Baseball Two Collecting Questions

[armarkle]

Hello everyone! I am just getting back into collecting over the past 5-6 months or so...I have bought a few hobby boxes and a few retail boxes and havent gotten any "great" pulls...I hear stories of people getting lucky and pulling a Jeter 1/1 when buying their first pack. I am curious, for those of you who have gotten multiple sweet pulls over the years what is your secret? (other than just keep buying) I look at some of the PCs of others on here and there are some GREAT low numbered, autographed, or GU cards and I cant seem to pull them...lol.

My second question is this: Is it possible to get ALL of the cards (excluding 1/1s) for one player? Back when I collected in my childhood it didnt seem so hard but earlier in this decade there were at least 20-30 (or so it seems) BASE cards (not including GU, AUTO, and inserts) of each of the good players every year.

 

[1of23]

I see you read my story where I got the jeter!!

 

[armarkle]

HAHAHA Yeah I did....and I was impressed and amazed!

 

[scittlz]

Most of the cards you see in peoples PC's are not from them pulling them, it's because they buy them off of ebay or trade for them. There is no real secret, but if you buy a whole case of hobby boxes, then you are bound to pull the big hit from the case.

It is possible to collect all of one player (even some of the super rare cards). People who do this are called super collectors and they have a large percentage of the cards created for one player. It's not easy but through trading, buying, and busting boxes it can be done

Hope this helps!

 

[armarkle]

Thanks! I want to do that with a few players (I have well over 150 Jose Canseco cards mostly pre-1998) and am working on Derek Jeter and a few others (trying to REALLY start an Evegeni Malkin collection as I am a HUGE Penguins fan and hes my favorite player) It just seems like with SO many cards (different sets) being produced in the early part of this decade it would be nearly impossible (especially since I am just getting back into collecting for the first time since 99)

 

[armarkle]

OOPS I mis-typed Evgeni...my fingers were going to fast...LOL

 

[DaClyde]

Depending on the player you choose, it can be quite easy; My whopping 32 card Dann Howitt collection is complete, one of everything! Or extremely frustrating; every time another set like UD Heroes or Yankee Stadium Legacy is released, Dave Winfield gets another 20-100 cards tacked on to the end of my wantlist, though thankfully, even that is still under 2000 cards, total.

Some players like Jeter or Pujols might add 500 or more new cards every year. Not as much now that Topps has the exclusive MLB licenses, but it's a daunting task for a mainstream superstar collector. Though even my Hensley Meulens collection is frustrating to say the least, as there is one Japanese card of his I'm never likely to see.

 

[jdthakid36]

I used to collect several players in each sport...then I got older, and possibly wiser, and realized I was setting myself up for failure (not to say that you will be, just my personal opinion at the time). I decided to focus on one player, which happened to by my life-long idol, Nolan Ryan! Boy did I pick a tough one! I had also decided to stick to one sport, baseball. I had over 300 or more Jeters, because I collected him as well...and those puppies didn't last long on my trade page! I picked up so many Ryan's I needed.

Nolan Ryan is very challenging, which also makes it more fun for me. Basically, it will never get old. There's always going to be thousands of Ryan's I need, some impossible or near impossible...

My honest advice. Stick to one, or a couple of players. If you pick like 7-8 popular players, you might overwhelm yourself, especially if you're on a very limited budget. I am on a VERY limited budget. Trading for me is more fun, because you can normally get full value for a card in a trade, rather than 15-20 percent in sales...

Whatever you decide, good luck, and I don't think there's a right or wrong way to collect...

 

[armarkle]

I agree there is no right or wrong way to collect....right now I buy a pack (or a box) and if I get one that I like I keep it and try to sell or trade the rest. Sometimes lately I have bought a few singles on eBay of favorite players of mine too...just whatever I feel like I guess...lol