Do you ever feel this way about card collecting?

[Hawaiian BamBam]

Do you ever feel this way about card collecting? That you just want to be totally done with card collecting and just walk away but you have sooooooo many darn cards you will just be left with stacks and stacks and boxes and boxes and sets and sets of cards! how do you do this? how do you downsize? ive already donated over 20,000 cards so ive explored that route. selling on ebay youll get penny on the dollar, selling on COMC you have to pay 20 cents per card and storage fees, craiglist didnt work for me. i threw about 40,000 commons in the trash(a bunch of 1990s junk year crap) i have so many cards, left over. EBAY i thought would work, but selling on ebay is like pulling my eyeballs out!(People seem to want to pay a penny and want gem mint 10 cards!) i just want to get rid of all my cards (no im not going to send them to you for FREE!) and focus only on my PCs that I am working on. any suggestions or have you ever felt that way about card collecting?

 

[cmcjr99]

can honestly say i've never felt that way....

while i do NEED to downsize some , i'm rather patient....i put in many hours sorting , organizing , and grouping low end items into lots that i can slowly sell off or trade up.....yes , it's a slow (and often tedious/monotonous task) , but every time i turn some of my unwanted items into something i do want or need then i feel a nice little rush....

my personal opinion is that if you really want to narrow your collecting focus then first take a big step back and decide on a strategy for getting SOMETHING out of all the unwanted stuff....it may mean assembling player lots , team lots , and/or starter sets and patiently looking for ways to sell or trade them....it may mean scouring the forums here or other card trading sites looking through thousands of posts in search of a small handful of posts that are seeking something you have on hand....in short , it's going to be almost like a second job....of course (IMO) , while it IS quite a bit of work , it is far more enjoyable than "real" work....

i have sold over a million cards to one other person here in my area (well , before she had to move away to take care of a sick relative) and many were low end early 90's "junk"....truth be told , now that i'm getting more of my stuff organized i'm regretting dumping that material since i know i am now WWWWAAAAYYYYY short on my master sets from that era (taking into account the 3-4 variations for almost all donruss material from 87-92 along with all the topps and fleer variations that most collector's don't even know about....)

 

[sinocc]

try donating to some charitable thrift store! they will usually give you a receipt which is still tax deductible. i did it and used the write-offs on my taxes a few years ago and felt great donating stuff i was getting tired of moving around and trying to get something useful out of, but never could. just an idea!

good luck

 

[r5-grnd-pndr]

I know exactly how you feel. 1/2 half the year I'm floating around the country for work and the other half I trying to make up for lost time with my new kiddo. I'm almost to the point of just throwing everything that books under $1 in a box to donate.....stll lost though and I change my mind every week it seems.

 

[mrmopar]

Collecting cards began as a hobby for many and those that were polluted by the money aspect will often feel this way. As people transitioned from buying for fun to buying for the expectation of future financial gain and profit would soon realize that most missed the boat. Cards dropped in value almost as quickly as they were purchased.

Although I have spent a lot of money, I am not worried about what I "get back". I enjoy collecting cards and in the end, that is what matters. If my kids don't take an interest at some point, then I will likely start to sell stuff off just so that they don't have to deal with it when I am gone and that the better stuff finds good homes and that there would be some financial benefit to what I have done for most of my life. The rest can be donated.

 

[rangersfan1982]

I just sorted ALL my baseball and football cards by teams and am trying to sell everything (except Dallas teams) to raise extra money...not really "getting out of the hobby", but getting rid of a ton of cards. Having a hard time finding people to buy team lots though.

 

[mj23bullsfan]

Collecting cards began as a hobby for many and those that were polluted by the money aspect will often feel this way. As people transitioned from buying for fun to buying for the expectation of future financial gain and profit would soon realize that most missed the boat. Cards dropped in value almost as quickly as they were purchased.

Although I have spent a lot of money, I am not worried about what I "get back". I enjoy collecting cards and in the end, that is what matters. If my kids don't take an interest at some point, then I will likely start to sell stuff off just so that they don't have to deal with it when I am gone and that the better stuff finds good homes and that there would be some financial benefit to what I have done for most of my life. The rest can be donated.

