I finally did it! I’m out of the hobby!

[Dashcol]

I finally made the decision to sell the entire collection to the LCS.

It feels great to be done with it. I am keeping a couple cards that I just couldn’t get rid of, but they are being locked away so I never see them.

When the hobby exploded, I lost the love of the hobby and it was a burden to do anything.

I decided to pull the plug because:

1) Boxes are unobtainable now at a good price
2) retail is $40/box now
3) shipping prices make low end collecting not feasible
4) Keeping up with recent sales on all cards is too much
5) No one seems to actually collect anymore, every trade needs to be in their favor to even make a trade
6) been ripped off through the mail too many times
7) I am not on social media so that makes it even harder to find any cards
8) all the LCS had to close because of fanatics, and my closest one is now over an hour away which means I have no one to trade with anymore.

The biggest of all, it is just not fun anymore! It is all about the biggest card and not the hobby. I do not care about the super pink diamond ultrafractor refractor or whatever the new hype is.

When a 2026 Ohtani card sells for seven figures, I realize this hobby is not for me anymore.

I wish everyone the best, my time here has been fun, and I met a lot of good people here. Maybe some day after I retire I will long for the days of collecting and will be back in the hobby. Until then, I would rather spend my time and money on being at games and witnessing life instead of spending time and money on cardboard that depicts the events I missed.

Good luck everyone! I may pop on periodically just to have some discussions, but no more trading or buying for me. (I may sell the couple cards I kept at some point, but for now they are iconic to me and will be staying).

 

[metsman1986]

Good luck to you........

 

[katester44]

Good luck! I don't necessarily want to get out of the hobby, just slim my collection down to only PC players and sets.

 

[Sportnut08]

What cards did you end up holding on to?

 

[Chavezforprez]

What cards did you end up holding on to?

Curious also.

 

[pmknox]

Sold everything once and got back in 2024. Going to have to quit again soon I think. Gotta break the habit

 

[anglinomics]

I am sorry to see you go. I sold or gave away my entire collection once. I regret getting rid of the 5,000 cards I had from the 1960's. I started back up again and am now on hold, but keeping my new collection. I hope there is a time when I collect again, because it is fun, but expensive. I wish you the best.

Dave

 

[desertdogg]

Good Luck Buddy.

 

[hociman]

Thanks for of our trades we did. I'm getting close to realizing time is not on my side anymore. Investing or speculating has passed me by. I to soon will be liquidating. Jim

 

[Shortbus12]

I get it. People care more about the value of the cards and not the fun of it. I've set out to collect a complete set of Topps from 1952 to today. I got sidetracked in 2010 and 2011 with all the subsets, and so I started collecting them. I do it for the love of the hobby. I agree not as many people seem to be collecting anymore, but maybe that'll help me score some good cards one day. When I do a trade, I'm trading for numbers. I don't care who the player is or how much its worth. I know that doesn't help me as most people care about BV. I know I won't get all the cards I need, but all I can do it try. Sorry to see you go. I know my wife wishes I would get out of the hobby, but my cards are going to my son when I die.

Paul

 

[TC84]

I've contemplated getting out for exactly the same reasons... for some it's become a business instead of a hobby. I'll just keep snailin' along and get what I can, when I can... my perspective has definitely changed in the past 5 years tho!

 

[Beachbum]

Agree with many of your points, as a set collector it is very difficult to find people to trade commons on just about anything...
....and the CHERRY pickers can drive anyone crazy. Good luck to you!!

 

[Card_junkie8]

All good points, today’s generation makes it all about gambling and chasing the new hype man cooper Flagg, Wemby, etc etc. I guess on a positive note the high box prices make the lower end stuff increase as well but totally see the frustration in true collecting when wax ,hobby and retail is unattainable to rip, breaking only option which is expensive as well.

 

[mechjo16]

I totally agree with all your reasoning. All are the same reasoning I took a step back.

All the best!

Mech

 

[doniceage]

On the following points.

1) Boxes are unobtainable now at a good price.
Very true; that's why retail is for most collectors. I think many boxes are still out there cheaply if you like the junk wax stuff, though some folks cannot enjoy that era for whatever reason. Also, buying older, newer boxes from a few years ago in retail can be had so cheaply. I mean, if you can buy a box with 3 autos that could possibly land you an Ohtani auto, the hobby still has cheap boxes in my opinion.

2) Retail is $40/box now (nothing wrong with retail for folks who just like to collect). You can get many boxes cheaper if you're not chasing the new releases. So many times I've seen older boxes that aren't hot sell for much less after a few years, especially if the rookie class didn't pan out.

3) Shipping prices make low-end collecting not feasible. Why I try to buy in lots and check out sellers who ship cheaply. They are out there if you look. So, many folks on the boards will ship at cost if you're buying a bulk of low-end.

4) Keeping up with recent sales on all cards is too much. I do not know why a collector would keep up with recent sales. I never worry about sales. Only need to keep up with sales imo if your trading for you pc needs or sets your chasing.

