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Know When to Hold 'em, Know When to Fold 'em

I'm currently working on a big trade for a large stack of Allen & Ginter cards that I need.  In order to acquire said stack, I have to go through all of my piles of duplicates and unwanted Ginter cards that I can trade away...and by the looks of it, this will be a pretty big trade when all is said and done.

And that leads me to today's blog topic:

Know When to Hold 'em, Know When to Fold 'em.

You see, I have a pretty big want list on my blog right now.  I have sets going back to 1985 and all the way up through 2014.  There are junk wax sets, late 90s sets, modern sets, and pretty much everything in between.  That's even more true if you count my 1889 (yes, EIGHTEEN Eighty-nine) original Allen & Ginter set as being part of my want list.

And so, when I was going through some of my stacks of cards looking for extras I decided to try and tackle a full year-by-year sorting.  For me, that means first sorting all my cards into stacks by year (which I did a few weeks ago).  Then, I sort each year into all the various sets from the year.  For all the sets that I am trying to collect, I then have to go through my want list and see which cards I now own that I didn't mark off...and then file all the cards away in the correct binder.

It's a lot of work, but I have to admit it is kind of fun.  It's amazing the number of cards that I find in my binders that I have forgotten about!

A few days ago, I managed to sort through my entire stack of 2010 cards - and with it, I managed to make sure my want list was 100% up-to-date in terms of 2010 wants.

Going chronologically, I decided to tackle 2011 next.

And that's where I had to make a big decision.

Heading into the reorganization, there were six different 2011 sets on my want list (Lineage, Allen & Ginter, Gypsy Queen, Topps flagship, Attax, and Heritage).  In addition, I have already completed the 2011 Bowman Platinum set which means there are actually SEVEN different sets in my collection from 2011.  As anyone who stores their cards in binders can attest to, that's wayyyyy too much space dedicated to a single year's worth of cards.  Especially a year like 2011 where not all of those sets were actually worth collecting.

And so, it is somewhat bittersweet that I must announce a set "want" purging.

The first set to be removed in its entirety from my want list without me finishing it successfully?

2011 Topps Attax.

When Attax came out I thought it was a kind of fun card/game hybrid that would be simple to collect.

What I didn't realize was that I'd be about the only person in the world (or so it seems) that thought this set was worth spending a few bucks on.  As such, trade prospects have been virtually nil - and although I did drop a fair bit of coin on the set, I don't see me spending what it would require to track down the final few cards that I need from the set.

No, instead the Attax set is simply no more on my want list.

It actually feels good to eliminate "wants"...even if it's simply by change of heart.

This makes me wonder if anyone else out there who is a set collector has simply given up on a set that they previously started.  I was actually only 17 cards away from having the entire 258 card set...but it simply no longer was worth the binder, 9-pocket pages, and shelf space that it would require for me to keep the set.

I do want to thank everyone that did trade me any of the Attax cards in the past...and I can assure you that there will be a bunch that I will still keep for a secondary project that I'm setting aside cards for (more on that at a later date).  I can also say that some of the Attax cards will probably find their way to random trade packages - maybe someone else will be inspired to do what I couldn't accomplish!

Comments

  1. I've given up on a few that I know I can't afford, but my goal will always be to have every base card ever issued for the NBA and NASCAR. I know realistically it can't happen, but I'll never stop trying!

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