I started this blog in November, 2010. I have kept it going for more than three years now, and that is really hard to believe. I am trying to think of something else in my life similar to a blog that I have kept going that long, and I don't think there is anything. What does that mean? Well, it certainly reinforces my commitment and love of the sports card hobby. When I first started writing about my card collecting I really didn't know what shape or form this space would take. 112,601 page views later, in some ways, I still don't know. It's an ever changing thing for me and that is because my collecting seems to be ever changing.
One thing I have definitely stopped doing is posting every day. I simply don't have time for it, and frankly I don't feel like I have enough interesting material to write compelling posts each day, or maybe even each week sometimes. I read some of your posts and I am so impressed by the quality and quantity. I have thousands of cards I could write about, just not thousands of things to say about them. So when I do post now I try to make it more than the "look what I got" variety. Sometimes I still tend to do that but I am conscious of when it happens.
As for my collecting itself, my what a difference a year makes. As I type this I am looking at a stack of twenty plus hits I have gotten from group breaks in the past few weeks. Before August I didn't even know what a group break really was. Now I am in what seems like at least one and usually more per week. I have gotten cards I never would've had otherwise, and I absolutely love it.
Since I have been spending my time on group breaks I haven't purchased much retail product at all. This has worked out pretty well, because when I did that I was left with tons and tons of base cards that I wanted nothing to do with. I am not a set builder--I've tried that and don't have the patience for it. It seemed I would start something and get 3/4 of the way to finishing it, and then move on to something else. The only thing I am trying to "build" is the biggest collection I can of 2011 Roy Halladay Triple Threads base cards. There are 1500 of them and I want as many as I can get. This is getting increasingly more difficult but still a fun endeavor to embark on. If you have any, I will trade or pay top dollar!
Speaking of Roy Halladay, 2013 saw him retire from the game. This really means nothing for my collecting besides watching what happens to his card values in retirement. I anticipate them going down some, and then if he is elected into the hall of fame spiking up. The next five years might be the time I go after the higher end cards, just in case he does get into the hall and the prices rise. His cards have always been fairly reasonably priced, so I am not too concerned.
As for my other PCs, there are some dead ones. I sold my Roy Oswalt collection. Hunter Pence is not active, Joey Votto is not active, I have stopped collecting Kyle Drabek, and Cliff Lee is still there, but not really active. The two main PCs I never seem to stop collecting are Roy Halladay and Joe Flacco. Those are the constants. I have started picking up more Phillies and Orioles prospects. Jesse Biddle, Maikel Franco, Dylan Bundy, Hunter Harvey, and some others. Tommy Joseph continues to be a PC I chase and I am also still interested in Manny Machado cards. Stephen Strasburg's PC remains active, but relatively stagnant. Ryan Zimmerman is pretty much a dead PC too. I still chase Jordan Zimmerman autos, but not base cards. What it boils down to is that besides the constant PCs, I have simply been chasing cards of players I enjoy.
So that's where I am with my collecting. The National Convention has become a yearly trip for me, and I look forward to Cleveland in August. I still have thousands of base cards that I'd like to donate. I just sent a very large box of cards to someone who teaches a 4th grade class out in Minnesota. He gives the cards away to his class as rewards. So cool! I think this also bodes well for the hobby, as if just one kid turns out to be a collector that is a good thing.
I'll leave it at that, for now. Best wishes to all for a happy and prosperous New Year.
Happy new Year!
ReplyDelete