I am curious where you keep your sets. In binders or boxes?
Is there a binder big enough to fit the typical Topps base sets of 630+ cards?
Also, how do you feel about buying the entire base set in one go?
I am a bit iffy myself. On one hand it is easy to do and everything is all there and in order (I assume the cards are in order). Yet, it takes from the thrill of ripping packs and putting the set together yourself. The satisfaction with comes with checking off yet another number on your want list. The memories you get when you look through the set and remember where and how you got the card.
... I had more to say, but my mind has gone blank. Just been staring mindlessly at the screen for the last few minutes. Meh, night.
I keep hand collated sets in binders, though the biggest set I've ever done is only 300 cards or so. Given that, I would imagine that a set twice the size would fit nicely in a binder so long as it was a thin card like Topps or Upper Deck flagship.
ReplyDeleteI'm never sure how I feel about buying sets already completed. The funny thing is that the people who turn their noses up at it are the same ones who encourage you to just buy 'hits' online that you want instead of wasting money on boxes or packs... yet collating a set yourself costs AT LEAST twice as much as just buying the set already put together, probably more. So the most efficient thing to do would be to buy the whole set already completed... it's a strange dynamic. once you cherry pick cards, you can never go back to random boxes/packs, but if you choose to hand collate everything you must admit to yourself that you're OK with throwing money away.
And with that I've lost my train of thought and am also going to bed.
I have my 1978 Topps set in a binder and its 726 cards and it fits fine... If the deal was right I would buy a complete set, but I prefer to build them myself, much more meaningful. Since I don't collect high dollar stuff, it has to have that sentimental value to it for me...
ReplyDeleteFor the modern issues I get complete sets. The packs/boxes are more expensive. I really don't care abut "hits" -- the base sets are good enough for me. When I was young it depended on the set. From 1974-1978 I collected the sets from packs. The 1979 set wasn't all that appealing to me so I just bought the set. I collected the 1980, 1981, 1983, and 1987 Topps sets from packs and bought the other years as complete sets. All of my sets since 1988 were purchased as complete sets.
ReplyDeleteI try to store my cards in binders. The newer sets are still in boxes but little by little I'm getting them into binders.
I like binders. They're portable and somewhat displayable. I have too many cards to fit into binders, though, so a lot end up in boxes.
ReplyDeleteAs for complete sets vs. completing your set via packs, it depends on what your objective is in this hobby.
Personally, I don't find buying complete sets fun. I tried that back in the mid-80s. They were the least fun years of collecting I ever had. If you're trying to create memories from your hobby -- recalling chasing down this card and that, and actually getting to know your cards -- I recommend putting the set together yourself.
Sure, it's more money, sure it's less "efficient." But if your goal is something more sentimental, then efficiency should mean zero.
I'm a "need nostalgia" type of guy myself. I love knowing the last few cards I needed for a set and where they came from. I did a post similar recently.
ReplyDeleteI've never actually bought a factory set, but I don't think I'd enjoy it. I have a friend though that got all the factory sets as a kid in the 80s and he enjoyed pulling them out and looking at them as he put them into binders - so to each their own.
You can definitely get big binders to fit your sets. Thrift stores have TONS of binders just laying around for a quarter or ten cents if you need to find some.
I'm not much of a set collector but I also prefer binders for the most part.I have a couple 4" binders that easily holds 700 + cards.Most of my duplicates and cards for selling/trading are in boxes.Mostly boxes specially designed for sports cards that hold anywhere from 100 to 5000 cards.
ReplyDeleteA full Topps set will fit in a binder. I tried it back when I was working on the 825-card 1993 set. I never managed to finish it, though.
ReplyDeleteBuying a factory set really isn't much fun, because nobody ever takes it out of the box to look at. On the other hand, I spent somewhere between $200 and $300 to build the 2002 Fleer and I doubt I'd even get a quarter of that back if I could find a buyer for it at all.
Either way, collecting modern sets is really somehting of a sucker bet, unfortunately.