5 Questions for collectors Part 2

I think one of my favorite parts of collecting cards is the community that exists between collectors. I enjoy reading other collector's blogs. Finding out what they collect, finds that were made at shows or hearing about card shops and trades that were made. I try really hard to comment on the blogs that I read. I don't always because sometimes, I don't have anything to say, but I do try to say something on most of them. 

I do like learning more about fellow collectors. What they collect, how they collect, where they find their cards, etc... Ever since I found out Johnny's Trading Spot is a Braves collector, Night Owl, the king of the Dodgers collector and Nacho Grande the Barry Larkin guy, just to name a few, when I run across something maybe I pick it up, or wonder if they already have it. Most of the time, I figure they already have it. I do know that if I pull a card and don't need it, but it fits their collection, I have no problem sending it their way.

All of that to say, I like learning about people and their collections. I learned quite a bit in my first 5 questions post. (If you missed that one, check it out and answer the questions!) To continue that, here's round two of 5 questions for collectors. 

 Question 1: How did you get started collecting cards?

I got started collecting back in 1980. The summer of 1980 I started working at a card shop owned by a family friend and Dr. James Beckett. I had some cards before I started working there, but definitely wouldn't consider myself a collector, just a baseball fan. Working at the card shop really piqued my interest in cards. I really got into collecting in 1981. In 1981 the hot card was the '80 rookie Rickey Henderson and there were a lot of collectors still chasing the '79 Ozzie Smith. 

     

The thing that drew me into collecting though was the release of the new Fleer cards. The Fleer error cards were a big thing at the time. Especially, the "C" Nettles card. I believe chasing the "C" Nettles card is what really got me into card collecting. 

    

From there it just took off. I will say, I used to think I had a ton of cards. After seeing some of the collections of others, I'm just small potatoes. Being small potatoes fits me just fine, because I can't even find enough time to do all that I want to do with my cards. 

Question 2: How do you store and display your cards?

My card collecting space is extremely limited. I have a storage cabinet in the garage that holds all of my non-Topps cards. I have two glass door cabinets that hold the majority of my cards. I have a couple of shelves to display some of my favorites. I do have some plans to build some wall displays for my cards. 

My complete sets are in binders...all but those that I haven't moved to binders. My subset collection gets put in a subset binder when they're complete.

    

I've got two different types player collections. First, are my main players that I collect. It's dominated by Rangers (of course!), but I've got some other guys I collect too. The main players that I collect are Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Evan Carter, Wyatt Langford, Jacob deGrom, Josh Smith, Bobby Witt Jr., Shohei Ohtani, Mike Trout, Clayton Kershaw, Adrian Beltre and Pudge Rodriguez. I've got a pretty good start on Jack Leiter and several Nathan Eovaldi who might become a main collection too. Most of these in this collection are in top loaders. Carter, Seager, Semien, Langford, Smith and Witt Jr. are in binders. 

     

My other player collection is my Topps playing days cards. These are just some of my all-time favorites and their Topps base cards. These cards are also in binders. 

Question 3: How much do you consider condition/centering when adding a card to your collection?

This is a tough question to answer. The best way for me to answer this is on a card by card basis. The older the card the more leeway I give on condition and centering. I still want to see some border on all sides of the card and I don't want the back of the card to be so off-centered that you can't read it. I think the biggest thing I struggle with is paper loss. I'm better at accepting it if it's on the back of the card, but not interested at all if it's on the front. Just not a fan of paper loss. 

Question 4: What is your biggest regret when it comes to card collecting?

I have two regrets when it comes to my collection. First, was missing out on a '57 Roberto Clemente. I saw one that I liked at card show that I said I'd come back for and when I did, it was gone. 

The second one and probably the biggest is taking all of those years off between collecting. Basically, I took off card collecting from 1998 to 2017. It's been fun, but a little difficult trying to fill in the holes. I still have a long ways to go, but I'm enjoying it. I'm about to start looking for some starter sets for some of those missing years. So, get ready guys I'm about to come calling.

Question 5: When you are thinking about your cards, are you thinking about the ones you have or the ones you are chasing?

This is a really interesting question. I think I spend more time thinking about the chase than I do what I've already got. I'm not sure why. Is it that I enjoy the chase more than the card itself? I really like the cards, so I don't think it's just the chase. That being said, I really don't spend much time looking at my cards that I have either. Maybe asking myself this question will remind me to appreciate what I have already found and spend some time looking thru my collection. 

That's it for the 5 questions. Please take a moment and answer the questions! Let's keep growing the community of card collectors!

Peace,

Michael

Isaiah 40:31