I often hear people say they want to get started collecting sports cards, but they are not sure where to begin.

The first thing to understand is that there really is not one perfect answer.

Everyone has an opinion on the best cards to buy, the best boxes to open, the best players to collect, or the best way to spend your money. But sports card collecting is different for everyone.

A better place to start is by asking yourself a few questions.

How much money do you want to spend?

What is your favorite sport?

Do you want to collect a team?

Is there a certain player you like?

Do you want to collect newer cards, vintage cards, or cards from when you were younger?

Do you like opening packs, or would you rather search through boxes and buy individual cards?

The questions can almost be endless, but that is part of what makes collecting fun.

Collect What You Like

This is probably the best advice I can give someone getting into the hobby.

Collect cards because you like them.

Maybe the card looks good to you. Maybe it reminds you of watching a player when you were younger. Maybe you like the design of a certain set. Maybe you are trying to build an entire team collection.

Cards are almost like small pieces of sports art.

Some collectors spend thousands of dollars every week buying graded cards. Others might buy one hobby box every month and enjoy opening packs. Some collectors go to card shows and spend an afternoon digging through boxes of cards that are four for a dollar.

All of those are legitimate ways to enjoy the hobby.

You do not have to spend a lot of money to have a good collection.

In fact, searching for the cards you want can sometimes be more enjoyable than actually finding them.

Start With One Sport

If you are completely new, I would usually recommend starting with one sport.

If you like football, start with football cards.

Then decide whether you want to collect current players or cards from years past.

Maybe you want cards of players you watched growing up. Maybe you are interested in rookies who are just entering the league.

Sometimes the easiest thing to do is go to a sports card show and simply walk around.

Look through cards from different dealers.

See what catches your attention.

You might walk into the show thinking you want football cards and leave interested in vintage baseball. You might discover a certain player you want to collect or a particular set you really like.

That is one of the best parts of card shows.

Buying Singles vs. Opening Boxes

There are two very different experiences in sports card collecting.

You can buy the exact cards you want, or you can open boxes and packs hoping to find something interesting.

Buying individual cards, usually called singles, is normally the less expensive way to build a specific collection.

If you want a particular player or set, buying singles lets you spend your money directly on cards you actually want.

Opening boxes is completely different.

There is something fun about opening packs and not knowing what is inside.

Personally, when I buy boxes, I usually like boxes that have a chance at an autograph, commonly called an auto.

That brings us to hobby boxes.

What Is a Hobby Box?

Hobby boxes are normally sold through sports card shops and dealers that receive product allocations from manufacturers or distributors.

Depending on the product, hobby boxes often have better odds for certain inserts, numbered cards, autographs, or memorabilia cards than many retail products.

Retail boxes are the boxes you normally see at stores like Walmart or Target.

Retail products can still be a lot of fun, but depending on the product, they may or may not have the same autograph odds or guaranteed hits as a hobby box.

Before buying any box, I recommend looking at the product checklist and seeing exactly what you have a chance to pull.

What I Like to Collect

My own collection is a good example of how collecting can go in different directions.

For newer football cards, I like Bowman Chrome University Football.

One of the reasons I enjoy the set is because most of the players are rookies or college players.

You really do not know where their careers are going to go.

Some may become stars. Others may disappear from the league completely.

That makes the collecting side interesting to me.

The hobby boxes can also contain autographs, which adds another reason I enjoy opening them.

For baseball, one of the sets I like is Topps Chrome Sapphire.

Rather than spending a large amount of money opening Sapphire boxes, I like finding base cards sitting in dealer boxes at card shows.

Sometimes you can find them for pennies on the dollar compared with what it would cost to open enough boxes to build the set.

They can be harder to find that way, but that is part of the challenge.

It might take years to finish a set.

That is okay.

There is no deadline in collecting.

Player Collecting and Chasing the Rainbow

Another popular way to collect is choosing one player.

Maybe it is your favorite current player.

Maybe it is someone you watched when you were a kid.

Once you find a player you like, you may eventually hear collectors talk about building a rainbow.

A rainbow is a group of parallel cards that use the same basic card design but come in different colors or variations.

Some of those cards can also be numbered.

For example, there might be a version numbered to 250 copies, another numbered to 50, another numbered to 10, and sometimes a one-of-one card, written as 1/1.

Trying to find all of those variations can turn into a collecting project that lasts for years.

And that is perfectly fine.

Card Shows Are One of the Best Places to Learn

I really like card shows for new collectors.

You can walk around, look at thousands of cards, talk with dealers, and learn what interests you without having to spend a lot of money.

You might find cards in dollar boxes.

You might find four-for-a-dollar boxes.

You might find vintage cards, modern cards, graded cards, sealed boxes, autographs, and everything in between.

Card shows are also one of the few places where you can actually hold the card, look at the condition, and decide if you really want it before buying it.

I personally set aside some money every month just for card shows and my personal collection, or PC.

That helps me keep collecting separate from the cards I buy for Garage Sale Sports.

Collecting and Selling Are Different

A lot of collectors eventually sell a few cards.

Maybe you pulled a card you do not want.

Maybe you are cleaning out part of your collection.

Maybe you sell a few cards on eBay or another platform so you can buy something else you want.

There is nothing wrong with that.

But I think it is important to understand when collecting starts turning into investing or running a business.

Flipping cards specifically to make money is different from collecting cards because you enjoy them.

I sell cards on eBay and through the Garage Sale Sports website, so I have to make a point of separating the business side from my personal collection.

Some cards are inventory.

Some cards are mine.

I think keeping that separation helps keep the hobby enjoyable.

You Do Not Need the Most Expensive Cards

One of the biggest misconceptions about sports card collecting is that you need expensive cards to have a good collection.

You do not.

A $1 card can mean more to someone than a $1,000 card.

Maybe it is your favorite player.

Maybe it completes a set.

Maybe you remember owning that card when you were 10 years old.

The value of a collection is not always the price someone else puts on it.

So Where Should You Start?

Start simple.

Pick a sport you enjoy.

Pick a team, player, set, or era that interests you.

Set a budget.

Then start looking at cards.

Go to a local card show.

Visit a card shop.

Look through inexpensive boxes.

Buy a few singles.

Maybe open a retail box or hobby box if that is part of the experience you enjoy.

Do not worry about building the perfect collection.

There is no perfect collection.

Your collection should look like your collection.

That is really what Garage Sale Sports is about.

Cards do not always have to be investments.

Sometimes you find something cool at a card show, a garage sale, a card shop, or sitting in a dollar box.

You pick it up because you like it.

And sometimes that is the best reason to collect anything.