General Forum

Guess it helps if I actually comment on the thread before posting! 

Anyway, I have been on hiatus from the collecting world for quite awhile now and needless to say a lot of the landscape has changed. (Including the fact that most of my collection from the early 90's is pretty much worthless now!) What is everyone's preferred method of obtaining additions to your collections with all the changes in the industry? Buy new from big box stores, online, local card shop?

Local card shops are going the way of the dinosaur, unfortunately. If you still have one (or more) near you, use them as much as possible. Otherwise, you'll probably find yourself buying stuff online.

There are various ways in adding to your collection, and as long as you have the money to put towards your hobby, all are good methods.  I personally use Craigs List / Kijiji in my local area as well as places I visit.  Though like all places, some ads are ridiculous, there can be some mass purchases done on these sites in order to quickly get cards in years where you have very little.  (A recent ad on Craigs List Syracuse had 500K cards for $600. Had I been there, I would have definitely went to have a look see.)  It can also provide traders with other members on this site.  Which brings to me to my second source for filling sets that I have already started.  By listing everything I have on this site including the cards I have for trade (and yes, those from the late 80s and early 90s), I have received many trade offers and have traded over 8,000 cards of which I did not need, and received in trade over 6,000 cards I needed.  I have never had a bad trade partner on this site.

Card shows and fleamarkets can also be good sources to obtain cards or sets.  At card shows, shop around. There is usually a seller or two who offer really good deals especially if you buy lots.  Most card stores have gone by the wayside since the mid-nineties. If you are lucky, there may still be one within a reasonable distance of your location.  Then there are retail stores that sell newer sets every year as well as packs, depending which you prefer to open.  And of course, there is the online sites such as ebay, sportlots, and COMC.

Needless to say, we all have different preferences in how we obtain cards.  Much of the time it is because it is the method available in our area.  Being in Canada and collecting baseball, finding new stuff in retail is very difficult.  But there are always some who are selling lots on Kijiji.

Welcome back to the world of collecting.  You will find this site a great asset in your hobby.

I have already found this site to be a huge help in getting going again. Just barely cracked the surface of entering my collection into the database.

It also depends on what you collect. Player, team or complete sets as this would impact the best ways to fill in gaps. Large lots can be a lot of fun as Sandy said. I've had some real success with Craigslist / garage sales / thrift shops. I've also utilized ebay / sport lots / COMC as has been mentioned. I watch online retailers Blowout Cards and Dacardworld for deals and clearance stuff in the years I was on hiatus from collecting and have enjoyed them as well.

I routinely get trade offers including even the late 80s early 90s cards so even though some may deem them worthless they are likely worth something to somebody. Just this week I completed a trade to help someone complete their 90-91 fleer basketball set. 

I am still in the process of entering my collection. It takes some time but well worth the effort in my mind.

I lost most of my early collection along the way through growing up, divorcing, and just life in general. Have been buying through Craigslist and local Facebook buying groups for now. Really enjoy going through random boxes. Almost like opening packs only on a much larger scale. Bought a box for $5 at a garage sale last weekend and it had a John Elway rookie card in it.

Most of my new additions come from my local Target. We do have a local card shop but they do boxes only which as a general rule I can't afford anymore. I usually grab a blaster when I go to Target- although truth be told I usually go with the specific intent of buying a blaster, not the other way around :) Our Wal-Mart's selection is poor but not all are. I also like repacks but they have not been stocking them as much lately.

COMC and Ebay are a great source for single cards. As Sandy mentioned watch out for people who think they were made of solid gold. A common base card should not cost $25.25 for 99% of sets. Do a little shopping around before deciding to purchase something. Plusses of COMC is that you can buy cards over a long period of time and then have them shipped all at once for a flat fee. (I've been building my next order since November of last year). Plus of ebay is that more people know of it and being an auction format you sometimes can get stuff really cheap.

Trading is another big avenue of getting new cards for me...for the last two or three years I've gotten more cards from other collectors than I purchased for myself.

Like it's been stated before it really all depends on the collecting goal.  Do you need specific singles to finish a set, looking for cards for a player or team collection, or just looking for the thrill of ripping and digging?  I can recommend justcommons.com for singles for filling holes, although they only do baseball.  Sportlots.com is also a pretty decent way to find cheaper singles.  Of course sources like craigslist, offerup, etc are some places you might find some good deals on random stuff, and of course you can buy new product from an LCS if you have one,  retail, or online.  Plus there's always trading and maybe even a local card show to try out.  

That's how I got my Elway rookie.  My dad grabbed a huge box at an auction for my brother and I for around $10 bucks.  Back then (around 15 years ago I'd guess), plenty of collectables I was after could be had affordably at a local auction near me.  I remember getting a haul including a Sega Genesis and a Sega Master System with dozens of boxed cartrdges for no more than $20.  Unfortunately, I wasn't to into the Master System at the time and sold it (probably for around the same money).  I regret it now since it would cost well over ten times that price to reacquire the stuff.