football set builders don't exist, why?

[WJ#55]

For you football people...you can check my tradelist (the football is probably 100%) accurate.
I have about 23,000 cards from 1980 through 2005
and then probably 800 random cards from 2006-2023.

I'd prefer to trade them for my wants in baseball but I could trade them for random baseball or sell it

Thanks
Bill

PM coming your way.

 

[shig]

Not to get political but I was the BIGGEST NFL fan that existed and I collected Football cards. Collin Kapernick came along and people supported him and the NFL supported him and I immediately stopped collecting football and immediately stopped collecting football cardsand the NFL was a bunch of wusses. I was a HUGE football set collector. I haven't watched an NFL game since.

Bill

You did what you said you weren't gonna do.

 

[Yankeeswin]

I can't even unload vintage singles. Football and basketball are all about 3-4 players who are hot right now and no one else gets any interest.

 

[crankbait09]

as others have mentioned, it's all about the quarter backs. my question is why?
you occasionally have WR's, and RB's that'll spark some interest, but NOTHING like QB's
is it for the quick buck? pull the QB out of a pack, and turn around and sell it on ebay? I can't imagine everyone keeps them for PC's

so what does everyone do with all the "other players" that are pulled from a box? can't imagine they go in the recycle bin

 

[SymphonicMetal]

as others have mentioned, it's all about the quarter backs. my question is why?
you occasionally have WR's, and RB's that'll spark some interest, but NOTHING like QB's
is it for the quick buck? pull the QB out of a pack, and turn around and sell it on ebay? I can't imagine everyone keeps them for PC's

so what does everyone do with all the "other players" that are pulled from a box? can't imagine they go in the recycle bin

The rules of the game have slanted heavily towards the offense and in praticular to favor the QBs. I think the NFL became QB centric when Payton Manning hit the scene and the QB really began to control the game even more than the coaches. So all the hype from the media focuses almost exclusively on the QBs. And whatever gets hyped, be it in sports, music, movies etc, the herd will almost certainly follow.

Not so long ago running backs were as sought after in the hobby as QBs were. In the 90s the most sought after cards were Emmitt and Barry., I personally don't care if the vintage HOFer is a QB or any other position. I traded for RCs of Merlin Olsen and Bobby Mitchell recently and could not have been happier. QB, RB, WR DT.............if they are in the Hall or were a big star, it doesn't matter to me.

 

[horfin]

You did what you said you weren't gonna do.

True.

 

[horfin]

I feel, as pretty much a lifelong collector, the way the hobby changed is insane to me. Started in 1980 with baseball in the summer, and switching to football and hockey in fall. Never really saw much basketball but then again was only 7 at the time so, 1984 seemed to be the year things changed, thanks to a stellar crop of rookies on main and update sets. Then the progression to Inserts, and autos and Relics and increasingly "rare" hits. With plethora of companies in the 90s and ended options you really has to pair down what you collected. For me it's the limited funding of the hobby that hurts me. Would love to be able to go to a show, plop down at a table and comb through boxed to find those needs, but no one brings commons to a show anymore.

@Kirbyfan34

I used to only goto shows to buy boxes if I could find a good deal. My son who was 13 or 14 at the time convinced me to go through a "star" box. I was amazed at how many decent to valuable cards we have picked up for very little. It blows my mind actually. We have started going to local card shops and thumbing through their stuff. I am convinced that the occasional box is okay for the fun of it, but the true way to go for a set collector is buying at shows and shops. We use becket as a gauge when we get home to see how well we did.

2 weeks ago we went to a card show and spent $141 and got $500 becket book value
before that local card shop we spent $34 and got $106

I know beckett is not true values, as I said we use it as a guage and I spent $141 and was able to get MULTIPLE case hits about 10-12 autographs and tons of numbered/colored cards.
I was able to cross off about 30 cards off the wantlist that would taker more than a year to trade for and spend probably $20 to $40 in postage in trades.

I know the boxes are fun and all and I prefer it, but I am CONVINCED that buying singles is the way to go. I just have to get my fix every-so-often.

If what everyone is saying is true about football (people only care about 4-5 players) you could knock out a ton of sets and pick up some nice PC items for very little $.

Thanks!
Bill