I’ve spent a lot of time lately delving into some pretty deep and obscure T206 topics. So when a friend suggested I get back to basics, it sounded like a good idea. In this series, I’ll give some advice to T206 collectors who are just getting started. With this article, I’ll start by taking a look at some different approaches you can take when building a collection. In the next article I will tackle the question, “If you had $100 to start a T206 collection, what would you buy?” Parts three and four will address the same question, but with the $100 replaced by $500 and $1000.
Some Different Ways to Get Started:
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Start with the Hall of Famers
This was advice I got when I first started to collect the set, and it served me well. The idea is that when you get started, you don’t really know where the journey will take you. You might get hooked, stay hooked for years, and complete the set. Or you might lose interest at some point. By buying Hall of Famers first, you make it easier to sell your cards and move on to something else if you decide to go that route.
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Start with commons
Starting with commons has merit too. You can build up a little stack of them quicker than if you were paying more for Hall of Famers. Seeing your collection grow can give you some momentum to keep at it.
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Start with one team, or city
In my opinion this is the ideal way to get your feet wet with the T206 set. It also makes a ton of sense if you happen to be from (or have ties to) a city or town that is featured in the set.
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Be an opportunist
This approach requires patience and a lot of research to make sure you understand the market. If you wait for good deals and bid in a lot of auctions, you’ll eventually add some cards to your collection at great prices. The downside is it will take longer to build the collection this way.
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Buy some cards from a friend or trusted seller
Buying a group from a friend or someone you trust is probably the easiest way to get started these days (shout out to net54 and Tobacco Row as a couple of great places to buy). The biggest benefit to doing it this way is that you can buy raw cards and feel comfortable that you are getting authentic T206s. In my opinion, handling raw cards is imperative if you want to learn how to identify fakes, reprints, and altered cards as you progress in your journey with the set. The only drawback to buying in this manner is that it kind of limits your ability to select which players and poses you’d most like to acquire, simply because you’ll only be able to choose from the cards that your friends or fellow forum members have for sale.
Some Important Decisions to Make Before Buying Anything:
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What condition do you want your cards to be in?
This is among the most important things to figure out. It’s not the end of the world if you buy a bunch of cards and then decide you wish they were in nicer (or worse) condition, but you’ll probably end up spending some time selling or trading them. When I started my collection, I wanted cards in Fair/Good condition. I got about 150 cards into my set before realizing that I preferred cards with a higher level of eye appeal. Luckily for me, I enjoy selling and trading, so it didn’t bother me when I decided I wanted upgrade some of my initial purchases. However, if selling a big stack of T206 commons doesn’t sound like fun to you, it’s smart to spend some time making sure you know what you want before you start buying.
I recommend choosing a condition range that works well with your budget. I’d love to build a T206 set in EX and above, but I don’t have an extra $300,000 laying around, so attempting such a project would be an exercise in frustration. It doesn’t hurt to do a little math before you get started. Try and figure out how much you want to be spending on T206s each month, then look at roughly how much much it will cost to reach your collecting goals, and see how long it will take. The right approach will be different for everyone, but as with any goal, you want to make sure yours is attainable. If it’s too difficult, or it will take too long, you’re likely to get frustrated and lose interest.
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Buy graded cards, raw cards, or a mix?
This is something you’ll want to consider before you make any purchases. My advice would be to try and get comfortable with raw cards as quickly as you can. Some collectors strictly buy graded cards, and that’s a perfectly fine approach if it feels right, but you’ll miss out on a lot of opportunities if you’re not willing to buy raw cards. I’d estimate that around 25% of the cards in my collection were raw when I acquired them.
Stay tuned for the next three installments of this series:
Part 2 Sunday June 17th
Part 3 Sunday June 24th
Part 4 Sunday July 1st
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