RANT: 15 Year Yzerman Collecting Nightmare Is Over

[pwskelly]

I collected too many high-end players when I re-entered the hobby 5 or 6 years ago .... Crosby, Brodeur, Ovechkin, Roy ...... not surprisingly, it became ridiculously expensive.

Since then, I have settled on a couple of smaller sets, and some low key players that will be challenging, but financially easier to collect.

I still have a number of higher-end Crosby, Brodeur, Ovechkin, Roy that I may never sell or trade just because they are cards I enjoy showing off.

I think most collectors hit a wall at some point where they become frustrated and disillusioned with the hobby and I'm certainly no exception.

Maybe with some time to reflect, the OP may decide to refocus their collection or give it up for another interest.

Whatever you decide, good luck.

[Greg Brown]

I am an avid Yzerman collector as well. Even though I have several other collections where I try to collect EVERYTHING of that player, I have never tried that with Stevie. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have it all of him, but I do not have the resources to attempt such a task. So, I merely collect what I like. I have well over 1750 unique cards of his and I'm always looking to fill in the gaps of other key cards I'd like to own. It was nice for a while when he retired and *WOW* no new cards (or very few) were being made. It allowed me to catch up greatly.

If you are ever looking for anything, shoot me a line. I do have cards of his that are available. Or, if you just want to check out some autographs, here's a page I built with all of his auto's I've collected so far. Have a few more incoming that I haven't scanned yet too.
http://chief7575.webs.com/Yzerman_autos.html

[kayo198]

I am also an yzerman collector, and even though i dont know, that i will never have all of his cards, i am completely fine with it as many said here already...I think that is the beauty of this hobby...that there is always something out there you can search/trade/pay for and it will never be complete. Yes, it would be great to own all his cards, but that would be cool only until some time. Then i would say to myself: "ok, i got all yzermans, now what" and i think that would frustrate me much more, because i would come to the end of collecting my favourite player...there would be no more joy out of it, except that i could look at those cards...it is one of the reasons why i chose a player where it is pretty much impossible to collect all of them....to keep me going...hope this somehow makes sense....

oh and to ALL YZERMAN COLLECTORS: a coulpe of you already said to drop a line and trade some yzermans....i would say i am one of the collectors with the smallest amount of his cards and therefore could really use some of your cards that you have for trade/sale...maybe we could move this discussion to the YZERMAN thread in "player/team" section?:)

[MatsSundin13Rocks]

What I've realized with my Sundin collection is that I'll never has every single card of his. Probably won't even get 50% of his 3440 cards that Beckett has listed (for sure some aren't listed as well and a few listed were never produced) but I'm fine with picking up cards that I like and not getting everything.

[stankskunk]

I've only been part of the hobby for roughly 5 years (I'm 21 right now), but I agree that its daunting to try to acquire even a small portion of the cards of high end players. I realized fast that I would never be able to afford a Patrick Roy collection in high school, so I focused on my next favourite player Milan Hejduk. When I started I started low end, trying to grab all his unnumbered jersey cards, autos, inserts.. it was fun because there was a lot to find and Hejduk, as good a player as he's been over the years, doesn't have near the hobby love as guys like Howe, Roy, Yzerman (or as high a calibur of talent lol). So he was affordable, and its been fun.

I think its nice that its impossible to complete a player collection, if just for the fact that you've always got something to look forward to. And as much as some may think that 1/1s ruined the hobby because you can't possibly collect them all, I still find it wild that I can pick one up and say that I have it, and that other collectors can have a 1/1 and feel that same kind of excitement that (although there are /25 and /50 parallels of it), they have the only 1/1 of that card.

I always thought it would be a nice side-project to match my Hejduk cards with other players he's supported over the years. Lets say match my Hejduk 06-07 Ultimate patch /25 with a Sakic /25 or Forsberg/25 of the same card. Could always do that with Yzerman.. maybe match an Yzerman with a Fedorov or a Shanahan.. just an idea. Always gotta keep it fresh though, I fear the day I look on my Hejduks with regret!

