The freelance R&D with mini-collections

Through pandemic 2020, all I’ve done from April through the middle of May is cheat sheet / wantlist R&D - I wonder how the work translates into actual cards in-hand?

I’ve got 25-30 mini-collections - as it goes, have I set myself up where I can’t keep up, where I might find myself all over the place?

I haven't actually made much purchases, but do remember worrying about not finding a 1996 Pinnacle Bob Hamelin #289 card listed f/s last week - just the type of random thing that I'd forgotten already, but shows how random my mind gets as I try to come up with a possible addition.

I think I've been working on some specific ‘to do’ topic, namely trying to add to my nations collection - trying to fish out possible additions and haves to be accounted for to try and have a representation of players from different countries.

I'd like to think mini-collections are my flagship loose cards interests - I try not to miss obvious names for ongoing subsets while I strive to add new names and new cards.

Odd lots

It's not a card shop or card show rummage, but I've looked up eBay auctions lots to find random subjects and cards to add to offline cheat sheet - I listed out some possible beyond the glory adds like Luke Kuechly [NFL], D’Angelo Russell [NBA], Kevin Love [NBA], Tyrann Mathieu [NFL] and Shaquem Griffin [NFL].

Maybe I'm pushing past baseball guys but I like an assorted collection of pro athletes represented - while most pros have a ‘beyond the glory’ narrative to what they do for a living, there have been guys that have stood out more than someone simply being a jock.

For other mini-collections, I found some individual cards to list on my cheat sheet somewhere - I like looking at lots on eBay because they can be so random, where a listing can show multiple cards and it’s an Easter egg hunt to find a mini-collection quality card I need.

I try to find the baseball card lots picturing junk wax era or mid 1990s UV coated era cards - for a moment, the temptation is there to make a purchase until I see the s/h cost and figure would have to make multiple purchases off same seller to make these bottom of the barrel purchases make sense.

An apparent downside is all the eBay spam emails generated from my searches - the app’s algorithms do a job on tracking your browsing habits and/or even letting sellers know who has looked at their listings.