The "IT" follow-up

Thanks to you, the amazing readers, the comments for yesterdays "How do you think IT is affecting the hobby?" post were outstanding. It's great to be able to check the pulse of the collecting communty like that and is one reason blogging is so much fun.

My humble opinion reflects much of what you guys had to say, but I'll give you a little rundown anyway.

First of all, I started collecting in 1981, so I just missed out on the first Topps monopoly. I didn't know the good from bad from the ugly and loved all the cards in 1981. As I matured as a collector, I became more aware of quality vs. quantity. That's where I am today. I don't want 50 or 60 sets to choose from and I honestly don't card if Topps has the only licensed either.

I just want Topps to care about the product they put out. Produce cards as if you don't have a monopoly. Design cards as if the continuation of the monopoly depends on it.

I decided that I'm going to change my buying habits a bit in 2011. I'll continue with the same budget as this year, but I'm going to be a lot more selective about what I buy. I'll still buy a pack or three of each new product that comes out, but I'm going to stick with Topps Flagship and A&G as set collecting goals.

The part I'm most looking forward to is splitting my budget in half. Half will go to new stuff. The other half will go toward vintage cards. Earlier this year, GCRL picked up 44 vintage Washington Senators for me for $20. That's a much better use of $20 than a blaster of new stuff if you ask me. I don't have a good LCS for vintage cards and haven't been to a show in 15 years. I suppose that leaves Ebay and COMC as the best avenues for spending my vintage budget.

Don't think I'm down on the hobby because I'm not. There's more to this hobby than what Topps decides to sell in 2011. However...I have an opinion on that too.

For next time.