Another collecting crossroads - thoughts and opinions

[ooneil]

Been mulling this over for a while and Ross's recent thread and a disappointing Traders release has prompted me to action. Looking for a few opinions.

Im thinking of selling off the vast majority of collection and just focusing on my vintage stuff, have a Knights PC and just collect card releases/insert sets that interest me (inside and outside of rugby league cards).

Why am i thinking this?

1. I recently finished of the ESP Limited Edition set and looking at it afterwards im thinking to myself 'this release i really a piece of shit'. So why spend good money on something i dont like when i could be spending it collecting something I do like.

2. I dont get any particular joy from my collection as its sits away locked in a storage locker. While its great for the ego to be like yeah i have this or i have that who really cares. Someone will always have a better collection than me.

3. I have too much money tied up in cards. I have a young family and i could be putting the money to much better uses. While they dont miss out on things because of my collecting I could be doing more for them - holidays, eduction etc etc.

Dont get me wrong - i still love collecting cards. I have been into it since i was 6 and i wont be stopping anytime soon.

A collection my size will probably take 2+ years to sell off in an orderly fashion. Just to be clear this wont be a fire sale - im in no rush for the cash.

So that's were im at. Interested to hear what others think?

Cheers Owen

 

[troy titans douglas]

my thoughts are that its becoming more and more expensive to go for every card on the market, go for it mate
you should be able to afford a holiday or two just on your sales!

 

[Coolidgee]

I think you should sell your Lamb Inspiration to me. Thats what I think

Seriously though, I agree. That's how I collect; Dog's PC and then insert sets as the mood takes me

 

[Trephinator]

I think the key is in not flogging off everything as fast as you can, it doesn't make a lot of sense to lose 50 cents to the dollar or more.

There's probably 5% of your collection that would sell at a fair (and high) price straight away - Folders and sigs - then you have to ask yourself if it's worth the effort to sell inserts for $1-$5 and deal with all the hassles that come with that.

Sadly more and more people seem to be thinking this way, not a good reflection on ESP at all!

If you do end up selling I encourage you to give OZCT first crack before eBay

 

[ooneil]

Yeah I would definitely give first crack to OCT'ers Dan.

Im more than happy to take 2+ years to sell the collection off. Im in no rush for the money.

 

[shane_sharks]

i blame ESP

 

[Muzza]

I have fallen into the trap of trying to collect anything and everything NRL in recent years. I know I've poured too much $$$ into cards during this time and I'm still way short of filling all insert sets and high end stuff. So these latest releases have pretty much forced me to change my attitude towards collecting NRL. It'll probably be base sets and a Doggies PC from here on.
Comes a time when your mood towards some things changes entirely and other things take priority.

 

[shane_sharks]

i have tried to also complete so full masters sets the heart just isn't in it paying top dollar for a card of a team i hate
so i pretty much just collect my sharks stuff now can put the extra cash to better use i have another hobby that keeps me busy
also thinking of selling off some of my high end stuff to help fund a trip overseas

i say keep your knights pc going and sell the rest

 

[the game rugby league]

I have been contemplating the same idea for 18 months know. I guess I get some cards out and then say no I will sell them later and later never come around. It is a hard thing for any collector to make his mind up whether to sell or not and then when and what to sell. If you can I would hold on to any numbered cards with certs of authenticity. That is only my suggestion. Good luck with your decision. Moz

 

[BoondasH1]

Don't expect things to get any better with ESP's next planned release these guys are only going to fuck things up for NRL collectors. Ikon still has a shitload of cases of ESP Limited Edition, which they are now stuck with.

Plus it wouldn't be a bad idea having some $$$ aside for you kids education as Higher education costs are always going up. End of the day do what makes you happy mate.

 

[mischap123]

I'm gunna say keep the collection. If you think a particular series is crap then why do you feel obliged to get every card from it? Budget for education, budget for holidays and play cards with a smaller kitty and only on the sets you like. Think of it as a challenge with a limited budget! Don't get me wrong, I love completeness in a set but I draw a line and realise that many high end cards I may never get. I have 3 young kids in a private school and would sell my collection to fund their education if I had to. Holidays I probably would not sell cards for. Fortunately I can still collect, send the kids to school and take holidays. I don't buy my lunch or coffee each day, but am happy to make that sacrifice.

 

[hobo]

Been mulling this over for a while and Ross's recent thread and a disappointing Traders release has prompted me to action. Looking for a few opinions.



Im thinking of selling off the vast majority of collection and just focusing on my vintage stuff, have a Knights PC and just collect card releases/insert sets that interest me (inside and outside of rugby league cards).



Why am i thinking this?



