Sal Barry

Once upon a time, it was possible to collect every hockey card released during the season – especially when there were only two major sets available. But nowadays, it is impossible to collect every hockey card out there, especially when you consider all the parallels, autographs, jersey cards, and one-of-one cards.

Since it is impossible to collect everything, many card collectors focus on player collecting – that is, collecting just the cards of their favorite players.

Like an à la carte menu at a restaurant, which lets you order smaller portions of certain foods without the side dishes, player collecting allows you to sample every, base, parallel and insert set out there.

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Sometimes, you have to look at what you’re not looking for.

When I went to the Sport Card Expo in Toronto back in November, one of the things I wanted to buy was an Auston Matthews Young Guns rookie card. In fact, there were a few different rookie cards of current stars that I was looking for.

The problem was, they were all more than I wanted to pay. Much of the new stuff was graded. And even ungraded copies of cards that I wanted were in the neighborhood of $500 or more. 

That’s when I reminded myself of one of my long-standing card collecting strategies: know when to pivot your collecting focus, because you won’t know what you might find. 

Continue reading “When to Pivot Your Collecting Focus”