Collectors: We're a Fun Lot

[RGM81]

I mean this with nothing but the best of intentions, so I hope that nobody takes offence to this post.

I've seen a couple things today that make me smile and think about what a weird and wonderful hobby this can be. The things that we find most interesting and valuable and will go to great lengths to own, well, it's puzzling sometimes. When I think of how much money I've spent buying 1"x1" (sometimes a little bigger, sometimes a little smaller) pieces of jersey worn by Carey Price, I wonder if I could actually have bought a full game-used jersey instead.

Which leads me to this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=170464954794

A total of $95 for the O, a 2x1 inch piece of the stick, or for $250, the whole thing? http://s244.photobucket.com/albums/g...C/The%20Stick/

Someone also directed me to a Jean Beliveau auto from 06-07 Parkhurst that is currently sitting north of $600 with 2 days to go. For $25 I met him in-person and had an 8x10 photo signed. There's some releases where you can get an auto or GU of his for 20 bucks. Put an "SP" tag on it, and look out!

Like I say, this is all meant to be taken in a light-hearted fashion - heck, I've spent more money than I care to mention on some cards because it's important that the patch have 3 colours instead of just 2. And there was that time I spent $2 + $1s/h to get a Habs Centennial loonie.

What about you all? Any fun moments where you've stepped back for a moment and rationalized some of your purchases and just had a chuckle after the fact?

[jr27]

to me an auto is an auto.. i dont care what product it is from, if we collect for the fun and love of cards then what should be the diffrence between a 200.00 auto card and a 15.00 auto card signed by the same person.

I also think those parallels are gimick cards. You have your ITG ultimate base cards /90 and then the gold version /10. In my opinion they are not cards numbered /10 they are cards numbered /100.

just my opinion though

[Prime B]

Richard I've brought this similar topic up on different occasions in different context but with the same message.

Someone tried to trade me the Kopitar Property Of... for about $2500 worth of Kopitar cards from my son's PC.

I simply linked him to pictures of the rookie year game used stick we had of him with a sick inscription to boot. Not to mention the fact Kopi walked off the ice and handed it to him personally.

So I could get what is perceived as one of Kopitar's best cards with a piece of stick for $2500 or keep the ENTIRE thing we already have, with name plate, persoanlized inscription and, most importantly, the memories for FREE?

At the end of the day though some people likes cards, some memorabilia, some both.

I have always fallen into the latter but realize the actual full pieces are the truly the most impressive items, especially with proper authentication. UD has made it impossible to believe that anything they made/make is legit anymore. ITG makes great cards but even they're limited on what they can do unlicensed so we don't always get what could be their best effort because of that.

I honestly liek doing the in-person autos the best. It's basically free for the auto, we get the experience of the meeting and personalized autos to boot (you can buy a plain auto of anyone, anytime) and every now and then we get a stick or two, again, free. Can't wait to see what the Matt Duchene PO sells for this year as opposed to our fully intact gamer freebie from Matt!

Best of all, my son and I get to hang and enjoy time together, the most priceless aspect of it all.

We are starting to move towards memorabilia more and it is a lot more satisfying and cost-efficient (if you can believe that) then cards.

Thanks for the post dude, good topic, no matter how many times we talk about it.

[StadiumSportsCard]

The hobby is suppost to be about fun!

It's good to see some people still realize that. LOL

[RGM81]

Richard I've brought this similar topic up on different occasions in different context but with the same message.

Someone tried to trade me the Kopitar Property Of... for about $2500 worth of Kopitar cards from my son's PC.

I simply linked him to pictures of the rookie year game used stick we had of him with a sick inscription to boot. Not to mention the fact Kopi walked off the ice and handed it to him personally.

So I could get what is perceived as one of Kopitar's best cards with a piece of stick for $2500 or keep the ENTIRE thing we already have, with name plate, persoanlized inscription and, most importantly, the memories for FREE?

At the end of the day though some people likes cards, some memorabilia, some both.

I have always fallen into the latter but realize the actual full pieces are the truly the most impressive items, especially with proper authentication. UD has made it impossible to believe that anything they made/make is legit anymore. ITG makes great cards but even they're limited on what they can do unlicensed so we don't always get what could be their best effort because of that.

I honestly liek doing the in-person autos the best. It's basically free for the auto, we get the experience of the meeting and personalized autos to boot (you can buy a plain auto of anyone, anytime) and every now and then we get a stick or two, again, free. Can't wait to see what the Matt Duchene PO sells for this year as opposed to our fully intact gamer freebie from Matt!

Best of all, my son and I get to hang and enjoy time together, the most priceless aspect of it all.

We are starting to move towards memorabilia more and it is a lot more satisfying and cost-efficient (if you can believe that) then cards.

Thanks for the post dude, good topic, no matter how many times we talk about it.

