 This hasn’t happened with my cards yet...but it has with my CD collection. Many collectors run into this, whatever they collect.
I now own three different copies of Billboard Magazine’s Top Rock N’ Roll Hits for 1964. Oh sure, it’s handy to have two backup copies of The Four Season’s “Rag Doll,” but...really, I just need the one.
I visited a local record show last month, and since those Rhino hit song compilations are getting scarce, I picked up one in a dealer’s “Miscellaneous” bin. I checked my pocket list (you DO carry around a pocket want list for your cards, don’t you?) from my wallet, and saw a hole right in-between Billboard 1963 and 1965. I fished out my six bucks, dropped it in my bag, and came home happy; nothing makes your day like making a mental checkmark off your want list.
I dropped the stack of discs into my “Just got/don’t put away until listened-to” pile, and went on with my day. And sure enough, although I made a mental checkmark...I forgot to make a real one on my list!
So, this week at the used CD store, I found the same disc for $3.99, and snapped it right up. And getting it home, it turns out I already HAD that disc in the first place; seems what I WAS missing was the 1964 R&B volume! Because when I was making my list I had done it from memory.
And as you’ve seen here, my memory is not my friend.
This little anal-retentive fable is brought to you to show why we keep lists in the first place, and that we should make them better. For me, I’m now going to leave the list out of my wallet once I pick something up, with my purchases, until I check them in; so I won’t take my list with me until it has been corrected. And since it’s next to the computer, it makes it easy for me to change my master list on my computer as well.
I’m sure we’ve all used tricks like that...say, leaving the keys on the same shelf as you come in the house so you never wonder where they are next time you leave, or keeping your wallet or change in the same pocket every time.
My point is, why make a list if it doesn’t help you when you need it to? You can help your list do its job better. Think of it as an extension of your brain, in handy paper form that fits into your pocket or wallet: a “brain annex” that takes the pressure off your head from remembering the little stuff.
So...what will you need to know when you’re standing in front of a box of common cards at a flea market, and you’ve just found the one Lion King card you needed? You want to know what number it is, of course. Maybe you want to know what other numbers you already have. And one more thing, you may want to know SkyBox made two different series, and maybe the card you’re holding is from a set you haven’t started collecting!
That’s often a real problem for newer collectors, not realizing just how many sets of cards may exist for their favorite characters, especially icons such as Batman or Spider-Man. Your list may need to show the exact name of the card set to help you remember. And if it’s a TV show, or a film with a lot of sequels, keep track of which season or sequel number you’re looking for; just writing, “Star Wars #4” just won’t cut it!
Many people list their major wants on an index card or other card that fits into a pocket; that way they’re not carrying around a whole piece of paper. Maybe this card is the same size card as all the individual cards they keep at home in a recipe box, one card per series. Others don’t find a full-size piece of paper all that inconvenient. Some use NSU’s Encyclopedia of Non-Sport & Entertainment Trading Cards as a checklist (use a pencil, in case you trade a lot).
Some people have embraced the Digital Age, storing a file on their smart phones. Some even make web pages to call up for their personal use, wherever they are. My system is to type out a list on the computer, and print it out in very small print as a long column I can cut and fold to fit neatly into my wallet. Except now, I intend to check my wants against my actual collection instead of listing them from memory...and, to update both my pocket list and my collection inventory whenever I bring new stuff home.
Speaking of which, I’m on my way out to a swap meet right now...just as soon as I can remember where I put my pants..!
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