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Thread: Why do you collect?

  
  1. #1




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    Why do you collect?

    "The WHY is the purpose, cause, or belief that drives every one of us." - Simon Sinek

    Whether you've heard of Simon Sinek or not, you may have heard of his 'Begin with the WHY' movement. By his definition, it's a commonality in successful people. They have an underlying driver or motivation that leads them to their success more than other factors (profitability, etc.). [Note, I'm probably completely underselling Sinek's work and would recommend you find his TED Talk if you really want to learn more.]

    My question is about your participation in the hobby - what drives you? Why do you do it?

    As I look at my PC, a couple of things stand out to me.

    #1 - I'm a historian. I love the history of the game. I love statistics. This leads me to collect sets. To me, there is nothing better than a complete set of full teams to document each season. I have lots of boring stories about a season or a game that relates back to that season's set. Lots of memories of specific cards that have either moved me or they followed me, pack after pack after pack...

    #2 - I'm a contrarian. I like irony. Young Guns are topping $100s every year and I have huge quantities of OPC and OPC Platinum. Smart like a what you say... There is something wonderful about having a rare card even when the name on it isn't McDavid, Gretzky, or Crosby. It's neat to have the 'next' big thing (especially those few times it turns out to be the actual next big thing).

    #3 - I'm always trying to learn how things work. I love a puzzle. Is there a recipe for picking hidden gem RCs? Can we predict who will be the break-out star in 3-4 years? I've accidentally (organically) hit on some great cards, but could there be a hidden methodology? Is it possible to collect something today that will explode 20 years from now due to reasons we can't even understand today? It's happened several times in the hobby. What's next?

    Those are probably the biggest 3 drivers for my engagement with the hobby. It provides me with a constant interest in what's going on or what's coming out. I don't have to buy everything (learned that already) and I don't have to love everything. But I can stay really engaged with other collectors and the hobby while adding to my PC...

    How about others here? What's your WHY?

  2. #2
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    Mostly because it's fun... I guess. I really enjoy the chase..

    I've got my Bill Ranford collection. I've taken more of a "collect 100% of his cards that I like, and can afford" instead of a "collect 100% of his cards" approach over the last few years. I probably would have chased a lot of Artifacts stuff this past season, but the $$$ some cards were selling for made me say "no thanks". I really like some of the Leaf stuff that's come out over the last number of years, but others - they just didn't interest me.

    I also have my all-time Oilers collection. That's been my biggest focus the last few years. Trying to get an autograph from everyone to have ever played for the team. For the NHL years: I'm missing a few guys that joined the team after McDavid... and a couple of emergency backup goals from the 80s, and that's it. I'm down to 26 players from the WHA era. I am having a lot of fun learning about those players, and trying to track them down.

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    It's the fun of the chase. I enjoy breaking boxes, building sets, collecting cards of my favorite players and teams. I have a new-found love for vintage rookies too. But, yes, I've accumulated way too much stuff and I want to downsize my traders. You can expect some posts from me next fall, with lots for sale!
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  4. #4




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    Great topic.

    I guess it all started with the thrill of the chase, looking for those inserts, the SP cards, trying to hit that big RC card. From the 90s and cracking so many boxes to build a set, complete an insert set, the early awe of a jersey or a patch card, autographed cards - spent a lot of money of some pretty ordinary cards. Through the 00's, values go up, boxes cost more, the but the chance of a big hit draws you in. Through the 10's/20's, more and more selection, higher and higher prices, longer and longer odds. Sure I hit some beauties, but in the end you sit back and realize you could have bought those cards for a fraction of what was paid for boxes. So realizing that, it was time to really start focusing on the PC (Peter Forsberg) and limit spending on boxes. And while doing that I was able to complete OPC sets through the 70s and 80s. So to summarize:

    Love the thrill, still do, don't buy many boxes but that pure addiction still can take over and nothing beats breaking wax.
    Completing sets, I stopped doing complete UD sets 08/09 being the last. The OPC vintage sets, constant upgrading but some nice sets. Nothing beats pulling out a complete set and flipping through the pages and feeling some nostalgia.
    Forsberg PC, gets tougher and tougher, and more expensive, the PC is focused on print runs of <100 (no Leaf cards), and still 847 more needed of just those, which is hard to believe having over 1,650 of his cards!
    Collecting period, going back through and realizing I've got some pretty cool things - from Crosby/Ovechkin BGS 9.5 RC, to Gretzky RCs, to game used sticks, auto sticks, signed jerseys, pictures, memorabilia, oddball collectibles, I just can't help myself.

