I've only been back in the hobby for a month now, I'm close to completing 2 sets and have been debating starting another. And I have yet to buy a single hobby box. I have purchased many individual packs and even a few retail boxes. In a few short days I will be heading to a hobby store and purchasing at least 1 hobby box and hopefully filling out the rest of my sets.
I'm hoping to trade in many of my extra cards in order to fill out my sets. The question I have been asking myself is...is it better to buy or trade for sets and cards that you want?
Ebay and Hobby shops offer numerous cards for varying prices. What I can't find in the hobby shop I should be able to find on ebay. However, I prefer to not spend money if I don't have to. I have attempted to make a few trades online.
One fell through because the other person was moving for a few weeks and I found the card he wanted to trade me at a $10 bv for $.01. This was obviously too good of a price to pass up. While I was online I even suckered myself into purchasing another card. This too was priced "too good to pass up". There are a number of other cards that I would like to buy online, but I have to learn to budget myself better.
The other trade I have been waiting to hear back from the other trader for over a week now. He responds to my PM's on the site, but has yet to make an offer (I told him which of his cards I would like and am waiting to see what he would like in return).
Another question this raises is, is it worth it to buy hobby boxes when the set is almost complete? The hopes are that I can fill out my set and get a few MOJO cards that will help suppliment getting the rest.
The first thing I think, as a new trader and new, again, to the hobby, is to set a budget. A limit, that will help suppliment my enjoyment of the hobby while helping me fill my sets, which can be of great joy itself.
I think these are problems we all face when just getting into, or back into, the hobby. How to start, where to go, how much to spend, to trade or to buy.
No matter what I'm buying a hobby box this weekend. The question will be, do I buy a hobby box to the set I am almost complete, or to start a new set? I guess time will tell, and so will I on my blog on Monday!
2023 Bowman Baseball Review
11 months ago
I completely agree about having a budget. I enjoy the hobby as much, if not more, than when I used to buy packs (every week) and singles (at least twice a month) as a kid. Some of the rush is gone (I hardly buy packs anymore) but so is the stress.
ReplyDeleteIt's cool that you're thinking about what you want to buy. We have a lot of options out there. I'm pretty selective now so I really savor the cards I get.