Introduction 1 About This Book 1 How This Book Is Organized 2 Part 1: Getting the Scoop on Sports Cards 2 Part 2: Checking Out the Many Traits of Sports Cards 2 Part 3: The Basics of Buying and Collecting 3 Part 4: Flipping, Investing, and Turning a Profit 3 Part 5: The Part of Tens 3 Glossary 3 Foolish Assumptions 4 Conventions Used in This Book 4 Icons Used in This Book 4 Beyond the Book 5 Where to Go from Here 5 Part 1: Getting the Scoop on Sports Cards 7 Chapter 1: Sizing Up the Sports Card Craze 9 The Psychology of Collecting 10 Why we collect sports cards 10 A new (not really) kind of investment 12 Getting Lost in the Cardboard (It''s a Good Thing.) 13 Rediscovering your old collection 13 Tips for finding cards you will (or won''t) love 16 Chapter 2: The Evolution of Sports Cards through the Decades 19 Where It All Began 20 Exploring the 1800s and the first cards 20 Pre-War and Vintage 22 Colors, stats, and a sweet new hobby 23 American Caramel and Cracker Jack 23 1933 Goudey Big League Gum 24 The early Bowman, Leaf, Fleer, and Donruss entries 25 1952 Topps and the modern sports card 27 O-Pee-Chee and Panini make their debuts 28 The Modern Era 30 The sets that defined the era 30 Great music, junk wax 33 A near-death experience 34 The great rebound 35 We won''t get fooled again 36 The Ultra-Modern Era 36 More than a sandwich 37 The big boom 38 Record-high market 38 Death by parallel and the Junk Slab Era 39 Violence, theft, and the retail controversy 41 Where the hobby goes from here 41 Part 2: Checking Out the Many Traits of Sports Cards 43 Chapter 3: The Anatomy of a Sports Card 45 What Makes a Sports Card? 45 Major card designs through the years 46 Making a first impression 51 What''s on the back? 54 Art cards and custom cards 54 Exploring the Printing Process and Product Configuration 55 The materials that make sports cards 55 Set size, hits, chases, and what makes a product 56 Understanding the Packout Process and Distribution 58 From the printing press to sealed packs and boxes 58 The journey from manufacturer to storefronts 60 Chapter 4: Understanding Product Checklists: Base Cards, Parallels, Inserts, and More 63 Learning How to Read (the Checklist) 64 Checklists 65 Product information sheets 67 Spotting a Base Card and the Rainbow of Parallels 68 Identifying base cards 68 Spotting the many variations 69 Inserts and Design Madness 74 What makes an insert 74 Embracing the design madness 75 Chasing Autographs and (Maybe) Game-Used Memorabilia 78 Understanding authenticity 79 Signed, sealed, and delivered 80 Getting closer to the game (or your local retailer) 82 Chapter 5: Different Sports and Their Nuances 89 Basketball cards 90 Built on superstars and flash 90 Iconic basketball players 91 The transition to Panini 93 WNBA rises in popularity 94 Baseball cards 96 The richest history 96 Iconic baseball players 97 Football cards 100 Quarterback or bust 100 Iconic football players 102 Hockey cards 103 A small but passionate fan base 103 Iconic hockey players 105 Other notable sports 105 Soccer 106 Boxing and MMA 108 Golf and tennis 108 Racing 109 Chapter 6: Key Manufacturers, Brands, and Products 111 Licenses make all the difference 111 Unlicensed cards 112 Key basketball card sets 113 Key baseball card sets 115 Prospecting and Minor League cards 118 Key football card sets 119 Hockey cards 120 Other notable sports and key sets 123 Key soccer card sets 123 Key boxing and MMA card sets 124 Key golf and tennis sets 125 Key racing card sets 125 Chapter 7: The Importance of Card Condition -- From Printing to Grading 127 Physical Aspects of Cards 128 Surface condition, centering, corners, and edges 128 Spotting print defects, damage, and other issues 134 Cleaning or altering? 