[zeprock]

That was beautiful Man. I just wanted to put my arm around my dog and look into his big sad eyes and ask him if he could feel your pain like I feel your pain. Unfortunately I found out after 6 years that my dog was not a purebred after all and that I had been duped and living with a mongrel all this time, so I put him down. Only an authentic dog for me. See? I do feel your pain.

Since there is no sarcasm font, I feel compelled to tell you that I lied and did not put my dog down for that reason. I think we collect what makes us happy. I don't have money to invest in the modern cards you talk about but I am happy with the cards I have accumulated over the years. I bought all my vintage back in 1979-1981 when I could find them for under $1 each. I got all my Mantles and Clementes and Koufaxs and Ted Williams cards then and still have them. I could never afford them at today's prices.

[uvaspina]

I think this is an interesting thread. I respect the OP's (and others') viewpoint, but the thing to keep in mind is that card collecting attracts different people for different reasons. Not everyone is interested in spending $25-$500 on cards of players they've never seen play, that they've never had the chance to pull or collect as kids, and that has little fluctuation in value. Some people just like collecting modern cards because these are the players they watch and root for. Whether prospects, rookies, or stars. As far as the genuineness of GU cards goes, I get the OP's point about the ultra high end items (Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, etc.) But I don't spend too much time worrying about where my '11 Clubhouse Collection Adrian Gonzalez GU came from. Topps certifies that it's "game used" or "event used," which is good enough for me. If I wanted an actual jersey, I'd buy one. Most of the GU I collect is just to fill in the gaps in my PC collections for the sake of completeness. Or I use it for trade bait. Maybe I'm not in the same realm as some of the other guys here who drop big money on GU cards. Maybe if I did I'd share the same concern about ensuring the genuineness of GU items.

[bigguy219]

I think this is an interesting thread. I respect the OP's (and others') viewpoint, but the thing to keep in mind is that card collecting attracts different people for different reasons. Not everyone is interested in spending $25-$500 on cards of players they've never seen play, that they've never had the chance to pull or collect as kids, and that has little fluctuation in value. Some people just like collecting modern cards because these are the players they watch and root for. Whether prospects, rookies, or stars. As far as the genuineness of GU cards goes, I get the OP's point about the ultra high end items (Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, etc.) But I don't spend too much time worrying about where my '11 Clubhouse Collection Adrian Gonzalez GU came from. Topps certifies that it's "game used" or "event used," which is good enough for me. If I wanted an actual jersey, I'd buy one. Most of the GU I collect is just to fill in the gaps in my PC collections for the sake of completeness. Or I use it for trade bait. Maybe I'm not in the same realm as some of the other guys here who drop big money on GU cards. Maybe if I did I'd share the same concern about ensuring the genuineness of GU items.

Rest assured, I do not believen there's any problem with your Adrian Gonzalez relic. Topps has an agreement with MLB and receives their game used items directly from them.

It's the 'legendary' player items that bother me.

An example of this is the 2012 Topps game used bat knob of Babe Ruth. It's currently being offered for sale for $20,000. It is my understanding they are looking for an offer of $7,500+.

You may shake your head and say something is 'wrong' with whomever would spend that much on a baseball card, but I believe they will get it in time.

However, the Topps 'guarantee' just isn't enough for me anymore. I'd want to know who authenticated it, what authentic grade it received, when it was dated to, etc. But that's just me.

[keyser soze]

Great read. It was long, but I never found myself saying "wow, will this ever end?"

Now, I gotta get back to acquiring some more prospects! Hey.... it's takes all kinds

[hendu29]

I'm with you... I switched to mainly vintage (99 percent) roughly a year ago. I will still pick up some modern to re-sell at a profit just to fund my vintage collection. I have not spent one cent out of pocket on cards in about a year. The money comes from the sale of modern cards at the right time. For example, I bought an 2012 Bowman Chrome orange refractor earlier this year for 9.99 and I just sold it for $35. I just used that "profit" to purchase some 1949 Eureka stamps cards to fill my Cardinal team sets.

