Opinions on starting a Auto Set

[neilnijjar]

For those who have seen my Fleer Retro box break thread you know that I pulled the Gretzky Base Auto

I've had it up for sale and have had a couple of reasonable offers on it - but not sure if I want to sell it or start the set.

Wondering if any of you guys have an thoughts or have tried to build the set.

Just to be clear its the base autograph set

Looks like this:


Here are my thoughts on it

Pro
- minimal scrub autos - no Roman Wick autos in the set - all veterans (for most part)
- love the look of the photography for some of the cards and overall design is nice
- long checklist of 97 cards (same as base checklist minus Spezza, Selanne, O'Reilly) - Link to checklist
- have one of the big names already (Gretzky), other top guys are Orr, Bure, Lemieux, Crosby, Brodeur
- Haven't seen many redemptions online
- price wont break the bank (only a few that should be $100+)
- Gives me a reason to have a Gretzky, Orr, Crosby, etc.. Autos in the PC

Cons
- Sticker Autos
- Cards aren't all vertical or horizontal - for display purposes
- May take a while to find the short prints
- there will be $75+ cards to chase (im not a big $$$ spender)
- Expanding my PC may take away from my other PC (Marleau)


Any input is appreciated

[mooneyes]

Depends, if you enjoy the chase, it can be fun, or Frustrating...and I have noticed for some, once the goal is completed, there is a let down and they sell the set, and in that case, also partly because of all the other cards they missed out for the sake of the set, and they get no where near the sum of the parts...but if you really love the design and the players and it is a certain keeper, than go for it!!

Whatever the case, I would at least keep that Gretz, it is a beauty of a card!

[CoolHandLuke]

Every collector are different and it's really about you. Mainly you state the pro and con, so I can bring some light using those.

Vertical and horizontal really depend how you want to display the set. In binder, you can always put all horizontal together. Does not have to follow the numbering. Make it easier to see the cards then.

As far as being a sticker set, you also stated that (im not a big $$$ spender) so maybe this is really not a option to try to make set that often come from higher end product and will cost more. Also if you want money left for marleau, maybe a fleer auto set make sense money wise.

If you do start the project, don't give yourself a short term to finish the set. see it as a long time project and you just will handle it better and still have money for the PC. Often it's more fun when it take time to reach the goal on a project then if you finish it too fast.

If you look at your Plus list I think the project could work well for you. But in the end it all about you and how you feel about the project. I you choose to do it make it along term project and it can only be fun. You can use the Scf inventory to build a image view of your progress and then copy the table in your clipboard and paste it in show & tell post.

http://opg.sportscardforum.com/scf/inv/viewset/163134/3

That a fun way to visualize a project.

Here what it look like when you copy a paste a set in progress:

				# HABSCH Chris Chelios	# HABSCL Claude Larose	# HABSCN Chris Nilan		# HABSDD Dick Duff
								# HABSGT Gilles Tremblay
		# HABSJA Jacques Lemaire	# HABSJB Jean Beliveau		# HABSJL Jacques Laperriere	# HABSJO John LeClair	# HABSJT Jean-Guy Talbot
		# HABSLA Guy Lapointe	# HABSLE Claude Lemieux		# HABSLR Larry Robinson
			# HABSPG Phil Goyette	# HABSPI Pierre Bouchard	# HABSPL Pierre Larouche		# HABSPR Patrick Roy	# HABSPT Pierre Turgeon
# HABSRL Rod Langway			# HABSSB Scotty Bowman	# HABSSH Steve Shutt				# HABSSS Serge Savard

[neilnijjar]

Whatever the case, I would at least keep that Gretz, it is a beauty of a card!

and this is the exact reason Im thinking of starting the set - Ive never been a "need a Gretzky auto in the PC" guy
But first Gretzky auto ive pulled/owned and I think it really looks sharp! - so if I go for the set it works for me more than just having an auto for the sake of it

this would be a long term project - probably be thrown on the back burner at some points if I do decide to chase it

thanks for the thoughts so far

[Gallinator]

I think you should give it a solid try and see what you think after 3-4 months of effort. You should be able to pick up a lot of these at bargain prices. It's definitely a doable number within a 2-3 year time frame if you are thrifty. The stickers are the only really rough part, but I do think they look OK on this particular set.

[sedinfan]

IMO, there's definitely the personal touch of having pulled the Gretzky yourself, so the question is just how much sentimental value do you attach to that? There are many auto'ed sets / subsets out there, including hard signed sets and sets that are all vertical or horizontal, it sounds like this set has some pros but also cons in terms of what you're looking for, so at the end of the day does the coolness of having pulled the Gretz yourself outweigh all the cons? If not I'd be tempted to trade it towards the start of a set that you would be happy to frame (or keep the Gretz on its own and wait till you find an auto set you truly want to chase).

[DeanCrandall]

For me personally the #1 thing would be the sticker autos to avoid. Not sure what the future holds for card collecting but as the stickers become more common it might be nice to have a set of non-stickers. Problem with any set as it gets older rookies invade and a set of all the "greats" feels incomplete with the new wave.

Have this 2007-08 Chiro set, and now working on the recent Brilliance set to grab mostly players not included in the Chiro.

http://

[neilnijjar]

yeah its the whole sticker thing that has me stuck - I know If I attempt a hard signed set my options are limited - SPA SOTT is the only one with a large player selection that wont break the bank (compared to Cup sets, Ultimate signature, etc..) plus SPA is littered with scrub autos as well.

Ive got a couple of the autos in sight and looks like I might start picking up autos

thanks for the input from everyone!

[Gallinator]

For hard-signed, you could try Decades 90's - most are cheap pick-ups and you can knock off the SPs over time. I've been working on the Decades 80's auto set for a couple of years now (see my sig) and would have been able to complete it if I'd been willing to stretch a little on my limits...I just have trouble paying more than $100 on an auto that doesn't say "Gretzky" LOL. I guess I'm more of a bottom feeder when it comes to this hobby.

[RGM81]

I'd just keep the Gretzky and be happy with it. The list of cons you have there is pretty long and the items are substantial ones. I've put together some sets in the past (Black Diamond for 3 years) and after a while you look at it and think, "I could get some good PC items with some of these cards." Next thing I know the Habs PC looks that much better. If you're committed to it, you have to be all the way or else you're just stockpiling cards you may have trouble trading/selling in the future.