Player Supercollector Questions about Leaf

[QuinEarlyDoucet]

/61 ??

Originally Posted by PuddleMonkey

SSD Checklist Auto

[PuddleMonkey]

Originally Posted by QuinEarlyDoucet

/61 ??

No the /250 which should be available everywhere but somehow isn't.

[QuinEarlyDoucet]

This one ?

Originally Posted by PuddleMonkey

No the /250 which should be available everywhere but somehow isn't.

[cfern023]

I need to find the line too. I only collect cards of Mike Piazza as a Marlin. The sheer volume of parallels and "missing" cards from runs is exhausting.

Some 1/1's I can understand not finding. But a 2024 American Beauty Back from 206 is maddening.

Now, select has their mitts on my wallet with 26 parallels of him. I think I'm done with unlicenced after select.

Leaf got me a few times, but it was a small run - the Whatnot boxes they made. I got the Green and Gold 1/1 Prizm. Never saw the tie dye until after it sold on PWCC. I'd have all 3 if it wasnt for that.

Missing the 1/1 flawless from 2023, 1/1 cobb, 1/1 donruss DK and 3 plates, and some leaf GU parallels.

But not being able to complete sets even without the 1/1's has killed the joy.

I might stick with only Licensed cards going forward and get cheap parallels if I feel like it.

[dwillard]

As a Murphy collector Ive noticed what seems like hundreds of Leaf 1/1’s the last year or two. But I find most of the cards unappealing in design. I have 2 parallels of one design that I liked but that’s all. I much prefer panini designs as unlicensed cards go.

[PuddleMonkey]

Originally Posted by QuinEarlyDoucet

This one ?

Don't toy with my emotions, boy.

[QuinEarlyDoucet]

I didn't have this one being so hard to find on my Tim Brown Auto Bingo Card this weekend.

Originally Posted by PuddleMonkey

Don't toy with my emotions, boy.

[nevermore]

Supercollecting has changed. It is necessary to carve out a niche like others have said above. For me that is eye appeal. The aesthetics of a card trumps all, including value. Even with lesser-known players—where it’s possible to collect everything—doing so quickly becomes tedious and uninteresting.

I don’t need a red, orange, and purple parallel of every Yankees base or insert card. Most of those designs simply don’t work. Often, the cheaper paper base, refractor, or x-fractor looks the best and is a lot easier and cheaper to track down. If I really like a card or a set, I’ll chase the black or gold parallels. When the same photo appears across multiple sets, I choose the version with the strongest overall design.

Some general guidelines I follow...
I avoid unlicensed cards, like the modern Leaf/Panini, but also '70s discs, '80s/90s food issues
I avoid printing plates
I avoid sticker autographs
I avoid gold/silver marker autographs
I avoid smudged, sloppy, or faded signatures
I avoid college/minor league issues
I avoid manufactured patches
I avoid event- or photo-shoot-worn memorabilia
I avoid discordant color parallels
I avoid sloppy or mismatched patches
I avoid buttons and laundry tags
I avoid cards with poorly done numbering
I avoid multiplayer cards
I avoid base chrome
I avoid boring photographs
I avoid street clothes ... i.e. 1992 Bowman Rivera,

This approach allows me to trim most player checklists by 75–80%. I can’t bring myself to blindly collect everything. Recently, a logoman card of one of my players surfaced at a reasonable BIN, but I passed because the patch was noticeably off-center in the window. That lack of quality control bothers me far more than light chipping or soft corners on modern cards.

These are guidelines, not absolutes. Exceptions exist. I do own a few late '90s plates and a handful of sticker autographs. And the 2004 Cracker Jack Mariano Rivera base card with the red background remains one of my favorite base issues.