Where do you get your cards?

     When I first started collecting cards there were only 3 places to get cards; retail stores, your local card shop, if you're lucky enough to have a local card shop or a card show. Now I readily admit back in those days I was not in the know about any card shows, save one and that was the one that the card shop I worked for put on once a year. Now, thanks in big part to the internet, the opportunity to get cards is at the tips of your fingers.  I get the majority of my cards at Walmart, Ebay, BSC.com, a local card shop and a couple of card shows a year. 

 Walmart

    Walmart is as close as I come to a local card shop. As I mentioned in my first blog, I collect Topps current years for myself and my grandsons. It's been an interesting few years trying to get cards at Walmart. If I see it on the shelves, I've got to grab it because it won't be there long. That is until I get to the point of only needing a limited number of cards and then I find tons of product that I don't need. For the most part, it works pretty well for collecting the new releases for me. 

Local Card Store

    Where I live, in a major metropolitan area, there are several card stores, but they are about an hour away, mostly because of traffic. Their hours and my work schedule just make it really difficult to visit. My youngest son and I spent a Saturday driving all over town visiting all the stores we could find checking them out. Out of all of the card stores there is really only one that carries anything vintage or cards to complete sets. Everyone else is all chrome and shiny stuff, some that I actually think looks cool, but not something that I feel like I want to get involved collecting. The closest I get to the flashy stuff in my collection is Topps Chrome and that's only of those players that I really like. 

Ebay

    What is there to say, almost everything can be found on Ebay. One thing I do like about Ebay are the pictures of the cards that you are purchasing. Bidding on cards can be a problem, especially for me. I hate to lose. It takes a lot of control to stay on my budget and not go over. What really gets me is when I lose a card by less than a dollar. I have started using buy-it-now and make an offer. Helps keep me from getting in a bidding war.

 BuySportsCards.com  

    I kept seeing ads for BSC in my emails, on YouTube and other places so I thought I'd check it out. It seemed to be a decent site so I made some purchases and it worked pretty good.  I think this is a good site to pick up lower end cards. It has its drawbacks like a $3.00 minimum on purchases and you don't have an uploaded picture of the card you're buying, but overall it's not bad. I decided to try and sell some of my extra cards on the site because it seemed pretty easy to do. I listed some cards and within a couple of days sold 3 cards. I thought this is easy! Well, two weeks later and not another sniff at selling a card. Oh well, the cards will sit there until something happens. 

Card Shows

    Card shows are a blast. I love walking around, talking to people and looking at their cards. I haven't been real successful at the shows, but that's because I haven't figured out the best way to work it. I have picked up cards that I really like but hasn't helped in completing any of the sets I'm working on. The last show I went to in January I picked up these cards.

They're pretty rough and the Clemente has a crease right across the middle, but I got a great deal on the cards. Shows can be a bit overwhelming too. So many tables, cards, people everywhere, but the overall experience is awesome. I have yet to meet a dealer at a show who wasn't a good guy. I've never been to the National, but I want to. Maybe one day. If you get a chance to go to a show and you haven't been, go its worth it. 

Online Trading

    I've never traded cards online. I think I'd like to, but really haven't figured it out yet. I'm hoping that by writing this blog and meeting some people that trading will become an option. Sounds like everyone who's online writing blogs trades with Night Owl, so who knows?

Let me know in the comments where you get your cards, I'm always looking for a good source!

Peace, 

Michael

Isaiah 40:31