    The collection is a bit out of control, so my next focus is to start downsizing and selling some items. Actually looking forward to that.

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    I suffer from anxiety, and it's very therapeutic. Searching ebay, flipping through some of my boxes...it's very relaxing and is my version of a "happy place."

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    I also enjoy the chase....
    Hello my name is Max and I'm an OPC-aholic
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    Great thread. Marking this for later.
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    It makes me happy.
    Why does owing little photos of hockey players do that?
    I dunno.
    Seriously though, I sometimes wonder why, Like this morning out of the blue I sort through the stash and gather my Ovy rookie year cards, all 7, and I love looking at them.
    I think they look great, especially in their one touches holders. I see my Hot Materials blue jersey card and than now wish I had the orange version so I end up spending an hour on Ebay looking at all his 05/06 cards, and wanting most all of them! All because I like that burnt orange color and would like to own a half square inch piece of it. I question my sanity sometimes. lol
    It is nice to see the values go up but it's not the main thing. If it was I would go after baseball rc's but I'm just not that into owning them.
    I guess I like shiny or colorful things, and have loved hockey since a child, so here we are...and yes, the chase is fun.
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    It's the hunt for me. I have 15000 comics but j know I'll never get every one, cards, albums, toys....I just love the search. I'd be sad if I ever got everything I wanted I'd be bummed
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  10. #10




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    what a simple but fantastic idea for a thread... collecting for me started in the 70s and was going along perfect for a 6-12 year old and then Mom threw everything away when I lost interest into my teens (in her defense, she did ask me and I said I didn't want them). Then around 1986, just after Mario came into the NHL, I noticed the Gretzky rookie and started buying boxes and building sets like I did with packs as a kid in the 70s... by 1990, I was buying cases of Upper Deck and OPC Premier. As boxes of 80s stuff was going through the roof in price, the new cards just kept coming...I quickly realized that saturation was causing the new cards to never be rare or worthy of collecting.

    I left the hobby in 1991 and sold everything to one guy... the Gretzkys, the Marios, the Roys, all the sets from the 80s I built from wax boxes.... plus, all the cases of Upper Deck, OPC Premier, and 7th Inning Sketch I had bought.

    Fast forward more than 25 years to July 2018 and John Tavares comes home to my beloved Toronto Maple Leafs... I Google Tavares Rookie Card and see his Young Guns card for the first time.

    I find this website in August 2018, before Tavares even plays a game for the Leafs... I then notice the super collector thread and see creasecollector's Enroth Collection from the same draft year as Tavares... I also notice how incredibly impressive the other player collections are. I knew right then, with the internet now, if I was going to get back into card collecting, it was going to be around John Tavares and not how I collected in the 80s and 90s.

    I then found out about the ITG cards of John Tavares from when he was 16-17 years old and I'm hooked into the hobby again. I decided I was going to put my Tavares Card Collection online like creasecollector did and I was going to start with posting a new card each game day as I build my collection.

    Three years later, I veiw the Tavares cards I have assembled as a unique and difficult collection to match... not quite super collector, however, there are some very rare cards that make my collection unique and rare in itself. Sure, I could collect 20 FWAs and a few Cup RPAs that would be worth more than what I have assembled. However, I enjoy building my collection as one unique player collection, because, I believe some of the rare Tavares cards I have assembled actually feed off each other... I can always add plenty of FWAs and more of the modern day glut anytime going forward.

    Therefore, the reason I collect?... for the sole purpose of creating a single unique collection that stays intact long after John Tavares leads us to the Stanley Cup and retires as a Toronto Maple Leaf.

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