base card of some sort. Parallels would be a bonus.

I would say I am on the other extreme. A die-hard player collector with NO cards to chase. I simply haven't put much thought into my own collection lately. I haven't picked up anything, not even non-PC or a pack of cards, for a month now.

I think my pc player actually motivates me more than anything. If the production of his cards stopped and I don't even have old cards to chase... I'm not even in the mood to add anything else.


They should take away 10-30 cards from price and give it to Yip lol ;))

[87sluggo]

I feel you, man. There's a reason I don't really collect Sakic, Brodeur, Luongo, Niedermayer, or even Linden anymore. Do what you gotta do and see if I have anything nice I can trade up for ;)

See, I DO collect Sakic, Brodeur, Luongo & Linden. As well as Lafleur, Beliveau, Kesler, Lemieux, Gretzky, Schneider, Canucks in general, 04/05 SP Authentic, McDonalds jerseys and autos, The Rocket, The Pocket Rocket, 06/07 International Ice autos, Montreal Expos, a little bit of Crosby & Geno & Ovi & Price annnnnnnnd I don't even remember what else.

So the cards never get boring to look at. And there's ALWAYS something new and shiny or old and "rare" for me to chase. But the money......and the time........I get the cards home after work and.......throw them onto the pile and then the pile gets too big and one of the cats jumps on my desk and now one or two of my cards that I paid good money for are on the floor with corner dings so I gather up everything and dump it all in a 1600-count box on the floor and start a new pile on the desk.

Did I mention the money? My eBay Bucks rewards for the last 3 month period was $60.12. You do the math.............

SO, I'm 100% agreeing with Richard, it's time to grow up and man up or something. Now that all my extra stuff is sold, I've got some room to sort out my PC, do an inventory, try to maybe see about cutting some of it down? I've managed to cut my eBay watchlist down from 200 to 82 at least :)

Bernie Geoffrion!! How could I forget Boom-Boom???

[Uhtred.the.viking]

Very well written Richard, and a sentiment that I whole heartedly agree with. I've had similar discussions with some of the other Iginla collectors, and we've talked about the insane number of cards coming out in the last few years, as well as the design issues. Some series have 40+ Iginla cards (Artifacts, Limited, Certified, etc.) with an ever growing number of color variations being the main difference. It was becoming a full time job just to scan eBay and keep track of the auctions. I used to go for almost anything with Iginla on it, and my goal was to reach at least 50% of his cards. Well, I'm close to 2000 cards and I'm still under 50%! I used to be excited to find 1/1 cards and take a shot at them. These days it's more like OMG not another one, and how can they ask for that much!! I've reached a point where I am becoming very selective about what I buy, and there are entire series that I will skip over.

"But as a dedicated player collector, I just don't have the energy any more." Write this on my slate as well, it's been a great run while it lasted. I'm not ready to sell any of my cards yet, it's still very enjoyable to open the boxes and take a look. But I don't think I'll be needing any more storage boxes in the near future.

[bamlinden]

I've been a pretty hardcore player collector now for years (well over a decade) and I've noticed that over the past couple of years, the landscape has changed drastically. The cards to chase are now more limited, there's a lot more 1/1's and the insertion into high-end products has been steadily on the rise.

Is it frustrating at times to see so many great cards and my wallet whimpering at me? Sure. But something I realized many years ago - I control my collection.....I control the way I want to the hobby to be for me. I do not let the hobby dictate how I am to spend my money.

So my wantlist is a lot bigger than it was a few months ago - so what? So there are cards on my list that will likely never find a spot in my collection - so what? So there are cards that I see come up on ebay, hobby site, etc. and I have to let them pass by because I just can't afford them at the time - so what?

I'm comfortable in knowing that my collecting is not a race - it's not about who finishes first. It's not about who has the "best" or most expensive card. And it's certainly not about buying something because a card company puts it in their product.

I buy what I want.

Of course, I need to have a very clear understanding with myself that there are limits, boundaries and budgets to consider. And while it took me some time to feel comfortable about it, I'm pretty darn happy with where it has me at right now.

I love this hobby probably more than I've ever enjoyed it. Can it improve? You bet. But I'm not nearly as frustrated as a lot of people who feel overwhelmed by the hobby. To me, that's a sign of who's not in control.

I think recognizing that a change is in order is extremely healthy. But I think that replacing one bad habit with another doesn't do any good. Really assessing what it is you want out of the hobby (and realistically at that) and then working towards that makes for a fun venture.

And at the end of the day - if you're not having fun......well, you should find another hobby.

[Tivo32]

I've been a pretty hardcore player collector now for years (well over a decade) and I've noticed that over the past couple of years, the landscape has changed drastically. The cards to chase are now more limited, there's a lot more 1/1's and the insertion into high-end products has been steadily on the rise.

Is it frustrating at times to see so many great cards and my wallet whimpering at me? Sure. But something I realized many years ago - I control my collection.....I control the way I want to the hobby to be for me. I do not let the hobby dictate how I am to spend my money.

So my wantlist is a lot bigger than it was a few months ago - so what? So there are cards on my list that will likely never find a spot in my collection - so what? So there are cards that I see come up on ebay, hobby site, etc. and I have to let them pass by because I just can't afford them at the time - so what?

I'm comfortable in knowing that my collecting is not a race - it's not about who finishes first. It's not about who has the "best" or most expensive card. And it's certainly not about buying something because a card company puts it in their product.

I buy what I want.

Of course, I need to have a very clear understanding with myself that there are limits, boundaries and budgets to consider. And while it took me some time to feel comfortable about it, I'm pretty darn happy with where it has me at right now.

I love this hobby probably more than I've ever enjoyed it. Can it improve? You bet. But I'm not nearly as frustrated as a lot of people who feel overwhelmed by the hobby. To me, that's a sign of who's not in control.

