Advantages and disadvantages of collecting your player(s)

[joelsabi]

Anyone have to make a tough decision about what player they collect.

I happen to collect ARod. I would rather collect Clemente but his items are so out of reach financially. Sometime I wonder if ARod is a good choice for me. I realize I cannot afford the super high end milestone items but I have satisfaction from the items I have gathered over the years. At the same time, I wonder if choosing a more affordable player that I like such as Vlade Guerrero would be more satisfying. I could possibly afford to buy any Vlade that came up for sale.

So my question is what tough decision(s) have you had to make with the player you chose to collect. what are the disadvantage and advantages of collecting the player you chose to collect.

[3arod13]

Re: Advantages and disadvantages of collecting your player(s)

Anyone have to make a tough decision about what player they collect.

I happen to collect ARod. I would rather collect Clemente but his items are so out of reach financially. Sometime I wonder if ARod is a good choice for me. I realize I cannot afford the super high end milestone items but I have satisfaction from the items I have gathered over the years. At the same time, I wonder if choosing a more affordable player that I like such as Vlade Guerrero would be more satisfying. I could possibly afford to buy any Vlade that came up for sale.

So my question is what tough decision(s) have you had to make with the player you chose to collect. what are the disadvantage and advantages of collecting the player you chose to collect.

Joel,

As you know, I also collect Arod. I'm satisifed in finding and collecting those difficult and rare pieces, and less concerned about collecting everything.

I sold all of my Arod cards. Cards come a dime a dozen and there are just too many.

Finding those rare pieces that not everyone can say they have, is what I focus on.

How many can say that have a 1994 AL, NL, and Minor League signed balls of Arod? Especially the NL ball. I couldn't believe I even found that. Paid only $100 for it. An awesome steal.

Tony

[Jags Fan Dan]

Re: Advantages and disadvantages of collecting your player(s)

The advantages of collecting Mark Brunell is affordability. The downside is his items are somewhat few and far between.

[3arod13]

Re: Advantages and disadvantages of collecting your player(s)

Joel,

Why collect someone just because they're more affordable, than collector the player you really admire and like?

[skyking26]

Re: Advantages and disadvantages of collecting your player(s)

As everybody knows, I collect Dave Kingman. Disadvantages are in the fact that when a piece comes up that he is Mets or Cubs associated, then the price goes sky high. His Oakland stuff does not command anywhere near what the other stuff does (example Oakland jacket at $165 in this GUU auction). As far as Giants stuff, you get interest because it is vintage.

Advantages are that the following is alot smaller that Arod, etc. thus decreasing competition. Other than that, Kingman has always been very cordial and nice to me and the family and I have enjoyed collecting a guy who was my favorite as a kid and I know personally today...

[yanks12025]

Re: Advantages and disadvantages of collecting your player(s)

I collect Chris Chambliss items but there really aint that many of his game used items out there. And when some one has one they ask alot for it or its not for sale.

I also collect Robinson Cano items but i stopped right now because i dont want to invest more money in him if the yankees trade him away this off season.

[ironmanfan]

Re: Advantages and disadvantages of collecting your player(s)

Yanks....I got Chambliss' locker nameplate from the old Seattle Kingdome. If you're interested, drop me a note.

Bill
whhp72@yahoo.com

[thomecollector]

Re: Advantages and disadvantages of collecting your player(s)

I collected Thome stuff because of the fact that he is my favorite. His stuff used to be everywhere. It was also very affordable. But , it has become less and less available. The prices for Phils, and Sox stuff is a lot higher. That is when you can find it.....

[AWA85]

Re: Advantages and disadvantages of collecting your player(s)

Big disadvantages of collecting one player is the possibility of a trade and how that changes your feelings. I was a huge Adam Dunn collector because he was my favorite player for the Reds. Now that he will be playing with another team, I just won't feel the need to pick up any of his other items. Guess that makes me appreciate guys like Barry Larkin even more.

[joelsabi]

Re: Advantages and disadvantages of collecting your player(s)

Tony,


Affordability is a huge factor for me.

