Originally I was just going to post my most recent SMC mailday, but given that delivery completes my very meagre PC, I figured I may as well post it all over the next couple of days, at least the main cards (#1 & 2 in my list below).
I really enjoy reading the mailday/collection threads. This one is infinitely more garden variety, but I'll aim to touch on my various mistakes/learnings along the way. Given this all took place while the market was peaking though, one might say it was all a mistake/expensive lesson, but I’ve had a blast and regret nothing dammit!
What I collected
When I got the bug again a couple of years ago, to avoid going overboard I decided to limit my purchases to the following, and with a view to stopping by end of this year;
Along the way I ended up picking up a few other player inserts, but by and large pretty much stuck to the above.
My general approach
Doubled down on the goofy face memorabilia card here. I was unsure of which graded rookie to settle on, the Upper Deck draft pick or Topps gold, but I was sure that no matter which one I chose in the end, I’d still regret not picking up the other.
I'd never had a Beam Team card before too so had to get one for the PC..
Learnings
I really enjoy reading the mailday/collection threads. This one is infinitely more garden variety, but I'll aim to touch on my various mistakes/learnings along the way. Given this all took place while the market was peaking though, one might say it was all a mistake/expensive lesson, but I’ve had a blast and regret nothing dammit!
What I collected
When I got the bug again a couple of years ago, to avoid going overboard I decided to limit my purchases to the following, and with a view to stopping by end of this year;
- At least 1 but ideally 2 auto or memorabilia or rookie cards for each of my favourite players; Jordan, Olajuwon, Barkley, Shaq, Penny, Kobe, AI, Magic, Lebron, Curry & Durant (obscure names, I know)
- Other Jordan inserts and base cards (mostly 93/94) that I wanted back in the day.
- All 93/94 season base sets that I had any cards from as a kid (pretty much all bar Topps Finest)
- All 93/94 season rookie redemption sets
Along the way I ended up picking up a few other player inserts, but by and large pretty much stuck to the above.
My general approach
- I started out buying graded only when I began in 2021 (after getting one of my own cards graded for the first time)
- Quickly realised I’d rather have a bunch of cool ungraded cards than few cool graded cards, so for all of 2022 I switched to loose cards only
- When it came to the more modern cards, I really just wanted cards that looked great, so I wasn’t fussed with eg sticker vs on-card autos for example.
Doubled down on the goofy face memorabilia card here. I was unsure of which graded rookie to settle on, the Upper Deck draft pick or Topps gold, but I was sure that no matter which one I chose in the end, I’d still regret not picking up the other.
I'd never had a Beam Team card before too so had to get one for the PC..
Learnings
- Early lesson re crappy sellers (in this case Probstein) reneging on a sale because they don't get the price they want. The first graded card I had an auction win on was a PSA 9 Fleer Ultra Shaq rookie that I got at a great price, only to get some BS about not being able to post the card to Aus (despite it being in the listing).I picked up a loose one for $1 US this year, so it all worked out in the end.