Do you care about the value of your cards in your collections?

[Enryon]

For me the P in PC can mean a few things and that does affect how much I keep track of the values of my cards.

Permanent Collection- Only bother to look every few years for insurance purposes. These are the cards that I plan to own for my entire life. To me they are all worth the exact same as measured by my enjoyment of them. I enjoy my Lonnie Smith autograph as much as I enjoy my Tris Speaker autograph. (forever)

Private Collection- Cards I do not show off or talk about. These are cards I really enjoy, but may be used in private trades. Many of these cards find their way into the permanent collection. This is an in between group. I check the value only as needed for trades and Insurance. (Long term)

Personal Collection- Cards that can be traded or sold as needed to add to my private or permanent collection. I frequently check the value of these cards while on the lookout for new cards. This is usually full of active players. If a player becomes interesting to me for actions on or off the field, I will move those cards to a higher tier. (Medium term)

Non-PC- Checking these all the time. These are cards I am looking to move once I get a fair price. I will rarely keep these cards longer than a year or 2. (Sort term)

[whitmm]

For me the P in PC can mean a few things and that does affect how much I keep track of the values of my cards.

Permanent Collection- Only bother to look every few years for insurance purposes. These are the cards that I plan to own for my entire life. To me they are all worth the exact same as measured by my enjoyment of them. I enjoy my Lonnie Smith autograph as much as I enjoy my Tris Speaker autograph. (forever)

Private Collection- Cards I do not show off or talk about. These are cards I really enjoy, but may be used in private trades. Many of these cards find their way into the permanent collection. This is an in between group. I check the value only as needed for trades and Insurance. (Long term)

Personal Collection- Cards that can be traded or sold as needed to add to my private or permanent collection. I frequently check the value of these cards while on the lookout for new cards. This is usually full of active players. If a player becomes interesting to me for actions on or off the field, I will move those cards to a higher tier. (Medium term)

Non-PC- Checking these all the time. These are cards I am looking to move once I get a fair price. I will rarely keep these cards longer than a year or 2. (Sort term)

This is an interesting breakdown. I don't think I need 4 levels of status of cards, and definitely not 3 levels of PC. It's either is a PC or it's not. Not one card in any collection that doesn't have a value attached to it.

I'm curious to what the reasoning is behind the private collection. To me that sounds like it's just higher end cards that might as well be in the personal collection or non-pc.

And the personal collection and non-pc sound like the exact same thing. The only difference is the length of time your willing to hold on to them. What I got from your breakdown of all levels is you have some cards you're not willing to sell and everything else. No need for fancy levels for anything.

[VandyCards]

If by “value” you mean “potential sale value”, then Not even a little bit.

These are things that I have that make me happy. What I care more about is that someone may actually want them, even for free, someday, as a means to make them happy.

I have a baseball card collection, not a collection of assets.


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[TheAntiCard]

For me the P in PC can mean a few things and that does affect how much I keep track of the values of my cards.

Permanent Collection- Only bother to look every few years for insurance purposes. These are the cards that I plan to own for my entire life. To me they are all worth the exact same as measured by my enjoyment of them. I enjoy my Lonnie Smith autograph as much as I enjoy my Tris Speaker autograph. (forever)

Private Collection- Cards I do not show off or talk about. These are cards I really enjoy, but may be used in private trades. Many of these cards find their way into the permanent collection. This is an in between group. I check the value only as needed for trades and Insurance. (Long term)

Personal Collection- Cards that can be traded or sold as needed to add to my private or permanent collection. I frequently check the value of these cards while on the lookout for new cards. This is usually full of active players. If a player becomes interesting to me for actions on or off the field, I will move those cards to a higher tier. (Medium term)

Non-PC- Checking these all the time. These are cards I am looking to move once I get a fair price. I will rarely keep these cards longer than a year or 2. (Sort term)

I don't have a permanent collection, well really I do but only a few cards in it - Cubs and Bears specific. I've been really thinking about building it to more than it is. I regret getting rid of the only Bryant rookie auto I had as well as a few others. I like this breakdown and it gives me a 'sort order' to think of as I maneuver through the hobby. Thanks!

[cardsin47]

yes…..

[RL 1953]

no.......

[Triple B]

For my PC? No. I collect Jose Cruz Jr RCs and couldn't care less of the value.

The rest? Absolutely.

