[carolinahuey]

I've been collecting for 30 years and I'm old school, I never really jumped on the GU or AUTO train, I stuck to amassing a RC collection for both baseball and football as well as trying to get base and low-mid inserts of HOFers and other players that I loved to watch as a kid growing up (Will Clark, Dale Murphy, Eric Davis). IO have a ton of those types of cards, I mean a TON and while they are virtually worthless, they are priceless to me. I have binders and binders full of base cards and boxes full of cards pre-1980 and/or +$3 in top loaders that someday I will pass down to my son.

BUT, it's time I join the 21st century and start to collect GU and AUTOs. My question is how do I start, I am a huge Chipper, Jeter, and Murphy fan, would it be a good idea to go to a show or check out eBay and look for deals? The problem that I have is the amount of money that these cards/packs cost. I guess I could buy an expensive box and what I get that I don't want, I could trade or sell for cards that I do want. Unfortunately, I don't have many AUTOs or GU in My Organize and people rarely want to trade base for GU, which is 100% understandable.

Just rambling...

[Krangry]

Ebay / Checkoutmycards.com are great places to start. Give yourself a limit and do the best to stick to it. The "Wow" factor is what got me collecting again to be honest.

[wmrklemm78]

Are you watching storage wars? (wow factor) lol

[uvaspina]

Jeter autos are out of most people's budget. -don't be surprised to see them sell at auction for more than BV. Chipper Jones is not a cheap auto, but is a bargain by comparison. You might consider starting an auto PC of a younger player with a high ceiling. Freddie Freeman? Justin Heyward? Bradon Belt?

[jacobystealshome]

dont by boxes

[yankees_pride]

Can I just say I DON'T LIKE YOUR RULE#1!!!!!!!! You should most definatly pull the cards to make sure you have them BEFORE you agree on a trade!!!

I also collect Jeter and I have a huge card collection and have had hundreds of dollars cards but still no Jeter auto. I would say that getiing a Chipper auto would be much more easy than Jeter.

I also agree with an above poster, start with a good up and coming player and go from there. I also collect Heyward, I've liked him since he first came out but have only just started collecting him here in the last 3 months. I got a real nice Sterling auto of his from his rookie year and decided that he would be fun to collect.

[willbbc2]

Buy what you like, don't feel pressured into buying something just to fit in and be current. That's the beauty of collecting. It's like a cafeteria. If you like something, eat it. If not, pass.

[carolinahuey]

**I do watch Storage Wars, and I did steal "Wow factor."

**I changed my signature because you are right about making sure all cards are there. I just had a kneejerk reaction to a member who has breaking my you know whats because he had sent a trade of 80+ cards for a RC and I didn't agree and he got all mad, so I told him not to pull your cards until I at least send a counter or something. Then he threatened me and blah, blah, blah. It's changed now!

**I think I will check out some websites and avoid boxes, thanks for that info. I love college baseball and I have become a big fan of guys like Gordon Beckham, Mike Moustakas, and my personal favorite because he played last year in Winston, Jared Mitchell from LSU. Maybe I could start with them. Also, my son, who is only 2 loves helping me with my cards (commons from 1990, just to let him get involved!), so maybe when he gets older we could pick a player he likes.

THANKS!

[sesfan01]

I've been collecting for 30 years and I'm old school, I never really jumped on the GU or AUTO train, I stuck to amassing a RC collection for both baseball and football as well as trying to get base and low-mid inserts of HOFers and other players that I loved to watch as a kid growing up (Will Clark, Dale Murphy, Eric Davis). IO have a ton of those types of cards, I mean a TON and while they are virtually worthless, they are priceless to me. I have binders and binders full of base cards and boxes full of cards pre-1980 and/or +$3 in top loaders that someday I will pass down to my son.

BUT, it's time I join the 21st century and start to collect GU and AUTOs. My question is how do I start, I am a huge Chipper, Jeter, and Murphy fan, would it be a good idea to go to a show or check out eBay and look for deals? The problem that I have is the amount of money that these cards/packs cost. I guess I could buy an expensive box and what I get that I don't want, I could trade or sell for cards that I do want. Unfortunately, I don't have many AUTOs or GU in My Organize and people rarely want to trade base for GU, which is 100% understandable.

Just rambling...

You and I are exactly the same as far as collecting goes. I too have tons of cards from those eras. I am just getting into buying those GU and auto cards and just using them to trade for my PC. I don't plan on dropping a couple hundred $$ on a box that may or may not have a good hit, and honestly I don't have that kind of a budget for cards right now. Good luck with your plans and maybe we can get some trades done!

[carolinahuey]

You and I are exactly the same as far as collecting goes. I too have tons of cards from those eras. I am just getting into buying those GU and auto cards and just using them to trade for my PC. I don't plan on dropping a couple hundred $$ on a box that may or may not have a good hit, and honestly I don't have that kind of a budget for cards right now. Good luck with your plans and maybe we can get some trades done!

It's not all bad is it?!?

Us old school guys can go to a show nowadays and clean up. I went to one last summer in Raleigh and took $120 with me. I came home with an '82 Fleer Ripken, an '82 Topps Ripken, a '78 Eddie Murray RC, an '01 Pujols Bowman RC, a Yount RC, a Blyleven RC, Boog Powell RC, not to mention the boxes that have a sign that say 100 cards for $10, I clean up on those! The Yount isn't a 10, but it's a good 7, a Brett RC is still pricy, but you can't beat those deals, you just can't. Problem is there's no profit in them, so they are just for me and my son. That makes it even more valuable.