The Hobby gives and takes. For most, the joy of collecting outweighs the sting of an occasional setback. Yet, we can’t help but remember those missed opportunities and wonder, ‘What if?’
We often see the “wins” or the pulls of a lifetime on social media. We might also read about negative experiences with other people. But regrets are seldom discussed. Regrets can be personal and require more than a few moments of casual conversation to come out.
We asked collectors to share their regrets to highlight their journeys and how they shaped their paths. We all can relate to some version of ‘what could have been.’
These are their stories in their own words.
Robert Klevens, Owner, Prestige Collectibles
I first began my search for Japanese baseball cards in 1989 during a three-month stay in Tokyo. At the time, I had no idea what I would find. To my amazement, I stumbled upon several fascinating vintage cards. They were unlike anything I had seen in the U.S., so I purchased them and shipped them back home. I spent hours hunting for cards and memorabilia at flea markets, antique shows, and old toy stores.
When I returned to the U.S., I decided to open a card shop in Florida, mainly focusing on vintage MLB cards. It was fun, but the idea of living and working in Japan was always on my mind.
A few years later, I set my sights on making that dream a reality. In 1996, the opportunity finally presented itself. I was offered a chance to help run a card store in Tokyo. It was a fantastic experience, attending card shows and interacting with collectors.
I truly loved the work, but looking back, my biggest regret is not making a stronger effort to stay. When my visa expired in 2002, I had to make the difficult decision to move back to the U.S., leaving behind a life I had come to enjoy.
I often wonder what my life would have been like if I had stayed in Japan and continued running my own card shop. Over the past 20 years, the market for sports cards and memorabilia has evolved dramatically. Although I now travel to Japan once or twice a year, I can only imagine how different things might have been if I had remained there.
Cage Lawyer, Podcast Host of The Hobby With Cage
“If there is one thing hobby lifers have – it’s regrets!”
Sometimes, the biggest regret is something you DON’T do instead of something you regret doing! A card I always wanted to own was a Michael Jordan 1986 Fleer Rookie in PSA 10.
I made a few card sales in 2019 and early 2020 that put me in a position to purchase one, and I did. I paid approximately 100k for the card (but was proud because the 100k came from sales of cards that cost significantly less than 100k).
Anyone who followed the hobby in 2020-2022 knows what happened next. The prices exploded, and Jordan PSA 10 RCs sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars. At the time, the charts were all straight up, and the “talking heads” were universally saying that the Jordan card was a “Million Dollar Card”!
I bought the hype and was emotionally invested in the card- as it was one I always wanted. So when PWCC contacted me with a $425,000 offer for my Jordan RC, I said “no” immediately. I knew this was a “million dollar card”… because everyone was saying it!
The problem? The meteoric rise in price was not sustainable – and I learned that lesson the hard way.
It is something I try to teach newer hobby participants – but it’s a lesson that people often have to learn for themselves. I know I did.
Paul Lesko, Plaintiffs’ Litigator Known As The “Hobby Lawyer”
“The best thing about collecting for so many years is there is plenty of room for a few regrets.”
The biggest hole in my collection is reserved for a little-known insert from 2011 Topps’ Triple Threads. You see, I collect cards that are the subject matter of lawsuits. Back in 2012, a lawsuit was filed by Christopher Holmes against Topps.
Holmes was a former employee at Topps who was upset when his image appeared—allegedly without his permission—in an insert in 2011 Triple Threads. The card at issue was of Holmes posing as the fictional character John Henry. Holmes was so upset over this card that he sued Topps.
In 2012, I started covering lawsuits in #TheHobby and started collecting cards involved in those lawsuits. So, with this new lawsuit on file, I had another target.
The card, however, was going for $200 on eBay…and I had not yet paid more than $50 for a card.
And despite the John Henry inserts being limited to FIVE total cards…and my background in science with A LOT of math courses, including a 300-level statistics class…I thought, “I’m sure since there are four other of these cards out there, a less expensive one will pop up later.”
WRONG.
It’s been over 12 years since this lawsuit, and I have yet to see another 2011 John Henry Topps Triple Thread anywhere.
I’m so desperate for this card, it’s to the point every time I’m at a card show, I sheepishly approach tables and ask if they just happen to have this obscure insert from a decade-old product.
The looks of confusion (and contempt for wasting their time) I get are just <chef’s kiss>.
So, yeah…this is the largest #TheHobby regret I have because it’s still a card absent from my collection that might never be filled!
Andy Broome, Vice President, CGC
“If you don’t have at least one hobby regret, you haven’t been collecting long enough.”
Jimmy Buffett said it best, “Live a life, and you will live to regret it.”
One of my hobby regrets happened at a little motel show in 1989, where I was set up to sell.
I was 13.
On that day, I was the only one with any pre-war cards on display. A man stopped in front of my table and gazed into my display case. He pointed to the group of T206 cards and asked, “Do you buy cards like these?”
The late 80s was a time when crazy cards would still come out of the woodwork and walk into a local card show. Unfortunately, most walk-ins were out of cards long before they reached my table. Now, there was a walk-in standing in front of me!
The man said he had “a bunch” of these kinds of cards out in his car. I grabbed a friend, and we followed the man to his car. He popped the trunk. It was like that scene in Pulp Fiction when the briefcase was opened.
There were boxes and boxes stuffed with cards. Two-thirds of the cards were non-sports, but everything was pre-war.
I started a stack of some T206s and T205s, and the man asked why I was doing that.
“I want to buy these,” I responded.
“Nope, all or nothing. I don’t have time or interest in being a dealer.”
It was more money than I had access to. I didn’t hear much after that. The man rearranged the boxes and closed the trunk. He said something about going somewhere else. He was gone before I could gather my thoughts – no cards, name, or phone number.
It still haunts me.
John Newman, Card Dealer and Podcast Host of Sports Card Nation
“We live, and hopefully, we learn. One thing I don’t regret, however, is being in the greatest hobby in the world.”
“Regrets, I had a few, but then again too few to mention,” a great line from Sinatra’s “My Way,” but I’m going to apply it hobby-wise, and as the lyric says, I have a few as well.
My biggest regret that comes to mind is when I started to earn money and heavily buy cards in the 80s. I wish I would’ve bought more vintage. Don’t get me wrong, I did purchase vintage, but in hindsight, I should have acquired more.
I also should have gone further back to include pre-war cards. Darn, if only that DeLorean was real. I wish I had the foresight to pick up some of the more obscure food and regional issues from the vintage era.
We all know about those premiums now. I didn’t buy more vintage because I was heavily focused on current releases and carrying cards people would ask for at my shows. That was a regret from my pre-store show days.
In 1993, I was in my second year owning my first card store. Upper Deck SP was a huge hit and money maker for the shop. I sold a lot of it, and I opened plenty of it as well. I probably pulled 50 Derek Jeters and bought another hundred between 1993 and 1994 from various sources, thinking he’d be a good ball player.
But I thought he was overhyped because he was a good-looking future starting shortstop for the Yankees. I didn’t think he would live up to the hype he was getting before he did anything.
Needless to say, I sold all 150 of those Jeters for a lot less than they wound up valued at during his incredible career and post-season successes. I never thought he’d be the Yankees’ new “Mr. October.”
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