Because I have been going through some financial difficulties, I spent 2011 tracking all of my spending to see exactly where my money was going. As I was reviewing it the other day, I thought it would be interesting to start a thread with my 'year in review' and I think it would be interesting for other people here on CT to give a run down of their years as well.

For me, I picked up just a few things (and only two things since I bought my new car in July):

Leonard Nimoy LLAP shirt and autographed trading card -- for only $30, this was the best purchase I made all year. A legit Nimoy signed card and a shirt that my wife wears regularly -- can't do much better than that.

Aya Hirano -- my favorite Japanese voice actress and singer. I had been searching for one of her signed cards for literally years and a new series was released this year. I managed to snag a signed card for less than $100, and it is now one of my prize card possessions.



Star Trek Legends -- the store at startrek.com had some cheap Legends sets and I picked up the last two series from TOS that I needed for $12 combined

Spartacus premium pack -- I wanted the Viva Bianca signed card most of all, and pulled it in this pack. When I decided not to complete the rest of the base set, I sold off the other cards from the pack but this is a really nice set and if I had more money, I would have completed the base set at the very least.

SGU season 2 premium pack x3 -- I LOVED SGU and I am still sad it was cancelled. I picked up two boxes of the first season set and followed it up with 3 packs of the premium season two set. Pulled two main cast members (Elyse Levesque and Ming Na) in my packs. A really nice set, and one that I eventually plan on completing the base set for.

SGU season 2 autographs of Mike Dopud and Louis Ferriera. I like both of these guys on the show, and I picked up the cards for (I think) great prices.

Complete Star Trek TNG -- picked up a binder for $12 on eBay, and I am a sucker for Trek binders.

At Comic Con, I picked up some promos for the Walking Dead, Eureka and Warehouse 13 and some singles for my SGU season 2 base set, and a base set of the Complete Star Trek The Next Generation.

Nothing from July until December, but The Walking Dead came out and I had to have an Emma Bell signed card. I also picked up an autograph of Steven Yeun for $18.





2012 will probably be even more sparse -- I am pretty sure I will use my tax return and pick up a box of Fringe and a binder for the set, I would like to get a base set of The Guild and a Michelle Boyd autograph card from the set, and I am already saving to get 3 or 4 packs and a binder of Game of Thrones (and there is no way I would not get a Maisie Williams signed card -- Arya is one of my favorite characters and Maisie really knocked it out of the park), but that might be it for me unless the Star Trek 2009 movie update set comes out. I have noticed though, that getting fewer cards means I appreciate the ones I do get a lot more.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Jason00,

My year saw a lot of turnover so for the real pc stuff here is what I picked up:

Andy Fry sketch card sets
Dollhouse set - 12 cards. Here's my favorite from this set:
Amy Acker as Dr. Claire Saunders


Scott Pilgrim vs the World set - 14 cards. Favorite from this set:
Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Romona Flowers


Star Trek Enterprise set - 9 cards. Favorite from this set:
Jolene Blalock as T'Pol


Chuck set - 26 cards. Favorite from this set:
Yvonne Strahovski as Sarah Walker


David Desbois was able to do 14 commissions for me this year including a 9 card Women of Smallville set. Here are the latest two he did (both from LOST):




I also put together 34 of the 35 Stunning Starlets base autograph set from this year's Pop Century release. The only one I'm missing is the Cheryl Tiegs and I've been told there are only 3 of them. Here are a couple of my favorite:

I've only seen one of these pop up and I ended up winning it (I've been told there are only three of these as well):


Most expensive:


Favorite:


Blast from the past:

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Chuck Bartowski,

Awesome idea for a thread!
2011 was a good year for me. First ever case purchase (Artbox's 24: Season 5) and first time ever getting a product on/near release date - a case of Breygent's The Tudors. Then topped it all off with a cheap case of Journey To The Center Of The Earth.
Between those three cases and picking up singles for those sets, I really didn't buy too much else. I tend to find a set or two and go for a Master... who knows what 2012 will bring?

Oh, I also subscribed to NSU, but I don't think I'll get my first one until the new year... so I've got that to look forward to!

Those sketches are terrific Chuck, and the autographs are top tier too. Congrats.

No one can follow that, so I don't feel bad.

For me it was a odd year, collector-wise. I bought my first premium pack and found that most of my purchases for the year would come from premium pack products. I got a little from Spartacus, Eureka, Stargate, Tudors, Vampirella, and just recently the new Star Trek. Warehouse 13 Season 2 I never saw at all, but I bought a few autographs off the bay. I completed none of these premium base sets, except for those that were packed together in the mini-box format, nor did I even try. The single best card I pack pulled was Richard Dean Anderson from Stargate.

I think the premium packs have great cards, but overall I added considerably fewer cards to my collection than any other year since I started non-sport. I also found that I went back to the bay more than in the last 3 years for individual autograph cards and that I am now ordering packs/boxes in pre-sale from a friendly dealer that we all know here. I never pre-ordered before because I never needed to do it to get the cards I wanted. The times they are a-changing . . . and so are hobby habits.

I don't know if this was a good year for an autograph card collector like me, I suspect not. I seemed to either be spending more money for less product, or going longer without finding anything I could buy. However the variety of sets is fantastic for those that like smaller titles and there are some great new ones slated to be released next year, so I am looking forward to non-sport card collecting in 2012.

There's a lot more that could be said because I feel that some card manufacturers have really begun to change the direction of this hobby and many long time collectors may not want to, or may not be able to afford to go that way. But that is something that will continue to evolve and we can all discuss it on Card Talk thoughout the coming Happy New Year.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Raven,

Excellent topic.

My favourite pickup this year was an album of Superheroes Swop Sensation (a South African release of DC/Marvel from 1982). This didn't quite end me wanting it because the stickers are stuck in and the album is in poor condition but at least I have information about the set now.

Early in the year I did close a couple of gaps - the redemption set from Stargate Movie, and the Schmidt Batman Animaged pogs. These have been hanging around on my want list for a while so I bit the bullet and bought more than I needed so I could finish the sets off.

Hands down my favourite release was the Warehouse 13 season 2 premium packs by Rittenhouse. I love the television series and the autograph selection is top notch. I would still prefer Rittenhouse has a few extra episode cards per pack (so there's a set every few packs and therefore spare sets around), but the release was top notch.

Most underrated set - Breygent's Project Superpowers. The base cards are from the comic so lots of Alex Ross and other nice artwork. The chrome inserts are very well done. Sketches are variable, but what other set has excellent sketches so cheaply (Casallos, Lau, Cleveland, Borgonos... all did great work)?

Best pull of the year - a beautiful 4 card panel sketch of Gambit by Meghan Hetrick. I don't really collect Marvel but have been organising group breaks for some Australian collectors so have been picking up extra boxes for myself. The detail and texture of the sketch are stunning.

I agree with Raven i for one this wasnt great year for autograph for me aswell but did start on my marvel sketches and i pick up few cards i was looking for along the way..

Johnny Depp AUTO
Daniel Craig AUTO H&V
Chris Hemsworth AUTO Thor Movie
F2 Jane Foster Costume Thor Movie
Radcliffe/Felton Dual AUTO HP-HBP
Emma Watson AUTO HP-HBP
Harry Potter's Wand GoFU
Hit-Girl Costume Cards