A new collector is created,,,,Please HELPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!

ZEBRA18

First an introduction. I have spent the last three years on the PCGS boards talking about coins and U. S. Mint collectibles. I have "met" a lot of helpful and great people during that time, so it was only natural that when I decided that I needed help for a new endevor, that I turned to your board. Our family is very active in Little League in our area. I umpire, coach, and help out with the kids all that I can, and have a daughter that recently went to the States (2 and out!), and a son who is in the 9-12 Majors. His interest in baseball has exploded this year, so it was only natural that he wanted to start collecting baseball cards; an area that I have no knowledge of at all! If he had wanted to start collecting Modern Mint Commemoratives in PR70DCAM, then I could have helped him out! Anyway, what I am looking for is any infomation that anyone can give us as to what brand is the best to collect, what type of cards may be the best ( I bought him the 2004 Topps Complete Set, 732 cards, Series 1 &2), what cards may increase in value (rookie cards?), how to keep your cards clean (albums?), and any other info that you think may help.
Thankx for helping us out, Wayne. (ZEBRA18)

Vargha

Teach him about the heroes of the game and keep him away from anything after the late 70's. Buying modern sets is like "investing" in state quarters with the hope that they will provide a good retirement income for you.

willmacowski

rookie cards, rookie cards, rookie cards. find rookie cards of retired, stars, or upcoming stars. also do NOT store cards in an album, it will only lower their condition. rookie cards are best in good condition, because then you can get them graded highly (which will boost their value). also, i dont know much about it (i collect game-used and rookies), but the old cards (vintage, 80's down) seem to be a great investment, when you get HALL OF FAMERS, and ROOKIES. as for storing your cards, cardsnetwork.com, has all of the storage you could think of. first u should get plenty of soft sleeves, they provide a much needed extra layer of protection to a card. then, for cards with sleeves on them, put them in toploaders, or different hard, flexible sleeves (not sold on cardsnetwork.com). for some very special cards, (i put all my cards in them) you can put in screwdown cases. i found that the new ultra pro magnetic cases (u can find them in the 1-screw screwdown section) are very good for protection, not to mention they look cool. hopefully i answered any of ur questions.

~WILL~

P.S. don't buy any of those new sets, they're worth less than u buy them for.

gatorcollector

Sounds like he needs to decide if he wants to be a collector or an investor. If he wants to be a collector, the possibilities are endless - favorite players, favorite team, guys that play the same position as him, etc. If he wants to invest, the previous posters have covered that pretty well.

Gemmy10

zebra18,

Welcome!

If your son is a Yankee fan buy him one of these:

2000 Upper Deck Yankee Master Collection

Stone193

<< <i>Sounds like he needs to decide if he wants to be a collector or an investor >>


Gator
Outstanding point!
But here is my experience...when you talk of investment, modern vs. vintage etc., you are talkin as an adult - my son had no concept of investment or future value - of course current value held some allure since he was pulling cardz out of packs. But, for the sake of the child and his "idea" of collecting one has to see what they want. What is the budget per week. "investment" sets hold no interest to a kid since they can't play with them or handle them - for that reason - buying packs and pulling inserts and RC's will be the 'fun' part.
I think, since set collecting is tedious and expensive, if he has a favorite team, how about just collecting a few different issues of team setz. Include some insert cardz to augment the team set. Maybe even a few auto cardz if it can fit in the budget.
To me that is one way to look at - in general - kidz want to "play" or handle their collection and not store it away for a retirement/vacation home when they're 50 IMO.
Mike

calleocho

if you buy certified cards (just like coins) stay with PSA , SGC and GAI ...everything else sucks

baseballjeff

Teach him about the hero's of the game, and teach him the reason one buys professionally graded cards, PSA. And have him start looking at ebay to look at the cards from different years. A lot of people will find a set that fits them like a glove. I collect the '59 Topps set because the set rocks! And, like your son I am near his same age, I am 23. Once I did some reading of the old guys I was hooked!

Let us know what you pick!!

Jeff

ChrisStufflestreet

(Ahem)

May I suggest my own website?

Or if you prefer...I wrote this history of the hobby.

I proudly recommend these as a basic starting point for anybody interested in knowing more about our great hobby.

ZEBRA18

Many thankx to you all for your advice. Chris, a great website and I really enjoyed reading all of your infomation. You offered a wealth of knowledge. I guess my son, being 9 years old, is at the age where he wants to learn all he can about the players and teams. All of his 2004 Topps are spread out all over the living room floor (ugh!), Sox on Sox, Yankees with the Yankees, and of course all of the Rookies are piled together ("because these are the ones that will be worth a lot" when he gets "old" like me . I guess at this stage in his life his goal is to learn and play with his cards as Gator and Mike suggested. Dad is trying to be the investor! Gemmy, looks like a nice package, but his quarter can is a bit low right now!
I guess I will let him be a collector for a while, but, you may see ME making a buy or two in the future. Can't let him have all the fun! Again, thankx guys for all of your advice. It is much appreciated. Wayne

metsfan

Zebra:
You may want to see which brand of card he likes best:Topps,Donruss,Upper Deck,fleer and put together a set of those cards. It was a lot easier when it was just Topps. Since he is 9,he will love to play with the cards. But putting cards in # order and looking at the stats, can really help with math skills. You can also put away one set for him from each year he collects. This way he has one set to "play" with and one mint set.Card collecting is fun,you can think about the $ value when he's a little older.

Wayne