Player collectors cornering the market?

[Yanks21]

Are there any player collectors out there who think they have the largest, better, unique, most expensive, ect. Player collection. I am just curious. With the hobby not as popular as it once was I have notice my competition is very low lately when a must win pops up. After buying out my second largest rival a few years back and not seeing much activity by my largest rival I feel like I am added the must wins to my collection much easier. With no one really going after recent stuff it makes me wonder how my player collection would stand up to any others out there? Do you feel like you have the market cornered with your player or collection?

 

[jaderock]

Buying out former competition was/is the best way to go. As you mentioned, it's been much easier to win on some cards, but others times I still lose due to the occasional unexpected spike.

 

[Dilferules]

I think Jaderock has the best collection, heh.

But as big as my Trent Dilfer collection is, I know one person has a better collection but is not very organized, one may have a better collection but is also not organized at all (which is frustrating because I am trying to buy out the cards I need from them and am not willing/able to buy the entire collection for what they think it's worth), and one with a collection pretty equal to mine.

I think there are a lot of player collectors out there that may have a lot of money and buy tons of the top cards, but don't spend nearly as much time on the hobby and aren't as educated as a lot of people on the various card collecting websites, so they aren't aware of/don't bother tracking down a lot of the variations, regional issues, and low-end stuff. Then it's a matter of opinion as to whose collection is "better", the guy with 500 high-end autographed and low-numbered cards or the guy with 2,500 different cards that only includes a small selection of high-dollar stuff.

Richard

 

[Roger G.]

His Brunell collection is amazing! I remember seeing back on beckett in 06-07

 

[David K.]

No market cornered here! Tried it in the 2003 timeless treasures gold....but gave up trying to corner the market ..and just worked on getting the missing cards in my quest to finish the set. Best regards, David

 

[mrmopar]

There are probably as many, if not more, theme collectors who don't brag, advertise, show-off or whatever else you might call internet exposure. They just collect and don't spend time talking about it. They "quietly" (other than than the frustrated shouts of their losing rivals) buy up any and all items they need/want, adding to an ever growing collection, the magnitude and expanse of which may amaze even the most cynical.

my collecting has always seemed to have some sort of sign wave pattern. i might go a while, winning most (ebay primarily) of what I want, then a rival or two show up and start winning items i want. Occasionally there are surprise winners, those who win something and then I never see them again. those are usually those high end, special items like bat barrels, cut signatures, ridiculously large or specialized patch cards, jersey letters, etc. Some of those prices have shocked me silly.

I see to lose a little more interest each time I lose something major or when a new product like Panini or similar unlicensed junk hits and it's loaded with ugly cards that I feel I must win to remain as complete as possible. Usually those ugly, non-licensed issues are loaded with low print run cards to chase. Why else would anyone buy them otherwise, right?

In the end, I have not actually run up against anyone who I know for sure rivals my specific player collection for completeness. I base this on my hit percentage in the last 10+ years on ebay of not only regular, insert, parallel and oddball car (including 1/1s), but with unique non-card items that I have seldom seen and usually won when I wanted to. I am most proud of that aspect of the collection now that card makers have driven every possible card type into the ground. Those unique oddballs really make a collection shine above the average.

I have befriended a couple formal rivals, both of who have pretty much refocused their collecting so as not to noticeably impact me, one completely disappeared as far as i can tell, a few continue to dwell and cause me some heartburn here and there and 1 has proven to be a consistent thorn in my side on and off for the last 2-4 years or more. i wish that one would disappear...

In the end, i have frequently questioned myself as to what I am doing and what i plan to do with all of my accumulations. My boys are 8 and 10 now and neither has really taken a real interest in baseball or trading cards specifically. I suspect that my collection will either be a burden (it could be a bounty if they handled it properly) on my family to deal with if i go unexpectedly or I will someday soon (soon could be 5-10+ years or more though) begin to dismantle it over time.

 

[Droubaysports]

I've thought about taking apart my Curtis Martin collection as it just turned into too much stuff to try to pick up. I was at one point at 65% of everything made including 1/1s including multiple copies of low #'d cards, multiple variations of the same GU card etc. I have not really picked up much in Martin in the last few years as I have focused primarily in other areas. This simple fact alone means I'll probably cut up the collection at some point, just keeping the autos and a few cards (the 95 sp silver foil for example I'll keep) but at some point the 100+ 95 SP cards will go

 

[theplasticman]

I'm not as active as I used to be but my player collections are all very advanced. Will Clark, Eddie Murray, Darin Erstad and Bucky Jacobsen. I also have about 10-15 game jerseys, a few dozen bats and some other stuff from my guys. Hopefully this summer I'll have time to photograph and post everything on my collection website.

 

[cjay101]

I like to think of myself as a Rice Supercollector, but on the grand scale I am a speck of dust to many (I know of at least 3 with more than me, one has spend at least 100K just on Rice alone).

I don't ebay anymore....honestly never really did for Rice. I know it is impossible to be a completist with such an elite and popular player.

All that aside, I add a few hundred cards a year, although that number gets tougher the more I go into it. My goal last year was 30%, which I crossed. I think a 'peak' goal for me would be around 50% in the long run. To be honest, it's strictly a financial issue. When the average run of the mill Rice auto ends around 100, it doesn't take long to surmise that you will not see very many at all sitting in the collection. I have about 15 on-card.

 

[hociman]

Its interesting how time plays out on card collecting, what to collect, priority by sport, player, team , etc. I am over 60 now and it all started when my son turned five and came home one day with a few baseball cards. It was 1985. What once was a twice a week jaunt to each card store, there was one maybe two in every surrounding town, we were puchasing baseball and hockey (Hartford Whalers) cards galore. Boy did I miss the fortune bin. If I dumped as much money into basketball that year, Mr Jordan would have made me a rich guy.
So my reached 14 and no longer became interested leaving good old dad maintaining his cards shows, doing cards shows making friends doing things the old fashion way. Then internet came along, product became over produced, high end stuff hit the market and then GU and autos hit the street. I remember going to the cards shows to get a few commons to fill up those Topps, Donruss and Fleer sets back then.
Now I no longer collect hockey and football, but still have a huge inventory which I sell from time to time. As the older I get I find my likings to go back to the vintage stuff that I had and continue to trade for when I was a kid, 50's 60's and 70's. I now focus on Jeter, Mantle and Nolan Ryan cards to keep me busy. It is what keeps me going I truly beleive, contrary to what my wife and son say, but the heck with them, hopefully will always have the grand kids that may jump in. Jim