General Forum

Just curious, I often see people refering to their "PC".  I assume this means personal collection?  For people who have a designated PC, how do you decide what you want to keep for yourself?

I am strictly a collector who collects NBA and MLB.  I collect any and all of those cards with the exception that I do not count non standard sized cards (like minis or oversized) as part of my collection.  I prefer to have my collection stored all in one place and the same way.  I also do not care for college cards or minor league cards.  But otherwise every card that I get is in my own personal collection.  

I have never sold any cards, nor do I ever plan to unless I somehow pull some amazing lottery ticket like that 1/1 Lebron James auto patch rookie that recently sold for like $300,000.  At some point there are more important things like being able to pay off your mortgage than having a cool card haha.  

Anyways, just curious how people go about determining what goes in their "PC".  I've always wanted to know how card shop owners go about this as well.  I mean, I assume that if they run a shop, they probably like cards enough to collect them as well.  

Edit:  Fixed spelling

Excluding mini and oversized cards?  What about 1951-1956 Topps, 1948-1955 Bowman, 1939-1941 Play Ball, Goudey, American Caramel, Tobacco cards?  

My personal collection is anything that isn't a double, or something I've ripped up and thrown in the garbage (Donruss, Fleer, Upper Deck, Score, etc.)

Fortunately (or maybe unfortunately) I don't really have many cards that would be considered "vintage".  Honestly I think I have maybe like 1 card and even then it's pushing the definition.  I don't know if 1970s is considered vintage.  My OCD of wanting all the cards stored together in boxes has prevented me from really wanting any non standard cards, vintage or otherwise.  I hold on to my minis I get for my son and have them in his room in case he ever gets interested in cards.  I've also traded a 1/1 mini because I figured someone would want it.

I may have mentioned it before, but my brother was going to get me a John Havlicek rookie (an oversized) as a gift the same day he found out I don't really like non standard sized cards.  He ended up getting me two others cards instead.  However I would have found something to do with it as I always add gifts from family to my collection.  

Actually I do understand that OCD mentality of card collecting.  I was just forced to expand a little once I got past 1957 Topps.  Now I have 1-, 2-, 4-, 6-, 8-, 9-, 12-, 15-, and 20-pocket pages, etc.  

I have two parts to my PC, my OPC base/SP collections (do not include the parallels or inserts) those are easy enough. Then I have my Oiler Rookie PC (oilerRCguy) that is a bit more work. I include their RC (pre-UD Young Guns is use their OPC RC if available) and then UD YG RC from here on in. If they have a RC that is a WJC card or something to that effect then I also want their first jersey card as I do prefer a NHL card over a junior card (but will always have their RC regardless). If the player does not have an RC then I drop down to the Minor Leagues, then European (if need be), then Junior / College. Once they do get an official RC then I update accordingly. I have a huge .xl document that has the Oilers researched from 1979 to date, every single player has been listed regardless if it was a 1 hour trade flip, draft pick how never made it, etc. I also list ALL of their RC cards and/or cards that they have if no official RC. Everything else I have ever collected is just a general collection of various things that I may or may not ever sell. =)

My PC is comprised of the three "major" sports - baseball, football, and basketball (sorry hockey fans).

From there it varies beyond my team sets:

• Baseball
  • Houston Astros/Colt 45s team sets
  • Individuals 
    • Houston star players - Wynn, Morgan, Cedeno, Dierker, Rader, Richard, Ryan, Biggio, Bagwell, Oswalt, Berkman, Altuve, Springer, Correa, Bregman
    • Other teams' stars - Mays (only tribute-type cards), McCovey, Runnels, Powell, Howard, Dark, Mueller, Groth, Porterfield, Lillis, Bruce, Bond, Bonds, Henderson, Palmer, Alou brothers
• Football
  • Dallas Cowboys team sets
  • Individuals
    • Dallas star players - Meredith, Hayes, Perkins, Lilly, Jordan, Thomas, Staubach, Pearson, Too Tall, Dorsett, Aikman, Smith, Irvin, Prescott, Elliott
    • Other teams' stars - Marino, Montana, Rice, Dickerson, Allen, Warner, Fitzgerald, Wilson, Watt, Sherman
• Basketball
  • Houston Rockets team sets
  • Individuals
    • Houston star players - Olajuwon, Drexler, Mobley
    • Other teams' stars - Gervin, Maravich, Worthy, O'Neal, Robinson, Duncan, Leonard, Ibaka

Most of the players from other teams are based on various reasons from players my dad followed or liked, to players who were worthy opponents to my teams, or just because players have impressed with their talent, character, or both.

My PC has changed a bit over the last 5 years as I have been trying to focus on downsizing and only focusing on select things, even if it is varied. I used to have round 60,000 cards and wanted it all but now it's down 25k and still getting smaller.

I am primarily baseball and my I'll steal the bullet idea from Sportzcommish

• Baseball
  • Team - No teams sets 
  • Sets 
    • Some 80s sets but not sure I want to keep them
  • Individuals 
    • Griffey Jr. (1st and foremost)
    • Leroy Herrmann (relative from the 1930s so anything and all when possible)
    • Ichiro (starting to be more selective, but still figuring it out)
    • Felix Hernandez (only mid-high end)
    • Other players - Mostly some retired Mariners cards here and there... Jamie Moyer, Edgar Martinez, Dan Wilson, etc.
  • Other
    • RCs of HOFs or cards from HOF during their playing years (just started this a few years back - No big name RCs but I have playing years of Mantle, Koufax, Snider, Mays, and looking to get my first Jackie Robinson card soon
    • Cigarette cards - T206 mostly but love any tobacco cards and have about a dozen
• Other sports
  • Football
    • Individuals
      • Barry Sanders (I have one RC and a few cheap cards)​​​​​​​
      • Random cards I liked for no other reason.. I think my football collection is around 100 cards and nothing exciting
• Basketball
  • Individuals
    • Penny Hardaway auto and thats it 
    • Random cards I like for no other reason. Around 30 cards total and again nothing exciting
• Hockey
  • Individuals
    • Jeremy Roenick and Tony Amonte... RCs, a couple auto or patch cards. I have about 10 cards total
• Mutisport of misc cards or all 3 major sports of my college UNR of players that have gone pro
  • Includes mostly RCs and some autos
• TTM autos

Commish, you may think hockey is not a major sport, but by saying so is a bit of a slap to many of us on here. I do not insult anyone else's sport preferences and I am actually just a tad put off by the statement. You strap on some skates and spend 10 to 15 minutes with Mr Getzlaf or Mr Messier and then tell me if they are not "major" players who play a "major" sport. Just my opinion. =)

For me the only prerequisite it that it exists. That's all I need. Any sports card, most non-sports. I have a few things in non-sports I absolutely do not want in my collection, like Garbage Pail Kids or the Walking Dead. 

I prefer quantity to "quality", in fact to me quantity IS quality. I'd rather have 100 dollar cards than one 100 dollar card. 

Of course NBA, NHL, NASCAR take precendence. I usually won't spend money on baseball or football but I will accept them in trade. Occasionally I will purchase an Allan & Ginter pack. 

I collect primarily Topps cards of Baseball any year, Football 1971 to 2015 plus 1959 and 1969, Hockey from 1968 to 2003. Each base set has it's own book that is out on display. Most everything else I have be it some other manufacturer or insert cards goes into one of the following which I keep at 100 pages per book and once it is full, just start another book. Parallel cards, Patch cards, Autograph cards, Relic cards, Mickey Mantle, or Nolan Ryan. Anything else goes into a Random book for each sport.