How to Collect Cards on a Favorite Player

Collecting cards of your favorite athlete or player can be a very interesting and fulfilling hobby. The start-up costs of this hobby can be very minimal, but if you ever want to sell, you may be surprised at the value. The following steps will tell you how to collect cards on a favorite player.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Decide what sport and what player from that sport you are going to collect cards of. You can collect anything from football to hockey to the more traditional, baseball. You can also concentrate on the hall-of-fame players of the past or the current superstars.
2. Visit local card shops. You can buy several packs or boxes of cards for a low price. You can then pick your favorite player out of the cards, and resell the other ones on the Internet or to other card collectors. The local shops may just have the individual player you are looking for as well. Search the Sport's Collector's Digest database (see Additional Resources) to find a shop near you.
3. Attend card collector's shows to obtain particular cards of your favorite player. Your best opportunity to find the card of a particular player will be at a card show. Contact convention centers, exposition centers and card shops in your area or region to find out when the next card show is scheduled. Beckett.com includes an up-to-date listing of major shows around the country such as the annual National Sports Collectors Convention.
4. Protect your cards. Place your cards in protective sheets or hard plastic cases. These can be found at any sport collectibles store or card shop. These protective measures will keep your cards in perfect, or mint condition. This will add great value to your collection if you ever decide to sell it.