136 Card Grading 138 Benefits of grading, from authentication to market value 139 Trusted grading companies 140 Grading scales and numerical values 144 The grading process 145 Part 3: the Basics of Buying and Collecting 149 Chapter 8: Deciding What Kind of Collector You Will Be 151 Setting Your Collecting Goals 151 Setting realistic expectations 152 Quality versus quantity 153 Tips for staying on track 153 Picking Your Personal Collection Themes 155 What kind of collector are you? 155 Chapter 9: Buying Basics and Building Your Collection 159 Buyer''s Market 160 Sealed products 160 Box breaks 161 Singles 162 Lots 162 Online Marketplaces and Retailers 163 eBay 163 COMC 164 MySlabs 164 Alt 165 Blowout Cards 165 Dave and Adam''s Card World 165 Others worth considering 165 Take It to the (Auction) House 166 Goldin Auctions 166 PWCC 166 Heritage Auctions 167 Others worth considering 167 It''s Always Personal 167 Local card shops 167 Card shows 168 Trade nights 168 Let''s get social 168 Great Deals (Aren''t) Hard to Find 169 An honest mistake 169 The great negotiator 170 R-E-S-P-E-C-T 171 Displaying and Storing Your Collection 171 Penny sleeves, Toploaders, and other holders 172 Fit for a museum 174 Chapter 10: Navigating a Card Show Like a Pro 177 Don''t Forget the Essentials 177 Straight cash, Homie 178 These shoes are made for walking 178 Baggage claim 178 Navigating the Chaos and Making a Deal 179 Needle in a haystack 179 Deal or no deal 180 Card Show Etiquette 182 Table manners 182 Thank you for being a friend 183 Plenty of fish in the sea 183 Chapter 11: Finding or Building a Community 185 Using Social Media to Find Your Community 186 Best platforms to get started 186 How to safely communicate online 187 Starting a community when you can''t find one 189 Networking at Events to Grow Your Community 189 Event etiquette 190 Why all events aren''t created equal 190 Chapter 12: Resources to Grow Your Hobby Knowledge 191 Free Industry Resources 191 Set and product details 192 Authentication, grading, and auctions 193 Community Content and Other Media 194 Pricing data tools 194 Picking the right creators 194 Magazines and more 195 Chapter 13: The Dark Side of the Hobby 199 Too Good to Be True 199 Spotting fake cards 200 Avoiding scams 202 Shill bidding 203 Online etiquette 204 Drama queens 204 Pumping and dumping 205 Personal Responsibility and Managing Your Budget 205 What is and isn''t out of your control 206 Setting a budget and staying on target 207 Part 4: Flipping, Investing, and Turning A Profit 209 Chapter 14: Investing in Cards While Attempting to Turn a Profit 211 The Basics of Sports Card Investing 212 Some important disclaimers 213 Key concepts to follow 215 How, when, and where to sell your cards 222 Fatal mistakes to avoid 225 Building Your Business from Scratch 226 Making your first deals 227 Building on a budget 227 When to take a loss 227 Creating realistic expectations 228 Chapter 15: Three Ways to Profit 229 The Quick Flip 229 Spotting flipping candidates 230 Targeting the right timeline 232 Using data to make the right moves 232 Other tools to help 233 Short-Term Speculation 234 Expectations and timeline 234 Grading or selling raw 235 Buying and selling seasons 236 Long-Term Investments 237 What makes a great long-term hold 237 Why vintage has been considered a good investment 240 Chapter 16: Properly Valuing and Selling Your Cards 243 Sales Data Matters, but There''s More to the Story 243 Trusted pricing tools 245 Important price points, trends, and more 247 Becoming a High-Quality Seller 251 A personal touch 251 Maintaining a good standing selling online 253 Handle with care 254 Part 5: the Part of Tens 257 Chapter 17: Ten Unwritten Rules Every Collector Should Follow 259 Have Fun and Collect What You Love 259 Don''t Let FOMO Drive Your Decisions 260 Set a Budget and Stick to It 260 Respect How Others Collect 261 Be Reasonable When Trading 261 Ship Cards Like You''d Want Them to Be Shipped 261 Understand the Cost of Doing Business 262 Support Your Local Card Shop 262 Look to Pay It Forward 262 Never Stop Learning 263 Chapter 18: Ten Tricks to Building a Great Collection 265 Find a Collecting Theme, Identity, or Style 265 Set Realistic Goals, but Dare to Dream Big 266 Be Patient and Play the Long Game 266 Use Data and Other Resources to Find Great Deals 267 Curate Your Collection Periodic.