Sunday, January 05, 2014

2014 trading card collecting goals

At the end of year - I want to feel like I was able to own some of these goals or objectives I've set.

I'd like to make updates to my collections every month and talk about it - I want to have control by working on my wantlists, listing and adding new cards, seeing how many cards I've added in a particular month, etc.

1.) Reboot my Angels collection [1/2/14]

A.) I'd like to put together a list of Top 30 PC cards in my Angels collection - by the end of the year, I want a collection of cards to showcase i.e. a wrinkle is while these cards should be centerpieces to my regional collection, value isn't going to be the focal point, but having a list and a physical grouping of cards to work from.

B.) Account for an A-Z singles collection - list in a database and have a physical place to store the cards in.

C.) Account for an insert collection of Angels - basically list cards in a database and be able to put away in binders.

D.) Account for loose Angels cards - my goal is to have a binder of random Angels cards as a 'jukebox' of sorts; cards that go into this collection should be listed in a database.

2.) Reboot my A-Z singles collection [1/2/14]

A.) Start looking to pick up after loose cards to see if there is anything I can put together - what I can weed out such as rookie cards, certified autograph cards and other inserts that are 'dated.'

B.) I want to store various singles in top loaders in a box, list in a database and file away - organized mostly by player in 'ABC' order and then possibly by card type i.e. basic rookie cards, parallels and certified autograph cards.

EXAMPLES
* Any card I picked up as a single and paid over $10 or any notable pulls
* Rookie cards and rookie year parallels - I want to put together a 'default collection' but find the MLBPA Rookie Logo cards to be junky, so I don't know if I really count most as good enough to be 'A-Z singles' worthy cards.
* Any notable parallels / inserts - numbered, certified autographed, game-used material / patch cards
* Notable oddballs like promos, minor league cards, et al

3.) Personal collection cards [1/2/14]

A.) Maybe find a better physical place to store my various PC collections

B.) Continue to add to my various PC collections - of course, I want something modern, blinged out, but also I'm not looking to bust a budget.

My Top 30 PC cards should feature my most prominent 'value' cards - I want to say this collection will be the easiest to sell off even though the values may fluctuate over time.

My Top 30 alternate PC cards - maybe a collection of cards that maybe an extension of my Top 30 PC.

My Top 50 common PC cards - is a collection consisting more of 'rank and file' keepers with some 'gems' I may have not ranked among the first two collections listed.

Top 50 fun PC - maybe the idea of a 'fun' PC becomes a little absurd when the state of my 'serious' PC collections are just a little thin all around.

4.) Inserts [1/2/14] - a couple of years ago, I tried to list my inserts in a spreadsheet and put them away in binders, but kind of lost interest over the last year as cards piled up.

A.) Try to restart what I was trying to do two years ago with the process of putting inserts away - make sure that most inserts are accounted for, even if organizing them really just means they are in a binder somewhere.

B.) It may not be a true goal, but try and figure out things about my spreadsheet - discover forgotten cards, try to sort cards by team to perhaps serve as trade bait.

C.) I'd probably like to see if I can generate 10-15 trades - by posting a listing of cards by teams.

5.) Collecting topics [1/2/14] - maybe not so subtly, I kind of what to make these cards the focus on my sports card collections.

Why do I fiddle with junk wax cards in the middle of the night, listing them in a database and covet cards that have been long forgotten [?] - it's something personal to me I guess, where I enjoy putting cards together that have the same theme.

It doesn’t mean what I'm doing with the cards is making me smarter, when it's not even particularly unique [checks out a number of other bloggers' sites] - but it’s neat to be 'playing' with a smorgasbord of assorted cards and sort of give them new life.

A.) My goal for 2014 is to have at least 500 new collecting topics cards with 250 either old-school [pre-1980] and/or vintage [pre-1973] cards - I feel like the older Topps cards do not have have as much personality, so it's harder to find cards with sort of unique images as opposed to cards I can possibly add to topics that go on and on i.e. nations, bloodlines, local guys, et al; it's easier to find cards from the past couple of years with unique images that makes an otherwise common card 'pop.'

