Hey guys, new to the forum just looking for some suggestions

[Bicem]

research, research, research... start here...

http://www.oldcardboard.com/

and then choose your favorite that's within your budget. Good luck & have fun!

[GrayGhost]

Without doubt, the greatest hobby in the world, and I wish you luck starting out on the journey. Best thing is, it NEVER ends!!! There's so much to choose from to collect. You may decide you want memorabilia, autographs, cards, etc, best thing is, its your choice. I'd say start out buying a few different things till you decide when/if you want to focus on a set/player/team. Enjoy the ride and welcome to the board!

Scott.

[3-2-count]

As others have already stated all good advice so far. I would like to add that until you obtain a bit more knowledge in vintage/prewar cards be careful with whom your purchases are with. Ebay, etc. There's alot of bad stuff floating around out there for sale and I would hate to see you get discouraged right out of the gate with a bad purchase. If you see something you like feel free to post it here for opinions or simply private message one of us if needed.
Good luck!!

[quinnsryche]

In my opinion, collect what looks appealing to YOU, what you can afford (nothing worse than getting into something you can't add to), something readily available to start and players you admire or respect (that's where the research - reading books and internet - comes in). Go on vintagecardprices.com and check out the galleries of card images, it might help you visually choose what you like, it helped me greatly when I came back in recently. Good luck, best wishes and have FUN (that's what it's really all about).

[tesitzes24]

Thanks a lot for the quick responses and good advice everyone. Someone earlier mentioned the book Mint Condition, kind of odd because I actually just finished reading it.

As far as graded vs. ungraded cards, being a novice to the vintage cards, it would probably be wise to stick to the graded cards for now. Not because I care too much for the way the grading works, because a lot of the time, I see cards that are 2s and 3s, that look more appealing to the eye than cards that are 4s and 5s. I am certainly no expert, but I would rather have a card that is easier on the eye than to get another card just because of a higher grade. I think buying graded at first though would at least make me a little more comfortable that the card is the real thing.

Keep the responses coming. I love hearing the suggestions from those that have a lot more experience than I do.

[ChiefBenderForever]

I would start by buying low grade and raw beaters of T206, T205, 1933 and 34 Goudey and branch out from there and see what you like. If you change your mind they are easy to sell or trade and you wont lose very much because you wont spend very much. By doing this you will also learn to appreciate the difference between low to mid grade. You will find many examples graded 1-5 very appealing and even lower. Good luck and have fun !

[FrankWakefield]

I'm no fan of graded cards, as most here are aware.

With that said, the graders misidentify cards from time to time; seldom, but it happens. So if your reason for buying a card that's graded is because you don't know if it's real, be aware that there's no certainty of that with a card in a slab.

What JohnnyHarmonica says seems sensible. Buy a T206, T205, or 33 Goudey from someone trustworthy. Ted Z sells, Barry Sloate does. There are some others on here... Personally I'm certain that if I bought a card from either of them unslabbed, that it would be what they said it was. These two, for example, make fewer mistakes identifying a card than third party graders.

Once you've bought a few you'll soon be able to discern reprints and authentic cards. A uv light helps with odd issues when in doubt. The research comment is right on, read the fine work by Mr. Reader. I think there's a link to it through something at the top.

[E93]

I agree with the others. T206s are classics and beautiful cards.

I would add as a possibility E (early candy/caramel) cards. If you like the idea of completing a set, most E sets from E90-1-E106 are completable. Some are easier than others. The nice thing about most of the E sets is that they are relatively small. Except for E90-1, I think the others are all 25-50 card sets. The cards tend to be very attractive and most of the sets have a good number of the more famous Hall of Famers from the era.
JimB

[Leon]

All of the advice so far is good advice. I would re-emphasize that you should collect what you enjoy. From day 1 in collecting I realized I didn't particularly care about completing sets. I have always been a variety type of person so I am a type collector. Don't worry so much about cards that are graded, or not, but if you spend serious money (to you) then the graded route is a bit safer, at least at first. There are millions of ideas and ways to collect so pick what you enjoy and move forward, slowly . If you move too fast you might burn out. BTW, it's ok to think about the money aspect of it all but I wouldn't dwell too much on it. You want to make smart decisions but when you see something you really need, and it's rarely seen, then that is the time to pick it up. I have rarely regretted paying a bit more than I want to for something I really want. You could probably spend the next year reading old archives on this board....and we do have an archive section in the upper right of the screen. Good luck!!

[ChrisStufflestreet]

My suggestion: read whatever you can about the subject. And don't just jump into the hobby until you're ready.

While others here have mentioned Ritter's Glory of Their Times, there are other books and websites that are hobby-specific.

Below this post are three links you could feel free to check out.

My website covers a lot of vintage issues with pictures and info...but without getting into prices. I'm willing to say brag, even) that it can help you get a nice foundation about the hobby. However, it barely scratches the surface about what's out there, so places like Net54 are excellent sites to build upon that.

The "Hobby Bookshelf" link has a number of books available through Amazon about the hobby. What's even better is that many of these books are available used, at a great bargain. The more you learn and understand about the hobby, the better and more informed you are as a collector, and therefore much less likely to be burned by the few shady characters out there selling fake cards with interesting "stories."

Finally, the third link is to my vintage sportscard blog. 3-4 times a week, I add new posts to it, covering vintage from prewar through about 1980. I tend to be a little irreverent, but hopefully my deep love and respect for our hobby comes through, even when I'm showing off some of the more "well-loved" specimens in my collection. My entire point of the blog is to share my hobby with others, and there would be no better thrill than to someday find out that something I wrote caused a new collector to gravitate more to the hobby.

When I was younger, I read a 1981 book by Ron Erbe and Keith Mitchell called The American Premium Guide to Baseball Cards that I found in my middle school library. In fact, from 6th grade through 8th, the book would be checked out dozens of times and gave me my first glimpse into the vintage hobby. I would love to tell both of those guys about the impact that book had on me. Also of interest are the three volumes of Lew Lipset's Encyclopedia of Baseball Cards (also found as a 3-volume set). Unfortunately, all these books are often a lot more expensive than others but worth searching out if you're looking for a deeper knowledge of the hobby.

Finally, welcome!