I know I've been on and off these boards for the last 5 or so years, but I do lurk these parts on occasion.

Just curious who's still collecting, what you're collecting, etc.

I know with plenty of new product being so expensive these days, people have pulled back from the hobby a lot- I've done a few stray boxes here and there but nowhere near the amount I was buying at my peak. My main focus this past year was trying to finish up the Inkworks Buffy Autograph cards as I started rewatching the show after the death of Michelle Trachtenberg.

After almost 20 years of collecting the Inkworks Buffy and Angel cards, I'm down to needing just two autograph cards to finish- both are Season 1 cards- I acquired both the Alyson Hannigan A3 and the David Boreanaz A2 last year and am down to needing the Joss Whedon A1 and the Mark Metcalf A4. (I technically also need the Boris Vallejo Spike card and both James Marsters signed Pieceworks cards, but I'm OK without those- for now.) I know both those cards are on that site right now, but I'm not ready to grab those just yet.

Hope everyone is well!

Val

My largest PC is Doctor Who alumni, even actors who have signed for non-Who properties. So I have, to match your fandom, a James Marsters Angel auto as he was a recurring Torchwood (Doctor Who spinoff) character.

I also collect every main cast Star Trek character, but have let that slip with "new Trek", where I've only picked up favourites.

Deforest Kelley's 1997 Skybox auto is my biggie grail for Trek, William Hartnell's 1/1 cut auto for Doctor Who the other.

The only cards I have bought in the last few years have been the Perna sets . It's just become too expensive for the average collector now with the vast majority of product being bought by people looking to make a quick profit with no real interest in the hobby .

The only upside is the influx of sports card collectors and people now in their 20's/30's who are buying the cards they could not afford in their childhood . Cards that I bought when they were released are now selling for a lot more than what I paid for them .

I still collect cards from Perna and RRP Parks. Gave up Star Wars after 30 years as dealers can't get boxes from Topps and therefore can't make sets. I think the last SW I did was 3 years ago. I am not going to open packs from Target to try to assemble sets

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Tommy C,

My collecting dollars go to small publisher sets now. There's so much creativity and care in those that it's an easy decision. There's infinitely more value than spending $300 with an almost guaranteed 90% loss.

Dropped off of Card Talk for a long while because I stopped buying new product boxes and didn't really have much to say about the non-sport card market that would sound positive. Having said that, I still acquire new certified autograph cards and have filled in many holes in my admittedly excentric card collection.

I no longer have any goals or holy grails. I don't follow the hype. I buy only for my idea of value, usually for people whose certified signatures I don't already own. With the explosion of sticker autographs, and particularly the flood of Leaf/POP Century products, autograph card prices for a majority of celebrities have been slashed and are now readily available. On-card signatures are still the best, but RA is the only one who has stayed with it consistently, and Pascal isn't worth $1,500.

My own binders have grown fat over the past 2 years with names I never thought I could get, mainly on Leaf/Pop Century cards. As an autograph card collector, it has always been for me the certified autograph first, and the card second. All these sticker cards are artificially scarce. The 1/1 is the same as the 11/25, so why are you paying more? Once you realize that, it becomes way easier and a whole lot cheaper. So that's my tip. You can't keep your cards and make money too. Somebody tells you different, they are making their money off of you.

I still collect, but I have cut back. No more Star Wars for me, but I still get into Trek. I got excited when Buffy reappeared but who knows when the new ones will ever come out. James Bond is a biggie with me, have lots of autos but not all the Bonds. It is hard to finish base sets now, even for Rittenhouse sets.
I do collect the small independents, thank goodness for the likes of Richard Parks and the Pernas who always give us beautiful cards and a complete set without pesky parallel cards. Lastly, I've been delving into older cards. I wrote an article for the magazine about Space/Target Moon from 1957 and it sounded good so I started collecting them. I need 5 cards now.

I too have dropped off in purcasing although my interest is Inkworks Promo and Redemption cards I find that i am only chasing the redemption cards now and the ones that I want are now few and far between being the high prices being asked
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In these cards I find that the name really dictates the value and the price being asked smaller actors cards are a lot cheaper than main actors the cards are the same but prices being asked are quiet different .

Also within the Inkworks sets of cards in most cases there are only a couple of cards needing redemption being Autograph or Pieceworks.

Most of these cards are quiet rare in the Men in Black 2 the redemption card was inserted at approx 1 per case thus making this card very rare especially the Tommy Lee one

But the hunt still goes on basically I have possibly only purchased about half a dozen cards last year and will possibly be less in 26 if the prices being asked are being maintained

However the collector is still in me and i will continue to purchase things that cost me money especially in ripoff shipping wich is the International buyers curse and in the end have buyers remorse but cant help it.

I'm here almost daily doing a quick check. I look to see who has posted wants or whats for trade. Very little action in that particular thread.

In 2025, spent most of my money filling in PC and set wants. I actually did more trading over on BO forums than I did here. The only boxes I bought in 2025 were Marvel Studios Series 1 & 2.

I did partake in two large sketch artist breaks and one Kickstarter sketch set last year as well.

I still have an extensive want list, but most of it is 2 years and older.

I did start a few new PC sets, again older stuff, but started Stargate Atlantis and Space 1999.

One thing I did do last year was finish my master set of the TV series 24. I own every single card you could pull from wax boxes and from SDCC.

The link below takes you to the thread I made on the BO forums.

My "24" Master series set

Since I dropped all social media about 5 months ago, I found myself checking in more here.

I have a friend who is actively working on a ton of sets and I help him out when I can.

I have been working on the Rittenhouse Doctor Who sets which is a monumental task on a modest hobby budget. Would love to have gone deeper in the Twin Peaks sets I just have not set aside the funds for that. My son is still slowly working on the 1966 Batman cards and I did the stranger things cards on the cheap with my daughter.

I still look for good deals on old promos (pre-2009) and various oddball cards (errors, sketches, autographs). I would say I've cut back a little but I keep looking.

The last hobby box I bought was in 2024 - a good deal on "The Book of Boba Fett." I might take the plunge and pay $200 for a box of something cool but it seems like all the boxes are $200-300 and all you get are about 60 cards with less than half the regular set among them. The chance of getting an autograph of someone you recognize is low. The chance of getting a sketch is lower than getting an autograph and the chance of getting a sketch you think is great is even lower so I understand paying $200-300 for a nice sketch you're very unlikely to pull from that $200-300 box.

I am thinking of getting a box of that Star Trek Connections when it comes out. I've never bought a box of any Star Trek before.