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Why I Don't Buy High End

Over my many years of collecting baseball cards, I have bought all sorts of products.  Some of my earlier choices I still respect (ex. UD Collector's Choice) while other choices haven't aged nearly as well in my mind (ex. a lot of Fleer sets from the 2000s).  One thing that has remained consistent throughout the years is that I have always avoided high end stuff.

Now, the biggest reason I never bought high end stuff when I was younger was that I never had that kind of money...and frankly, I still don't (esp. if I want to buy anything else in the same year).  That said, there's another reason why I avoid high end.

You see, my favorite player is Barry Larkin - so I'd be (perhaps) drawn to a high end set that had Larkin in it.  However, Larkin isn't (thankfully for me) a "high end" player in terms of card prices.  And therefore, the card that I'd like to pull from an expensive pack will definitely not be "worth" the price of the pack.

And so, I get my high end cards that "cheap" way:  eBay.

Case in point, this Topps Tribute Barry Larkin purple parallel relic card numbered out of 50.

I got that for a whopping $5.24...and that included shipping.

There's no way I can do that well with a pack of high end stuff, but thankfully for people like me there are other people out there who are willing to open packs of the stuff and sell the "leftovers" for pennies on the dollar.

Until those people stop doing that, I'll keep avoiding high end baseball card packs.

Note:  I'll talk more about the Larkin card itself in a future "Barry Larkin Collection" post.

Comments

  1. We are of a like mind when it comes to high end. It really bothers me that the industry is moving more and more to higher end products. It really leaves the set builders and casual pack and box buyers out in the cold. It kind of perplexes me too, because from a collecting stand point higher end products really only cater to the group breakers and the reseller, of which I seldom see high end stuff opened that a reseller might recoupe the cost of the product. I mean there are very few collectors out there that collect everything they open. But I guess it's good for us since we get to pick up awesome cards like that Larkin for fraction of the cost of a pack or box. But I do enjoy living vicariously through Youtube videos

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  2. I'm all about scrambling for the "leftovers" too. Pennies on the dollar should be my card collector nickname.

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