Know Your Budget

With many packs now reaching $5-$10 for three to five cards, it's unrealistic to buy every card from every set.  What you need to do is pick your favorite sport and buy the Beckett Monthly for that sport.  What the Beckett does is that it gives you an understanding of the types of products out there and will help you plan ahead.  It also gives you a good indication of how many cards each player has as you might want to concentrate your collecting on one player.

Pick a Sport

The days of collecting all sports are over.  With 4 to 8 new products coming out each month spread out over four major sports, it's tough for anyone to collect more than one sport. You decide which one is your favorite sport and go with that one.  If you can't decide between two then you might consider trying both, with maybe certain players from each sport.

One Team or One Player?

Few card companies sell complete sets.  Most card shops and show dealers don't take the time to put together hand-collated sets and putting one together will cost you more than it will ever be worth.  These facts are turning collectors toward one team or even one player.  If you just want to collect base cards (and not get into inserts) then a team collection might be worth trying.  If it's inserts and parallels you like then you should go the single player route.

So Many Products

Every week we see new products come out in almost every sport.  It no longer matters if the sport is in season.  This brings up an important question you need to ask yourself.  Do you want to try to collect every brand?  Remember, your collecting cards for fun and your collection is personal or your doing it to make a buck.  When you go to your local card shop ask the dealer to show you what the various new products look like.  If you don't like one then don't collect it.  This can be your way of personalizing your collection.