[dougnash]

So I've been back in the collecting game for about a year after a 15 year break. From 1986 to 1995 I collected every baseball card I could get my hands on, so much to the point that in 1987 I could have told you the starting lineup and manager of every team from memory. I would have to save my $15/week paper route money to go to a card show every other month or so and hope that someone had the cards/boxes I was looking for at a good price. It took me about a year to finally get a Don Mattingly 84 Donruss.

Fast forward to now. I've gotten into Topps Heritage heavily, and I'm close to completing the 2002, 2007, 2010, 2011, and 2012 sets. With a good job and a decent eBay side business I have enough cash flow to buy what I want within reason. And eBay gives me the opportunity to attend a card show 24/7 if I want. Many days I feel like I'm acquiring more than collecting.

Case in point #1: I have bought about 20 Derek Jeter rookies in the past 6 months including 5 1993 SP.

Case in point #2: I recently openend a box of 2006 Heritage and not only did I pull Duke Snider Real One auto, but I also got a Mantle game used bat card!! My first thought was that I could get my money back if I sold the auto card, and even though I'm a HUGE Yankee fan I am mildly tempted to sell the Mantle (but I won't).

This long story finally leads to the question I've been asking myself, "Why am I collecting? Do I really want to collect cards?" I think I do, or maybe I just want to want to collect cards.

Anyone out there struggle with this?

Thanks for reading this mess,
Doug

[rpspenner]

I've had that problem the last two years. I just got back into the hobby as well, and I had been buying boxes, packs and singles just to figure out what I want to do. I eventually started getting an idea of my collecting interests, but I now have a bunch of stuff I would rather do without. I'd say if you enjoy the Heritage sets, by all means go after those. The toughest part is sticking to your guns!

By the way, AWESOME hit with the Duke auto! A bit out of my price range, but that's a nice card.

[muz0]

if you need to ask yourself that question, then you just answered it. Why does anyone want 20 of the same cards for if hes not A: a die hard fan or B: investor? I myself just picked up the hobby back up end fo 2010 after 15 years. I am as casual as joe cool when it comes to cards. I MIGHT get a pack or two every other week. And i complete one set a year due to $$$. So you gotta ask yourself. Was that 5 shots, or 6. I mean, do I really enjoy the game, the player, the team? Or do I want to make an investment in hope to "double down" or 20-1 in the future? Me? I could care less about the $$. I do it for fun as its relaxing and enjoyable. Hope that helped. If not, i'll "flip card" ya on the 88's haha

[kata78]

I did the same thing when I got back into collecting. I stopped in the early 90's. Then rediscovered my cards at age 30. Saw how things changed and was like "holy cow, memorabilia cards, autographed cards, 1/1's, refractors, i gotta have that, and that, and that!!!" Before you know it I got burned out after 1 year and a half and spent stupid amounts of money on wax and impulse buys on ebay that I could have put into nice single card purchases or sets. I sat down and took a 6 month break. No purchases or trades. I figured out what I wanted and narrowed it down greatly. I do 3 main things. Jeter BGS Graded Minor League Cards and Rookies, PSA Graded Rookies (Mostly Vintage), and Topps Heritage Sets to satisfy my wax busting habit once a year. I am way more happier now. I sold and am still selling my high end cards I bought to fund my new goal for collecting and now have more closet space

Good luck.....

[dougnash]

If not, i'll "flip card" ya on the 88's haha

Too late I had to make room for the Heritage commons so I introduced my 88 and 89 Topps to my recycle bin.

[JamesMichael32]

I feel as if I'm going through the same problem right now. I started re-collecting last summer, and since then I've bought so many different boxes, singles, and packs that I had to stop a month back and think, "What the hell am I doing?" I love just busting packs. There's just something about that that I'll always want to do, but I also love buying single and graded cards to say I've got this card or that card. What I'm forcing myself to do is stick to a plan: Jason Kipnis and Griffey are my main PC guys. I collect anything with them. I'm also into graded vintage/rookie/auto cards. To curb my pack busting itch I buy Topps Base and Bowman. The packs aren't expensive, plus I always think it's cool to bust Topps base every year. I feel like it's a hobby staple. Occasionally I'll go after a high end product, but I'll sell most, if not all of the cards and use the money I make on PC stuff. Obviously, it's still a mess, but it's a lot better than where it was a few months ago.

[krn001]

I feel as if I'm going through the same problem right now. I started re-collecting last summer, and since then I've bought so many different boxes, singles, and packs that I had to stop a month back and think, "What the hell am I doing?"

I did that with numerous Bowman boxes from 2010/11. I got caught up in the hype & while i did pull some decent cards from both years i still have over 3,000 to finish sorting & move. I'm thinking of packing team cards for trade or sell, just a lot of time involved to sort by team.

[homerjg007]

I went through that about 5 years ago; I had several things going and decided it was too much time, effort, and money to keep up. I massively downsized and just really focused on Royals. For me, it makes it much easier to enjoy collecting.

[dougnash]

Relieved to see I'm not the only one out there. I'm fairly focused in my collecting....Jeter (burned out), HOF single signed balls (on pause), rookies of players from the Yankees WS teams 96-2009 (burned out), and Heritage sets (still going). Like many of you, I can't resist the allure of opening wax, even if it's at $75 a pop.

~D