2011 collecting goals? did i hit them?

I know the year isn't over yet but its close enough for me to analyze. Way back in January I posted up this. Its a short list of collecting goals that I had for 2011. This post will see how I did. Lets see, shall we?

Goal 1- Finish the T206 page. This didn't happen. In fact, I regressed and ended up with fewer than I started with earlier in the year. It wasn't a waste though. They got used in a group break and I was able to give a couple collectors their first taste of 100 year old cardboard. I did procure the Christy Mathewson though, which is gigantic and one of the cornerstones of my collection, so thats a plus.

Goal 2- 2011 Topps series 1, 2 and 3. This did happen. Almost twice in fact (just need to finish Update). I complete two sets of the flagship. One to put away and one to shuffle through. I usually sort it by team so I can familiarize myself with whos who. Although guys tend to get traded even before series 1 hits but its ok.

Goal 3- 2011 Heritage. Definitely did not happen for me. I did try to complete the set but the short prints got to be too much for me. They really dried up in the trading ring here and I didn't want to have to get them at shows for a couple bucks a card or fight with people on eBay for them. I won't be chasing Heritage ever again. I'll buy it but not build it. Oh, I never got that Hank Aaron auto either. Total sadface.

One out of three. Pretty crappy if you ask me. Although I should have made a few more then maybe I would have hit more targets but what am I going to do?


Oh, I know, how about make some goals for 2012?

2012 goals:

Goal 1- Spend less on cards. I don't know how much exactly I spent but I made a lot of dumb purchases this year card related. I intend to change that this year. I spent way too much on boxes and sets that amounted to nothing. Bowman, Heritage and even though I liked and completed it, Allen & Ginter. In 2010 I spent wayyyyy too much on finishing that Opening Day set and I totally bought one blaster of OD this year and haven't looked back since. See? I can learn from my mistakes.

Goal 2- Complete flagship. I shouldn't even count this as a goal because it seems to be automatic. I did get way too much series one, less series 2 and even less Update but thats how 2010 worked too.

Goal 3- Actually finish that T206 page. Yes. I WILL do it this time around. I am currently at 8 so I only have 7 left. My absolute favorite vintage set will finally get its proper due this coming year. You'll know when it happens.

Goal 4- Finish up the 1973 set and start a new vintage set. I know I just started the 73 but I am really excited about collecting and finishing it up. I put the cards I got from the local in order and got a couple lots from eBay on the way (as of this writing) and hopefully aren't too far away from finishing off this classic issue. As for starting a new set, I've no idea which it'll be but it'll be pre-1982.

Goal 5- Finish the sets on the want lists. Yep, Chrome and Kimballs need to be finished up soon. Hopefully with your help I can put these sets to rest sooner than later.


So those are the goals I have for 2012. Hopefully I can look back about a year from now and say that I hit at least 4 of the 5. I'd like it to be all 5 but you never know what happens.

downsizing

'Ello all. I just want to thank everyone who participated in my two draft breaks. It is a lot of fun and I'm trying to see what I can do to get another one going. They do seem to generate a good deal of interest and that's great! I'm not sure what happened to day but I came to a thought that I want/need to downsize my accumulation of cards here. I just have way too many and other things are starting to take priority over here. So that's two things going for the need to downsize. I think essentially I want to keep my collection to 2009 to now and only Topps stuff. I'm really not collecting anything else, so really it is just taking up space. Now, I am not including anything pre-1980 here. I may do another break featuring mainly stuff from before 1980 (let me know if this is a good idea), so pretty much everything that isn't 2009 Topps made stuff is going to go. How do I do it though, is the question. I don't want to give away 4000 or so cards to the local shop, nor do I want to ship someone that many cards (imagine how much shipping would be??). What to do. I know a few other bloggers put together clearance lots and shipped 'em out for a couple bucks to cover shipping. What can I do though?

Some ideas that I just kind of thought of:

Name off sets and see if someone wants those by set/year/brand/whatever.
Put together team lots.
Random X amount of cards.

Any ideas? If you have some, I'm definitely open to them. A couple bucks to cover shipping and supplies would be great due to the still current lack of work (we had two weeks of 40 hours, now next week is back to 25 and probably August too :\ ). So I guess where I am now is taking ideas on what to do with all these and thinking of a good/fun way to get them out there. Here is what I am working with:

Very little over production era (anything 1986-1994).
Mainly Upper Deck, 2007 to 2010 but some 1989-1992.
Some Bowman, 2007 to 2011.
Not too much Donruss, Fleer or Score and if they are present, it is relatively newer stuff or older stuff (like I said, not much OP era)
Duplicates of whatever I have duplicates of. This does include Topps stuff.
The Topps I do have from before 2009 that isn't base, is Chrome, A&G and Heritage from 2008. A few before 2008 but not much.


