General Forum

The new retail cards is straight-up gambling. I've wasted 4 there and never had much to show for it. So I stick to trading here or making spreadsheets on what cards are worth and then take my $ to cards shows or the LCS - dig through bins, make deals. At least then it feels like a can double, triple or quadruple my $ while getting my fix. t least I'm not getting ripped off. Plus, I'm talking to people having fun.

Are you paying with cash or card? If card, then it is very easy to swipe away and not think about it. If this is the case, then I would suggest carrying cash, then you have the physical money in your possession and it might be harder to spend it. This is an interesting area of psychology (money and spending) you might want to look into to help curb any urges.

I have begun to set limits on new sets I collect. I wish I would have done this back in 1981 when the new baseball card companies entered the scene. By the early 90's I weaned myself off everything but Topps, but it was about a few thousand cards too late.

This situation reminds me a lot of how easy it is for people to buy scratch tickets in the hopes of winning it big. I haven't heard of anyone getting addicted to scratch tickets, per se, so I'm not sure anyone would think you would have a problem with buying packs every day. However, those dollars add up with possibly little to show for it unless you're selling whatever hits you're getting.

I agree with a previous poster in that you need to try and set limits if you are concerned about your finances. It's also quite possible, if this is a new thing, that you're going through a phase of indulgence that might wear itself out. Keep an eye on things, yourself and your finances, either way.

I can relate and have spent a lot as well, but my wife is my "blocker", so to speak, and it works out in the end. Not divorced yet and year #27 is next week too!  She puts up with it fairly well --- so far! lol

Peace.

I also can relate. I used to get on a "roll" buying boxes of cards even though I seldom got the hit cards I was looking for — at least it was back when they were a lot cheaper.

I would certainly consider the addictive tendancies collecting can bring out in me.

I found it a big help to focus my collection a lot more. Rather than just chasing hits, or wanting all the great cards out there, having a specific focus has helped direct my spending toward cards that I find more satisfying to own. 

Hi I'm Wayne and I am addicted to cards 

Is this the place for SCA?  (Sports Card Anonymous)

🤣

I noticed this thread this morning and there are a lot of great replies here. Especially the one from Musclebeech but great info in others too. I'm not sure if any one thing works for everyone so multiple points of view are probably going to be helpful. Oh yeah, I should also mention that I'm not an expert.

I don't think that I have much to add other than if you decide to replace buying cards with something else, be aware that's what you have actually done. I know from personal experience that I often think I've solved an issue and months later I realize that all I did was, I replaced it with something else. I might be putting the cart before the horse, but just stay self-aware, and it does look like you do already have that in your favor.

No idea if this is the case for you, I've just noticed that when I'm experiencing stress, I tend to go overboard on my hobbies and find it more difficult to moderate my activity. I'm not sure that knowing that helps me solve anything, I'm just observing that it happens that way for me. The thing that usually stresses me is work and I'd solve that but I'm pretty sure homelessness would be stressful too. But more seriously, if I stop and think things over, I usually realize the stuff I'm stressing about is not as serious as I first thought it was or there are actual steps I can take to solve it. It's just that stress tends to build up in the background (sneak up on me) and the solutions are things I need to actively think about, they don't just pop up from my subconscious. Recognizing that I'm doing stuff that I do when I'm stressed can actually help me understand that I need to think about the stress and the cause and look for a solution.

It sucks that the things we like the most in life can become an issue. I wish I knew of a definite solution but all I can do is empathize. Good luck.    

I severely limit my purchasing of unopened cards. Too expensive. My key is, I think of how I could better spend that money.  In the old days when a pack was a buck or two, it was different, but this new age of "investors" has almost destroyed our hobby.  I've been to two Walmarts on my current trip, saw no card options under $7, and walked out empty-handed with no difficulty. I've also witnessed firsthand my uncle lose his marriage to a card addiction, so i have perspective. I type this message on my phone, from a beach chair on the Gulf of Mexico.  If I bought all the cards I wanted to buy, I wouldn't be here. Not saying it's easy. It takes discipline. I wish you well.

Collectors of all kinds often have addiction traits. And with collections that have opportunity for gain, that can be compounded. This hobby has the added draws of stock-market-like price fluctuation and the slot-machine-like thrill of the packs. Id anyone ever did a study on card collectors, I wouldn't be surprised if a large percentage turned out to be addicts. 
 

When I first started getting back into the hobby, I had just moved to a new city and started a new job. I found a well-run card store with a bid-board people could consign their cards to. I would go in every week and make bids, then return to see which ones I won. I quickly realized I was getting an emotional boost through my card bidding and growing collection. I went to the shop to feel better. I sorted cards or browsed eBay instead of doing my work. And I had very little money at the time (and still have very little money), and I saw that I could get into trouble pretty easy if I didn't take control of what I was doing instead of it controlling me. So I set a budget of $5 a week. What I didn't spend would carry over. I made a game out of it that added another element to collecting - I wanted to see how good of a collection I could build with such a small budget. I found a way to enjoy the hobby and be proud of what I was putting together because of the parameters I was under. Still, it can be challenging to prioritize my time. Since I joined this site a couple months ago, I've had to battle to keep my time invested here and with my cards at a reasonable level. It is very easy to escape into this hobby. Money and time buy us some good things in this hobby, but sometimes the money and time cost can go beyond what is healthy.