Modern Star PC - How Do You Do It?

[CamaroDMD]

The majority of my collection over the years has been tied to older set building...I would call it "vintage" cards but I think many people wouldn't go that far (to me anything 1989 and older is vintage).

Outside of that, I have stayed away from modern cards outside of a couple player PCs. Players who never made much of a splash in the NFL so their cards are affordable and not in demand. The only exception is Joe Montana (my all-time favorite player) who I do collect with a passion...however, I focus on cards from his playing years and avoid modern stuff (for the most part).

However, there is a player in the NFL who is by far my favorite active player...he's not at the same level as Montana when it comes to being my "favorite player" but to be honest he's not far off. I wouldn't say he's a "star" player just yet...but I think he's well on his way I think and the prices of his cards reflect that. The player is Marcus Mariota.

I'd like to start a Mariota PC and avoid base cards, but I'm not sure how to go about doing it with the way modern sets are being produced. It seems their is either base or really high end cards for bigger name players. There isn't much in between. With players like this...is it simply a balance of quantity verses quality and you have to be much more selective than in the old days? What is the best way to approach such a collection?

 

[Taliasen]

I try to collect any and everything I can of my PC guys, base, insert, oddball, relic etc, I want it all. I just set a firm price that I will not bid higher than (shipping included) for my PC guys. Fortunately there is not a lot of competition for Sean Casey so I win a lot more than I lose. There are some serious deep pocket collectors of Rickey Henderson though. So I usually lose most of those auctions. I do not know how to 'snipe' on eBay. The silver lining, as I have been collecting Henderson for YEARS, I have contacted and gotten to know a couple of other Henderson collectors. We all have each other's want list and try to help each other out when we can.

 

[unkilldoo]

I also try and collect anything, and everything, for my NY Jets team PC. Without breaking the bank. I search for deals, (and like Taliasen) will not go over a certain price. Of course that price is a sliding scale depending on the item. When I decide what my top price is that is the amount I put in, and win or lose, there are no regrets.

As for sniping, as far as I'm concerned it's the only way to go, to be sure you get your best price. Sniping is just sitting on an auction until the very end, and then putting in your top bid. Over the years, and with plenty of practice, I can wait until there is between 3 and 5 seconds left in the auction, before placing my bid, and still win. Of course, on occasion, there will be a glitch, and my bid won't go through, but that is fairly rare. You need to figure out how fast your bids are going in. I started out bidding with about 30 seconds left, then over time, started waiting longer, usually on cards that I would like to have, but wouldn't be disappointed if I missed them. Mostly cards with a large print run, so that I know, that I would get another chance, if I mistimed it. There is also a web site called ezsniper.com that will bid for you, if you cannot be online when an auction ends. You just put in the maximum you're willing to spend, and they will not go over that amount. I believe they charge about 10 cents per auction won, and no charge for any that you lose.

One of my favorite sites for finding deals, is fatfingers.com. On this site, you type in the players name (make sure that you spell it correctly) and they will search for every possible misspelling. You'd be surprised how many times people misspell a players name. Sometimes you get lucky and find an auction that no one is bidding on, because it doesn't come up in the search results, due to the misspelled name.

 

[Taliasen]

One of my favorite sites for finding deals, is fatfingers.com. On this site, you type in the players name (make sure that you spell it correctly) and they will search for every possible misspelling. You'd be surprised how many times people misspell a players name. Sometimes you get lucky and find an auction that no one is bidding on, because it doesn't come up in the search results, due to the misspelled name.

+1

 

[CamaroDMD]

I didn't know about the fatfingers.com. Thanks for that, I will use it (it's actually how I found my stolen customs...I searched Mariota and my 1962 Topps Mariota was listed mispelled).

I think for me, I am going to focus on less quality and more quality. The shear number of products now and endless parallels and 1/1s just makes it too hard to collect "everything." I think I will focus on nicer pieces that really speak to me.

To that end, I have already purchased 2 cards to get this PC started. When they arrive, I will post them.