Newbie 1st Post: the player, the card, or the product?

jwtidwelljr · 04-04-2021, 04:21 PM

Returning to the hobby, been lurking and have made purchases on ebay to break the seal. My early foray have been to stalk and pick up the "hot" talk players. Been trying to focus on ."investment value" just to keep a sense of not over extending. Now that I've gotten a taste and a sense of prices, starting to think about zeroing in on focus. Given my history with the hobby, I'm liking the Heritage themed and the 1984 throwback.

Probably a silly question, and not one probably really for anyone else to answer for me, but I find myself asking - should I focus:

- the player: but this might be a constant pursuit from Tatis to Acuna to Vlad to Robert (sadly Rangers don't have any one player to collect as Joey is likely to get traded, and prospects are uncertain and at least a season away)
- the card: keep chasing the investment value player and get every card of that player
- the product: limit myself to just 1 product, like Heritage or Donruss (a retro/throwback style with some modern parallels. BTW, the plethora of refractor is boggling and overwhelming. Which is the thought behind limiting to A product.

Note: when I say "investment value" I mean as a price point guide to avoid stupid, sucker buys.

Thank you early and much appreciation for any response feedback input. Apologies if there is a more appropriate place to post this thread.

droidcrijon · 04-04-2021, 05:06 PM

First, welcome back.

Second, as someone a little over a year back into it, I think you need to focus on what you like. If that's Heritage and 1984 throwback, I'd stick with those. I started trying to collect *everything* when I first got back into cards and for me it got really expensive really quickly.

When it comes to investment/what's hot, my knowledge doesn't compare to most everyone else on this board. That means for me it's not a good investment, but I do enjoy watching those threads.

My collecting focus now is 100% 1985 and earlier because that's where I'm happy.

Best of luck finding what makes you happy!

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

rwperu34 · 04-05-2021, 06:03 AM

The real answer is all three!

One thing I'd add is you've got to be disciplined. If you just run around buying every card you like, you will run out of money in a hurry. Set goals/parameters and target prices...etc. The chase what you like theory is a pretty good one. Stay away from Gallo though. He's mine.

rudyjustinfarrell · 04-05-2021, 09:02 AM

A few things to consider for a new collector in today's day and age...

1. Product availability. Hobby boxes across the board are more expensive. Retail of any decent product is super hard to find. On a budget? I'd be happy with any product.

2. Player specific? Too hard to find that penny card that will turn into $10 in the future. But that's from a prospector's view. I would think the Acuna/Soto/Tatis train has left bargainville a long time ago.

3. If I had to choose... for a new MLB collector... go Topps. Flagship/Chrome/Bowman/Heritage products.... Refer to #1. Might be harder to find? But if mystery player blows up, his Topps stuff will jump faster and higher.

4. Look around, but you don't have to follow what other people do. Collect what and who you want to collect.

3rdpedal · 04-05-2021, 09:57 AM

I agree with most of what previous posters have said. I, too, made a lot of "mistakes" when I was first coming back to the hobby a few years ago, the hobby has changed and there's a lot to learn.

I'll just add my 2 cents for what it's worth... I've had a lot of fun since getting back, but once I got married a while back I completely stopped adding (new) money into my hobby account. This coincidently coincided with a crazy increase in wax prices, but wasn't my reason. Now, I only buy stuff with money I've received from card sales. This makes it even more interesting/enjoyable to me because it involves strategy.

For cards that I'm looking to "invest" in, I have a custom made chart that I'm developing to determine if they're a good buy or not. Right now I'm targeting 5 very specific cards that check off a lot of boxes and I believe the market has undervalued. I keep this type of info tight to my chest for obvious reasons, and will adjust my criteria and cards based on the market.

For my PC, I've let the hobby show me what I like and enjoy. That has turned into a very specific PC (2019 Topps Update Cole Tucker US197 and Series 1 #48 PNC park parallels). Building rainbows of these has been a lot of fun and now I'm obsessed. PCing a guy that has a low level of collectability (and speculation/prospecting is way over for him) makes it pretty inexpensive, especially by comparison, but the chase & hunt is still so exciting.

