General Forum

Well, it's been almost 1.5 months now that i haven't made any major single purchases or bought any new boxes.. and it's absolutely driving me crazy..i didn't think it would but it is.. my wife and I are having a house built so between getting debt down and preping for that having the bank watch our accounts is driving me over the edge. just been getting the cheap singles here and there on comc waiting for a bulk shipment -- but it's not filling the void. Any body else have withrdawls at first before they went into hiberation for awhile? 

I always had to save up to make big purchases, but I was itching well in advance of me having the money to buy them.  I literally now look for excuses to go to target so I have an excuse to buy a pack.  But I know the feeling.  I've never gone too long while collecting (my out years of the hobby from 1994-2015 dont' count) with dry spell.

Topps Heritage WWE is out now, and all I've bought is one pack.  Haven't bought a box of anything since flagship Topps WWE.  I live two blocks from a Walmart.  They used 1987 Topps baseball design, so they look great, even though it's the second time Heritage WWE has used it. I have a feeling I'll be buying a blaster box before this night is through, thanks to you!

Last year, while I was job-hunting (3 months) and even for a few months after that, my purchases were next to nothing (except for a couple deals that were almost too good to be true (but they came through). After being so active buying for the last 3 or 4 years, it felt very abrupt and was painful. I consulted the last 11 months and now, starting next week, am on a full-time local thing. Which means it will be easier to sell some stuff on ebay to get a little cash moving to start the buying again. Plus, only being home 2 days a week really hurt my "hobby time". (This also explains my extreme amount of time spent on here!) I have a funny feeling I won't be quite as active on here (especially during the day). But yes, withdrawl is real.

When oil was $140/barrel and the economy was hot here in Canada things were great. Our dollar was actually worth more than the greenback for about three months (during your down turn down South .... the Fanny May?? thing I think) anyhoo work was great, life was great and money was plentiful. Then things changed .... BIG time. Oil bottomed to $27/barrel and the fun was gone. First thing to go was the hobby (thankfully not completely but ......) then the habits. So at least there was good and bad. I quit smoking as couldnt afford it (thank god I quit .... will never go back) but the hobby was collecting dust. That's is why I came back here actually, it was a way to feed the urge, when I wanted to buy stuff and couldn't I would come on here and spend a few hours on my collection. Which lead to working on my other collection, so on and so on. Now things have benn a bit better and the wife has allowed me to slowly spend some more money again. As she says "it is an investment" and then I show her C2C signature saying!! LOL Anyways I am rambling here. Withdrawls are bad whatever it is, quitting smoking was hell but not ripping a pack was simply depressing.

That's the great thing about trading sites like this one! When you can't afford to buy but still have a little time on your hands, you can search for trades! Opening a bubble mailer that you KNOW has cards you want inside of it is nearly just as fun as busting packs where you have no idea what could be inside. AND it costs about the same to ship out a trade as it does to buy one pack of cards, depending on the pack you are wanting. For the price of a 1-pack blaster, you can ship out up to 7 trades. In times of little cash to spend on cards, I'll buy a blaster every once in a while from Target or a re-packaged product if money is really tight. The cardboard addiction is pretty bad, but I usually find a way to get my hands on more.

Good luck with the house. I hope everything goes very smooth for you!

Don't forget: you can always rip a pack on the site!

I was mostly out of the hobby in 2007 and 2008, a large part of that being health related bills. That was depressing, and I didn't even look at my cards during that time because it was too painful. I came back in 2009, after getting a documented 14 cards total in all of 2008. The last month I did not get s single new card was January 2012. 

I actually have a stash of unopened packs and some boxes of random cards sent to me by several people, so even when I can't afford to buy new, I still can add something to my collection. I'm going to deplete a large portion of them next year with a project I will reveal January 1st. I've been planning it since 2015 so I've had ample time to spare. 

With that said, I'm seriously debating putting the hobby on hold...all my life I've dreamed of owning a classic car. Since before I was in grade school. The dream was to buy a classic then restore it with my dad. Cancer got him in 2002 and my health went down the drain around the same time. It never happened. Now, my family and I are all getting older...we still go to car shows as a family on a regular basis, but I don't know how much longer I'm going to be physically able to walk around a car show. Sometimes, I can do the whole show with no problem, sometimes after a half hour I can barely move. There is no way to predict it either. What I'm saying is that I want to be able to experience classic car shows as an entrant while I'm still able to enjoy it. I want to fulfill my only lifelong dream while I can truly appreciate it. There are a few kinds of cars I'm targeting, and luckily I like stuff that doesn't really sell for a whole lot. If I had $5000 in my pocket at a show I went to in 2014, I'd be happily enjoying a 1950 Pontiac right now. Another I'm targeting is a 1973-76 Chevrolet El Camino. (I was given the nickname El Camino Billy for a reason). They run about $8000 I think. I don't think I could ever save up for a 57 Chevrolet, or an Edsel, and there's even a bright red 4-door 57 Bel Air in walking distance of my house (well, if health was better) for sale...the color and model I have literally had dreams about owning. 

Either way, if I saved for either of them, it would take me out of the hobby for two to three years. I'm not sure I can live without it for that long, but I do have the stash and maybe I could trade for a single pack of new issues. It's something I'm giving a LOT of thought to, but as always, I'm struggling with the decision. Either way means giving up one of the two things that bring me any sort of true happiness. 

I know the feelingTony as, when I owed money on mortgages, I always put paying down the debt first. So getting more cards was usually only if I was on a business trip and found some shops along the way. But since I found this site, I have not experienced those withdrawals.  I find that being on this site keeps me "fixed" for my hobby needs.  Between the trades here, adding to the site, reading the Forums, it gives me everything I need between my opportunities to buy cards. But yes, when I do get more cards, sorting them is the priority in the hobby

well, im glad you shared your stories.. it's like an intervention lol.. Billy, i feel the pain, i like antique stuff too and i also buy gold/silver when the price is good.. but being able to buy constistantly to a dead halt was and is nerve wrenching. i just don't want to over indulge when i get back going again.. then the misses won't be happy lol