Ever lost your desire to collect?

[gadsden86]

I have on a few occaions. I recently lost my desire for cards and thinking except for autos they dont get me excited anymore. I then started turning to full game used items and now i cant get enough.
If you lose desire you need to do 1 of 2 things. Find a project to keep your interest or change your focus.
If neither of thoes work then maybe its time to take a break from the hobby.

[Preston]

kinda like Gadsden, I have shifted focus from cards to full game worn items - and there's always a new "challenge" for me...as far as getting gloves and photos/helmets signed by teams that come in. I've gotten something from an NFL player 22 straight games...has to be a record It's ALWAYS fun to ask the player if I can have their gloves afterwards, and if they remember, or if I get someone's glove/s that I didn't expect. Fun challenge and keeps me on my toes.

Do I still collect cards? Yep, to some degree...I get cheap ones to get signed, collect certain players and UFC fighters, but for example - when I got Matt Schaub in person (FINALLY after chasing that fool for 6 years and he never touched a pen in Nashville, he signed my photo), I sold my certified autograph card - Contenders rookie - because I'd rather have the premium item than the certified card. Unless it's a player I specifically collect (i.e. Derrick Rose, Kenny Britt, etc etc), I'll likely flip the certified once I get an in person autograph - I did so w/ my Favre card once I bought the $44.44 special from his foundation web site. Amazingly someone paid more for the card than an 8x10 photo...more power to them!

As far as my game jerseys - my Memphis ones are HARD to come by and I don't pick up very many very often, so that part sucks. The Titans gamers I have a GOOD connection w/ the team so I'm very lucky in that regard, so it's a little more often than Memphis gamers that I pick something up...especially toward the beginning of the season.

There's my two dollars...err I mean cents.

[kellsox]

I have not lost my desire to collect (as my wife will testify (and she might)). I have lost my interest in selling stuff I don't really need. Too many "Shoot me some pix. Can you do half? What are the measurements armpit-to-armpit?" No, no and no.

I've also lost my interest in buying stuff through this site. People post stuff for sale on the GUU, then sell to someone else by e-mail without checking the web-site.

Other than that, said Mrs. Lincoln after the play, everything is fine.

Dave Silverbrand
Always looking for sincerity

Many people check their emails more frequently than this site- especially with email sent directly to smartphones. If I'm a seller and state in my listing to email if interested, then an email and prompt payment gets the item.

[EurekaDave]

Sorry, Kellsox, I'm an old guy. Don't even know what a Smartphone is.

Dave S.

[frikativ54]

On several occasions, I've temporarily lost my interest in collecting. However, I've always regained it. What's made me lose interest is the sense that I get from some sellers that they are trying to rip me off because I'm both young and a woman. And I'm sure it's not only about gender, but part of a larger culture where people rip others off if they have less experience collecting, are new to the hobby, or are otherwise seen as easy to make a buck or two from. It's a shame, but these types are out there and must be avoided at all costs.

[gingi79]

I lose the desire often. At first, I wanted to collect everything. Then it was my teams, then specific players and now just 2 players. There are plenty of styles out there I'd be interested in obtaining but no one is selling them. Being a player collector, I also know market value for their stuff and don't suffer impatience when someone feels the need to try and exploit a hole.

Part of having a player collection like my Salo one, is having to admit I'm searching for specific jerseys. People get dollar signs when they think they can unload an otherwise common jersey for obscene prices. Common sense becomes anything but common. Two collectors won't even sell to me! I wouldn't overpay for a preseason jersey with a market value of $150 and he wanted $500. When I told him, with more tact than he deserved as he knew better, that other than my collection he couldn't unload it for anywhere near that price, he balked like I was insulting him. Now he won't even answer my emails. The other lost out on a jersey because the seller thought it would fit well with my collection. He would have paid more for it but the seller chose to sell to me. He's still holding a grudge 3 years later........

When petty, juvenile nonsense like that occurs, I lose interest in the hobby quickly. I'd love to get back in to loving the hobby again but nothing new seems to fit my collection. The more complete it gets, the less I am looking for and the less interested I am in the hobby.

[ironmanfan]

never

[jppopma]

I wouldn't say that I have lost the desire, just that other things take priority over collecting from time to time. There is only so much money to budget and the family will win over the collection everyday.

Over the years I have refined my collecting interest. It used to be that I would buy jerseys based on a special patch, cool, different, or whatever caught my eye. Now I focus on my hometown players and teams, yet often find myself jumping at "good deals" too.

I second all that Gingi said about people exploiting player collectors. There are some that will go out of their way to help me land special jerseys, but others that triple the price as soon as they know that you are looking for that player. Sometimes I will admit being afraid to post questions out of fear that someone will upbid me or buy it and try to flip it right to me for a profit (yes, both have happened).

[coxfan]

I don't lose the desire, but my interests evolve and change. When I first got into collecting baseball g-u stuff, I had no idea where to find it. So I was fooled by a replica WS ball at a store that the seller assured me had been at the World Series. I nearly bought a cracked bat that a different seller assured me had been used by A-Rod. But by then I'd learned enough to become skeptical, and some research saved me ( I think he signed the bat but didn't use it.) I think both those sellers were honest, but had been misinformed themselves ( a common problem with a lot of stores).

Then I got into g-u cards, because they were available and I trusted that the companies wouldn't risk their reputations on shaky items. But I was dismayed to read that they sometimes bought from secondary sources, and recent events have highlighted those risks.

Then I found the Rangers' great g-u selection when my daughter moved to DFW. So I lost interest in cards. Now I've bought postseason items from them, so I'm losing interest in regular-season items.And so on it goes.

[Larry Pelliccioni]

I think, like many, the hobby has had it's ebbs and flows. I started collecting in 1974 and to this day am very active in the area of game worn jerseys and helmets.
For me, the joy has recently been about helping others with their collecting interests. I am by no means an expert but I do try to reflect the more positive side to this hobby. Am I perfect? No way, but along the way, I have provided many with items that they truly treasure and feel that as my life has progressed that this role both suit me and energizes me.
I cannot tell you how blessed I have been to own uniforms of my favorite players and items that are more worthy of a museum than a basement.
My search has led and taken me to places I would have otherwise never been and to owning some of the best game and movie worn pieces in this great hobby.
I am also deeply grateful to Chris Cavalier and his work on developing this Forum as a place where we can exchange ideas and collectibles and his work on behalf of the 8D and other charities.
We should never lose sight of what we have been given custody of and guard it until the next generation grows into wanting to acquire and perpetuate it.
Larry Pelliccioni