If you're on a budget like me, I really suggest this kind of mentality. For me, it keeps it as a "hobby" and keeps it fun and interesting for me.

cardsin47 · 04-05-2021, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jwtidwelljr

Probably a silly question, and not one probably really for anyone else to answer for me, but I find myself asking - should I focus:

- the player: but this might be a constant pursuit from Tatis to Acuna to Vlad to Robert (sadly Rangers don't have any one player to collect as Joey is likely to get traded, and prospects are uncertain and at least a season away)
- the card: keep chasing the investment value player and get every card of that player
- the product: limit myself to just 1 product, like Heritage or Donruss (a retro/throwback style with some modern parallels. BTW, the plethora of refractor is boggling and overwhelming. Which is the thought behind limiting to A product.

Note: when I say "investment value" I mean as a price point guide to avoid stupid, sucker buys.

Thank you early and much appreciation for any response feedback input. Apologies if there is a more appropriate place to post this thread.

If you pick which of these 3 is most important to you, the other 2 will fall into place

doowopbruce · 04-05-2021, 11:23 AM

I only buy Topps Chrome and Bowman Chrome of my player. Auto refractors exclusively.

premium1981 · 04-05-2021, 11:45 AM

In an ideal situation the 3 will align with each other and the answer will be clear. You shouldn't have to talk yourself into purchases. I try to only buy when I have that easy feeling. And when I do, I go big. In today's market its hard to go wrong unless you are just throwing money at things.

NYJNYYFan · 04-05-2021, 12:03 PM

I got back into the hobby about year ago, and it feels like I finally have a good focus for my collection/ potential flips.

I personally don't really buy multiple cards of one player, aside from cool base cards or lower value inserts of Jets and Yankees players for my PC.

I like collecting base Topps Chrome and Donruss Optic rookies for baseball and football the best. I've been going back from the past 5-10 years and picking a few of my favorite players from each rookie class to pick up. I personally found that as a great narrow my focus. I can always go further back in the past to expand and the same thing keeping up with future releases of those products so I don't feel like I'm buying too much every season.

04-05-2021, 06:03 AM	#3
rwperu34 Member Join Date: Feb 2017 Location: Tempe, AZ Posts: 8,734	The real answer is all three! One thing I'd add is you've got to be disciplined. If you just run around buying every card you like, you will run out of money in a hurry. Set goals/parameters and target prices...etc. The chase what you like theory is a pretty good one. Stay away from Gallo though. He's mine. __________________ Me: Did I win? Gixen: Yes. You won. Now you're broke.

04-05-2021, 09:57 AM	#5
3rdpedal Member Join Date: Jun 2019 Location: Pittsburgh PA Posts: 958 peaceSeekingVeteran 3rdpedal	I agree with most of what previous posters have said. I, too, made a lot of "mistakes" when I was first coming back to the hobby a few years ago, the hobby has changed and there's a lot to learn. I'll just add my 2 cents for what it's worth... I've had a lot of fun since getting back, but once I got married a while back I completely stopped adding (new) money into my hobby account. This coincidently coincided with a crazy increase in wax prices, but wasn't my reason. Now, I only buy stuff with money I've received from card sales. This makes it even more interesting/enjoyable to me because it involves strategy. For cards that I'm looking to "invest" in, I have a custom made chart that I'm developing to determine if they're a good buy or not. Right now I'm targeting 5 very specific cards that check off a lot of boxes and I believe the market has undervalued. I keep this type of info tight to my chest for obvious reasons, and will adjust my criteria and cards based on the market. For my PC, I've let the hobby show me what I like and enjoy. That has turned into a very specific PC (2019 Topps Update Cole Tucker US197 and Series 1 #48 PNC park parallels). Building rainbows of these has been a lot of fun and now I'm obsessed. PCing a guy that has a low level of collectability (and speculation/prospecting is way over for him) makes it pretty inexpensive, especially by comparison, but the chase & hunt is still so exciting. If you're on a budget like me, I really suggest this kind of mentality. For me, it keeps it as a "hobby" and keeps it fun and interesting for me. __________________ Ask me about my COMC Sales & Flipping Visualization Tool. PM me for the link. Looking for 2019 Topps S1 #48 PNC Park Platinum 1/1 & Printing plates & 2019 Update Cole Tucker Parallels

