General Forum

I have decided to start a new thread focused on my collection and collecting. I had some people following along on my $100 card purchase but I wanted to start something with a clean subject. Mainly because my collection is way too big and my focus seems to be an ever evolving thing. I'm sure some of you can appreciate that.

Present day status of myself and my collection. I started collecting around 1979-80 and continued through the early 90's. Other things in life became more important and I collected very little until around 2013. At that time my 14 year old son started getting into collecting and it rekindled my interest as it was something we could do together. He has now found other interests but I have continued to collect.

I have collected too much stuff and I have boxes upon boxes of disorganized stuff that I have purchased locally. I did for a while buy packs and blasters at the nearby retail stores but that has come to an almost complete stop. I think the costs associated with opening up new product today has gotten expensive to the point that I just don't get enough bang for my buck.

Feel free to follow along and add any commentary to a thread about a guy in his mid 50's as he tries to figure out what to do with a massive amount of cards he has acquired and who still can't help but collect. He also struggles to find enough time to dedicate to his collection as he still navigates life with a wife, 3 young adult children, too many pets and a job that requires too much of his time.

I hear ya. Collected on and off since about 1982. Gotten way too carried away the last 2 years and know how I want to trim my collection, but have practically no time to dedicate to the effort. 5 cats, a remote job that turned hybrid this month, and my father to look after. Then add health issues and there just isn't enough time to work on cards, which is actually a form of therapy for me.

If I wrote my story it would almost exactly the same. 58 years old, collected when I was a kid until early 90's. Kept but didn't touch anything until about 2016 then caught the bug again and started buying new cards as well as a few (how much for everything?) type deals. Then I found this website in 2018 which made it even more fun. Luckily I have the space but time is the issue for me. I work at least 50 hours a week. Trying to do what I call process every card, which is deciding to add to collection, put on trade list or make boxes up to sell is going to take me probably another 50 years at my pace. That's my story. Thank you for starting this thread.

Sounds familiar. 

Hear what is being said here LOUD & CLEAR!  There are still so many cards to inventory in My Hobby Room (easily another 15,000+), but NEVER enough hours in a Day, even as a Young Retiree. 

In One's Life, there is a need for variety.  My Beloved Wife of 33+ years and I enjoy being outside & being active (the great weather here in Our Beloved Sunshine State gives Us many an opportunity).  We play tennis, take long strolls on the beach, and I am playing Baseball for the Space Coast Americans (February-mid November).  Every Day I try to spend some minutes or hours in The Hobby (Daily moments on This Website of Our TCDB Community included).  Yet it seems to only begin to "scratch the surface" of all that awaits to be done as a Sports Trading Card Collector (since about 1971).  We can certainly commensurate together and keep encouraging Each Other to Stay The Course and Keep At IT!!

Yours in The Hobby - Felix

BSwagger,

Your thread resonates with me. Started in 1978 and stopped in 1987. Went in the military. Dabbled in the 90's buying the occasional box. Picked the hobby back up around 2000. Donated a bunch of cards to charity. My current interests are all over the place, but coming into focus.

egreenwo

It's nice to have others with similar stories following along. I'm focusing on a semi-organized put away due to space. I also want to start getting some sets completed and put in binders and on a shelf for viewing.

I didn't purchase much for cards this week. I did manage to pick up 5 hockey card binders in near new shape at Goodwill for $2 each. These should be helpful with my long range goal of building a large library of sets in binders so I can pull down a binder and flip through it and enjoy my collection.

I decided to focus on getting my 1987 Donruss set completed. I am still missing a few cards but I got what I have in sheets and a binder. Shout out to a member here RSmith1217 who offered me a fair price on some of the cards I was missing. I can't wait for them to arrive and put them in the binder. I have a huge amount of duplicates if anyone needs them. I would also encourage members to not be afraid to do a few more purchases from members here instead of waiting for trade matches. I realize we all have a ton of duplicates we would like to move but it might be easier to sell some and return the favor to the community and make a purchase from someone else.

I was able to fill several needs for my 1987 Donruss set including the Greg Maddux rookie for just under $10 shipped. I think a new pack of Score football from Walmart would cost me a similar amount so well worth it to me.

I'm really not sure what I am going to focus on next but I do think starting to establish my set binders and get those put away should help my organizing activities.

In general, I am I’m pretty much a minimalist.  I don’t really have much of a desire for things.  Ironically I collect trading cards.  

I have pretty much the same story. Started collecting as a kid. Parents threw away my cards when I got older or they were lost in a move. Noone really knows. Anyhow, at almost 51 years old, I still love collecting. Just don't have much time as I would like. Have a ton of cards mostly junk wax that aren't even listed here. I'm sure there is someone who's needs something on this great site. Collecting cards is my way to get away from reality for a bit. Besides there are worse things that I could spend my money on.

, too many pets and a job that requires too much of his time.

I'm thinking of seeing if I can train one of my dogs to help sort. I mean, there's 5 of them here right now (3 permanent  and 2 foster).

I can eliminate 2 of them right from the start,  but maybe one of the others.