B.) I'd like to have more cards for collecting topics that seem to be underrepresented - so maybe try harder to find and add at least 20-30 cards to certain topics i.e. broken bat shots, interesting backs, retro uniforsm, grips, cult baseball players / feats, beyond the glory and uncorrected errors.

C.) Scour loose signed cards and list at least 100 as adds to my 'collecting topics' tree - it maybe the easiest way to find use for signed in-person cards that I get signed.

D.) Find and list 20-25 ‘new’ subjects for topics that go on and on - nations, bloodlines, local guys, et al.

E.) For ‘bloodlines,’ try and complete ‘10-15’ relationships in a given year [knowing there maybe others along the way] - i.e. find the son, the cousin, the father’s card to go with what I may have in a collection already.

Official collections
Tools of ignorance
Broken bat shots
Facial hair
Awesome outfield action
Nations
Shades
Hats off
Pitchers hitting
Interesting backs
PEDs
Bonus babies
Local [OC] guys
High socks
Inking it up
Infamous
Awesome action
Retro uniforms
Grips
Cult baseball players / feats
Beyond the glory
Bloodlines
Two-sport stars
Uncorrected errors
Players smiling

6.) Finish my Topps team runs and my Topps sampler runs from 1978 to 2014 [1/2/14] - it's not really something I've been seriously working on, but I'd like to knock out a bunch of years and complete at least a couple of MLB teams; I made a Google Sheets file so I take the cards I have or will pick up and be able to list them.

7.) Reboot my award winners [MVP, Cy Young and Rookie of the Year] collection [1/2/14] - it's not really something I've been seriously working on, but get a new binder for the cards, make sure I at least have a card for each award winner from the last three or four years covered, make sure I have appropriate cards for certain players and see where I can add a new card to fill a hole.

8.) Find semi-permanent storage solutions [1/3/13] - have a system in place where I’m not juggling around loose cards, but have storage answers that are viable and maintainable.

9.) Cardboard acquisitions [1/2/14] - I like a little bit of everything, but don't want to be a hoarder.

A.) I'd like to be able to pick up 20-25 assorted singles - such as rookie cards, certified autograph cards and other inserts that maybe interesting. Are there any certified autographs I need as far as an impulse pick up?

B.) Pick up 15-20 first-year autograph cards - it doesn't seem realistic to go after prospect cards that are already signed when I'm eventually going to go for the players in-person.

C.) I'd like to pick up at least 10-15 Angels prospect cards - who are the Angels Top 10 prospects / who are their top picks and can I get at least one certified autograph card and one certified autograph parallel of each of those players in a particular year.

E.) I'd like to pick up a regional PC card per month - I'm also not looking to bust a budget but cards that I can add towards my Top 30 PC; these cards could be towards a PSA graded sampler, a parallel, et al.

F.) I'd like to pick up a random card per month - something off-the-wall and completely random, probably for some sort of nostalgia.

G.) I'd like to bust five to 10 'guilt free' hobby boxes - try not to buy into hype when boxes first come out but pull the trigger on a couple.

H.) Build up a pack surplus [ideally about 10-15 packs at a given time] to bust at different times of the year - as a baseball card collector, I have to rip once I jump inside the car; as an in-person autograph collector, I can't hold onto an unopened pack when there might be a card inside I can try and get autographed; no repack packs or junk wax.

I.) Continue to find something in the dollar and under box [1/5/14] - maybe create a list of cards I fished out on the cheap.

4 comments:

The Angels In Order said...

You're gonna be busy this year!
If you want to make more trades my one suggestion would be to get a want list up so we know what to send you. My number of trades (and cards gifted to me) dramatically increased once I tabbed my want lists.

Laurens said...

Thanks for the suggestion.

Fuji said...

Wow. That's one impressive list of goals. Best of luck!

Play at the Plate said...

Best of luck Laurens!