I began my collection in 2006, and at the time, I had some random base cards from the 70s and 80s that my dad had given me. I knew baseball was my main interest then, so I put my money into more baseball cards as time passed. During this time, I was running to Target to buy a loose pack here and there. Nothing expensive or impressive, but that is where many people start.
Here are a few questions you can ask yourself as you get started:
- On what sports will you focus?
- Do you want to focus on a specific team or player?
- Do you want current players or vintage items?
- Do you want to build a set or just collect individual cards?
When you first start out, buying any cool card you find may be tempting. But sticking to one or two focus areas for your sports card collection will allow you to become educated on a particular niche (you can’t know everything about every card out there!) and help you avoid spur-of-the-moment purchases that you’ll later regret.
TYPES OF SPORTS CARD COLLECTIONS
Player Collections
Collecting individual players is the most common form because it is easier to focus on a few players instead of a whole team or league. In the current sports card world, each player has so many different cards that it can feel impossible to collect them all. I recommend choosing a few players you enjoy watching and focusing on building up those players in your personal collection. Depending on the player, that could get pricey. If you wanted to collect every card for Ja Morant, you’d be searching for over 1,000 cards. (And a lot of money to attain those cards.) Instead, you might focus on a specific collection of that player. Maybe you’ll just search out the Prizm cards or “chase the rainbow” to get all the colored parallels of that player. There are many ways to build a player collection.
Team Collections
When I first got started, I bought the Minnesota Twins team set at the team’s gift shop every year. Team sets are an intelligent way for a younger collector to learn the players and collect on a budget. These sets are usually less than $10.
Set Building
Set building is one of the oldest concepts in the hobby. It is one of the most rewarding projects for a collector, but it takes some dedicated time, money, and effort to build a set. The thrill of opening packs, buying singles, and searching through boxes at card shops and shows will be well worth it. (Your grandpa might have done this in the 1950s or 1960s, and it’s still just as fun!) There isn’t much value in this with modern cards, but if you start to build the 1950s-70s Topps baseball sets, there can be some significant payouts if you are able to complete the entire set.
How will you start YOUR sports card collection? I’d love to hear from you about your collection’s focus…
You may also want to check out my new book, Sports Card Fanatic. Click here to learn more.