True set collectors, whose mission is completing the set and only that, have no use for inserts and parallels.
I am a set collector, but I like too many other things so I will not turn down a pretty parallel. Still, I admit they can be a nuisance.
For example, I am trying to finish the 2025 Heritage set. I'm down to the final five cards. It's more difficult to finish than it has to be because, of course, there are 100 damn short-prints. But also because there are a chrome parallels and sometimes when you are shopping for that last short-print, you are not careful and the listing isn't as clear as it should be, and you buy a card you don't need, and the want list remains unchanged.
This is what happened today when the chrome version of card #461 showed up instead of the regular version. It's my fault really, the word "chrome" was in the item description though it was not in the listing. I'll add it to my stack of 2025 Chrome cards, which aren't feeling as magical as they once were, and quest for #461 yet again (there is one in my Dodger collection already but you know how it goes).
I was grumbling about this situation earlier -- I've been hit with a few instances of getting something that wasn't quite right lately -- so I dug out one of the recent sends on my roll-top desk to take the edge off.
Yes, all parallels. All NEEDED parallels from Matt at Cards Over Coffee. And I was happy to see them (the Yamamoto is a prizm parallel, it's difficult to tell).
Among this parallel lot, some I consider ridiculous and some I consider pretty and, yes, I'm very conflicted. How can I be a set collector and love them so much sometimes? I don't know, I likes what I likes.
I also received this nifty card. I don't think I've seen a horizontal Panini Select card before. It's pretty sharp in person, but it'd look much better as a Stadium Club card (and with team logos).
So there you are, parallels can be both good and bad. But right now, STILL five cards away from finishing 2025 Heritage, I'm feeling pretty cursed. And, yes, this is another strike against trying to finish 2026 Heritage.
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