[blueshirtfan2136]

when I got back into the hobby last year, I had planned on getting every richter card made. After about a month, I realized that it would be impossible on my budget. Now, I just go after nice patches/autos, and I think I have a respectable collection going

[*censored*]

I got out of player collecting as well for similar reasons (of course, having the guy you collect get traded from your favorite team to a different one certainly helps).

I was a Jaromir Jagr collector for a few years and pretty much quit when he was traded to Washington. Not just because of the trade but also because I realized it would be impossible to get it all. I had probably put $500 over the years into a collection that had a BV of around $1000. And I had maybe 20% of his cards, tops, and none with a BV over $50.

The hobby has changed too much. Sometimes I even feel weird calling it a hobby anymore. It's become something that straddles the line between a hobby, an investment, and a business. It's not as affordable as it was when I started. Back in 1991 when I got into collecting at the age of 7, I had a $1 per week allowance. I could get a wax pack of 15 or so cards, or if I saved for two weeks, a rack pack of 45 or so with enough left over to get a football helmet or two from one of those quarter vending machines at WalMart. There were no UV coatings, no gold foil, no jersey pieces, no autographs, no crazy inserts (except for Donruss Elite with an insanely small print run of only 10,000), just cards and with Topps, gum. Nothing else. These days, it's what, $2 for a pack at the cheapest? And how many cards are in it? 10 or less most of the time.

And for the most part, we were satisfied with our 15 base cards and stick of stale gum or puzzle piece, or whatever we got. 75% of the set and only a handful of doubles out of the box we got for our birthday? Awesome. We jumped up and down when we pulled a Kevin Maas RC and if that pack had a Kirby Puckett and an Eric Davis in it too, we'd swear it was the best pack we ever opened. We didn't need a patch or double patch or signed patch or whatever in every box to feel like we got something good.

*steps off soapbox*

[centrehice]

Well, a few have misconstrued my initial post perhaps a bit. I have never been trying to collect every Yzerman card. I know that's not possible. I'm more upset that this hobby is now not even close to being any type of reality for a kid.

There was a time when collecting Sports Cards was all about being a kid. Sure I'm a big kid I guess, but gone are the days when a kid can just hop down the street and hope to get a card of his favourite player with his allowance, unless that allowance is $1,000.00 per month.

Sports card collecting has gone from the right of a poor kid, to the indulgence of the rich adult.

[mikecole141]

Well, a few have misconstrued my initial post perhaps a bit. I have never been trying to collect every Yzerman card. I know that's not possible. I'm more upset that this hobby is now not even close to being any type of reality for a kid.

There was a time when collecting Sports Cards was all about being a kid. Sure I'm a big kid I guess, but gone are the days when a kid can just hop down the street and hope to get a card of his favourite player with his allowance, unless that allowance is $1,000.00 per month.

Sports card collecting has gone from the right of a poor kid, to the indulgence of the rich adult.

I don't think that is the case at all. The NHL mandates that at least some of the cards a company produces must be entry level cards. I have friends who only do Victory, MVP (Gone as of this year), Upper Deck S1 and S2, and OPC each year as they enjoy the process of building sets. These cards are readily available for kids for getting into the Hobby as well. At the same time those of us who grew up in the hobby who are willing to spend a little bit more of our expendable income enjoy buying more expensive product. And even then cards are available from these sets that a kid can use some of his allowance on to get for himself whether at the card store or at a card show. The Hobby has changed, but I for one like it.

[Qwikflipz]

I don't think that is the case at all. The NHL mandates that at least some of the cards a company produces must be entry level cards. I have friends who only do Victory, MVP (Gone as of this year), Upper Deck S1 and S2, and OPC each year as they enjoy the process of building sets. These cards are readily available for kids for getting into the Hobby as well. At the same time those of us who grew up in the hobby who are willing to spend a little bit more of our expendable income enjoy buying more expensive product. And even then cards are available from these sets that a kid can use some of his allowance on to get for himself whether at the card store or at a card show. The Hobby has changed, but I for one like it.

I am stunned MVP is gone after 10 or so years. The hobby is for any type of income. They have $1 packs to $399 packs.