You Cannot Always Collect What You Want

To be a budget collector you always keep you eye open for a bargain.  Myself, as a budget collector and a collector of the most that my small allotment will allow, I try to take advantage of good deals.

In general, I do not collect modern issues, but ripping packs is a thrill that most all collectors enjoy and I am no different.  Recently at Wal Mart at the trading card display I noticed a 2011 Topps Series 2 hanger pack.  The normal price is $9.99 but this was on sale for $5.99.  72 cards for $5.99 was tempting enough to sway me to buy a pack.  On the low side 9 cents per card, this pack purchase is a good deal for a collector that is interested in these cards.  Here are the results of this pack break.

• From regular cards: Topps 410b Reggie Jackson (short print).  High Beckett $15.00
• Wal Mart Hanger Exclusives Pack Insert WHP30 Hank Aaron.  High Beckett $12.00
• Topps Gold 340  S/N 1837/2011
• Diamond Duo DD-5 Dan Uggla, Jason Heyward
• Topps T 60 T60-58 Hank Aaron
• Topps Cognac 574 Brandon Kintzler
• Diamond Giveaway TDG-13 Nolan Ryan
• Topps Town Series 2 TT2-42 Torii Hunter
• Kimball Champions KC-79 Barry Larkin
• Topps Diamond Stars DS-24 Ryan Braun
• Topps 60 Years of Topps 60YOT-103 Frank Thomas

A collector that collects trading cards as they are released should find this bargain tempting not withstanding that it is now 2 years out of date.  As you can see, the pack break held some nice cards that would be a welcome addition to any serious collection.  So in closing, as a budget collector, you cannot always collect what you like, but you can like what you collect.

Happy Collecting.
Jerry Yeager

Some Links That Could Be Useful

Trading Card Database  Very Nice site for creating online collection as well as resources for researching your collection and images for over half million cards so far.

SportLots  Sports Card Auction Site

The Card Collector High end Software for cataloging cards

Sports Card Collector Software better for budget with fewer features