Very well said, Barrie, I always enjoy reading your comments on stuff like this. It's a shame we're on opposite sides of the continent, as I think we'd be able to shoot the breeze about this hobby and the game for hours over some cold pops.

When I look at some of the stuff that's on my wall there are times when I do wonder why I focus so much on the cards and not more of the actual memorabilia and/or getting more signed photos. The in-person stuff signed by Josh, Carey's stick, the #1 fan photos...those are "big ones" and likely the stuff I'd grab if I could only take a couple things with me. I have some spectacular cards, and I cherish a lot of them, but it's a little funny to think that I could sell a "complete jersey" card and put that towards getting an actual complete jersey or other full GU'd item. I have a couple emails contacts in the Habs organization so whenever I catch wind of the latest equipment sale there's always a message sent off looking for whatever they have of Carey and Josh.

All that said, it's pretty awesome to be able to get some of the pieces of memorabilia that are out there. Obviously not everybody is going to be able to afford a full jersey of their favourite player. Heck, I'd never drop $500 or whatever for a Ryan Getzlaf gamer, but I'll happily swap a couple cards for a little piece of one. Naturally, an Orr GU is a major piece of anybody's collection if they're lucky enough to pull one - that's something that, as we've all heard the stories of what a full gamer fetches at an auction, really is as close as 99.99999% of people will ever get to owning an Orr jersey. Same goes for the autos - not living in an NHL city makes it more than a tiny bit tough for many collectors to get that much-loved signature of their favourite player(s). There may be the odd retired legend signing or a touring old-timers game, but to get the current players it's tough unless you're in one of the 30 NHL cities.

And in sum, that's why I love this hobby in all its aspects!

[LT21Titans27]

An auto is an auto, as for jerseys, your probably right about it being easier to get one from meigray instead of getting a bunch of patch cards and jersey cards, as for stick gloves, pads, its a little trickier, so cards work pretty good

[patsfan84]

i bought 2 game worn jerseys of the ducks for 500 total with shipping, so i mean i spent more than that on a few cards individually lol. as for in person autos i agree barry, and luckily i have a close friend who works at frozen pond, i remember she had to go to detroit a few yrs back and she didnt want to go alone, so i got to meet joe sakic while he signed about 200 things for the company, also got to meet giguere privately before the public signing when he won the cup a few ys back. also get my autos for free there, well pay for 1 item and get as many as i want signed lol. and its a great experience talking to most of the guys, some guys just make u want to smack them like prnger the arrogant loser.
I remember going to the leafs 40th anniversary dinner in 07, and meeting beliveu and talking to him for like 10 minutes 1 on 1 about hockey, same with bower, baun, john ferguson jr, and a lot of other hockey legends of the past. that alone was worth the price of admission, and an experience i have never forgotten. i remember my dad getting all nervous asking for a picture with beliveu cuz he was an idle of his growing up. and i mean talking to baun was amazing the guy scored a goal on a broken leg thats heart. something that wouldnt probably happen with todays athletes.

[MasonRaymond0320]

I know that this is an old thread, but I was just looking at the old posts, and found this thread.

What I find interesting is how I can just buy a Mason Raymond FW auto, and a Ryan Kesler BAP auto for a grand total of $9...but a sticker dual auto from the MVP sold for or is selling for more than $100! I find that a bit ridiculous when I can get the 2 autos of the same players for 14-15 times less. AND the reason why I am not going to be buying any stick cards of Jonas Hiller, or Luongo, is because I can get a game used WHOLE stick (just like someone else said) for almost the same price. A Hiller ITG Stick Save card sells for $70-100. I can get an entire stick for the exact same price. No offense to ITG as the Hiller and the Luongo stick save cards are amazing! And I drool over thme lol, but I simpley dont think I would want a fraction of the stick for the same price of a whole stick.
Another thing that I find interesting, is how game used glove, and pad cards sell for a cheaper price than the stick cards do. Sticks are not as expensive as pads are (an entire game used stick is usually $100...game used pads usually sell for $500-600). I have seen game used pad cards selling for anywhere between $20-50 (obviously depending on the player). Game used sticks are selling for $50-100.

Just my opinion.

Andrew

[RGM81]

I totally forgot about this thread - loved reading through it again. Thanks for bringing it back to life Andrew!

[30ranfordfan]

No kidding.

I was in Atlanta for a Braves game this summer. On the way home, we stopped in Nashville. Went into the Preds rink, and checked out the team store.

Well, my buddy came away with a pair of game used skates (Arnott) for $100, and I bought a game used stick for $50 (Jared Smithson).

Now, none of this was for collecting purposes - bought them to use them - he's declared them the best skates he's ever owned.... and I can't say enough good things about the stick I bought (much better than I would normally buy for myself).