Detaching yourself from the craze?

[abraxio]

Hey everyone, was wondering if anyone can offer words of advice. I’m deep into the chase for nets rookies, especially Traore and Demin and unfortunately it seems I’ve fallen for “chrome craze” where I’m constantly refreshing eBay to see if new cards come up. The financial aspect of things hasn’t gotten destructive but I wanna nip this in the bud before it even becomes a consideration because I don’t like where this is heading. What do you guys do to step back from the “hobby” (I’m using quotations because I’m not even sure whether sports cards are a hobby at this point) a bit, especially if you have experience pcing players that you know are gonna be more expensive to collect later on? The addictive part of me is saying that everything will only get more expensive from here on out so I gotta scoop up what I can while I still can. Is that even the case or will people sort of calm down once more sets come out?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated


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[Gary]

Well a few things come to mind....you could just take a self imposed "time out"...or try setting a limit monthly you can spend........maybe for every new purchases you have to sell the equivalent amount in $ value.....in some way were all addicted just a matter of degree i think.

As long as this isn't affecting your financial life in anyway i dont see a problem....if your going into debt buying thats a real problem and you need to wake up before it causes real problems in your life...Given the fact that you already realize a potential problem would suggest your capable of controlling yourself so thats a good sign.....over the years Ive know a few guys that let it get out of control,1 guy to the point he quit his job and opened a LCS......lost everything and his marriage.

[jcardstore]

Originally Posted by abraxio

Hey everyone, was wondering if anyone can offer words of advice. I’m deep into the chase for nets rookies, especially Traore and Demin and unfortunately it seems I’ve fallen for “chrome craze” where I’m constantly refreshing eBay to see if new cards come up. The financial aspect of things hasn’t gotten destructive but I wanna nip this in the bud before it even becomes a consideration because I don’t like where this is heading. What do you guys do to step back from the “hobby” (I’m using quotations because I’m not even sure whether sports cards are a hobby at this point) a bit, especially if you have experience pcing players that you know are gonna be more expensive to collect later on? The addictive part of me is saying that everything will only get more expensive from here on out so I gotta scoop up what I can while I still can. Is that even the case or will people sort of calm down once more sets come out?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated


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This is a fallacy. Every set is the most expensive when it comes up and they ALWAYS go down in price. Maybe it's not a financial burden to you now, but with this mentality it will be.

I used to consider myself a hobbyist. Buying cards from card shops, ripping packs and boxes when I could find them, and then when Covid hit the dynamic totally changed. The prices of boxes are so insanely high and it's just not fun spending $40 on a box to get 4, 6 card packs and get 1 parallel of some random vet nobody cares about.

The only time I buy cards anymore are specifically to flip them. That way I can have an ROI justification for spending the money. Otherwise I can just find better stuff to spend it on.

[msink28]

you just have to take one card that you really want and let it go. don't bid on it. let it be auctioned to someone else. that's the way to break the cycle for a player collector. it's not fun for that card, you will want to bid, but just let it go. take the Traore Red Wave /5 that's up right now. no bids. keep it that way.

once you do this once, it's easier to do it again.

for NBA rookies, I usually have a rule that if I can't see them as a star I don't spend more than $20 on their cards. they will always fall in price unless they become stars. obviously won't apply for you here but just kind of food for thought as to where people who aren't as committed view the market.

[kukocitb]

When PCing a player or team you cannot collect them all due to the amount of rookie cards made per player. I am guessing at least 600 different rookie cards even for the scrubs. The bigger names probably a lot more. It sucks to lose out on cards, but it is important to set limits. I have missed out on many monsters for my PC. It sucks, but it does get easier after you let a few go. Patience is another key. Don't chase the first copy of a chrome parallel. You will pay 3 to 5 times what the next copies go for. For the less rare versions hold off and it will save you a good chunk of money.

I would also suggest not chasing all parallels of the card. I want all parallels, but I am not paying up for "rare" parallels that are unnumbered.

It is good that you are seeing the issue now. I hope this helps and makes sense. LOL! If you would like to discuss more feel free to send a PM

[jcardstore]

One thing I overlooked about the OP is that this was in reference to Nolan Traore. I definitely would not be buying anything now, you'll be able to get it for probably 1/5 of the price a year from now

[OneBuck]

Every year there are some hot rookies. Almost none of them pan out long term to that initial rookie release hype. I was big on Ja Morant & Zion in 2019 & was sure they would be the new faces of the league after watching them in college, so I bought in relatively heavy (for me). Luckily I sold/traded pretty much all of my bigger cards near the height of their popularity to fund some other pc stuff & only kept the base Optic/Prizm for my sets & a handful of other cards I just personally liked.

