New Collector

[Chief Noc-A-Homa]

[Whoops, I made a newbie move and originally posted this in the wrong subforum (I thought I was in the right one, I swear!). Now correctly here in the "Intro" section]

Hey all,

New collector here. I collected as a kid in the 90s but mainly for completing sets. Those were eventually handed down as I got older and lost forever (based on some things I have read, they are not worth much nowadays anyways).

I have been putting off getting back into collecting for a few years but recently decided to take the plunge. I want to collect Topps Atlanta Braves from 1966 - ??? .

Not knowing anything, I walked into a hobby shop spent $15/card for a PSA 8 1998 Topps Lords of the Diamond Greg Maddux, PSA 9 1993 Bowman Chipper Jones foil, and PSA 10 1991 Topps Chipper Jones. I probably got fleeced on all three but I suppose it is part of the learning process. I had also bought a "blaster box" at Target of 2016 Topps Heritage but soon realized I wanted to do more targeted (pun not intended, but I'll take it!) collecting rather than ending up with a bunch of commons I have no interest in.

Would love recommendations as to how I can go about doing so. I know eBay is my best bet and I guess I should start hitting up card shows. I suppose starting at 1966 and working my way up is a good direction. My goals are to collect Topps Braves, as I said, and ideally for value when I can (graded Hank Aaron cards, etc.) and the occasional HOF or possible future HOF (Kris Bryant, etc.) if the opportunity arises.

In any case, I look forward to learning and discussing baseball cards with everyone as I weave my way through this somewhat daunting hobby.

[vintagetoppsguy]

Welcome to the board. Just out of curiosity, why '66? The year the Braves moved to Atlanta? No interest in the Boston or Milwaukee Braves (Spahn, Mathews, etc)? Good luck with your quest!

[Chief Noc-A-Homa]

Yes, I figured that would be a good place to start but I suspect I would naturally delve into the Milwaukee and Boston Braves as I become a more avid collector.

[KMayUSA6060]

Welcome back to the hobby, Chief! I recently got back into collecting a couple of years ago (I'm a little bit younger than you so my absence from the hobby wasn't very long). Since getting back into the hobby, my focuses and collection have drastically changed several times, and right now I'm at a point where I'm very focused on certain things and I know what I want. Here's what I recommend...

1A) Become a Microsoft Excel MASTER. Spreadsheets are a HUGE key to organization. Highly recommended.
1B) Grab supplies ahead of time. Piggybacking off of 1A, organization is key. Period. I've found myself in a predicament at the moment where I need to get reorganized, and it wears on you. Yeah, it's just collecting, but it can be a chore at times. I didn't have the supplies I needed for a while, and found myself putting off getting said supplies because I didn't want my money to go anywhere else in the hobby other than cards. So get what you think you'll need (at least for the time being) ahead of time, so you're not worrying about it down the road.

2) Save/Follow eBay searches. Take the everyday hassle of typing in searches each day, worried you'll miss a good deal, and just save/follow the search. Not sure how familiar you are with eBay, but they will then email you new results for that search each day.

3) Card shows are great. I ignored them for years, stupidly, but have recently discovered the beauty of them. Not only are there plenty of great deals to be had (usually), but the relationships you develop go a long way. Half of this hobby is the people you meet and interact with.

4) Buy the card, not the grade. Some grades may seem low for a beautiful card. PSA 1's and SGC 10/1's can be beautifully centered with a nice surface, but have rough corners or something. Don't let the grade scared you away from a good deal.

5) Be unique. Yeah, collect as many Braves as you want, but throw some twists in there. For example, I have a PC of 1 card from every year Topps made cards. The twist? Each card has a unique fact behind it.

Look forward to seeing you around on the board!


P.S. To limit clutter in a collection, keep it focused. An example is I'm getting ready to sell my modern-day reprint/remake cards for Hall of Famers that I have their playing-days/original card (I hope you followed the very poor wording).

[Chief Noc-A-Homa]

Thanks for the tips!

The hobby is so big and getting started can be very confusing. I have already learned a lot reading through some threads here (including this one) and hope to keep learning.