coming back to hobby

[mmjens]

looking for advice on how to start collection are sets worth collecting if so which ones brands or is it easier to collect teams/players?

[doniceage]

looking for advice on how to start collection are sets worth collecting if so which ones brands or is it easier to collect teams/players?

Well it helps if you say which sports you are collecting as it will help folks give advice. As a hockey collector I will tell you UD with young guns is the main set to collect if you want a set to maintain value. If you have a generational talent the set with that player or players will be worth something Ovechkin, Crosby, McDavid, Bedard, etc. young guns will always fetch a nice sum. It is definitely easier to collect teams then better to collect a specific player or players for ease. Of course with that said it makes it harder to trade for items if you're only looking for one specific person instead of trading for a team or a whole sport (sets) etc. The problem to me is you said

WORTH

in your post so what is your motivation to collect? If it is for money sport cards are not a good bet. So many of the folks out there will show you the insane money they make in the video's and such but for every one who is making money there are folks out there losing their ™™™, Of course those video's do not get the hobby love for some reason LOL. The best thing is to find a reason to collect and enjoy it. I personally like history of sports and collect older players. Definitely, not a lot of money to be made as their cards are not volatile but they do maintain the value without big increases or dips like the new cards. Just need to find the niche that fits you in the hobby. If you chime in and said what sport you want to focus on other folks might share what product to buy. Say, Bowman Chrome for baseball rookie card prospecting etc.

@mmjeans

Happy collecting.
DON

[mmjens]

I'm more into football although I have watched the hockey playoffs I'm not really in it for the money

[doniceage]

I'm more into football although I have watched the hockey playoffs I'm not really in it for the money

Noted!

I would look at show and tell and see what cards a appeal to you and go from there.

[Boinks]

Topps will get the license back for the first time since 2015 sometime next year I think? I'd wait to buy packs until then, you don't want to learn all of the Panini products and then have them lose the license right away.

Otherwise, if you don't like to gamble with packs, just buy singles of what you like and you'll save a lot of $.

[pwaldo]

Set building isn't really a thing in football...probalby not anywhere outside of baseball. But football is the weakest of all the sports in what people collect and what is popular. Other than the famous QBs not much else in football moves or has value. The most collected and put together set in football probably is Contenders but Panini is losing their license next year and Topps is taking over so maybe Topps or Topps Chrome will be popular going forward?

[mmjens]

thanks for the post an info

[jplcom]

The good thing about set building in football (I'm one of those rare ones) is that because only a couple QBs and a couple RCs are valuable, it's super cheap to build sets.

But ultimately it's a "buy what you like" kind of thing. If you are looking to treat football cards as a sort of investment vehicle, your safe money is in good Tom Brady cards and the safest money for active players is Patrick Mahomes. There's potential value to guys like Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts, Joe Burrow, and Justin Herbert. Now if you've got strong historical knowledge of football, there's margins to be made on anything. Rare 90s insert cards can fetch a nice price. Barry Sanders collectors go hard. etc.

Personally, I collect what I like and don't focus on the money. I like Topps Finest, so I always build a set of that every year. I like the Chicago Bears, so I'll pick up some rookie cards of players every year. I also have a decent Walter Payton collection, so I'll add his cards from time to time.

It's all about setting up guidelines on what appeals to you in this and what your budget is. If you can stick to that, you'll have a great time :)

[90sTriplets]

Panini is a mine field... retail is waste of money, except Zenith. Hobby packs are outrageous in price. Weak hits. Memorabilia cards have dropped in value significantly. Only high end products still using 'game used' jerseys. Too many parallels... I go for nostalgic aspect of collecting. Grew up in 90s, finding deals on players i used to follow is more satisfying than a full binder, IMO. Raw vintage is fun too. You can pick cards you can afford, they may not be mint, but paying less than book is extremely rare for new cards, especially since most have been graded and sellers expect a profit from crazy grading prices. But, its your collection. Do what makes you happy and keeps you excited about going to your LCS or scrolling and hunting!

[Davz13]

Welcome back to the hobby!
I collect players/teams I like.

It's all about personal preference.

If I was to get a set, I would go by how the design looks - eye catching sets!