I think recognizing that a change is in order is extremely healthy. But I think that replacing one bad habit with another doesn't do any good. Really assessing what it is you want out of the hobby (and realistically at that) and then working towards that makes for a fun venture.

And at the end of the day - if you're not having fun......well, you should find another hobby.

Thank you for taking the time to right out your thoughts and post this. It meant a whole heck of a lot to me personally.

[Drewk86a]

I am still focusing on player collecting, however,, with each new release it becomes more frustrating. One of my PC guys has 27 different cards in Artifacts alone (with all but 3 being numbered to less than /100).

My question is: Without player collecting what is there?

We really can't go back to set building because almost every set is loaded with SPs, SSPs, and serial #'d RCs. You get, maybe 100, base cards then 50 - 60 RCs and then the SPs, and SSPs. Other than OPC, Score, Pinnacle and maybe UD I & II, set collecting has become almost as difficult as player collecting.

[RGM81]

One thing for sure so far for me is that I am definitely taking a "wider, not deeper" approach to trading/collecting at this point. Instead of getting as much as possible of one guy, I'm getting a couple things here and there of many players. Forever Rivals is a set that I am still deciding exactly what to collect - I would like to put together the Habs base set 1-50 and I may even do the /30 parallels. There's also the possibility of doing some of the memorabilia or autograph sets. As a one-off release, F.R. is perfect for a team collector.

[great1]

I can defiantly understand your frustration with the hobby.

The past couple of seasons there haven't been many Erik Karlsson cards that have excited me, one of the cards that did excite me was a Binghamton Senators base card from ITG Heros and Prospects because it is his only AHL card. The market is just flooded with so many parallels, jerseys and patches that they just don't seem special any more. I collected everything in 2009-10 because it was Erik's rookie season, now I am much more selective with what I acquire.

[pensauto77]

I've been a pretty hardcore player collector now for years (well over a decade) and I've noticed that over the past couple of years, the landscape has changed drastically. The cards to chase are now more limited, there's a lot more 1/1's and the insertion into high-end products has been steadily on the rise.

Is it frustrating at times to see so many great cards and my wallet whimpering at me? Sure. But something I realized many years ago - I control my collection.....I control the way I want to the hobby to be for me. I do not let the hobby dictate how I am to spend my money.

So my wantlist is a lot bigger than it was a few months ago - so what? So there are cards on my list that will likely never find a spot in my collection - so what? So there are cards that I see come up on ebay, hobby site, etc. and I have to let them pass by because I just can't afford them at the time - so what?

I'm comfortable in knowing that my collecting is not a race - it's not about who finishes first. It's not about who has the "best" or most expensive card. And it's certainly not about buying something because a card company puts it in their product.

I buy what I want.

Of course, I need to have a very clear understanding with myself that there are limits, boundaries and budgets to consider. And while it took me some time to feel comfortable about it, I'm pretty darn happy with where it has me at right now.

I love this hobby probably more than I've ever enjoyed it. Can it improve? You bet. But I'm not nearly as frustrated as a lot of people who feel overwhelmed by the hobby. To me, that's a sign of who's not in control.

I think recognizing that a change is in order is extremely healthy. But I think that replacing one bad habit with another doesn't do any good. Really assessing what it is you want out of the hobby (and realistically at that) and then working towards that makes for a fun venture.

And at the end of the day - if you're not having fun......well, you should find another hobby.

Amen! The 1/1s are the last cards I worry about when collecting Skinner. I would rather pay $300 for 30 cards of his than $300 for a plate with no auto or anything. It's just how I choose to collect. Chasing 100+ 1/1s for skinner which is 25% of his total cards is a waste of my time! Especially at those prices! Ironically I just told this to another Skinner collector. He would have no competition from me on them. There are only a couple I would spend my money on. Those being a Sheild, Laundry tag and another logo patch auto card. Other than that I think the flood of 1/1s is obnoxious! I think you just have to collect the way you prefer to collect and not worry about the rest. I won't have all the Skinner cards when I'm done thats for sure! But I'm gonna have fun chosing what ones are worth my money and time to pursue. When I'm broke like right now. There won't be any I pursue!LOL But when I have money I will go after the ones I value the most. It's really sad when a S1 Die cut insert sells for $6 less than a Cup POE auto /10. Just happened the other day and I was shocked. Not only that but the insert was /25(both cards I'm referring to are skinner cards)? This is what makes no sense to me in the hobby but it's just the way things are. Sorry to hear you are done PCing! Hope you enjoyed it and have fun with whatever your next step in the hobby is, Brad.

[87sluggo]

One thing for sure so far for me is that I am definitely taking a "wider, not deeper" approach to trading/collecting at this point. Instead of getting as much as possible of one guy, I'm getting a couple things here and there of many players. Forever Rivals is a set that I am still deciding exactly what to collect - I would like to put together the Habs base set 1-50 and I may even do the /30 parallels. There's also the possibility of doing some of the memorabilia or autograph sets. As a one-off release, F.R. is perfect for a team collector.

Yes, wider!!!!

Aside from the impending financial ruin, consider THIS............two or three times a week when I get my Canada Post "fix" at 10 AM, I have absolutely no idea who's in that puffy envelope. It's something I bought so of course it's not a total surprise, but it could be a 04/05 SP Authentic card, or a Sakic jersey, or a vintage Beliveau, or a Bobby Orr PC filler or just a cheap-o $2.00 Kesler insert or........who knows??

There are SO MANY pretty pretty things out there buried in all of the endless product, to limit yourself to one or two players, to see the same goalie helmet and the same jersey in one of three or four different poses, FEH!!! to that!

Forever Rivals yes!! ALL the Habs!!!


Just be smarter than me and don't go broke :)