Welcome to The Trading Card Guide

Trading card collecting is such a great avocation because it attracts a wide array of people. Today, trading cards cover a wide range of subjects, from cartoons to celebrities to sport heroes and space aliens, there is virtually no way not to become hooked. However, starting your first trading card collection may seem too expensive, too difficult or too challenging of an ordeal. Whether you’ve got the pocket book or not, or you seem to shy away from a good challenge, you’ll still be able to find a personal and favorite niche in the wide world of trading card collecting. Here are some tips to keep in mind if you are the beginner wanting to enter the orbit that is trading card collecting.

It used to be quite an easy decision as to what to collect. Collectors would often buy one set, say Topps baseball cards from the 1950s. As time rolled on, these collectors could still buy complete sets and then move on to buy individual cards where they saw fit. Today, however, trading cards are not as straightforward. That is, trading cards today come from many companies, include more than one card per player, and can be intentionally hard to find. Today, it may be wise to pick your interested niche—cut down to make it easier—and start your collection from there.

Insofar as starting your collection from scratch, be sure to pick an avenue that is both cost effective and fun. If you work for minimum wage, for example, don’t spend all your money on the most expensive cards. Build up your collection and the trade or sell in order to afford your most prized possessions. It’s wise to keep the card collection money in the card collection hobby. Once you build up a base, you’ll have plenty of collateral to get what you want or need. At any rate, perhaps you’re interested only in rookie cards—start from there, collecting the rookie cards of this year’s basketball lineup for example. Or, collect your favorite cards from your favorite movie; whatever you decide, start collecting simply.

Perhaps, however, you’re interested in basketball, baseball, Star Trek or movie cards such as the Twilight trading card series. You don’t need complete sets to start collecting. Try to collect individual packs of these cards and keep them unopened. Therefore, the niche of your collection is unopened packs of random trading cards. Certain pigeonhole collections such as these ensure that you have something special, even if it’s only so for you. 

Another suggestion to beginning your trading card collection is to choose a set and try to complete it from one card manufacturer, say Topps, Fleer, Upperdeck or the like. One of the more popular avenues that trading card collectors follow today is obtaining inserts—from limited edition cards, pieces of jerseys, bats, gloves, bases, and hats to rare cards and other pieces of sporting history. Or, collecting a certain player or character is a great way to start up a collection if you don’t have access to funds. Your niche today will ensure that you have something interesting or perhaps valuable later. It’s best to begin your collection without thought to spending hundreds or thousands of dollars. Start your trading card collection as a hobby and the value of the cards will be inherently apparent to you over time. Remember, it’s all for fun and can be a rewarding leisure activity.