Collecting is an age-old human pursuit. There are evidence of collecting practices in Mesopotamia, in the third millenia BC. In ancient egypt, the Ptolemaic dynasty collected books in the library of Alexandria.

Collecting is fun
In short, hockey card collecting is fun! It's a fun hobby, with the thrill of the chase combined with the gratification of success when you find the card you are looking for, or manage to pull your favorite player from a pack.

Collecting is social
Interfacing with other collectors - online, RL, at card shows - is a great way of both sharing the interest of the hobby, and finding more of the cards you are on the hunt for. Speaking from personal experience, it's a great hobby to share with your kids. You spend time learning about the hobby, about the hockey cards, about the player, teams and games - together. And you do mcuh of it without looking at a screen (and we all know that managing to get your kid to release their screen is an achievement in itself).

What hockey cards should I collect?
There is great variety to choose from, and I recomend looking at some youtube videos of diffrent products to get a feel of what you like and don't like. You can find a suggestions on youtube resources here. 

There are different types of cards (regular ones, autographs, memorabilia, tech cards such as clear cuts, acetate and more), there are many different products with different designs (check out our product overview here), and there are of course many different eras, from vintage to modern.

Many collectors favour a specific team, and collect cards from that team. Others favour a specific player and collect cards of that player. What ever your PC (personal collection) ends up being, the more focused you make it, the more managable it will be financially. The amount of variety and variations of hockey cards in recent releases are staggering. The more things you like (design-wise, number of players, number of teams, number of sets), the more expensive your hobby will become. It's estimated that rookie cards and their vairationsof the top rookies in 2023-24 products will reach 1,000+ different cards per player.

One of the hardest things is to keep your collection focused, because there are so many shiny nice-looking cards. And you might like more than a handful of players, and more than one team. If that is the way you want to collect, by all means that is how you should collect. Every collector and every collection is different. Just be advised that it will be expensive and after a while, you may struggle with maintaining some sort of priority of what to go after next (and how to structure your collection in an accesible way).

If I was to advice anything it would be to start small. Make a budget of how much you will spend every month, and start focused on one thing - a player, a team or a set. Once you get a feel for the hobby, the cards, the variations and the prices you can switch your focus, scale up what you collect if you want, and increase your budget.

It's not rare to see new collectors show up in the hobby and burn out quickly. They typically start off their collecting by buying monster cards that few people can afford, at a quick pace. That type of collecting requires massive funds to be sustainable. 

Where do I buy hockeycards?
There are online stores, physical shops and facebook groups dedicated to hockey card buying, selling and trading. And of course there are trading platforms like E-bay. Check out the useful links-section for some suggestions on where to start.

What hockey boxes should I buy?
That depends on what you like and what the purpose of your collection is. Check out our product overview, for an overview of the most common products. Before you buy a box, go to youtube and watch a few videos of breaks of that product, so you ge a chance to see if you like the design and the types of cards you can get.

Should I buy boxes or singles?
The way things stand currently, in February 2024, box prices have been increasing a lot over the past few years, while the price of singles have dropped. 2023-24 box prices look like they will be absolutely stupidly expensive due to the Bedard rookie card chase. To make the most of your budget, buying singles is the wiser choice. 

Should I join breaks?
Joining breaks is similar to opening boxes, in comparison to buying singles. However, it gives you the thrill of opening packs, at only a fraction of the cost of an entire box. If you collect a specific team, this could be an option where you know you'll get some cards for your collection, and you can enjoy the thrill of the hunt at a more reasonable price.

I'm collecting on a budget, this seems very expensive
There is truly something for everyone in this hobby, from the holy grail $1.7 Million Gretzky rookie card, to awesomely designed $1 inserts, or even really beautiful $0.10 base cards. Collecting hockey cards doesn't have to be expensive. 

How do I know I'm not over-paying for the cards I'm buying?
Researching and understanding the value of cards is an important part of the hobby, regardless if your selling, buying or trading. A good way to understand the value of your cards, is looking at comparable recent sales history ("comps"), from sites like e-bay. Check out our short tutorial on card value for more information.

Keeping your cards in good condition
A damaged card has very low value, in comparison to the same card in good condition. Therefor, it's advisable to handle your cards with care and protect them. In order to keep your cards in good condition, it's recomended that you put each card in a penny sleeve, and then- for more valuable cards - in either a top loader, one-touch or in a 9-pocket page in an album.

Anything else I should know?
The hockeycard gongshow podcast has a great summary of good general knowledge on how not to ruin yourself, in their 6 rules of hockey card collecting.