Collecting Basics 1: The Beginning, Choosing A Sport

Welcome to the new series, Collecting Basics. I am hoping to use this series to help NEW collectors or refresh the minds of collectors who may be jumping back in. Because as we all know, this hobby changes on a daily basis. The one thing that doesn't change, is the fun you can have in it.

Starting off this new series I thought I would help point collectors in the right direction with what sport or sports you may want to collect. Like the title states, Collecting Basics is literally starting from the beginning and moving all the way through.

Here are some quick tips from my personal experience on what sport or sports you may want to collect.

1. First and foremost, make it a sport(s) you connect to. Do you watch it? Do you know the players? Without this important piece, it will be really hard to decide what sport to choose. Watching a sport and knowing it will help you decide what players and teams you may want to dive into.
2. Do you play the sport(s)? Sometimes playing the sport(s) can drive your passion for collecting one sport or the other.
3. Knowing licensing for sports might persuade you as well especially if you are looking for just straight up cards from the NFL, MLB, NBA or you like the variety. Topps is exclusive to MLB baseball til 2020. Panini America and Upper Deck have MLBPA licenses. Meaning they can use MLB players in the cards they put out, but can't use logo's or team names on the cards. NBA has Panini as their exclusive license. Upper Deck does basketball but only NCAA or college to some. NFL is Panini America and Topps. Upper Deck does NCAA for this as well. There is also Sage and Press Pass who do football cards but can't use any logo's or team names. The NHL license is run by Panini America and Upper Deck. There are other companies that make hockey cards but can't use the logo's or team names.
4. If you are going to be a rookie card collector, it's nice to know that the easiest way to know if you have a rookie card are in the sports of NBA, NFL and NHL. The tougher sport to collect rookies in, in my experience, is baseball. Especially if you are a new collector to baseball, the word rookie and prospect may be plastered on some of the cards, however,  they may not be rookies. I will save the baseball card rookie definition for another rainy day.
5. Another tip may be collecting a sport(s) your friends or family does. That way you guys can trade back and forth with them.

I hope some of these tips will help you decide which sport or sports you want to collect. Remember that this how I decided to collect what I collect. It doesn't mean you have to use these tips in order to collect. They are just here for a reference if you need them.

As always, comments and thoughts are welcomed!

Happy Collecting!