[fred bear]

Hello everyone,

As we start 2021, I'd like to try and see if we can't make the hockey boards here a little more active (I'll start posting as much as I can). There are a few guys who frequent the boards, but still not too many 'new' posts. I see trade offers from the same people (which is great - don't get me wrong), but maybe if we get some action going, more people will come and we'll see more collections and more cards!

So, to kick off 2021, let re-introduce ourselves. What motivates you as a collector? What do we know about you and what don't we? How did you get into collecting? What's kept you going? Do you have goals for 2021?

I'll start, but am admittedly pretty boring...

Name: Jim
Profession: Marketing/Business Development in high-tech sector (education in Physics and Mathematics)
Forums handle: Fred Bear
Year I first collected: 1980
Years active: 1980-1992, 1999-2001, 2008-current
Favorite Team: Detroit Red Wings
Got Started: My dad would buy me packs on our way to run errands or stop at different 'clubs' around town. Once friends started collecting, we would trade and try to put together sets.
My Passion: I love spending time curating my collection. Choosing a set or player or card that I want, researching it, and then acquiring it.
Goals for 2021: #1 - Keep to my budget for new acquisitions. There are 1-2 cards I really want to acquire this year, but I don't have resources to go bananas and add everything I may want at a given time. #2 - Continue to create a more liquid collection. Too many cards have sat for years without me seeing them and this year a lot will get listed and hopefully end up with other collectors who want and will appreciate those cards more than me. #3 - Bust less wax. Part of my realization over the last few months has been that I am much better off acquiring singles instead of piles of junk base. Every $100 box could have been $50 for the cards I want and $50 towards a big RC/auto/patch...
Unofficial Goal: Average 1 transaction per day in 2021. I'm counting trades, purchases, and sales with a goal to make at least 365 by year end. I've never tracked it before, so I think it will be interesting to see if I go under, over, or way over. 2021 will serve as my baseline moving forward (and I may adjust after I see how the year is progressing).

That's me. I'm looking forward to see who you all are!

[OrrtoBourque]

Name: Nick
Profession: Full time Dad
Forums handle: OrrtoBourque
Year first collected: 1996
Active: I got serious into collecting from 2009-2014 and came back into the hobby in 2020.
Favorite team: Boston Bruins
Got started: My dad bought my neighbors collections for me and I was instantly hooked.
My passion: I have been all over the place, but lately the more I think might be starting a PC overhaul. I have a bucket list of cards I want to acquire and I will be focusing on acquiring those cards.
Goals for 2021: I became a full time Dad to help put my health first, which in turn has led to find out I have severe nerve damage from hernia surgery. Finally being able to know what is wrong has helped alleviate so many mental health issues. Now another battle begins that hopefully has a light at the end of the tunnel.
Collecting goals: One of my side projects I am going to start working on is finding a rookie card for the 2011 Boston Bruins team. #1 My major goals will be working on my bucket list. I will work on a post over the next few days to try and make sure I cover most of the cards. #2 slowly getting my kids into collecting. I know I have enjoyed collecting and want my kids to be able to find the same enjoyment as I have. Right now I have 3 kids wanting to collect Pokemon which is awesome and I am learning about playing that game with them and learning the collecting side of it too. #3 only stick to boxes that I love to open, Series 1 and 2 for retail, SPA, Ice and I like to try and do one high end box for hobby boxes.

[rayeates]

Great post, Jim! Thank you for getting this ball rolling.

Name: Randi
Profession: Retired-Navy Veteran
Forums handle: rayeates
Year I first collected: I think that it was 1985, when I was seven.
Years active: 1985-1996, 2010-present.
Favorite Team: Montreal Canadiens since I was four!
Got Started: There was a corner store that an older gentleman owned on my paper route, and he had boxes of wax from earlier years, including 1979-80! Yep... I hit a LOT of Gretzky RCs for mere pennies, but the LCS owner decided that giving a child $50 for about 20 rookie cards of the best player on the planet (at the time) was honest. It didn't sway me, but I never went back to that place. I sold everything in 1996, as I got a decent job and had no time or interest anymore.

The spark rekindled in 2010 when I was grocery shopping one day. There was a bin at the end of an aisle with packs of 2008-09 O-Pee-Chee for $0.99 each, and one of them was about twice as thick as the others. I grabbed all of them, as I knew that this was a great price, and the thick card happened to be a 2008-09 O-Pee-Chee Winter Classics Evegni Malkin SSP! I spent about $17 and hit an $80 card, with many other decent ones mixed in. Well... my rubber arm was twisted. Haha!
My Passion: Cooking! Oh.. you mean for cards? Well, it's gone again with all that I have going on, but I am collecting baseball cards (Pete Alonso, Jacob de Grom, other NY Mets) for my estranged son, in hopes of giving them to him when he comes back around. I still have my Jaroslav Halak PC, and some complete/nearly complete Upper Deck sets that I would like to cap off. Hopefully I can get things settled and get back into the scene more.
Goals for 2021: I would love to help this site return to the glory that it once was. All of you honoured me by advocating for me to be a Moderator, and I want to keep doing the best job that I can.
Unofficial Goal: Find the last few cards that I need for my 2015-16 to 2019-20 sets that I have started. Maybe find a way to get back into the hobby for myself, instead of vicariously for my boy.

Best wishes, Beckett Community!

