The hobby has changed....how have you as a collector?

It is well known that the hobby has changed drastically over the past 10-15 years. With the internet, slabbing/grading phenomenon, registries, ebay, online pricing, and the huge upswing in prices over that time, a new "breed" of collector has evolved. Also, a lot of collectors who claim to be part of the "old school" collecting style have been left out in the cold in many ways. Other hobby 'vets' have rolled with the punches and have adjusted their methods along with these changes.

My question is: how has your collecting style changed since you started out in the hobby?

As for myself, I've become much more selective in my purchases. While before, I would hunt for the big HOF names regardless of set, now I hunt for the scarcer issues regardless of the player. Also, I've slowed down a lot in my wheeling and dealing. Before my collection was stolen (in 2005), I was trading all the time. Now, with a more limited collection, I tend to cherish my cards and hang on to them longer. In a sense it's more fulfilling that way.

I also never really got into the grading game, so in that sense I haven't evolved. I'm just as happy with a raw card that I know hasn't been messed with (by inspecting it myself), especially when I can get it more cheaply.

Looking forward to hearing your responses.

Personally, I really like this "new style" of collecting. The old was SLOW - you would get a catalog, place your order and wait for what seemed like an eternity on your cards. PLUS, now you have instant access to more cards and even rarer cards. All the owner has to do is to list the item on eBay. In the past, the item might have went to a dealer (for his personal collection or huge markup) or an auction house (and you might not even have been aware of the auction house and totally missed the itme).

While some "old-timers" like to belittle collecting these days and grading, I think BOTH are blessings! Grading helps, b/c while the grading companies do make mistakes and play favorites, I still would rather buy a graded card than one an old-time dealer graded himself (usually two grades high ) and you never saw scans of! Grading also helps sellers, b/c it is the norm that if a card is graded by a major grading company, there are no returns (no matter how picky the buyer wants to be examining the card with his electron microscope). If there is a problem, it is between the buyer and the grading company - saving the seller TONS of headaches.

While today's collecting and grading are not perfect specimens, they have made things a lot quicker, easier and more efficient than the "old days".

The one thing that will always be in that relates back to the "old days" I believe is the card show. It is hard to beat face-to-face dealings and meeting or making friends at these events!

I liked the old "slow" way better. There was a real sense of accomplishment when you completed a set or found that rare type card. Today, it's simply a matter of money. There are very few cards that cannot be found for sale at least once a year if not more orten. The other thing I liked about the old days was that things were much more personal. You actually met with other dealers face to face. Don't get me wrong, I've made some great collecting friends online, but it's just not the same until you've met them in person and actaully gotten to spend some face time with them.

No National for me this year. Have to fly to Italy this summer for my sons graduation. I should be at the 2009 National.

Jay

The old cards which I collected as a youth survived (thanks Mom ! ). Upon reviewing these, I saw that I was quite happy with cards that had scraped along the sidewalk and had their corners impacted by stoops in the pasttime of flipping with my peers, in the '50s; from this initial viewpoint, my continued collecting preferences were established.

My first pre-war acquisition efforts were directed at advertisements in hobby magazines, and catalogs of some of the sellers, primarilly Lipset. It was quite a while until I ventured into the eBay realm, and I obtained much insight and guidance from the participants on Net54 on how to do that with minimal harm. The information which I obtained was and still is good and valuable to me.

As indicated above, when buying from catalogs, getting cards was a slow process. I complimented that source by trading with members of major card trading groups, including Old Baseball Cards and Vintage Card Traders. I wound up joining Cook's group "Pre-war Traders".

Currently, most of the cards which I obtain are one-at-a-time purchases from auctions, primarilly eBay. Throughout this interval, I have also collected coins. Grading has come to both fields, and has had similar impacts on both. My primary coin focus is on pre-1820 large cents. The grading companies have no idea how to grade these, much like they have no idea how to grade Old Judges. And Old Judges are the baseball cards which I prefer.

So, for me, the impact of grading companies is of no significance. In coins, the slabbed coins are typically cracked out by knowledgable individuals and resold raw (and then accurately graded). Cards are not as advanced yet. There is no organized alternate authority established for Old Judges, as there is for Large Cents.

Wait - I think that I'm getting a bit lost here. What is the question?
I guess it is time to stop the rambling and go back into the corner and sit facing the wall once more.
See ya next time I come out.

with rising prices i've become more selective recently...i always try to buy cards raw, they're cheaper than the graded counterpart. i've also had to reshift from vgex-ex cards down to g-vg now...and my collection is even smaller than before besides the few sets i'm working on.

the days of randomly picking up an e92 bender/t206 young/d304 collins is over...focus focus focus...gotta save and be thrifty in preparation for the next card i "want/need". i've grown very frustrated with the hobby the last couple months because i couldn't afford a very low grade e90-1 jax or an M ruth rookie. i was bummed for a couple weeks and i could feel it was bothering me...i'm really hoping for a big market collapse this year.

tbh i used to browse my cards 2-3 times a week but lately it could be weeks or month+. my enjoyment these days come from cracking new pickups like the e98s/e97s etc out of their slabs and putting them in toploaders.

I tend to agree with the majority of you, that with the rising prices of cards and the economy the way it is I am more selective with the cards that I buy. When I was younger I would trade cards with friends and sometimes go into the local card shop. Now there are no card shops in my area and we don't even get any card shows. All of my cards are purchased through the internet, which is great considering when I was a kid I had to get the current catalog, usually Kit Young, place my order and then wait a couple of weeks to get my cards. With Ebay and the internet almost any card that you would ever want is there for you any time you want it, but as some of you already mentioned, it is all about money, and the hands on/personal side of it are all but gone and that kind makes me sad. It was so much fun to go into card shops and spend time with the owner and just talk about cards. Oh well...I guess that times change and I have to change too.