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]

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]

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

[3arod13]

Joel,

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

[skyking26]

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]

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]

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

Bill
whhp72@yahoo.com

[thomecollector]

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]

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]

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