Here's a couple of quick questions that I have been considering. Basically I have been feeling like I am falling behind on non-sport cards in general and I was wondering if I'm not alone. For some titles there have been numerous back-to-back releases, often with cross over characters or other titles. There are also different sets available through different methods, including exclusives thru the manufacturers and on other platforms.

Though never an expert, I did think that I was relatively up on what was out there in non-sport cards. Now, when reading some of the forums here and elsewhere, I am beginning to feel a bit lost.

So here's the general questions and I hope that people will be moved to post their opinions in greater detail.

Question:
How long have you been a collector of non-sport cards?

Choices:
Less than 1 year.
1 - 5 years.
5 - 10 years.
10 - 20 years.
Over 20 years.

Question:
Have you limited your collecting to certain titles or to a certain type (promos, autographs, relics, etc.) of non-sport cards?

Choices:
No.
Yes, limited to certain titles.
Yes, limited to certain types.
Yes, limited in both titles and types.

Question:
In your area of non-sport card collecting, do you feel you are keeping up with the current titles, trends and issues that may impact what cards you can collect and how you collect them?

Choices:
Yes.
Somewhat.
Don't know yet.
No, it's slipping a bit.
No, I'm lost.

 

I am way behind. Too many parallel sets, too many hard to get autographs, not enough money. I still enjoy the cards I do have though.

I used to collect a much wider variety of titles and types of cards but the increase both in the number of titles being released and most importantly the rise in prices of sealed product have meant having to make some hard choices.

Now the only new releases I buy are sketch card packs. Everything else I wait for prices to fall. If they don't I miss out but more and more I am finding if you wait six months to a year boxes/cases can be picked up for less than 50% of RRP for the majority of sets.

Basically I am up to date with sketch cards and behind on everything else.

I've been collecting cards for well over 40 years and i have never restricted my collecting to any particular type or subject of card.

I do have favourites like everyone does but this not stop me taking an interest and collecting what other people may see as their favourites.

I am fully aware of all the latest trends and collecting habits allthough i must admit i do not neccesarily consider them to be a good thing for the hobby in general.

I have been collecting Cigarette Cards and Trade cards since the latter part of the 1950's that being the decade I was born in. I started off with Tea Cards, then added pre war cigarette cards if and when I could find them (post war cigarette cards did not really exist anymore although some were issued printed on the packet slides. I then graduated to Confectionery Cards and other Trade Cards and then on to Bubble Gum cards this was followed by an era of sticker sets (Panini and others). Collecting was then revitalised when Cigar Companies started issuing cards in their packets which in turn generated inserts from Cigarette Companies. With all this going on someone had the idea of reproducing complete sets of Cigarette Cards from pre 1915 these being UK, USA and other Overseas issues. The Entertainment Card (having been previously the bubble gum card)soon appeared here in the UK in the mid 1980's when Trading Card fairs were organised and American manufacturers realised there was a large market here in the UK and Europe waiting to be tapped. In the 1990's Pogs were issued but never really took off. Also from time to time cards would often be found in Cereal packets and other Food items etc. as well as other collectibles. I have always collected whatever I have taken a fancy to although there have been times when I have collected every new set issued and others when I haven't collected anything for a while as other collecting formats have put cards on the back burner as I have a vast collection of model soldiers, model cars, books, DVD/Blu Rays, CD's and Postcards.

Note that I also have a lot of Sports sets usually Baseball or NFL as I was very fortunate in have a couple of friends who visited the US frequently and I always managed to persuade them to buy cards for me. The UK trade and Cigarette cards also include what some collectors would class as of a sporting nature.

regards

John

I know I sound like a broken record but the rising cost of not just cards but everything has chipped away at my hobby budget.

1980's I would pick up packs to complete many of the TOPPS Movie card sets. Early 90's Impel, Skybox, comic images were a time of great Marvel,DC, Star Trek and fantasy art sets. The mid-90's a spike in prices and the CCG craze. I stepped away from this hobby for a few years and focused more on another. 1998 to 2008 The Inkworks era(for me)-I loved the sets they put out, I loved the people who worked there. Alyssa, Doug and yes even Uncle Allen. Upper deck was doing the Disney Treasury sets. Rittenhouse was doing some great Star Trek sets and Marvel sets. Artbox was doing the Harry Potter sets, Finally a card series my son was into and we worked on together. Once Inkworks was gone and Harry Potter sets were a thing of the past and the cost began to rise aging, I started slowing down again.
Cryptozoic sprouts up- a few titles really hook me-Smallville series got completed and Downton Abbey.
Enter now, A box starts off in the 80+ range. Upper Deck Marvel-I have no interest in the prices on those. I have to love the property to buy it new. If not I will wait til the price drops. Topps is doing a star Wars set every other month, Rittenhouse has beaten the Star Trek franchise into the ground, Cryptozoic has the WB DC properties and Big Bang but the price of piecemeal all the autos I want for a decent price is too much for me.