Look at how many highly hyped rookies are out of the league in 5 years in every sport. If you're a team collector look at how many players remain on the same team for 5+ years. I've completely switched my focus to established or retired guys. If I'm buying a rookie its more of a lower end card that I like the looks of & won't mind if he's out of the league in a couple of years.

[boxbuster7]

Demin is a solid player to invest in but at the end of the day because of the print runs it probably isn't worth your time. Add in the fact that he is a nets rookie...

[CardClub2Elect]

Turning off notifications from eBay might help. The worst ones are the "someone else has just placed a bid" notification on cards that you only looked at, not even bid on or put in your watchlist. I got caught up a little in the Topps Chrome craze but kept it to just a few cards. At this point I'm done for the NBA season, I am assuming prices will drop this off season and I'll start to look at some stuff again. If prices stay where they are or even increase (on TC in particular) then maybe the set will carry a premium and buying might not be that bad because they may hold value or continue to climb over the year. I doubt that will happen. I was keeping my eye on Flagship prices and those seem to be coming down. I'll continue to keep my eye on those.

I wish I could give you more advice, for me it just kind of stopped naturally. Sometimes I wonder what the hell I'm even doing. I think the act of collecting appeals to me, especially parallels of the same card. That said, I don't display my cards and my purchases go right into the box in the closet when I get them. Every 3 months or so I break out the PC and look at them all for about 15 minutes. That makes me feel good and then they go right back in the closet, lol. Collecting has got me back into the NBA after many years so that's been fun. I'll never not be embarrassed every time my wife see's another bubble mailer show up with the mail.

[boxbuster7]

space always becomes a consideration for me. I don't have a ton of storage for my cards so whenever I want to buy more I realize I don't have anywhere to put them...

[spurs50fan]

If it's not something extremely limited (<10), it's not going anywhere and it's not going to get more expensive. You're right, the multitude of products and high print runs will ensure that doesn't happen but the business runs on the fomo concept you're experiencing. Best of luck

[abraxio]

Originally Posted by jcardstore

This is a fallacy. Every set is the most expensive when it comes up and they ALWAYS go down in price. Maybe it's not a financial burden to you now, but with this mentality it will be.

I used to consider myself a hobbyist. Buying cards from card shops, ripping packs and boxes when I could find them, and then when Covid hit the dynamic totally changed. The prices of boxes are so insanely high and it's just not fun spending $40 on a box to get 4, 6 card packs and get 1 parallel of some random vet nobody cares about.

The only time I buy cards anymore are specifically to flip them. That way I can have an ROI justification for spending the money. Otherwise I can just find better stuff to spend it on.

I guess I should be more specific, the fact that the nets have been rehabbing players and draft picks for the last 5-10 years means that for me, if I take a liking to a player it’s usually the cheapest they’ll be for some time


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[abraxio]

Originally Posted by msink28

you just have to take one card that you really want and let it go. don't bid on it. let it be auctioned to someone else. that's the way to break the cycle for a player collector. it's not fun for that card, you will want to bid, but just let it go. take the Traore Red Wave /5 that's up right now. no bids. keep it that way.

once you do this once, it's easier to do it again.

for NBA rookies, I usually have a rule that if I can't see them as a star I don't spend more than $20 on their cards. they will always fall in price unless they become stars. obviously won't apply for you here but just kind of food for thought as to where people who aren't as committed view the market.

Yeah I’ve missed out on a few red sapphires and I guess it needs to happen several more times for things to sink in lol


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[abraxio]

Originally Posted by boxbuster7

Demin is a solid player to invest in but at the end of the day because of the print runs it probably isn't worth your time. Add in the fact that he is a nets rookie...

For me it’s less an investment, more the fact that he’s a net. The stressful part is that other people see him as an investment and I need to compete with them despite having different financial approaches


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[abraxio]

Originally Posted by jcardstore

One thing I overlooked about the OP is that this was in reference to Nolan Traore. I definitely would not be buying anything now, you'll be able to get it for probably 1/5 of the price a year from now

Financially I hope you’re right, basketball wise I hope you’re wrong lol. As someone who watches every nets game, he is really looking the part


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[abraxio]

Originally Posted by spurs50fan

If it's not something extremely limited (<10), it's not going anywhere and it's not going to get more expensive. You're right, the multitude of products and high print runs will ensure that doesn't happen but the business runs on the fomo concept you're experiencing. Best of luck