04-04-2021, 04:21 PM	#1
jwtidwelljr Member Join Date: Mar 2021 Location: Dallas TX metro Posts: 5 je_t_jr	Newbie 1st Post: the player, the card, or the product? Returning to the hobby, been lurking and have made purchases on ebay to break the seal. My early foray have been to stalk and pick up the "hot" talk players. Been trying to focus on ."investment value" just to keep a sense of not over extending. Now that I've gotten a taste and a sense of prices, starting to think about zeroing in on focus. Given my history with the hobby, I'm liking the Heritage themed and the 1984 throwback. Probably a silly question, and not one probably really for anyone else to answer for me, but I find myself asking - should I focus: - the player: but this might be a constant pursuit from Tatis to Acuna to Vlad to Robert (sadly Rangers don't have any one player to collect as Joey is likely to get traded, and prospects are uncertain and at least a season away) - the card: keep chasing the investment value player and get every card of that player - the product: limit myself to just 1 product, like Heritage or Donruss (a retro/throwback style with some modern parallels. BTW, the plethora of refractor is boggling and overwhelming. Which is the thought behind limiting to A product. Note: when I say "investment value" I mean as a price point guide to avoid stupid, sucker buys. Thank you early and much appreciation for any response feedback input. Apologies if there is a more appropriate place to post this thread. Last edited by jwtidwelljr; 04-04-2021 at 04:23 PM.

04-04-2021, 05:06 PM	#2
droidcrijon Member Join Date: Aug 2020 Location: Eastern Washington Posts: 103	First, welcome back. Second, as someone a little over a year back into it, I think you need to focus on what you like. If that's Heritage and 1984 throwback, I'd stick with those. I started trying to collect everything when I first got back into cards and for me it got really expensive really quickly. When it comes to investment/what's hot, my knowledge doesn't compare to most everyone else on this board. That means for me it's not a good investment, but I do enjoy watching those threads. My collecting focus now is 100% 1985 and earlier because that's where I'm happy. Best of luck finding what makes you happy! Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

04-05-2021, 09:02 AM	#4
rudyjustinfarrell Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 12,713 rudyjustinfarrell	A few things to consider for a new collector in today's day and age... 1. Product availability. Hobby boxes across the board are more expensive. Retail of any decent product is super hard to find. On a budget? I'd be happy with any product. 2. Player specific? Too hard to find that penny card that will turn into $10 in the future. But that's from a prospector's view. I would think the Acuna/Soto/Tatis train has left bargainville a long time ago. 3. If I had to choose... for a new MLB collector... go Topps. Flagship/Chrome/Bowman/Heritage products.... Refer to #1. Might be harder to find? But if mystery player blows up, his Topps stuff will jump faster and higher. 4. Look around, but you don't have to follow what other people do. Collect what and who you want to collect. __________________ Always willing to talk shop or B/S/T.

04-05-2021, 11:23 AM	#7
doowopbruce Member Join Date: Oct 2018 Location: Long Island Posts: 2,024 doowopbruce	I only buy Topps Chrome and Bowman Chrome of my player. Auto refractors exclusively.

04-05-2021, 11:45 AM	#8
premium1981 Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: North Carolina Posts: 11,885	In an ideal situation the 3 will align with each other and the answer will be clear. You shouldn't have to talk yourself into purchases. I try to only buy when I have that easy feeling. And when I do, I go big. In today's market its hard to go wrong unless you are just throwing money at things.

04-05-2021, 12:03 PM	#9
NYJNYYFan Member Join Date: Sep 2020 Posts: 515 njufcfan fcosta87	I got back into the hobby about year ago, and it feels like I finally have a good focus for my collection/ potential flips. I personally don't really buy multiple cards of one player, aside from cool base cards or lower value inserts of Jets and Yankees players for my PC. I like collecting base Topps Chrome and Donruss Optic rookies for baseball and football the best. I've been going back from the past 5-10 years and picking a few of my favorite players from each rookie class to pick up. I personally found that as a great narrow my focus. I can always go further back in the past to expand and the same thing keeping up with future releases of those products so I don't feel like I'm buying too much every season.