5) No one seems to actually collect anymore; every trade needs to be in their favor to even make a trade. I find this so untrue, especially on message boards. I will gladly trade in someone's favor if they are taking bulk set stuff off my hands. There are a lot of folks who are true collectors, but in the end it has to make financial sense to close deals.

6) been ripped off through the mail too many times. Where you ripped off here or ripped off elsewhere. I cannot even recall the last time I was ripped off by a collector on any of the message boards. Just try to deal with folks, or I know which is one reason I like the message boards. Now, if you're trading on Facebook, I can bet that's where a ton of the rips-offs happen or whatnot, etc. Old-school message boards never get the love they deserve for how safe they truly are.

7) I am not on social media so that makes it even harder to find any cards. I only do Facebook and only get my cards from shows, eBay, and the old message boards, and have no trouble getting anything one heart desires. Of course, I usually stay under $100 and bid on mostly $1 or $2 stuff.

8) All the LCS had to close because of fanatics, and my closest one is now over an hour away, which means I have no one to trade with anymore. I can see this happening for larger stores in the future, but for small stores in remote areas where rent is cheap, the rise of retail has made it easy for any mom or pop to open a shop regardless of Fanatics. Retail has opened a whole new way for small stores to compete, and if they sell enough boxes, they can always buy the leftovers cheap and put them in bargain bins. I've seen more stores open like this than during the 80s and 90s influx of card stores. I think they will last as long as folks are smart and bring in Pokémon and TCG stuff to help pay the bills.

A question: if you sold to an LCS, how far did you have to drive? I never use the term LCS unless they are like 10 to 20 minutes from the house. Just seems strange that you sold to an LCS, but you mention that all the LCS have closed near you in your post 8. Just kind of threw me for a loop.

Hope you enjoy your time away from the hobby; you'll definitely save some money for other pursuits.

Don

 

[Dashcol]

I will respond to everyone when I get more time. This is the first time I have had to even post. I stay logged in, but never have time to look.

For some simple answers, I will say this:

1) my closest shop is over an hour away, so maybe not a LCS, but the closest one.

2) I will post what cards I kept next time I can get to the safe and pull them out. Nothing huge, but memorable to me.

3) retail may be cheap for some, but locally all I have is the sets that do not sell at $40/box left. Not even flagship available.

4) as far as being ripped off, never from this site. Usually it’s other places that want full value for base cards for high value cards. I’m sorry, I am not trading a card with a $100 SV for 100 cards that book for $1 each. That just does t make sense.

To each their own though, if others have found a way to keep their collections going, I am happy for them!

 

[metsman1986]

I don’t think I could pick one or two……As a life long set builder, that would be hard…..Favorite set would be 1972, the first one put together……Still have the original five cards I pulled; they were left in the sandbox overnight and swelled to twice their size because of rain…….

 

[SymphonicMetal]

I don’t think I could pick one or two……As a life long set builder, that would be hard…..Favorite set would be 1972, the first one put together……Still have the original five cards I pulled; they were left in the sandbox overnight and swelled to twice their size because of rain…….

If those 5 cards were high numbers I would have brought them inside and left you in the sandbox overnight. But that is because I have my prioites in order, LMAO!!!

 

[metsman1986]

If those 5 cards were high numbers I would have brought them inside and left you in the sandbox overnight. But that is because I have my prioites in order, LMAO!!!

They were 1st series cards.........I never did that again because those cards jacked up my stack!

 

[Dashcol]

What cards did you end up holding on to?

Curious also.

For those that were curious, these are the five cards I kept and why:

1) 1989 UpperDeck #1 Ken Griffey Jr RC PSA 8.5
The first card of the premier set that created high end cards. Plus as a kid of the 80s and 90s, Griffey was it. Everyone thinks Ohtani is the first MLB icon that inspired a generation, but it was Griffey. This was kept because it reminds me of a time that I was imaginative and believed anything was possible.

2) 1996 ex-2000 Kobe Bryant RC
Again, an icon of the era. He was the only one who could compete with Jordan in popularity was team Kobe all the way, and as a kid, this set was unobtainable for me. Beautiful card, and a great RC of my favorite BB player.

3) 1968 Topps Johnny Bench RC SGC 3.5
As a kid my best friend played catcher, and was a big Benito Santiago fan. This made me research and learn of all the great catchers. I could never afford to play baseball, but instead learned what I could. Bench, IMO, is the best backstop to ever play so keeping a RC of his keeps me tied to my childhood and that friend I lost track of.

4) 2005 Topps Justin Verlander RC SGC 10
The last great pitcher to be able to pitch high amounts of innings and get Ks routinely. He was the last of the generation of pitchers to consider pitching late into innings was good. He was not a guy to only pitch 2 high quality innings and then go to the bullpen.

5) 2018 Heritage Shohei Ohtani RC PSA 10
The first successful two way player since Ruth. Only time will tell if he is better or not. I just would rather keep one RC to remember what he was. Being graded just helps set it apart from all the raw copies out there. He reminds me of the great pitchers of the 90s that I watched, specifically the Glavine, Smoltz, Maddux trio.