Question

JLOW13

Been out of card collecting since 1993. Last time I was in upper deck was a big thing. LOL. Anyway I have been cruising the boards for a while and boy how things have changed. I was wondering you opinion on where to start with collecting again?

With so many choices, is there a few that are considered the best cards?

With respect to buying cards, is it still good to buy boxes to find them or better to buy graded cards?

Any suggestions where to buy cards?

Thanks

Justin

AlanAllen

Justis,
There are so many possible answers to your questions .

If by "best" you mean most valuable, then yes, there is usually a clear choice. Unfortunately unlike back in the day, there is a wide variety between years and sports. Are you looking to buy singles or build sets? Vintage or modern? On your budget, would you be more likely to buy a $1 pack, a $5 pack, a $50 pack, or a $500 pack? many on these boards love Topps Heritage baseball, for example, but it's not the most valuable or limited set.

Again, there is no clear answer. If you're looking for a few key singles, you can save money by just buying them instead of hoping to hit one in a box. Of course, that's less fun to many collectors. Most people on this board prefer graded cards, but there's nothing wrong with collecting raw. And again, budget has to come into play.

Ebay is really the dominant force these days. For really high-end stuff you'll need to get on mailing lists of major auction houses like Mastro and Robert Edward, and for boxes of low-mid products Wal-Mart and Target are pretty good. The National and a few other major regional shows are still great places to find tough cards. The local show and the card shop have declined significantly in importance since you left the hobby. For most collectors, most of what you buy can be found easier and cheaper on ebay than anywhere else.

It's good to ask questions and do research before you start buying. It's a complicated hobby these days. Welcome back, and good luck!

Joe

jradke4

my advise is stick to what you really like. sport, player, team, card company or specific set. Its not like it was in the 80's early 90's where you could put together sets of everything with only a small outlay of cash.

if the cards that you want arent that expensive i would look for graded first. some larger dealer submitters will sell cards (already PSA graded) for under the grading fees that we would pay. wathc ebay auctions for items you want and track the price of graded/ungraded. then let the $$$ decide what you will buy.

ajw

I'd personally advise reading the boards and browsing eBay for quite a while before you dive in. I've toyed with the idea of starting a 1933 Goudey set, 1950 Bowman set, 1956 Topps set, 1967 Topps set, 1954 RedMan set, 1964 Topps Standup set (and I'm probably missing a few). In the end, I settled on a run of Willie Mays cards (and have recently branched into Juan Marichal cards).

My guess is that many people go through similar periods when rejoining the hobby. As such, I'd recommend taking your time and maybe buying a few cards from a few sets you like before fully committing to one or another.

Either way, good luck and have fun!

Stone193

Hi Justin

Welcome!

First off - what is your favorite sport?

If you have one sport in mind - then the next most important question/goal would be to decide - how much can you afford?

It's so important to have pinpoint "focus" in collecting or you'll run the risk of roaming all over the place.

And the budget will keep you out of trouble.

Another important aspect - do you care what happens to the value of the collectibles?

IMO, one will always have more fun if they collect what they like, have a goal, have a budget and stay the course.

I agree with AJW - take your time - read the boards - ask questions and find an area or two - which will be predicated on that all important: BUDGET.

Good luck
your friend
mike

hotmush

Personally, I wouldn't know where to begin with the new stuff other than to say I really like the old-style looking Fleer and Bowman of a few years back.
But I, like you, got out of cards in the early 90s (college called).
Now that I'm back, I've decided to go over all my old OPC sets (the ones I painstakingly built pack by pack back in the day) and replace the cruddy cards with nicer ones.
To do this, I've been buying a lot of unopened OPC stuff and ex-mint card lots. Using the gems to fill the set up, and grading the nice-looking doubles for re-sale.
This way, I've concentrated my collecting and don't feel overwhelmed.
That being said, once I get the sets to a place I'm happy with, I may start buying newer cards. But not for patches or game-used or autos, just for a basic card set.

Mostly, I've been using E-bay because the three card shops near me (all within a 1/2 mile radius, amazingly) are almost exclusively hockey retailers.
Just my thoughts...