Quote:
Originally Posted by jeffstified
So, after I decided to give up on collections and sold all my live 60+ cards...
I read a few posts and...
Decided to go after collections after all. D'Oh!
Here's what I learned.
So I needed a (new) strategy. But first, I needed a mind shift. That 71 Silver card going for 900pp isn't overvalued by 800pp. It is valued at exactly what it is worth on the open market. Like anything, a card's value is what two independant parties are willing to trade it for. So I had to release the anchor of that 100pp base value and accept what the market was telling me.
So, the strategy. Pretty simple, one, I'd be willing to pay 10% over the card's 7-day average. And two, I'd target complete divisions to get the all division card. First up, the American League West.
Of the 130 cards needed, I had 25 Iron cards. The remaining cards had a max price I'd pay of 23,553pp. The 7-day average of the reward cards was 65,760pp. And that's not counting that I'd be 1/3 the way to the 99 Yaz.
To bring this home, I started buying an Wednesday and finished up on Saturday. I only went over my max on the last card needed for the Astros, Yuli Gurriel. His max was 941, but I used a buy now for 1000. Overall, I spent 19,714pp (83% off Max) to complete the AL West.
Expect to see some new faces on the War Robots come Monday!
Now I'm torn on which way to go next. Stick with the AL to finish off the league. The Central has some has ptichers. Or shift to the NL West, which has some mighty tasty looking reward cards.
Oh, I didn't want to, but I decided to see how badly my selling hurt me. And surprisingly, not at all (at least for this division)! Of the 21 AL West cards I sold, I bought back 15. I sold those 15 for 2,187pp and paid 1,582pp to reacquire. I actually made a profit! Crazy!
|
Great story. It almost tempts me to jump back in again, but if you read any of my Eddie Plank tale, you know I let my heart get in the way. And just recently, I saved up a good bit of money for Port Ruppert, saw a 1955 Mantle and there went the budget.
Well, at least I have not resorted to pack buying. Been fairly diligent about getting my teams into tournaments, and they throw packs often enough to remind me that it's folly to pack chase with the money you're saving for AH. And sometimes, they hit pretty good. My silver team (I have my teams broken into iron, bronze and silver focused to keep the live cards minimal) sometimes has really nice streaks. From Saturday afternoon until the last I entered at about 10 p.m., I checked in this morning, after the donut making, and had ten packs to rip.
That team, the Asylum Keepers, which had been having the best pack luck, failed miserably, pulling one 1400 gold live to sell, not a single silver, maybe 10 bronze, only four OL (two of which were dubs), so I didn't make a bundle on it. But it did give me another reminder not spend earned money on them.
Again thanks for the great story. Those of you reading this drivel know who to blame for inspiring it.