The Complete Guide to Trading Card Collecting

Chapter 1: What Is Trading Card Collecting and Why People Love It

What you're actually getting into

Let's start by clearing up what trading card collecting isn't. It isn't just buying a pack, finding a rare card, and putting it in a drawer. It isn't just playing a game either, though some collectors do that too. On a normal day, collecting is a surprisingly hands-on, organizing-heavy hobby that looks something like this: you sit at a table with a stack of cards you just brought home, a binder open next to you, a pile of sleeves (thin plastic sleeves that fit around a card) and maybe a box of card dividers. You sort. You flip through cards you've seen fifty times already. You occasionally find one you forgot you had and take a moment to look at it. Then you put it in its spot.

That's the honest core of it. The act of collecting itself is mostly sorting, storing, and cataloging, with the exciting parts — opening packs, finding a rare card, completing a set — sprinkled in between. If that sounds boring to you, that's actually useful information. If it sounds a little satisfying, orderly, and calm, then you'd fit right in.

The three kinds of collectors

Before we go further, it helps to know that people collect for three general reasons, and most people blend all three. The first kind is the set builder, someone who wants to complete a full set from a particular year