Randi

[powelldu]

Great topic Fred
Happy New Year to all

Name: Duane
Profession: IT - Server Support/Azure Cloud Support
Forums handle: Powelldu
Year I first collected: Early 70's (Yes I'm old ) Is when I bought my first packs
Years active: 1975-1987, 90-93, 1996-current
Favorite Team: Edmonton Oilers
Got Started: Loved watching\playing hockey so naturally when I saw my first pack of cards in the local grocery store (small town) I had to have them so collected a lot of bottles and traded them in for packs. Unfortunately for me now when I was 7 and a few years later I liked to play with them and handled them lots (who knew).  Collected what I could until around high school, When I made the move to the city I found a couple card shops so that got me interested in collecting again but when I got married in 96 my wife saw what I had and said I should start collecting again, if only she knew the monster she would create.
My Passion: Love trading, searching the flea markets and card shows and shops, not for only cards but memorabilia and trinkets of the Oilers, my office is full Oiler stuff.
Goals for 2021: Keep enjoying the passion, try not to overspend keep with in my means.  Maybe start a website to show off the collection.  Continue growing my Oiler Card collection, currently at 17,200 cards.  It would be awesome to hit 20,00 by the end of the year but I don't know.  Hopefully card shows return.
Another goal is to try and post more, possibly even my breaks (no video LOL)
Adding a section:
Currently collecting:  Oilers, trying to finish off the few McDonald's insert sets I need, Black Diamond Sets 96 to 2014/15 early 70's OPC sets and a bunch of oddball insert sets that I started after realizing that all the people on this site don't have Oiler cards I need to trade.  All my wants are checked in the trade tool.
 
Looking forward to trading with everyone again in the new year and hopefully with a whole lot of new faces

[fred bear]

@OrrtoBourque - Here's a coincidence... I, too, have 3 kids who are all crazy for Pokemon cards. My daughter clearly has all the luck. She's hit 2 separate cards that sell on eBay for over $25 (and she pulled a Mike Trout jersey out of a retail blaster). I'm trying to get her to open all my boxes!

@rayeates - Ouch! on the Gretzky RCs... I have a few memories of stuff (none that bad) like that, but I did win one - in 1987 I hit a card show and traded a stack of 1987 Topps Kal Daniels FTC (these were like $2-3 at the time) for a 1953 Bowman Color Eddie Mathews (poor condition) and a 1978 Topps Eddie Murray RC (EX-MT condition). I still have the Murray! And I'm glad I don't still have those Kal Daniels.

@powelldu - My wife isn't nearly as supportive. I think if I can get rid of some of the 5000-ct boxes and free up some shelf space, maybe she'll get on board... I can't wait to see your website! It seems like you have a wonderful collection and can't wait to see some of it!

Thanks for sharing guys! Looking forward to see who else is lurking...

[dark crawler88]

Great Thread Jim,

I too would love to see more posts on these boards. This is where I go started into the online trading / buying. I remember times in recent years that when I looking at the Box Break section there would be 20 threads on page 1 and of the 20, 12 were mine. Kinda of got tired of seeing new posts so even I stop posting.

Here is about myself.

Name: Chris

Profession: Purchaser for a large manufacturing company

Forums handle: Dark Crawler88

Year I first collected: 1987-88

Years active: Started in the late 80's as a kid, got into in heavy in the 90's with Lindros cards, dropped off until but still collected until the 2010's then been going pretty strong since 2013-14 season

Favorite Team: Philadelphia Flyers / Toronto Maple Leafs

Got Started: Local corner store had O-Pee-Chee Hockey and Wrestling cards but then got into watch hockey more and more as a kid considering I never played hockey (cannot skate, LOL)

My Passion: Love the hunt for cards to complete sets and adding cards to my numerous collections.

Goals for 2021: Do not really have any goals, I do not hunt for what other members class their "White Whale". I more or less enjoy the days when I get home and I have mail and spending time with my brother busting wax and trying to trade for cards he needs.

Chris

[christophercox20]

I like threads like this.

Name: Chris
Profession: Casino Manager Las Vegas
Forums handle: christophercox20
Year I first collected: 1989
Years active: 1989-1995, 2010-current
Favorite Team: Vegas Golden Knights, Pittsburgh Penguins before that.
Got Started: Ken Griffey Jr. 89 Upper Deck all the older kids growing up had this card I wanted this card. I then got addicted. Around 1995 It just got too expensive for my parents so I just kinda gave up. Around 2005 I started to buy cards again. I didnt really get heavily back in it til 2010 I started a Sidney Crosby collection and also bought most of the cards I wanted when I was younger. I now have 30 Griffey 89 Upper Deck Cards a bunch of 86 Canseco cards. I decided to Build a young guns collection. I currently have all YGs from 2005/06-2019/20 I have half the YGs from Series 1 This Year. I also picked a player on the Knights Alex Tuch I currently have 374/578 most of the cards I dont are 1/1s.
My Passion: I just love sports mainly Hockey and Baseball and growing my collection to something that my son will appreciate one day.
Goals for 2021: Well I want to continue to build my collection. I would like to acquire more Alex Tuch Cards I need. I would like to get my YGs completed, but most of all and this is a stretch because he is 1 1/2 is to get my son to start being interested in cards and not just banging the cards together and bending them (Thank God nothing valuable lol).