How big is your collection?

[Ruud Van Driver]

MisterGas wrote:

4 1/2 Foot

Andy, I've got another 1/2 a foot you can have if you are interested?

[MisterGas]

Ruud Van Driver wrote:

MisterGas wrote: 4 1/2 Foot Andy, I've got another 1/2 a foot you can have if you are interested?

Easy Tiger.....
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MY COLLECTION ON FLICKR
http://www.flickr.com/photos/goosecollection/collections/

[clsyorkshire]

derby1884 wrote:

Non-lge: 2,223 clubs (UK only)

Didn't think there'd be so many non league clubs in the UK
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[Eck]

I'm just a rookie little over 500 Rangers programmes all games.

[Wullie]

My collection is tiny, then i am only interested now in what i would call museum pieces. I don't have the time , money, space or the will to build full sets after selling off whole seasons for peanuts some years ago. It's interesting when whole collections turn up for sale , for example at the moment someone is selling every Arsenal home from 1946 to present. He is after £25,000. A great collection built with dedication over the years, and no doubt this is what he estimates it is worth. Pound for pound over the years probably worth more. But will he get £25,000 ? I'll be amazed if he gets anywhere near it.
I have learnt building a collection can be fun, hard work and costly and can bring great joy and memories, just never try and sell it....

[Eck]

That is good insight Wullie. It is exactly why I don't mind condition of the programmes I buy for my personal collection (within reason) I read all of my programmes and I won't ever sell them,when I am no longer here they will be passed through the family.Having said that ,I wasn't pleased with my Wife when she put her empty coffee cup on my 1967 ECWC final programme and marked it.

[Wullie]

That is an interesting point. If most collectors , collect programmes for the sentimental value , they like to read,enjoy and gain information,then why the obsessive need for "mint" programmes. Funny lot us collectors

[derby1884]

Don't know if it's a sign of curmudgliness or just the advancing years but, as each season comes along, and the "programme" increases in pages, glossy photos and, ahem, price, I find I spend less and less time actually reading the thing.

Maybe that's to do with the internet - back in the days of "The Ram", that was THE place for DCFC news. Not now.

With current season issues, it's become more a case of "ticking the box" and filing it away.......maybe I should be more like Wullie and, instead, plough the limited funds into 1 or 2 museum pieces which will at least hold their value rather than continue to pay £3 + p/p for each current season issue which starts to drastically depreciate as soon as the final whistle blows.

When does a hobby become a habit?
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[Wullie]

well it's not up to me to tell people what they should collect or not collect, but £3 x 2/3 games a week seems an amazing amount of money to pay for something that is massed produced and is given only a glance at half time. Personally,for £200/£300 i would rather own one 1936 Home programme that a whole season of this season programmes. But each to their own.

[Eck]

I haven't got a full season. i'm a season ticket holder at Rangers but can't get to most away games. I've been emailing to clubs to buy a programme and so far they've all complied. I was talking online to an official of Forres Mechanics and she is going to send me a programme free of charge.It turns out her son plays for them,it's his testimonial year and he missed what would have been the biggest game of his career through injury.

[Wullie]

Eck wrote:

I haven't got a full season. i'm a season ticket holder at Rangers but can't get to most away games. I've been emailing to clubs to buy a programme and so far they've all complied. I was talking online to an official of Forres Mechanics and she is going to send me a programme free of charge.It turns out her son plays for them,it's his testimonial year and he missed what would have been the biggest game of his career through injury.

That's what i found out in the past when i used to write to clubs. The smaller clubs give better service and are friendly and polite. You would never get treatment like that from the "Bigger" clubs

[gkb]

2,654 Sheffield Utd 1st team homes and aways back to the war
800ish Sheffield Utd reserves and Youth Cup
approx 1500 Wycombe Wanderers home and away
approx 300 various first and last seasons etc
approx 1000 Sheff Utd and Wycombe tickets

All are sort of catalogued through excel but despite having a room that I have to myself the storage and dispay is rubbish so all in boxes which is not ideal for adding purchases when made.

I have given up collecting modern issues since 2002-3 and am filling the gaps from the 50's as they are so cheap at the moment.

Due to the lack of Utd issues that I am able to find I have started all sorts of random collections such as Northampton 65-6, Oxford 62-3, Peterboro 60-1, Barrow 71-2, Bradford PA 69-0 & 73-4, Olympic tickets, Euro 96 tickets etc. Have no link to any of these clubs but keeps Ebay interesting !

On top of all that lot the biggest problem is the thousands of issues I have picked up over the years that are probably all but worthless in the current market and I have not had the enthusiasm to catalogue in order to sell, they amount to many boxes that just make the who room look a total mess (well thats what the girlfriend says !!!)

[Eck]

Wullie wrote:

That's what i found out in the past when i used to write to clubs. The smaller clubs give better service and are friendly and polite. You would never get treatment like that from the "Bigger" clubs

Absolutely true,there is no way to contact Rangers and you can't buy a whole season subscription,they used to do it but not now.

[derby1884]

The young lady who responds to emails on behalf of Fulham is very helpful!
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[Wullie]

derby1884 wrote:

The young lady who responds to emails on behalf of Fulham is very helpful!

That's what i mean, the smaller clubs are the most helpful.

[WileBrownAstle]

Approching 350 now, only a small number compared to some. Would agree about the smaller clubs, they are a lot more friendly, then some of the bigger clubs.
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Please check out my wants list

[2.718]

About 30 programmes. Just added one new one to the collection.

Very happy with what i have and add to it when I find something that really appeals to me and the price is acceptable.

[Eck]

I spoke too soon.I contacted Stirling Albion telling them of people making a killing on ebay with the Rangers programmes this season.They ignored my email and started selling them on ebay for above the cover price plus £1.50 postage. Still not too bad though because it includes a team sheet.

[goonerboy]

Wullie wrote:

My collection is tiny, then i am only interested now in what i would call museum pieces. I don't have the time , money, space or the will to build full sets after selling off whole seasons for peanuts some years ago. It's interesting when whole collections turn up for sale , for example at the moment someone is selling every Arsenal home from 1946 to present. He is after £25,000. A great collection built with dedication over the years, and no doubt this is what he estimates it is worth. Pound for pound over the years probably worth more. But will he get £25,000 ? I'll be amazed if he gets anywhere near it. I have learnt building a collection can be fun, hard work and costly and can bring great joy and memories, just never try and sell it....

Absolutely right mate. Re the arsenal collection, he would be lucky to get £5000. Most arsenal seasons you can pick up on ebay for relatively few quid even going back to 50s. A near complete set of league and cup homes from 50/51 through to early/mid 60s went for £300 (plus commissions) at Sportingold not long ago. The above seller does have some real gems in there (eg 57/58 postponed Forest is several hundred quid) but there are only probably half a dozen progs that go into the hundreds (all postponed issues) and the rest are very affordable/even cheap. Yet he probably spent £10 -£15k accumulating his stuff in the days before ebay collapsed the market.

[goonerboy]

Wullie wrote:

[That's what i found out in the past when i used to write to clubs. The smaller clubs give better service and are friendly and polite. You would never get treatment like that from the "Bigger" clubs

You are totally right. A few years ago I collected the teamsheets. I could get the home ones easily through a contact at the club or even on occasions even by writing to arsenal. For the away ones I used to write to the club the day before the match and enclose an A4 stamped addressed envelope. Most clubs were very helpful some even sending several copies. The one club that refused to send any was......Man Utd.