When you can't buy cards what do you do?

I'm at a point now, where I've had to put my card purchases on hold for a while. I have no cash flow to buy new cards, and I have no trade bait to trade for new cards since the only things left in my collection are the two sets I'm currently working on.

My question to the board. If/When you're in a situation like this, what do you do to pass the time and/or stay interested?

eric,

i'd prolly have pull the plug on my dsl line so i can't go online anymore, if i'm online i feel i gotta browse ebay or the forums. temptation's too great, i'd go as far as telling mods to ban me from these forums for an indefinite time. i'd induldge one of my other hobbies like join a ping pong league or catch up on good tv series, or dust off my ps3/xbox360/wii (god of war 3 is out...)

...or if you're really desperate talk to ur wife/gf

I started collecting, hunting for, organizing and displaying nineteenth century card scans for sets which interest me, but I would never be willing to purchase. It has increased my knowledge and appreciation of these cards tremendously. And even better - they let me post them here - go check out the "helpful information for collectors" section. I'm planning on putting some Four Base Hits and Yum Yums in later. Join me

I'm a compulsive hobbyist. There was a time when my card collecting was on a hiatus...and during that time my attention went to playing guitar. As long as you don't start collecting guitars this is a satisfying thing to do on a budget. Of course, I have no idea if you play music, but I guess what I'm advocating is a hobby that is satisfying without being a cash drain.

If you want to cross that with baseball, I'd suggest diving deep into historical baseball reading/research. You will retain (or even grow) your baseball knowledge without getting caught in the collector trap.

When I am broke, I don't look at eBay. That way I don't go crazy seeing cards sell for cheap I am looking for.

yea i think you'll be fine...after the initial first couple weeks you'll hardly miss it. i've been dipping my toes into my other interests and tbh i've found those people to be alot more pleasant and genuine than in this hobby. almost makes me want to pull the plug on this whole thing.

Hi Eric,
Try fantasy baseball. It's fun, time consuming and something you can do with friends.

3-2-count wrote:Hi Eric,
Try fantasy baseball. It's fun, time consuming and something you can do with friends.

Well, let's see. I am currently in 2 fantasy baseball leagues. I'm finishing up fantasy basketball, and hockey, and looking forward to the NFL draft.

My hobby outside this hobby is my PS3 when I have some down time, and working out. My wife and I are close so we do talk, hang out, workout together, and are currently doing home improvements so that takes a lot of time.

But this damn cardboard stuff is so addictive. I plan to keep visiting the board very frequently and putting my two cents in when I can. But a lull for me with collecting is something new. I've been go, go, go for the past 3 1/2 years. I did take about 3 months off last year to recharge, and to re-prioritize things in my life, which got me back into this hobby fresh and a bit less involved. I guess I've always been a collector of something my whole life.

I was just curious what you guys do for down time. Might give me some other ideas.

Hey Eric

I'm kind of in a similar situation. After finishing the T206's I decided to try the E96 set. While I'm still pursuing it they just don't come up very often. Auctions on ebay are few and far between. The only thing out there are outrageous BIN's. What I've been comtemplating is starting a post war set. I happen to really like the 1967 Topps set for some reason. I might try it. You could pick a set and say try to do it in PSA 6. I would imagine you can pick comons for a few bucks and not the $100's you are accustomed to spending on your pre-war sets. You could pick up a few comons each month on a budget $25 or $50 or something like that. It will keep you active in the hobby, satisy the craving to purchase something while not breaking the bank until you get your house repairs done.

Just a thought.

Hope you are well.

Best,

Scott

Destructive testing