Too many of my collecting buddies are moving on or cutting back too so the excitement of the hobby is not there for me. The Tosers not in charge of NSU has....My loyalty was to them more than the magazine. I was sent my renewal form and for the first time since 1996, I will be buying my NSU of the newsstand when I feel like it instead of being a subscriber.

I collect what catches my eye.

I always go for the sketch releases from Perna Studios because the subject matter is interesting to me and the cards are always so well done.

I'm currently collecting the Dr. Who Tenth Doctor Wide Vision cards from Topps because that was my favorite Dr. Who series and I like how the cards look.

I've collected (almost) all of the auto cards from Breygent's Grimm and AHS releases, and will collect more if Tom puts out another set because I like those shows.

I have lots of random autos and sketch cards from Cryptozoic releases, based upon me liking the subject matter.

So I don't stress about "keeping up" with releases because I'm all over the place.

Since I mostly collect pre 1940's stuff, I can't say that i am falling behind or that I am even a typical collector. One problem is that modern sets i'd be interested in: Blade Runner, Escape from New York and Westworld 2016 haven't been produced and likely wont.
Most of the new product, while nicely manufactured, is pretty boring in my opinion.

I've accepted that on some sets I will never have (and in some cases never want) a full master set, now I find I can enjoy collecting what I can afford and relax.

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

I find it very easy to keep up because the field I'm playing in is so small. I only collect autographs and occasionally costumes/props, only from movies and TV shows that I'm particularly interested in.

Throw into the mix that some manufacturers' products are impossible or very hard to get in sufficient numbers outside of North America for prices to be acceptable, and that certain other manufacturers are so poor that I've given up on them, and the pool is very small.

I basically just have to pay attention to three or four manufacturers and that's it. And only two of those release anything with any real regularity anyway.

That does obviously mean I'll go for decent stretches with nothing new coming out that I'm interested in. Like right now. There's not a single set on anyone's release schedule at the moment I care about.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by ravenheart:
I find it very easy to keep up because the field I'm playing in is so small. I only collect autographs and occasionally costumes/props, only from movies and TV shows that I'm particularly interested in./QUOTE]

I am also a certified autograph card collector, but I cast a wider net because I will buy product from titles that I may not be interested in if I like a few of the signers. If there is only one or two, I will look to pick those up individually. My focus is on autographs from people I like, regardless of the title. It's actually a lot cheaper that way. You don't have the stress of completing anything and you can buy the lowest priced card and still know that you have the same genuine autograph that is on the highest priced card.

I am falling behind though. I say that not just because there are so many autographs now, but also because the sets keep coming and they are coming from different places. I am finding things that were released in manufacturer exclusive sets and e-Packs and in cross over sets that incorporate actors from related titles. I see expensive autograph cards of actors I never heard of. I see autograph variations and inscriptions galore. I read news about autograph cards on one forum that is never mentioned on other card forums. I read NSU too, but only certain news appears there. It is just a lot harder for me to stay informed on current cards, or at least it feels that way to me.

And with certain recent titles like Star Wars and Doctor Who, I'm not sure how anyone decides which product to focus on. It really is overwhelming.

So to me as a non-completest, keeping up is more a state of mind than any actual goal. I think I'm losing the battle.

It seem like most non-sport collectors of new releases are just autograph collectors now.

I have been collecting Non-Sport and Sport for at least 30 years or so... since I was a young kid.

I use to collect everything and anything.

Over the past 10 years I started to sell, trade or give away a lot of my cards, both Non-Sport and Sport.

I kept some Non-Sport and Sport cards that I like and that are considered "rare" or 1 of 1's. Plus signed memorabilia and sports items.

Now I mainly collect Buffy/Sarah Michelle Gellar cards and items.

I will collect other cards that interest me but I do not have the energy and the time to collect everything at this time in my life.

So I keep it simple and just focus on Buffy/SMG stuff.

But I do keep up with all the upcoming releases, rumors and all things in the collecting universe.

Plus, I will always pick up a pack or two of cards if I see them in a store just for the good old times of opening a pack of cards...

The past few years I've concentrated on Game of Thrones as a set I'll try to collect most parts to, although with the ridiculous amount of parallels now, I no longer even try for a master set.

I have a lot of interests and shows/actors I like so I tend to pick out an autograph card to a favourite character/actor for a show and not collect all the base/chase sets. I have neither the space nor money to buy lots of different products in any depth.
So other than GoT I pick and mix from other sets...and those mostly being autograph cards.

In the past year the only products I've bought boxes of are GoT, Outlander and Doctor Who Tenth Doctor Adventures(when discounted!). These days the average box seems to cost more than its contents.

Even if I'm not buying a particular product I still very much enjoy seeing what other people are collecting and their box finds etc...and reading people's collector highs and lows.

quote:

Originally posted by Studio-Hades:
It seem like most non-sport collectors of new releases are just autograph collectors now.