I gave my example, using Clemente, ARod and Vlad (Clemente’s nephew). I thought a lot about collecting Clemente back in the early 90’s. Nothing excited me more than getting a Clemente single signed ball but when I saw a friend having a Raul Mondesi game used jersey and glove, I thought it was more realistic to try a player who had stuff available that I could afford. How often did Clemente item come up for sale? Very rarely. Even card show rarely had Clemente stuff back then, the National being the exception. When there was such an opportunity, what chance did I have of buying it thru auction? Slim to none. Just too pricey. Had I chosen Clemente I would still have just that baseball today. I think the only other items that I could afford and that interest me of Clemente are his vintage photos. Store model bats and glove didn’t interest me. Replica jerseys didn’t interest me either.


I made my choice of player to collect 15 years ago, so I am not changing now. But I bring up this question for those who are new to the hobby and may want to factor in what quantity of items will be available for the player(s) they eventually choose. If you begin collecting a new player just coming into the majors you have a good chance of having a nice collection in the long run, say in 10 years. If a person chose to start collecting ARod now, it make sense that unless you are well funded you collection will be limited if you want high end items, which are usually the game used items.


Anyways. I guess it comes down to you collecting goals and everyone enjoys this great hobby for different reasons. Also some people are really patient while others like to add to their collection on a regular basis. A lot of us here specialize or are thinking about specializing in collecting a favorite player. I think it’s great to share our collecting experience with others here.

Joel

[gatorcollector]

Re: Advantages and disadvantages of collecting your player(s)

The advantages of collecting jerseys of former Florida Gators are many: there are many players to choose from in all 3 major sports, and most of them are "common" players whose game used stuff is relatively cheap. I love it when I can pick up a 1991 Crawford Ker Denver Broncos jersey on Ebay for $77. Ker doesn't mean much to most fans, but to Gator fans he is known as one of our greatest O-Lineman and one of the strongest players to ever play for UF.

Some people have commented that when a player is traded, they lose their enthusiasm for that player. That's the great thing about the way I collect. No matter what happens in their pro career, once a Gator, always a Gator!

[Fnazxc0114]

Re: Advantages and disadvantages of collecting your player(s)

my favorite is josh hamilton. depending on where i buy his stuff from depends on the price. i would pay a premium for a pair of g/u cleats batting helmet/glove jersey. also one of the most enjoyable part of the hobby for me is buying a piece of g/u equipment for a player and getting it signed. i recently sold a michael young bat because i didnt think id ever be able to get it signed. well a week later he had a signing. that is also another reason i like hamilton is the fact that he is very accomodating to the fans here in dallas as well as the rest of the a.l.

[panthrotc]

Re: Advantages and disadvantages of collecting your player(s)

collecting mcgwire NOW has it's advantages & Disadvantages

Advantages
1. I will get items alot lower then i would if he was in the HOF and there was no steroid scandal.

2. Rare items do surface more frequently then prior to 2005

Disadvantages

1. I will overpay for an item that i would probably lose money on if i resold it at a later time.

2. Many RARER items will not surface because people do not want to take a hit on selling it now hoping he will make the hall.


But i do not plan on re selling any mcgwire items i obtain. So it goes both ways for me.

[3arod13]

Re: Advantages and disadvantages of collecting your player(s)

Big disadvantages of collecting one player is the possibility of a trade and how that changes your feelings. I was a huge Adam Dunn collector because he was my favorite player for the Reds. Now that he will be playing with another team, I just won't feel the need to pick up any of his other items. Guess that makes me appreciate guys like Barry Larkin even more.

Adam...interesting. when Arod was with Seattle, Texas, and now with New York, I still continued to collect his stuff. I realize many collectors are more into collecting players on their team. Once that players leaves, the interest isn't there anymore. I'm a collector of the player, not the team as much. However, I would prefer my favorite player, who I collect, to play on my favorite team.

Funny how Arod ended up in New York...my favorite team!

[bigtruck260]

Re: Advantages and disadvantages of collecting your player(s)

Almost every bat in my collection - with the exception of a few really high dollar modern day player bats, were under $100. I can really get any item I want for a decent price...and with the amount of Cards collectors out there, I can usually work out a trade for something. We are a tight knit bunch....