How did you get started in the hobby

[bn2cardz]

I just remember always being saturated in cards. From what I understand from the stories my dad bought me a collecting "starter kit" from my older sister's book fair at school when I was about 4 years old (around '86). I remember using the price guide that came with it for several years (originally I am sure I just looked at the pictures), before my dad bought me my first Beckett around 92. I still have it, this isn't my copy but this is the one:


A few years later my parents got me a subscription and after that people would literally come to me at card shows asking me the values of the cards because I had memorized the magazine. Every month I would just look at the ups and downs for each set, and it would stick with me. All the while I was just buying what I could.

One of my favorite sets from my childhood was the 1989 Donruss set. I just really liked that design. I bought more Donruss than any other set from then on. Until UD Collector's Choice came out and that was such a cheap option that I found myself buying those up all the time. Then I entered an antique store and found a t206 Doyle batting. It was being sold for $90, way more than I could ever spend, but it was so neat to see such an old card that was nearing 90 years old. At Christmas it was my only gift from my parents. I now know they overpaid (if they paid the full amount), but it was the best card ever to me. Soon after I bought my own Goudey online and got a Beckett almanac that way I could learn more about the older sets. Since then I have gone back and forth between vintage and modern.