Some helpful suggestions for new collectors

[the 'stache]

I've been seeing some decisions made by newer collectors/members as of late-decisions that could end up costing them a lot of money. This concerns me greatly, because while I'm sure we've all been tempted by cards that turned out to be too good to be true, there is a wealth of knowledge among the collectors of Net 54, and these types of decisions need not ever be made. We can't get rid of the unscrupulous people that infect our hobby, as much as I'd like to. But, we can help educate new collectors on how to largely avoid these people.

So, what I'd like to do is to create a sort of living, breathing "help" topic, one that anybody can contribute to, in an effort to help our newest members avoid getting burned by bad decisions. There are people in this hobby, unfortunately, who will try to make a quick buck on those who are trusting, and perhaps a tad uneducated. It is a sad fact of life that wherever there is money to be made, a predatory element will come 'a running. These aren't real hobbyists. These people don't sit at home lovingly looking through their collections, recalling days spent at the ballpark with Dad. They don't think of the stories attached to cards passed down from one generation to the next. These people don't daydream about owning a '52 Mantle, or a '55 Clemente. They see the almighty dollar sign, and don't care one iota about the people they might be swindling out of their hard-earned money. Well, I feel that it is our responsibility to do all we can to help people who are new to the hobby. This is supposed to be a fun escape from the daily grind. For thirty minutes a day, an hour a day, or however long we all spend reading on Net 54, or working on our hobbies at home, this is supposed to be a safe place where we can get away from the negativity that far too often pries its way into our lives. And there has been a lot of talk here recently about shill bidding, and auction house principals involved in highly questionable activity. It's left a bad taste in a lot of mouths. Well, the more good, educated, discerning collectors, the better off it will be for all of us.

First of all, I do not claim to be an expert. I have collected baseball cards on and off for a long time. I spent some fifteen years collecting when I was younger, and I came back to the hobby about five years ago. The majority of longtime posters on Net 54 have far more knowledge than I do. But, I spent a great deal of time learning before putting my money on the line, so I hope that I can share some pearls of wisdom that will make the hobby safer for people just starting out. Because, nothing will ruin baseball card collecting forever like spending a chunk of change on a card you've always wanted, only to find out you've been duped. I want to do all I can to help prevent this from happening. When I worked as a stockbroker, my job was to not only help my investors trade, but to provide education at the same time-to give them the tools they needed to make sound decisions. As an ethical man, I took my my fiduciary responsibility very seriously. As a collector, I take the responsibility of helping my fellow enthusiasts any way I can. My inbox is always open should one of you have a question. If I can help, I will.

So, here then, are some suggestions I'd make to anybody starting out in our wonderful hobby. I encourage all the members of our forum to chip in anything they see fit. I will update these first few posts as needed in an effort to collate the information in a manner that is most helpful.


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I. The Starting Kit

One thing I would strongly recommend to any new collector is a "starter kit", of sorts. These items help collectors make sound decisions when buying cards, or examining cards when considering sending them in for grading. Obviously, you cannot first examine a card that you are buying from an online seller, but we'll get to them in a bit.

A starter kit shouldn't be expensive to put together. Some of these items you will already have. The others...well, think of it this way. You're willing to spend a good deal of money on baseball cards (within your own budget). Why would you not spend a small portion of that budget on the things that can help protect you when buying these cards?

I've assembled some of the items I use whenever I go to the card shop, or get a new card in the mail. I buy pre-war, vintage and modern cards, so I've included all the things I use on a regular basis. The first is a ruler. Self explanatory item. Many pre-war cards will have size variances, and that does not necessarily mean that the card you are holding with the perfect edges and corners is the product of some nefarious deed. That is determined by a card examination. But for vintage cards, and certainly modern cards, there should be very little variance, especially when you are dealing with current technology. Learn about the cards you are buying, what their standard dimensions are, and if said card(s) ever exhibit any variance in size. A 1956 Topps card will not have the same dimensions as a 1957 Topps card. This information is widely available on the net, and should be easy to find. Next up is a black light. Black lights are highly useful tools, and every collector should own one. Under a black light, a card that has been altered will be much easier to spot. Think about a 1971 Topps card, for example. The cards are notorious for chipping along their black borders. If a seller has taken a marker to darken the edges, the card might command a higher price, as it will have more eye appeal. This colorization will appear under the black light. So, too, will more involved alterations, like bleaching, or cards that have had corners rebuilt with added paper. Anything not native to the card will likely stand out upon closer inspection. Next up is a jeweler's loupe. I use a Bausch & Lomb 10X loupe, as well as a small magnifying glass (5X). The loupe will be your best friend as a collector, and at about $10 on Amazon, it's a no-brainer to get one. With it, you will be able to see conditional flaws that might lower a card's value, flaws that might not be as obvious to the naked eye. You can also use it to spot reprints, or flat out fakes. If I go to my card shop looking for a particular card, I will usually take a common of the same year along for comparative purposes. Then, I can compare things like paper grain and printing technology side by side. Sometimes, you will want a more powerful magnification (more on that later), but 95% of the time, a loupe will do wonders for you. I've also included an eyeglass wipe and a silica gel dehumidifier pack. The wipe I use when handling Bowman Chrome prospect auto cards, as they are notorious for collecting fingerprints. I wipe those, very carefully. If the wipe is clean, it will not scratch the chemical treatment on the Chrome card's surface. These are especially useful if sending Chrome cards in for grading. They can improve the surface grade. The silica gel pack is for my bank safe deposit box. Two of those can be purchased on Amazon for about $15. One of these is big enough to keep any humidity from affecting my cards. My bank keeps its vault climate controlled-but, I never take any chances. I change these out every few months, and it only takes a few hours of baking them in the oven to reset them. Plus, they contain no cobalt (II) chloride, which has been known to cause cancer.