DITTO!

i feel the same way curtis. i need to start donating. dish out more for halloween. in the long run tho, i collect because i'm a fan of the guys i collect. once i'm done, and my grandson is old enough to understand, hopefully he'll want to continue on , as i plan on giving my personal collections to him once my time is near, lol.

i really don't look for any kind of profit, just enough to make trades for my guys. even tho i do sell/try to sell, i'ts all about adding to my personal collections.

paul

 

[Dilferules]

I have been collecting for 24 years and I can honestly say I've never felt that way. Like Curtis I've never bought anything for an investment so the only time I feel disgusted is if I spend too much on a box and don't get anything good . I have fun building a collection I care about, and even though I have thousands and thousands of extra cards that don't fit in my collection, I really like cards so I don't mind!
Richard

 

[dlackey]

I have never felt that way either until recently and i think that is more about downsizing and just concentrating on my regular Topps sets and the players i collect. Grandbaby is getting older and takes more time away from collecting for me but it is all worth it and i still have an 8 year old at home and she keeps me pretty busy as well, even got her into collecting a little bit.

Dennis

 

[Hawaiian BamBam]

Dont get me wrong guys, i LOVE collecting (i have been collecting almost 40 years!) i think what i was trying to say was, i want to ONLY focus on my PC collections and I need room for them, BUT, i have thousands and thousands and thousands of cards (mostly junk wax) taking up space. i want to get rid of it, so i have more room for my PC, but its hard when i look at boxes and boxes of cards and dont know what to do with it all(ive already threw out a lot, donated a crap load of cards already and still have tons of boxes staring at me! ill never bee 100% done with card collecting, just want to get rid of 99% of the cards i currently have and get more focused on what i really want to collect.

 

[Chavezforprez]

If you are near any Military Bases, try contacting their Child Care office. I'm sure they could find ways to donate them to the Military Children. Also, contact the local Big Brothers/Sisters chapter in your area. They hold various yard sales throughout the spring and summer and they are always looking for donations to help their cause. Since they are maining over produced cards, suggest that they not try to sell them for an outrages price, because they might think 15+ year old cards are worth a lot based on them being old.

Just some suggestions to help thin out your collection a little.

Billy

 

[mm1sub]

There are a couple of suggestions I can give you as to how to maybe get rid of that stuff. One way would be to set up at a local flea market and just sell them for a nickel each. You might get rid of some. A lot of us are in the same boat as you. I have a storage locker that has around 15 3200 count boxes full of those junk years. They are pretty much impossible to get rid of. Another idea is to see if there are any auctions in your area. My mom goes to a few in Ohio and she gets cards there. I get lucky every once in a while but it is usually just a bunch of junk that I do ot need but do not have the heart to tell her that. One auction out there did have people bidding around 30.00 for 1989 Topps sets. It took everything I had not to laugh my head off at the people bidding on that stuff. If you do find an auction that will let you give stuff on consignment then I would suggest that you put the cards in 800 count boxes and label them as to what they are. they seem to bring higher prices then.

Anyway good luck and let us know how things turn out.

 

[David K.]

Yes.....So I normally help others finish their sets with the bases that I get from opening a hobby box....Therefore, less base cards on laying around! Best regards, David

 

[basebal1fan]

I'm trying to consolidate my collection right now. I figure that as much as I'd like more than a few bucks for some decent player jerseys and autos, the truth is that they're worth what someone is willing to pay. If I sell them and reinvest the money, the buyer's market works itself out. I'm getting less than I feel the cards are worth when I sell, but I also get some good deals on ebay when I use that money to buy. So, it evens out for me. I figure that in 15 years when I'm showing the next generation my cards, an auto of a HOFer will be worth more and definitely hold its value more than a copious amount of scrub autos. For me, it's quality over quantity.

 

[oldmarine0311]

i know eactly how you feel. my storage room is at its limits and i still have cards to buy. i have been thinking of finishing up my set builds and dumping off all the donruss and fleer and even UD junk i have an just focus on Topps sets. i like the idea of building year junk sets (lots) for auctions that need stuff to sell. i may just do that just to get loose of the junk. sure i could be giving out some low money cards but im at the point where i just dont care i want the stuff out of my way so i can build the sets i want to build. so i hear ya, thing is though once i do something with it i will say oh BLEEEEEPPPPP i needed that card from that say for this other project lol.... it never fails does it?

dave

 

[mj23bullsfan]

ask tim carroll if he needs any of the mass produced cards. i'm sure he could get some use out of them.

paul

 

[mrmopar]

There is the money aspect to some extent and the reason I stopped buying packs. I would get a box of junk (nothing I really wanted) and that money could have been better spent on cards I wanted. The gambling aspect had sucked me in and once I kicked it, I enjoy cards that much more.

I've never bought anything for an investment so the only time I feel disgusted is if I spend too much on a box and don't get anything good .