But my main concern is whether the magnitude of products Topps plans to release will dilute the prices of other products (chrome will always carry a premium but still)


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[abraxio]

Originally Posted by CardClub2Elect

Turning off notifications from eBay might help. The worst ones are the "someone else has just placed a bid" notification on cards that you only looked at, not even bid on or put in your watchlist. I got caught up a little in the Topps Chrome craze but kept it to just a few cards. At this point I'm done for the NBA season, I am assuming prices will drop this off season and I'll start to look at some stuff again. If prices stay where they are or even increase (on TC in particular) then maybe the set will carry a premium and buying might not be that bad because they may hold value or continue to climb over the year. I doubt that will happen. I was keeping my eye on Flagship prices and those seem to be coming down. I'll continue to keep my eye on those.

I wish I could give you more advice, for me it just kind of stopped naturally. Sometimes I wonder what the hell I'm even doing. I think the act of collecting appeals to me, especially parallels of the same card. That said, I don't display my cards and my purchases go right into the box in the closet when I get them. Every 3 months or so I break out the PC and look at them all for about 15 minutes. That makes me feel good and then they go right back in the closet, lol. Collecting has got me back into the NBA after many years so that's been fun. I'll never not be embarrassed every time my wife see's another bubble mailer show up with the mail.

Tbh the more I think about it the more I am very similar to you. I have my pc and I look at my cards every now and then but for the most part they’re in the box. I don’t like the kind of covetous aspects that go into these things, only because I collect other things and enjoy them thoroughly more than I do my cards despite the fact that card collecting is my “foremost” hobby


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[kingofsnake]

abraxio, I seem to remember you had a pretty cool collection of former Nets - I am thinking Jarrett Allen, Claxton (sorry, Nic still on team). Am I correct? What did you do with the cards the cards after the players get traded?

[weatherwarrior]

Originally Posted by abraxio

Hey everyone, was wondering if anyone can offer words of advice. I’m deep into the chase for nets rookies, especially Traore and Demin and unfortunately it seems I’ve fallen for “chrome craze” where I’m constantly refreshing eBay to see if new cards come up. The financial aspect of things hasn’t gotten destructive but I wanna nip this in the bud before it even becomes a consideration because I don’t like where this is heading. What do you guys do to step back from the “hobby” (I’m using quotations because I’m not even sure whether sports cards are a hobby at this point) a bit, especially if you have experience pcing players that you know are gonna be more expensive to collect later on? The addictive part of me is saying that everything will only get more expensive from here on out so I gotta scoop up what I can while I still can. Is that even the case or will people sort of calm down once more sets come out?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated


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The best way to step away is remove the ebay app from your phone. When I get to where I want a break I make it tough to access ebay.

Computer only and no app. Thats the best way.

As far as your players you like. Dont listen to the world. Listen to what makes you happy as a collector. I too like Traore and Demin as rookies. Some will tell they wont be worth anything. But at then of the day its a hobby. Im not in this for ROI and if you are collecting your team, that is what the hobby is about.

Distance yourself when you need too. Keep collecting at a level that is comfortable. And keep chasing your Nets!!

Good luck!!

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[livfreely]

You don’t! You dive in deeper until you come out the other side. Very few make it through, but those that do…..


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[ZappBrannigan]

All your cards will be worth less in a few years. Incentive. They will however make good house insulation when you pile boxes against the walls of your house in winter.

[MavsRChamps]

This is what I do for my searches on Ebay:

- Just search once a week on Saturday, watch items interested in. Bid throughout week for weekly auctions I watched from my Saturday searches (Do not search more at all outside of Saturday)
- For cards I want more, I have a few saved searches where I'm e-mailed daily & I check those for new listings

Pretty simple and straight-forward.

[PKIPP]

I guess this is probably easier said than done. But just gotta remember at the end of the day, they’re “ just” cards and it’s just a hobby, and you don’t “need” anything.

I used to be all about this stuff. Daily eBay searches, chasing the newest sets cards of my pc guys, watching break videos and YouTube’s, you name it.

These days I may buy a card once every couple months. I only ever buy something if I really want it bad enough and am good with the price on it. And since I’m not buying as frequently, I’m more inclined to buy some higher end stuff. Overall still spending way less than I was before.


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[IronCladLou]

I remember the old days when I was the only one chasing Cam Thomas and Day'ron Sharpe

[boxbuster7]

Originally Posted by IronCladLou

I remember the old days when I was the only one chasing Cam Thomas and Day'ron Sharpe

save some for the rest of us