I think there are a lot of autograph card flippers, not to be confused with autograph card collectors.

Its a natural consequence of the box/case prices on new card products from the majors. Dealers and speculators are the front line buyers and card collectors are the intended target as the final destination. Collectors are of course interested in the value of their cards, they don't want to overpay or buy junk, but what they are buying is to keep, at least in the near term.

Just on this small sample survey, 68% of the respondents have been collecting cards for more than 20 years, 21% between 5 - 10 years, and a paltry 11% less than 5 years. I'll bet most of those people do not consider themselves autograph collectors, but that practically every one of them owns at least a few autograph cards.

Its just the nature of the industry and human nature in general. There are plenty of card collectors who say that they want new products that don't have all the bells and whistles, but are inexpensive. Yet when some of those come out, usually on odd titles from smaller card makers, I don't hear of them selling out. I don't hear collectors raving about them.

You can't have you're cake and eat it too with new cards. The boxes can't be loaded and be inexpensive. Yet there are many options and many years of older and vintage products. If I stopped buying any newly produced cards right now, I would still never be able to collect all the cards I wanted that are already on the market. I would not think that I am alone in that thought.

Great subject. I too feel I'm out of the loop. My interest in these boards has dropped like 90% (sadly).

There's no "oomph" in collecting - RA has not only beaten Trek into the ground but also Bond - resulting in this year's release "The Smiles of Bond" - a 300 card set (with gold parallels) examining all the smiles from every Bond movie. The set includes behind the scenes smiles along with a 9 card chase set "The Frowns of Bond".

I don't know what happened behind the scenes oh so many years ago with Inkworks, but I can probably trace my waning interest back to that time period. I think the RA/Inkworks competition kept things interesting. Inkworks at least tried some different titles here and there. RA just keeps grinding out sets from the same properties. I can certainly understand narrowing your field and fine-tuning your product line, but at some point (IMO) you have to broaden your base, no? They did a nice job with the Twilight Zone franchise. For some reason the Irwin Allen franchise was a complete dud. I wanted them to do the Gerry Anderson franchise, but they never did (and I'll guess that the IA failure didn't help matters). I don't know which other franchises there are - why hasn't Batman (TV) been picked up? I understand that all the litigation is settled (we got the series on home video) - surely someone can crank out a few card sets? Inkworks was doing some nice sets on the various Batman animated series - which I collected to an extent without even having seen the series!

Whatever happened to Breygent? They had some cool takes on Wizard of OZ and movie posters - then came out with a smattering of other stuff and now has seemed to have fallen off a cliff (at least to my collecting interests). Is Cryptozoic even doing card sets any more? After they dropped Batman(TV) with nary a word, I haven't checked them out much.

As for NSU - I'll probably still subscribe, but I haven't read an issue in the longest time - I tend to just open it for the promos and that hasn't been so sweet anymore either.

Of course, it really boils down to my interest in card collecting in general and that has seen a hit. But it's hard to collect when there isn't anything that I like to collect being offered! I was buying Bond boxes mainly to be "with it" and/or have something to buy (I like Bond, but I think I'm done collecting). I don't do Buffy/Angel/Charmed. I like Supernatural but no interest in a set.

One bright spot for me is Wacky Packages - I look forward to this year's release - it's something fun I usually can pick up at Target...

Thanks for letting me vent a bit.

Anthony, Breygent had 3 sets in 2016 (I believe) the last Dexter, American Horror Story Asylum, and Bates Motel Series 2.

Not sure what you mean by Crypto dropping the Batman TV show. They did quite a few sets in 2016, comic and TV show related

quote:

Originally posted by Tommy C:
Anthony, Breygent had 3 sets in 2016 (I believe) the last Dexter, American Horror Story Asylum, and Bates Motel Series 2.

Not sure what you mean by Crypto dropping the Batman TV show. They did quite a few sets in 2016, comic and TV show related

Thanks for the info.

In the case of Breygent, the titles released don't appeal to me as a collector.

In Crypto's case, they had listed a Batman '66 (TV series, starring Adam West) about a year ago or so and then it was dropped from the "Upcoming Sets" on NSU with no explanation.

I did forget to mention that I bought a box of Unstoppable's Space:1999 series and binder. I was underwhelmed with that release, to say the least. No offense to Unstoppable, but I do wish RA or Inkworks could have tackled it. I don't have enough of the other manufacturer's sets to have a feel of how they would have handled this particular title so I can't comment there.

Sorry - just a fuddy-duddy in another fuddy-duddy phase!

Oh, I see. I wasn't aware of Batman 66

In 2016, Crypto released Justice League, Ghostbusters, Orphan Black, Outlander, Flash, and the latest on Big Bang Theory, Fringe, Supernatural, the Hobbit, Vampire Diaries, and Walking Dead

Not sure if there were others