Our paths are quite similar. Got my start a year before you, 1982. To this day...anytime I see a '82 Topps set, I get the urge to buy it. Even when I had a couple dozen in my ball card room (years ago). The 1981 Topps still is, "the year I just missed."
I stopped collecting in '96 because it seemed more like a job than a hobby (subsets, chase cards, boxes costing over $100). Sold 95% of my collection. Near the end of selling, I got the "itch" again. This time I only bought sets 1996 and earlier. I did finish out set runs like Score / Pinnacle / Collector's Choice to '98. From 1997 forward, it's only Topps factory set, a hand made Topps set, and the nickel and dime subsets. Anything I build after 1996 is for sale or trade.
I would LOVE to build a 1981 and 1982 Topps set (reasons above) but if its a graded box, I can't justify paying that price and if it's not graded, high chance it was searched before selling.
Would be fun to build to sets in a condition-be-darned fashion and just trade (or buy cheap lots or singles) to get them completed. Been a while since I put together a set like that.
Our paths are quite similar. Got my start a year before you, 1982. To this day...anytime I see a '82 Topps set, I get the urge to buy it. Even when I had a couple dozen in my ball card room (years ago). The 1981 Topps still is, "the year I just missed."
I stopped collecting in '96 because it seemed more like a job than a hobby (subsets, chase cards, boxes costing over $100). Sold 95% of my collection. Near the end of selling, I got the "itch" again. This time I only bought sets 1996 and earlier. I did finish out set runs like Score / Pinnacle / Collector's Choice to '98. From 1997 forward, it's only Topps factory set, a hand made Topps set, and the nickel and dime subsets. Anything I build after 1996 is for sale or trade.
I would LOVE to build a 1981 and 1982 Topps set (reasons above) but if its a graded box, I can't justify paying that price and if it's not graded, high chance it was searched before selling.
Would be fun to build to sets in a condition-be-darned fashion and just trade (or buy cheap lots or singles) to get them completed. Been a while since I put together a set like that.