Thursday, April 1, 2021

Quality over Quantity or Vice Versa?

I'm a fan of the Topps All-Star glossy sets. I am keeping track of my progress for completing the run here.

Currently I am missing the 1984, 1987, 1990, and 1991 sets. I have a few cards from these sets, including this 1984 Topps 1983 All-Star Dale Murphy card shown below. 

I collect Dale Murphy cards. I pick up his cards when I see them in a dime box. I do have his rookie card and a certified autograph, but the majority of the cards I have of his are like the card below; base cards that are for the most part, readily available.


Looking at the picture of Dale Murphy on this card has me thinking about what it would be like to pick a card or two of my favorite players, those players that I currently collect like Murphy, and just call it good. Could I be happy with his rookie card and the Sweet Spot auto that I have and stop picking up his cards from dime boxes? It would save me a few little money, but more importantly it would save me space.

I have these types of thoughts every so often. I haven't ever been able to pull the trigger though. I think if I were to go this route with Murphy I would have to also include his 1989 Upper Deck reverse negative card. Who knows, maybe one day I will find one that slipped into a dime box by mistake. I guess I better keep scouring those dime boxes.

How about you Quality over Quantity or Quantity over Quality?
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7 comments:

  1. The Lost CollectorApril 1, 2021 at 4:42 AM

    I actually haven't seen this Murphy. Really cool.

    I used to be about Quantity, but lately have been steering toward quality.

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  2. MattApril 1, 2021 at 6:51 AM

    For guys in Murphy's era of cards, it's much easier to do quantity. I'm amazed by collector's that chase after modern players and all those parallels and inserts.

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  3. The Diamond KingApril 1, 2021 at 6:55 AM

    I am a quantity guy, but only because I can't afford the quality. Also, I love having a lot of cards to look through and remember stuff. Like this Murphy!

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  4. night owlApril 1, 2021 at 7:55 AM

    It's always been about quantity because the hobby is called "COLLECTING" not "DOWNSIZING". ... But the older I get, the more I like to trim the collecting fat here adn there. I just think it's a little weird when hobby people get so excited about selling off their cards.

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  5. JonApril 1, 2021 at 9:13 AM

    I've been thinking about this a lot lately, but for the time being I wouldn't be very happy with player collections that consisted of just a couple of cards.

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  6. JafroniusApril 1, 2021 at 12:32 PM

    It's been quantity for me but like most everyone else the pandemic has limited that trend. I have found myself participating in online auctions for my LCS and wound up winning a few things that I wouldn't have dreamed paying that much for pre-pandemic...so maybe nowadays it's a little of both...?

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  7. Elliptical ManApril 1, 2021 at 3:01 PM

    I guess I'm more quality. I don't feel the need to chase down every card of a player, even if he's my favorite in his sport. At a certain point it just seems like overkill.

    But to Night Owl's point: I collect the good players, and there have been a lot of good players. So I guess I do go for quantity, I just spread it out.

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