To keep or not to keep??

[gingi79]

Re: To keep or not to keep??

I collect the guys who I admire watching rather than the superstar usually. I chose th guys I do because they show up every day and are underrated like Sami Salo or Matt Diaz. Tried doing it the other way getting a potential superstar I admired and now I'm stuck with a pretty nice Jeff Francoeur collection worth nothing near what I paid. Now I'd love to trade Frenchie for someone else I collect as the sale prices would depress me.

On rare occasions though, the common guys turn into something special. Martin Prado's stuff was around $100 once upon a time. Sure, he's not $1000 now but he could become something special. I'm sure someone got a David Ortiz Twins jersey on the cheap and cashed in in 2004 or 2007 for big dollars. I bet Mike Piazza's jerseys were worthless before he became amazing with the Dodgers. Kurt Warner's Packers jersey sold for a song I remember reading at a Packers garage sale. Who the hell would want a Brett Favre red Falcons jersey when he played with them? Now's it's worth a mint.

There are guys like that out there, who came from nowhere had a standard couple of years before blooming into superstars. However, I would argue that for every Jerry Rice college jersey purchased for a few bucks randomly by a 49er fan before his rookie year that would now be several thousands of dollars, there are dozens of:

Ryan Leaf, Rick Mirer, Brien Taylor, JaMarcus Russell, Ben Grieve, (name your own busts)

I always collected with one main purpose. No matter how cool everyone else thinks it is, if I don't love it, I don't want it. That goes for every Matt Diaz jersey up to my MeiGray Registered Pavel Bure and photomatched Roberto Luongo.

[Jayworld]

Re: To keep or not to keep??

Because my hobby funds are somewhat limited (especially compared to some of my fellow collectors out there ), I concentrate on what interests me, regardless of who it is. Knowing that the majority of HOF players items are out of reach for me, I collect SD Padres items, or players that I have seen in person that made an impression on me for whatever reason. Having coaches jerseys in my game-used collection is very cool to me, as are current jerseys of big league players who are coaches now and were players that I remember growing up in the 1970s, such as Ivan DeJesus or Ted Simmons. I remember so well coming home from school and catching the Cubs on WGN Chicago and watching DeJesus play, and now having his current coaching jersey with the Cubs is really neat.

When I do end up selling a jersey, it is never for a profit (if I break even, that's a bonus); it is generally to clear space for another item I'm interested in.

[legaleagle92481]

Re: To keep or not to keep??

soxfan,

I'll make an admission that will raise eyebrows and invite scorn from the GUU community, but I care not.

I would take 50 nobodies over a HOF'er. That's just me. I've owned some great items from superstar celebrities, athletes, rock stars, etc. and have never had a problem parting with them. I have collected Jim Eisenreich since about 1998 and have a virtual shrine to the guy; I just admire the type of person he was on and off the field and he sets a standard of personal excellence that I strive (and generally fail) to achieve. Just, well, someone I'm tuned in to.

My Red Sox wall is graced with the bats, jerseys, caps and artwork of such non-HOF material as Ellis Burks, Dwight Evans, Donnie Sadler, Alex Gonzalez, John Tudor, Pokey Reese, Mark Freakin' Bellhorn, Bill Mueller, Darren Bragg, Troy O'Leary, Mike Benjamin, Luis Alicea, Mike Lowell, and many others. Maybe 40 others. No HOF.

I had Rickey Henderson jerseys and bats. Sold them. Why? Can't answer that.

I could have Ted Williams, Yaz, Fisk, Lynn, Rice, Piersall, Rico, etc etc. I don't. I can afford them. They can be found. I have met each of them in my lifetime, but for some subconscious, phantom reason, I am always striving to put the everyman on my walls. When I croak, whoever survives me can sell them, run them through a wood chipper, whatever. What the hell do I care. If I had Ruth, Gehrig and Mantle from floor to ceiling, someone would find a way to rip off my survivors, or they would likewise dispose of the stuff because to them, it's just stuff.

These are my own personal opinions and I stand by them. I collect commons. Makes me very happy. If you and I are the only two in the hobby, well, so what. I do not collect GU for investment purposes. Living celebrities can always ruin their legacy, and in turn, ruin my fortune. The only good investment in GU is a dead superstar, in my book.

My investments are in Civil War, high-end papers and militaria. Easy to unload, big market for the stuff, ever-escalating prices, rarity, interesting diversity. All dead soldiers, too. But, that's another story.

It will hopefully bring you joy to collect within your niche the player(s) you enjoy and for the reasons YOU find appropriate. No one else earned you the money you are spending on your GU so no one has grounds to judge. Good luck.

Very good post and points! Too many people get caught up in collecting to try to get rich rather than for enjoyment and it is a shame. Collecting is still referred to as a hobby but pure collectors seem to be a dying breed replaced by speculators. It is good to see that there are still some of us left out there. Personally, I am a pure collector in that i have only sold some stuff i did not care about often at a loss to clear space, i collect stars but only because I get satisfaction from it because I love sports and having something from players who I have watched domiant is thrilling for me. I would never sell 99.9% of it though no matter what I was offered because it is so hard to replace and if I needed the cash I wouldnt have bought it in the first place.