What pushed me to vintage is that I put a lot of money (probably about $2,000) into a player collection (Colby Rasmus). After he was traded, I was stuck with a bunch of cards of a player I no longer cared to follow. So I sold most of it off and decided to jump into the deep end of the vintage-pool. I'm so glad I did.

I also love vintage because I love the history of the game. I love reading the backs of the cards. I enjoy books on vintage baseball players. I also enjoy the hunt for the card in the condition that I need. I collect SGC-graded Cardinals in 84 or higher. I am now perfectly content to pass up cards in order to get the right one.

Andy

[kata78]

Great post. I completely agree with you. In the past months I have sold all my high end Relics, Nameplates, Bat Barrels, Patches, etc. I felt the same way. Now I just concentrate on my Graded Jeter collection and other Vintage Players. Totally agree with the prospecting thing. It's seriously screwed up. People paying thousands for a player who might not even see a major league pitch. Ridiculous. Give me my Jeter, Ripkens, George Bretts and Ryans. A sharp looking vintage Mays, Clemente or Mantle. I'll take them over prospecting anyday.

[jblaze1718]

this is a good post, and for people that are collecting for either monotary gain or to actually have a piece of what someone used in a game then its very relevant. Personally I collect modern cards just for the thrill of collecting players, trying to complete a goals, and enjoy the aesthetics of the card.

I will say to those who want to feel like they are holding a true piece of someone's jersey, don't worry about the speculation and until someone verifys that it isnt real and as long as its real in your mind then it is something you can enjoy for yourself.

[uvaspina]

Rest assured, I do not believen there's any problem with your Adrian Gonzalez relic. Topps has an agreement with MLB and receives their game used items directly from them.

It's the 'legendary' player items that bother me.

An example of this is the 2012 Topps game used bat knob of Babe Ruth. It's currently being offered for sale for $20,000. It is my understanding they are looking for an offer of $7,500+.

You may shake your head and say something is 'wrong' with whomever would spend that much on a baseball card, but I believe they will get it in time.

However, the Topps 'guarantee' just isn't enough for me anymore. I'd want to know who authenticated it, what authentic grade it received, when it was dated to, etc. But that's just me.

I understand your point and I think it's a good one- especially as it concerns ultra-high-end modern "GU" items. I guess I never gave those items a whole lot of thought since they're so far out of my league.

[loyalcardinalfan]

This is one of the best threads I've read in last several years, very helpful information to keep in mind when choosing what relic cards to buy. There have been very few times that I have bought any game-used/relics cards for more than $10 bucks. One of the cards I paid more for was a 2001 Ozzie Smith gold glove autograph card, to me it will always be worth what I paid for it regardless what beckett says it worth. To me a card is only worth what someone's willing to pay for it with an exception **of these people usually newbies paying hundreds or even thousands of dollars for low numbered relic / autographed cards of players who may or may not ever play in the major leagues. I have never looked at baseball cards as a Lotto Ticket as it seems to me . . . some people do.
When I buy cards that I'm adding to my personal collection, I ask myself how much the card value is to me while keeping in mind if the beckett card value were to be zero in 4-6 months how much is the card worth to me. I can be very frugal when spending $$ on baseball cards.
There is times I buy cards from recent issues for awhile (last10 years), then I also enjoy buying vintage cards at times if the price is right but I love the hobby and the cards that I've been able to add to my Cardinals collection in the last 30+ years

[newfiecomicguy1]

I starting collecting hockey in the late 70's and as a young kid in Canada it was a huge part of life. It seemed we were either playing hockey on the street and ponds or we were trading cards and talking about it. It was so much fun collecting and trading cards of our heroes with friends and helping each other where the biggest value was friendship and and not the value or price of the card.

Like you I starting collecting modern but over the past 3-4 years have gone back to my true love the vintage cards from my childhood. Pulling an auto or GU card still didn't excite me as much as opening an envelope or buying a vintage card from my LCS. Sure the cards carry a BV now but my biggest value is the sentimental value I get from each card. Even the old base cards of players from my favorite team as well as star players give me a newfound old excitement.