[RayLewisCollector]

Don't get me wrong, but about 8 years ago I gave up on trying to get just the "hot cards" and now just collect players that I like. Sure some might be worthless, but I still enjoy getting cards of my favorite players from my favorite teams. Especially if they have jerseys, shoe, helmet, game used balls, or an autograph with them. Just this week I bought an OJ Simpson RC, a Jim Plunkett RC, a Charles Woodson Pro Bowl jersey card, and a Pete Rose 1964 Topps. I'm a diehard Ravens collector, but my collecting interest is all over the place.

[bigtrip18]

I like the way I collect, I go for college and pro, but just one team. There are certain sentimental cards I keep or go after (ones I never wanted to sell or trade the first time) and that's about it.

It wont stop me from busting something new, because I like that part more. I could just spend all the money one singles of Packers great and Badgers stars, but thats not a great deal of fun as seeking the unknown??

[falcons2fan]

its the economy... everything is on a decline

and its only going to get worse until we as a nation, do something about it
we are all being scammed right in front of our eyes and dont even know it

[jeremy0998]

I don't collect cards to make money so the BV doesn't mean much to me unless I'm using it for a trading guideline. Don't get me wrong, when I got back into the hobby a few years ago, I LOVED seeing how much my Brady rookies were booking at. I just collect Steelers because I love my team, LeSean McCoy because I got to see him play for Bishop McDevitt here in Harrisburg quite a lot and Barry Sanders because watching him run was like watching poetry in motion.

And F2F I totally agree with you 100%.

[pbean]

wow thanks for all the great replies folks

I don't look at collecting as an "investment" per-say, but we have obtained some cards over the past 2 years that have had some great "investment" value

One card in particular (Emmitt Smith auto has fallen $50 in the past month ) and many of our higher end HOF mem have fallen 40% or more ???

I totally understand it's all "demand" BUT to see how some of our PC items have literally plummeted lately is kinda disheartening

It just perplexes me sometimes how we all jump on the bandwagon with whatever rookie is hot, and the cards we worked so hard to get from years past are now no longer in favour with the Genpop.

How many of us out there still collect "veterans" ???

[sconnienation3]

Yay for 'veterans' !!!! lol

[bigtrip18]

I see that Brunell collector on here off and on, with the recent news out I believe that pc is worth more than Mark Brunell himself

[georgehenrycollector]

I agree with you guys, but you gotta remember this: Any card is really only worth as much as someone is willing to pay you for it. That's the bottom line. Book value or trade value or my new one, "PV" (perceived value) are all relative and meaningless when it's just sitting in a box on your shelf. Lee Evans' stuff has been going down for years, but that's not gonna make me stop collecting him (or, apparently, the other few people who keep outbidding me! lol)

The more the hobby and one's personal collecting habits become about money and the value of your collection, the less the hobby/collecting is fun.

You know I wish more people would realize what you posted is true. I had a guy offer me a card that he has had since 2009 in his shoe box. He keeps asking me for $25 shipped on the card. To which I offered him $15 considering the last one sold for $3 on ebay back in 2009. Which is crazy because its a simple insert but I do need it. Now I know my guy is a scrub and I am probably his only collector other then his mom. But does that really give the guy the right to try to charge me $25 for a card that would sell for 99 cents on ebay any day? Why not dust it off and sell it to me?

[SandersAPcollector]

It's sad that with football, this year's, "hot" guy is selling way more than the icon cards!! I'll rather buy a walter payton rookie card than a cam newton, but that's just with us older collectors! The young ones are going crazy with the rookies, but just look at Sam Bradford's cards. They're going for not even half of what they were selling for last year and hardly anyone's buying him now.

[melcmd]

My collecting habits have changed in the last 6 years.... A lot based on trends and self evaluation. I got into the hobby with my kids so we could enjoy the game and collecting together. It was definitely fun to pull any hit. The boys hit their teenage years and though they still love and play football, they don 't collect any more. Why?

It became about the big hit every time for them and what something might be worth. They only heard me talk about Elway, Marino, Kelly, Moon, Montana, Allen etc, but couldn't relate. Finally they got more value by spending their limited resources on Madden NFL games.

Personally, I went from chasing after specific players to the hot rookies to favorite teams to now putting together interesting and unique sets. I don' t think about selling now because I know I wouldn't get what I put into it. I do it truly as a hobby. Because of this, I've stopped speculating.

The bad economy is part of the problem. The participants in the hobby ( buyers, sellers and traders) are the other. Have you noticed the ridiculous prices people are looking for hot players?

Also, I can't tell one Topps product from another any more. There's a new product every week. Over production, over saturation and too few dollars to waste.

I'm of the age to appreciate players from the late 70's , 80's and 90's. The collectors older than me probably say the same thing about the players in the 50's and 60's.

Young collectors today care more about the players they can relate to.

Someone wants $6000 for a Sam Bradford rookie auto. In what universe or dimension would that card ever be worth that?