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.