Currently, I am packing up my apartment to move to a new house a little further out in the suburbs. We'll still be renting for the time being, but if we like the area enough once we get settled, we'll buy a house.
If you're a card collector, moving brings a lot of stress. You have to pack up all your cards and make sure they move without damage. Last time I moved, I labeled the boxes with my cards as "cook books" so that the movers wouldn't be interested. I may do that again.
However, for me, once the actual move is over, I'm excited. I'll have a lot more room to organize and store cards. You should see my makeshift storage solutions right now. I need to re-organize soooo badly, but I'm not going to do it until I'm settled.
While going through a box of random card stuff during a packing session, I found the following printed on a white piece of paper. Undoubtedly, it's advice someone game me once I started a blog. I'm sorry, I just can't remember who it was. I went back through old emails and searched, but came up empty-handed. If these are your words, I apologize for not properly crediting you. However, they still ring true now that I've been blogging for over four years, and figured it couldn't hurt to pass them along. Some will ring true, some you'll disagree with:
1. Don't go overboard and buy everything.
2. Figure out what you like and focus on that.
2a. See rule 1.
3. Find a good local card shot - this might be tough but if you find a good one you're set.
4. Wax is for suckers. It's all a gamble, so treat ripping wax like you're gambling. Do it for fun, not profit and only rip what you can afford.
4a. See rule 1.
5. Putting a little time into organization will bring you great happiness later.
6. Ebay and other online relailers are good places to find some obscure things and bargains.
6a. See rule 1.
7. Seek out some of the blogs and forums and get some trades going - it's a good way to get rid of junk for what you like.
8. SEE RULE 1
So there you have it. Can anyone claim these words or know where they came from? What rules would you add, whether it's for new collectors, re-energized collectors, or season collectors?
I collected baseball cards from the late '80s through 2002. Then I went to college and when I came out, I was lost. There were too many brands, sets, choices, relics, autos, parallels, variations. It was a turn off. However, I slowly made my way back. So here is my attempt to venture back into the hobby. I'll buy a few packs of cards here and there, comment on some cards I have, send out some TTMs, and follow the progress of my Topps Yankees Project.
I think that is sage advice. I'm always telling people if you are getting stressed about some aspect of collecting your doing something wrong. It is a hobby, so it should be stress free.
ReplyDeleteMake sure to bargain with your wife about some good card collecting space. Hope the moves well and congrats on the new place!
I can't claim that advice at all, but that mindset and that advice is incredibly useful to remember. Indeed, last year, when I first got back into collecting and thought I wanted to collect "everything," I did get stressed out and I did get upset about stupid stuff. Once I got focused on Brewers and my player collections, collecting became fun. I don't worry too much about value being returned to me in trades -- just that I get stuff I want for my collection.
ReplyDeleteGreat advice overall!
Good luck with the move and, as Matt said, get an office area in your new house/apartment for yourself and your cards if at all possible.
If you've dealt with the Cardboard Junkie, that sounds like him.
ReplyDeleteSolid advice. Sounds like anyone who has a little bit of cardboard common sense. I can especially appreciate #4 (took me a decade or so to learn this the hard way).
ReplyDeleteHow long until you leave again? Because I've created a small PWE I want to send as a farewell.
ReplyDelete