New Collector- PC help please!

**BackstromCaps19** · 10-09-2012, 10:56 PM

I have always been interested in trading,buying,selling hockey cards growing up. Considering the fact that I am a little older now(I'm 15), I have decided to start to get into online trading,buying, and selling. Over the years I have acquired a few( not many however) cards for my PC of Nicklas Backstrom. I have also saved up about $120 working. So what I'm basically asking is, can someone maybe kindly set me off in the right direction of this forum?
For example, 1.What 12/13 product could I wisely spend my money on. 2. What are some cards I should start off by acquiring for my PC? 3. And what are some general things I can/need to do to start buying/selling/trading on this forum.

Thank you so much if anyone can help me and I'm hoping to have a great time here buying/selling/and trading. Thanks again!

**CJ1510** · 10-09-2012, 11:17 PM

Welcome to the forum! I joined here when I was 15 and I just turned 18 so I know what you're going through lol. What I did was get boxes for my birthday and christmas, and trade anything that isnt PC. I personally like SPA and sometimes artifacts and I stay away from the higher end products b/c i still cant afford them. I reccomend getting what you like and starting small with your PC get some cheaper gu, autos, etc. Get base in trades and just try to balance the quantity and quality. As you get money i recommend setting some of it off to the side to get a bigger card. This way you can get some smaller stuff while trying to add quality. Thats what I did/am doing right now and based off that Im trying to snag a nice Flyer off ebay. Good Luck and Hope to see you around!

PS: I hope that made sense lol

**pur3strpker0** · 10-09-2012, 11:59 PM

Welcome aboard! As for your questions

1) 12-13 Products may not be the best this year as the lockout is still in effect. I wont recommend busting any wax (of course you will get that ocassional itch!) as you buying packs/boxes are always a gamble. If possible (it is a long shot I know) but try to sign up for a Paypal account somehow. This doesnt need to be done but will be beneficial as you get older

2) Some cards that you should start off would be base and inserts. Base/Inserts may not be for all of us but with a limited budget and to kick off the PC I personally think this would be the best way. Of course always stash away a bit of money so that one day you can treat yourself to a nice PC item!

3)Some things I would recommened is signing up for a photobucket(or any other photo sharing site) and/or one of those free webpages. The photobucket (assuming you have a scanner or even a cellphone with a camera) can be used to take pictures of some of your traders (some like to know how a certain card looks like. For example patches and autographs). The webpage may not be necessary but if you sign up for multiple forums it you can link it to one master list.

Hope that information helps! It is a bit long so I do apologize!

**mikedom91** · 10-10-2012, 05:37 AM

1) I'd hold off on any 12/13 product right now. Artifacts has relatively cheap cards in it, that don't hold their value very well - imo.
2) I'm partial to rookies, so I'd focus on his rookie year. A couple reasonably priced 'go-to' cards, that are easy to get ahold of, would be:
-upper deck young gun
-SP authentic future watch auto
-black diamond rookie gems
-and maybe SPX auto/jersey.

3)
-Get a photobucket and take quality photos of your cards (preferably with a scanner), and keep your photobucket albums organized.
-Get paypal set up ; you'll probably need your parents credit card to do this, but you can attach your bank account to your paypal, so if they aren't willing to do this for you, it's a slightly longer process of having to deposit money from your bank into paypal.
-Get familiar with how the post office works.Maybe pick up some supplies, like: small envelops, team bags, decoys (or something to protect your shipped cards).

**BackstromCaps19** · 10-10-2012, 07:52 AM

Thanks so much for the great answers! I am gonna sign up for phtobucket later today and as you guys said I will most likely hold off on 12/13 product (execpt for possibly Heroes and Prospects). Does anyone know how much a scanner would cost?

**Fritz** · 10-10-2012, 09:28 AM

My best piece of advice is collect what you like within your budget. Nothing more, nothing less :)

for a scanner check the free section on kijiji for printer/scanner combos. Most people toss them away when the printer is out of ink but the scanners work just fine. I've been using one for 5 years now & I couldn't even tell you what type of ink cartridge it takes :)

**BackstromCaps19** · 10-10-2012, 02:45 PM

Thanks so much! I'll start looking for them right now ! Any other tips ?:)

**Wickabee** · 10-10-2012, 04:23 PM

The biggest tip is collect what you like and like what you collect. A base card may not be "worth" much, but some are really nice. My absolute favourite cards are often completely worthless. It can be easy to become jealous and frustrated when looking in the show and tell section, but just grab what you like and make your color tion your own. That took me about 5 PC restarts to figure out.

As far as boxes, you would be smart to not pick up any 12-13 stuff yet, but hey, boxes that are only a year or two old are great too. Some of this year's ITG is a good choice and they Wont be affected by the lockout.

As far as general advice, this may sound weird buy be prepared for trades/sales to fall through. Most of the time things will go smoothly but every once in awhile a deal goes south and inevitably one of the two involved gets mad and starts a thread about it. Deals sometimes fall through. It's frustrating but you have to realize it will happen and not take it personal.

Other than that, just have fun and we'll come!

**BackstromCaps19** · 10-10-2012, 04:42 PM

Thanks so much Wickabee! Any things i can do to get started? Like make a paypal account ? And yeah I was thinking about buying a box of Heroes and Prospects when it comes out.

**Wickabee** · 10-10-2012, 06:49 PM

The weird spellings are due to me using my phone while my computer is broken.

A PayPal acct. is pretty much a must if you're going to do any buying and selling online. Some people are OK with sending cash through the mail, but many, like myself, do not. I went for about 2 years without one strictly trading. After awhile I felt like I was missing out on something. I don't know if I'd recommend either just trading or buying and selling as well, but if you want to buy and sell a PayPal account will be very very useful.