You’re thinking of getting into baseball card collecting but aren’t sure where to start. Well, everyone has to start somewhere, and if you want to make things as straightforward as possible, you should stick around. The following are some easy ways to start this hobby.
Set Building
One thing you can try is set building. This type of baseball card collecting isn’t all that complicated once you get the hang of it, but you have to study for a while. What you’ll be doing is collecting cards that belong in a set.
Most of the time, card companies created sets of cards. These cards were not normally sold together but offered randomly. Cards were in different states, so the chances of collecting every one of them was a little challenging.
Part of the fun was that you couldn’t collect them easily. If you’re interested in this type of collecting, you should learn about each card company, set, and type of card in that set. If you do all this, you should be able to build collectible sets.
Player Collecting
The other type of collecting that’s straightforward is player-focused collecting. The goal here is to try to collect cards that feature the same player. This type of collecting is geared towards people who have fallen in love with a particular player.
Every year or every few years, a player captures the hearts of fans. This player somehow embodies something about the team or country itself, and it’s part of what makes this player so popular.
Once you know who you like and are willing to do the research, this type of collecting is going to be pretty fun. You’ll have to learn about this player’s rookie and pro years. Every little detail will help enrich your experience, which is what you want.
Team Collecting
Team collecting is another simple way to get into card collecting. The reason is that everyone has a favorite team they idolize. At some point, the right team captures you and doesn’t let you go.
Most of the time, people like a team because they’re from the same town or city they happen to be from but not always. Every so often, people just follow their favorite players and want the team to succeed because of this player.
Other folks fall in love with a team for other reasons. Maybe a person’s parent or best friend loved the team. Maybe what drives you to a particular team is something personal. For whatever reason, you fall in love, so doing your research on this team and building your collection of this team should be fun.
Vintage Collecting
Vintage baseball card collecting is great although it can be challenging. It’s easy to do because all you have to do is find vintage cards. This means cards that were produced before 1981.
That’s easy to remember, but what becomes hard is finding these cards. Vintage cards are not easy to find, and when you do find them, they could be a bit pricey at times. Still, if these are the type of baseball cards you want to collect, then this may be the path for you.
It might be hard to find them, but you’ll feel excited when you do. This is a rewarding hobby since you’re finding hidden treasures at estate sales, garage sales, and your local card collecting store. You’re going to have to be careful when you store some of the cards you find. These are delicate cards, so try to keep that in mind.
Rainbow Collecting
Rainbow baseball collecting is another simple way to collect baseball cards. Collecting these cards means collecting the full set of a player along with the player’s parallels.
The parallels come in different colors so that when you pair them they look like a rainbow. If you’re going to be doing this type of collecting, keep in mind that this means focusing on a single product. This could be the base autograph or the base card. The parallels have to match the set you’re trying to collect.
These are some of the easiest ways to get into card collecting. You’ll have to figure out which one works best for you and just go for it. If you’re going to do this, don’t be afraid to spend a chunk of money on it; just make sure you do your research.