Ideas? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

*sigh*

Well, first off an apology is in order. I apologize that my trade bait posts haven't been posted, as I said the first would be the tail end of last week. I know I posted one up a little bit ago but that was all silly stuff. Barely any bites but it is understandable seeing as how it was a bunch of politicians and entertainers and such. What happened to the rest you ask? The teams, the relics, the autos, etc. Well, I am in a bit of a collecting rut. There isn't anything I am really looking for at this time. Yeah, I said I wanted the throwback patches from 2011 and the bronze framed Gypsy Queens. I guess I still may but part of me kinda doesn't. 2011 Heritage has slowed to practically nothing, seeing as how most have moved on to Gypsy Queen (and Bowman this week). I may have to finish it up at a show (there is one this Saturday) or online via eBay but I really don't want to pay $2-3 bucks per schmuck player due to him being a high number short print, never mind a star player. I don't really need any more Jays at the moment, until I get my act together and get a want list going. I keep getting too many duplicates, so a want list seems to be in order. I guess I just don't have a strong desire to collect much right now and lumped in with that is a lack of want to post up stuff and waste your guys' time. Why post stuff when I'm not looking for anything?

Sigh....So hopefully this will pass soon and I'll want to start to collect something. Then I can post up the bait and see what I can get for it in regard to that collecting goal. I'll still make trades but I can't see myself going all out right now with these massive posts filled with trade stuffs. Well, to be fair there wasn't a ton but it is all still pulled and in a separate box.

Also, I do have a plentiful amount of 2011 series 1 and inserts, 2011 Heritage and Gypsy Queen available for those that need some of those sets.

new additions part two

Ok, I really do apologize for the pack pick this week. 1992 is a super LAME year to try and show cards off from. Well, I will definitely make it up next week. On another front though, I am up to around 98 blogs over on my sidebar there to the right. The most recent additions being:

Manupatches and Chromescratches
Chewing Liquorice
Foul Bunt
Stale Gum
Ike's Cards
Cardboard Heaven
The Cardboard Dugout
Bound for Beantown
Junk Wax Jems
A Giant Blog
Back in Packs
Closet Full of Cardboard

Yes, some of these are brand new and some have been around for a while (Stale Gum, Foul Bunt). I have just started reading them and look forward to future posts from everyone. When I find a blog I like, I follow it then add it to my sidebar for easy access reading. If you have a blog and it is not up here, let me know and I'll gladly check it out and add it to mine here. I figure the more we all band together, the more exposure we all get, right? That's good, it helps the community, opens up trade opportunities and you get to meet new bloggers and read their good stuff!

new additions

No, not to my ever-growing baseball card accumulation. I'm talking about the blog world. If you'll notice, to the right and down a little, I have a super long section of blogs I read regularly. If you update it, I'll check it out. Within the last few days though, I've seemed to add a bunch of blogs to the list, which is now up to 84. Here are a few I've just added:

Justin's World
Dawgbones, a Phillies Phan!
The Green Card
Enough Already
Cards from the Quarry
Donruss 1982
Clear Cut Cards
Off the Wall

Check them out if you haven't already. Some are brand new and a couple I've just found out about now. There may have even been a few I've added within the last 2 weeks that I didn't have listed above but I think I covered the newest ones I've added. If I haven't added you to my sidebar, let me know and I'll check it out and add the link to the list. There seems to be so many blogs out there. It's really great to see that there is such a strong desire to write about something as simple as baseball cards (or other sports cards for that matter). Simple but after seeing the many different collections and approaches to collecting, this hobby is a lot more complex than some people would be led to believe. Sure it is a lot of opening packs, sorting out cards and finishing sets but when it comes down to specific collecting goals and an individual collector's collections (too many uses of 'collect'!), things get largely diverse. That's probably what I like most about this whole blogging experience, is seeing what others do with their cards and how or what they collect. Trading is good too, it makes us feel like were at the schoolyard again, trading with friends and getting stuff were collecting and looking for. Here's to a great 2011 in the blogging community to each and every one of you!

follow up

After re-reading the post I did on Saturday, about my plans in collecting during this coming year, I realized that I neglected to mention a few things.

First and foremost is the 1954 Topps set I'm working on. While I would love to finish the set this year, it all comes down to finding the cards at the right price. Currently I am at a little above 80 cards of the 250. I have the 16 most "expensive" cards in the binder already. There are two separate lots I won on eBay coming in with 21 and 30 cards each. Hopefully those two lots will put me at 125, halfway there. I would really like to finish it up as soon as possible because I really get antsy when a set isn't finished (its my compulsive nature) and I need it to be completed yesterday. So maybe this set will be the focus.

