"How-to" Start your own Baseball Card Collection

How-to Start your own Baseball Card Collection

Are you a big baseball fan? Have you admired your peers collections of baseball cards? If so, you should jump into the hobby of collecting baseball cards your self. It is a great way to learn more about the history of the baseball and to better understand the statistics behind the game. It helped me find who my favorite players are and which decades of the game were most exciting. Baseball is America’s past time and it’s a great productive way to past time in your own day to day life. There is a special satisfaction that comes with growing your collection and finally finding that one card you’ve been on the hunt for.

First, you need to learn as much as you can about baseball. I started out with my favorite team growing up, the Chicago Cubs. Once I felt pretty good about my knowledge of my home team, I researched major league records so I knew who were the best players. Knowing who the best is helps picking out cards of value and cards who have none.

Next, you should decide what type of collection you want. Do you want to focus on a certain years, a certain position, a type of baseball card brand like Topps or Upper Deck, or a set of your favorite player or team. I always enjoyed finding rookie cards of famous players. This all comes back to what you value as a collector, which relates back to researching baseball history. Remember some people just buy packages of cards and kind of let the collection take shape. It is always a good idea to look into special offers promoted by different card companies. Different card designs, special inserts, and checklists could appeals to you.

Now that you know what you want to collect its time to start buying the cards. Some like to purchase baseball card pricing guides. You can also find these guides at your local library. The internet is a great place to find baseball cards. But most avid collectors like to have their local shop. I would suggest going to Chi-Town Collectibles, they have a great selection and are always willing to make trades.  Otherwise MLB.com team stores, eBay, and Amazon are great ways to score deals.

Once your collection starts to grow and you start to collect some rare and valuable cards, your going to want to protect your cards. Buy a 3-ring binder and plastic card-holding sheets to protect them. Use card-holding sheets that are recently made, in order to take advantage of the latest technology for keeping stored cards in great condition. Stores also offer single card sleeves that can me more durable. Cards in mint condition are more valuable than one that’s ripped and bent. To make sure that your card is valuable you can get it graded by one of the top grading companies such as SGC, PSA, GAI and BVG/BGS to preserve the condition of your cards.

Now the last part is to trade your cards, enjoy your cards, put them on display. I always liked to  create my dream team with the cards I have collected. It takes a lot of time and patience to build your collection to where you want it to be. Don’t be turned off if you open a pack of cards and don’t find what you were hoping for. Its about finding that diamond in the rough. Even if you don’t find a card that is valuable now does not mean it wont become a valuable in the future. You may get a rookie card who is a no body this season but becomes a hall of famer at the end of his career. That card has built value and you don’t want to kick yourself for letting it go for nothing. Baseball card collections are an investment that give you financial returns if you ever decide to part ways with them. They are also a great heirloom for younger generations.

Now you have the tools and ideas to create your collection that is special and unique to you. No two collections are the same. Will you have the next great baseball card collection?

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