Ah ... my plight exactly ...

I have collected cards since 1973. With a wax box as a Christmas gift the
need was born ... I NEED CARDBOARD

Collecting cans through Little League to get pack money. Buying every pack
they had everytime I had a game. Run home open the packs and finish Yankees
team sets. Also, I kept the stars I really liked (Randolph, Schmidt, Rose,
J. Morgan, yes, even Yaz). (1981's for reference). I liked to look at the
cards, read the facts and keep them hidden from my little sister. I learned
a lot about the things that make a star player a star and not a common.

Now, I am a great judge of Rookie talent and can smell a slump a mile away.
That is why I most love my cards. It connects me to the sports I love. I
talk baseball, basketball, football & hockey with my sons and cards can be a
useful tool in connecting.

My 14 yr old says ...
I Like Jim Thome he has 400+ HR's ...

I show him a 2002 Tony Gwynn & say ...
I like him, he has 434 career strikeouts ...

We discuss the art of hitting. Who can, who can't, how the batting order
affects a hitters ability to hit .300 or .400.

So I guess today, I collect the cards of Yanks I like, stars that will be
the vintage heroes of yesterday in 30 years. Me & my sons both talk value
of cards. We also talk about the future potential of our collection. They
appreciate the stats recorded on their cards and the players who set those
stats. We sell at card shows and other (non-ebay) outlets. We also buy a
lot of cards. Basically, we are forming a collection that shows our
favorites and important sports heroes of this and last century, but we are
buying at best prices. Those best prices are great these days. We have a
"PERMANENT COLLECTION" ... goes in, never to be sold. We sell/trade the
other cards to supplement our buying habits. With boxes at the prices they
are at today, you have to compensate if you wish to maintain a collection.

With buying, selling & trading, I always act as a collector. I don't offer
10% to buy just because I am set up at a show. I offer a fair amount and
expect a fair amount in return. Not because I want to get rich. Because if
I only got a $20 jersey from a $40 box, I don't really get much choice.
This principle expands my networking base and allows me to provide my
customers and friends with the best available cards. It also makes my
permanent collection pretty impressive.

Now, in closing I would like to say your view of the hobby isn't because of
the cards or market conditions ... it sounds more like you are upset that
America's Pastime is no longer baseball but making money ... Basic principle
of Capitalism, it is only worth what someone is willing to pay at that time
& get the most for what you got when you can. Cards were always like that to
an lesser extent. The dealer side was shaded from view to the average
collector. With E-Bay, everyone is a dealer. Make the quick buck and move
on to the next hot thing. How is a brand new Mark Prior 1/1 worth more than
a Steve Carlton RC ? Scarcity? Simple ... DEMAND! If someone would give you
$5,000 for one of your cards you would have no choice but to take it. As
would I or anyone.

The right grading company is a good thing for the hobby. Preservation of
top quality vintage cards is of great importance to this hobby ... but that
is a different topic for a different time n place ...

Just a couple pennies from me ...

Patrick
www.dacollector.net



"Bill H." wrote in message
oups.com...
When I was only 8 years old, I got my first pack of Donruss baseball
cards as an Easter present. This began what was to be a long obsession
with baseball cards.

Being only a kid, I didn't know much at all about collecting cards, or
even how to take care of them. I kept my first bundle of cards secured
with a rubber band and would tote them around in my pocket, or keep
them in a little box on my dresser. The idea of cards having a "value"
was beyond my comprehension. They were mine and I loved them all.

As my collection grew, I started keeping the cards in plastic sleeves
and binders. This was mainly done out of necessity rather than any
idea of protecing the cards. It was easier to look at the cards this
way, for one, and besides - I was running out of rubber bands.

When I was maybe 10 or so, I would ride my bike downtown and look at
the cards at the local card shop. This was probably when it dawned on
me that my cards might actually be "worth something". Using my
allowance, I would spend money on a card here or there, usually trying
to get an "old card" if I could. One summer I bought an entire box of
1990 Donruss wax packs, and opened them all in a flurry, hoping to find
some gems. Sadly, I didn't.

Then came the Beckett magazines, and the endless looking up and
dreaming of the value of my collection. Some of my cards were worth
something, but mostly all of them were commons. On top of that, few of
them were really in "mint" condition, or anything approaching mint.

And so, realizing my collection was worth very little, my interest
waned. I lost touch with the fun of collecting.

Now, with the Internet, everyone seems to be concerned with their cards
having a value. People even go to the trouble of getting their cards
"graded" to get the most money for them that they can. After getting
into the hobby somewhat last year (I'm 25 now), the whole hobby looks
to be just a big business. Greedy people trying to get the most money
they can for their collection, and being upset when their collection
isn't worth the money they had hoped it would. I'm as gulity of this
as anyone.

So I'm trying to find out what it was about the cards that made me
enjoy them in the first place. I'm trying to reunite myself with the
joy of collecting a card, whether it's worthy anything or not. I just
don't know if that's possible in a hobby where the allmighty dollar has
become so important.