[boston12]

My wife tells me all my cards are worthless til I sell them.

[CardboardCombat]

Yes, pretty much the only reason I do this is for the money.

Don't get me wrong. I like sports.

I accumulate cards and then I'll give them to my kid.

[123precision]

It's interesting to see cards in my collection go up or down in value. In the end, I don't really care because I only buy singles I want for my collection.

[cardsin47]

My wife tells me all my cards are worthless til I sell them.


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[Handsome Wes]

I have a baseball card collection, not a collection of assets.

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Yeah this is the boat I am in. I was SHOCKED when I found that a card I had is going for about $1000 these days (and it’s not even an SP card).

But have I considered selling that card? Nope. Never. It’s part of my collection. Always will be.

[mfw13]

Not really, since I don't really plan to sell much from my collection (and likely will never have to).

[NatsSBR]

I have a lot of cards that are for sale and a few hundred cards in my collection, which is pretty much permanent. I don't consider them remotely the same thing, don't store them the same way, and don't even keep them in the same part of the house. If you're never going to sell, I guess the value pretty much doesn't matter.

The same goes for raw and graded. Anyone who saw my PSA orders would go down the list going "OK, OK, makes sense, nice card, OK............ wtf." But 99% of the time I'm selling the ones you like and keeping the ones you think I'm wasting money on.

[dodgerfanjohn]

I used to not, but everything has come up in price so much.

I’ve been forced to pay attention. And yes I’ve sold off stuff last year and this year. Some stuff I never thought I’d sell. It was only a few years ago where I had only two or three cards worth more than $100-200. Now it’s well over 100 cards in that value range and a few in the $400-1000 range. I had a set that was about a $2000 set and now would sell around $6k(in part due to grading). A couple unopened boxes that went from ~ $300 to over $1k. Insurance became necessary as did a will.

[Phoneboy]

I used to not, but everything has come up in price so much.

I’ve been forced to pay attention. And yes I’ve sold off stuff last year and this year. Some stuff I never thought I’d sell. It was only a few years ago where I had only two or three cards worth more than $100-200. Now it’s well over 100 cards in that value range and a few in the $400-1000 range. I had a set that was about a $2000 set and now would sell around $6k(in part due to grading). A couple unopened boxes that went from ~ $300 to over $1k. Insurance became necessary as did a will.

I'm replying to dodgerfanjohn because he said something that resounded with me, but it's something to think about...

Some people have simple estates while others are more complicated. I don't know where I fall in this spectrum, but i do know that in the event of my death, I don't want my wife or children to have to scramble around to figure it out.

I have a letter to my wife and children that sits in a box in my office. They all know where it is. It's in a sealed envelope and basically says "don't open unless I die". I update it from time to time, but they all know where it is. My wife would be OK, but if my wife and I go down in a plane together, it would be a mess.

In this letter, it outlines everything of value that I/we own along with notes on any mortgage or loan obligations. It lists all of our savings accounts/401K accounts/brokerage accounts/life insurance with approximate values/account numbers/who to call, etc. It also tells them where to find the original copy of my will and my attorney's name and number.

The back pages are a spreadsheet with every card that I own and what I paid for it. There is also a link to vintage card prices where I have everything entered to track current values. VCP isn't perfect, but it gives them a place to start.

[JeremyNick]

Yes.

Everything has a value and a price. Very few things I own are irreplaceable. It’s all just stuff I have fun with.

[Timsterino]

For my PC cards value doesn’t come in to play. It’s intrinsic value that matters. For the non PC cards I care very much about extrinsic value. However, if I feel that a non PC card is undervalued, I will just hold it. I never sell or trade a card where I feel like the value isn’t present yet.

[Danderlion]

of course

[maconithappen]

I have cards I'm very attached to that are maybe worth $1 and also have some that are worth hundreds and thousands. Right now I've got cards I can give away (low end base etc.), one's I can sell/trade no problem, one's I'd get rid of if the price is right for me, some that I don't want to get rid of and some I will if I needed the money, and some that I will always keep.

[blackbears86]

OP: I like how you break it down, but to me it's really not that complicated: They are just cards.

[whitmm]

Maybe someone else can help answer this question, but what would the reasoning be for keeping cards you consider trade bait a secret?

[dwillard]

Only care about not drastically overpaying for it when I buy it. After that it’s just part of the PC.