1. I recently finished of the ESP Limited Edition set and looking at it afterwards im thinking to myself 'this release i really a piece of s***'. So why spend good money on something i dont like when i could be spending it collecting something I do like.



2. I dont get any particular joy from my collection as its sits away locked in a storage locker. While its great for the ego to be like yeah i have this or i have that who really cares. Someone will always have a better collection than me.



3. I have too much money tied up in cards. I have a young family and i could be putting the money to much better uses. While they dont miss out on things because of my collecting I could be doing more for them - holidays, eduction etc etc.



Dont get me wrong - i still love collecting cards. I have been into it since i was 6 and i wont be stopping anytime soon.



A collection my size will probably take 2+ years to sell off in an orderly fashion. Just to be clear this wont be a fire sale - im in no rush for the cash.



So that's were im at. Interested to hear what others think?



Cheers Owen

Hey get your own ideas...............

Perhaps just sell the high end cards and keep the continuity in the sets as your collection dates way further back than mine which is only really the Select years, I also think Dan's point of "loosing $0.50c in the $1" for alot of the lower end stuff is probably right on the money.

Having said that I'm pretty convinced its time to move everything on for me.

Ross

 

[AyiosYiorgos]

Looks like this is a common theme with us, i have had no enthusiasm for NRL cards for a while, i have hardly purchased anything off ebay nor this site, more so collecting some Basketball cards, trying to complete one of the sets, which is getting harder & harder and more expensive now. As traditionally i have always been trying to complete the FULL set, i have also been contemplating just doing the Dragons PC & finishing off my Scanlens sets...
Wasn't even aware/care that the ESP cards had come out......

 

[Carter]

I am so glad to hear that others are thinking the same as me or should i say as i have been contemplating for a few years now.
I do admit that i am biased towards Scanlens cards, old school, because you could collect a set and that was that, goal achieved.
Now you get not only a base set but all the inserts, sigs etc and it is impossible to keep up without spending a lot of money, which is the manufacturers sole purpose.
From 1997 to 2007 i have not 1 rugby league card, which i find odd as i bought thousands of afl cards in bulk loads 1993 - 2012 as i still love collecting so i changed my interest and goals.

I still cherish my rugby league cards but i have a lack of enthusiasm due to the excessive amount of so called Numbered cards and you cant get a complete set of them no matter what!

I also have several hundred rugby league magazines and team based manilla folders full of cut outs from old age newspapers etc which i never touch.
I have over 100 albums full of cards stored in closets all over the house NRL/AFL so i dont go near them and i try and sell or trade the extras to keep filling those holes that seem to be getting bigger each year!

 

[#1 Eels fan]

like i said on Ross's thread i decided to just focus on the eels pc, it just gets to expensive and we were in the middle of the shit Champions series so i thought get rid of it all, i am glad i did

 

[carlton91]

At the end of the day Owen its your decision, I mean if you don't have the passion you used to have for collecting and don't enjoy it why do it?

We as you know have fallen into the trap if trying to collect all the AFL cards and now that has come closer we find ourselves buying duplicates, triples and even quadruples of the exact card , of course we didn't stop at AFL. We have branched into NRL,Cricket,NBA, scoccer and non sport

At the end of the day they are only pieces of cardboard..lol

But I would defiantly encourage you to keep up on your knights pc and get Issue 3 of the magazine out

Wouldn't mind purchasing some AFL of you.

Regards
Justin

 

[BLADE]

My best input would be, Think about it long and hard because once they are sold... They are sold. Especially the Newcastle collection. I would hate to sell up then have a change of heart. I know with my Titans collection, some of my IPs of players that have left to go overseas would be near impossible to get again and those cards are usually the 1st to sell.

 

[dragonforever]

I went through this dilemma a few years back. I began collecting in 1968 and had most of the sets when I began realizing that firstly I couldn't afford to collect everything and secondly a lot of the cards didn't mean that much to me. So, after the 2008 series I decided to keep only all the Dragons cards and all the cards for the top 100 players plus a few of my favorite players that held some meaning for me and sold the rest. Now I collect only Dragons cards, team of the year and award winner cards for my P.C. This has now reduced my collection to about 3000 cards and I can now simply grab an album of the shelf and browse through the cards enjoying the memories. Not the all consuming hobby anymore but it did rekindle my interest and made it much more enjoyable.
So, Owen I can only tell you what worked for me and wish you all the best in the dilemma that that confronts you. I definitely have no regrets and hope you make a decision that keeps your passion for collecting alive and well and we don't lose your wealth of knowledge on Rugy League cards on ths forum

 

[aussiebloke]

dont sell them mate hang on to them

 

[bob]

$1000 !!!!!! Geeee I had that a couple years back sold it for $150 wish I still had it????????