Secondly, I am not sure on how many sets I plan to get into this year. With 2010 behind us and being the year I came back in, I've ended up with a lot of cards. A lot of cards and different sets I'll never finish. On Saturday, I only talked about early in the year releases (Topps flagship, Heritage), but what about stuff that comes later? Being that I'm not a huge fan of Bowman (although I can't seem to get enough Platinum), I don't see me buying much of it. There is no 206 or Chicle this year. Gypsy Queen will have to be a 'wait and see' type of set. I don't do high end like Tribute or Triple Threads due to it not being worth their over-inflated price tags. I definitely won't buy into Opening Day as much. Putting that set together was almost a complete nightmare and they said it was easy to collect! Pack after pack of doubles. I'll grab some 2011s but I won't go for a full set. After those products, what's left? I'm not talking about series 2 or Update (or what ever they call it this season), but I am talking about the surprises. Topps released twenty sets this year. TWENTY! Think about that:

Series 1
Series 2
Update
Chrome
Opening Day
Allen & Ginter
Heritage
National Chicle
T206
Finest
Sterling
Tribute
Triple Threads
Pro Debut
Pro Debut Series 2
Bowman
Bowman Chrome
Bowman Platinum
Bowman Sterling
Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects

Isn't that a bit much? How many of you bought packs from every release? What about boxes from even just half? Seriously how does someone keep up? Answer: you can't. Your wallets usually can't. I know mine can't. I seriously hope Topps tones it down just a little this year. Maybe whittle it down to fifteen sets this time because twenty is way too many. Of course, if you eliminate Bowman (if you aren't into Bowman), minor league stuff and high end stuff (this counts Finest, as it is way too expensive now), it leaves you with around 10 sets. Which isn't all too bad when you think about it. Still, Topps could do fewer sets and it would be a-ok by me. Maybe I'll just buy considerably less this year and focus on the vintage.

seemed inevitable

...sigh. As the baseball season winds down, I find that my interest in collecting has taken the same turn. Update is the last set I have to buy until February, and its almost disheartening. I could care less for Bowman so I won't be picking any up. I still may pick up stray packs here and there but it won't be what I've been doing since the spring. Plus its probably for the better anyway. I have too many cards as it is. Speaking of which, I'll be giving some away very soon, good stuff, but stuff that doesn't fit into my collecting needs/goals right now. I bought the master set of Update on eBay along with a jumbo box at the local shop. Its probably all I'll do. I'm picking up the Vernon Wells stuff online, and I don't need more than two full sets of base cards. I'll still be posting, but it will be less frequent (ie; not daily) but will have more substance. So while I may post only a few times a week, I'll have better posts to put up, as opposed to just finding and racking my brain over something to put up here. I know some of you have gone through similar spats of disinterest and it looks like I have joined you folk with the same feelings. I'll still send out packages, and of course, will still accept them gratefully. I'll still fill want lists when I can and still love to trade. So keep those Jays handy! Until next time...

personal collection is decided!

Its later than usual, and I'm being extremely lazy. I have decided that my personal collection will consist of Hall of Famers (Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Walter Johnson, Jackie Robinson, etc.), but not particularly original cards. New cards work just as well, as the 2009 T206 cards look fantastic for all the HoFers they added into the mix. Those are in. Players from my hometown of Southington (Rob Dibble, Carl Pavano), team cards like I mentioned before and other cards that just catch my eye. Cards that make me think: If I were to seel my whole collection, what would I want to keep? I may branch out to guys that are from the surrounding area, and I did think about the same birthday idea, but only came up with one player so far. I was also thinking pitchers who threw perfect games as I think its such an incredible achievement. We'll see what else I come up with. Tomorrow SHOULD be the Topps Chrome experiment as long as I'm not busy (I shouldn't be).

my collection

I don't have a collection. Well, I certainly have baseball cards but excluding my Blue Jays box and my sets, I have no collection. I have cards in boxes or stacks on my table here, some trade boxes next to me that NEED to get out which will probably tomorrow or Friday. I apologize for the lateness of getting these out, but things are hectic around here with my schedule ramping up like it normally does this time of year until December is over and planning and getting ready for the wife and I's wedding the 24th of this month. Yeah shes not technically the wife yet, but I'll still call her that due to it feeling like we are married already. Anyway, back to what I was saying about a collection. I see many of you guys having good collections like plays at the plate, awesome beards, funny names, pitchers holding bats, etc. Its almost like I can't have the cards out of their proper order. I have sort of an OCD and can't allow things to be out of order, it just bugs me until they are arranged numerically. Maybe I need to tell myself to shut up and take some great cards out for me to keep. Well, regardless of the hectic household, I'm still trying to do a post a day. The 2010 Chrome experiment is almost finished and I'm just waiting to get the cards here. I'll keep you posted with that plus if I allow myself to start a collection of my own and what it contains.

new decision

I have decided to start collecting the Washington Nationals, in addition to the Blue Jays. Random? Kinda, but they do have an interesting history, being that they were converted from the Montreal Expos. It has nothing to do with Strasburg, seeing that I don't have any of his cards. No, they are the perpetual last place team (seemingly), and they are due for some good luck. I should be attending a Mets game in early October and they will be playing the Nationals in that time frame. The Jays still come first, and always will, I just felt I wanted to start collecting another team along with them. I have a pretty good stack going but if we ever trade and you have no Jays left, send some Nationals on over. I'll give 'em a good home.