Football Cards: What Do People Collect?

The most common question we receive from new football card collectors is "what should I collect?" That’s easy to answer.

Collect ANYTHING YOU WANT.

"But I also want to make money on the side," they say.

Not to tell you off, but if you come into this hobby with an investor-only attitude, you're almost bound to lose money. First, you have to accept that football cards are only pieces of cardboard with photos on them. They carry a low intrinsic value. The value is derived by the demand of the card from other collectors... people who are passionate about their favourite team or favourite player.

This passion is usually dependant on the performance of the team or player. If performance drops -- so too does their interest in the player and their card.

In its basic form, football card collecting is hero worship. Fans buy the cards to see their favourite player in action and to read about his accomplishments on the card back. But fans are always unpredictable, and heroes emerge and tumble quickly in sports today.

Collectors usually fall into one of three categories, Hobby Collectors, Serious Collectors and High End Investors and it is all determined by what they collect and how much they are prepared to spend.

Read the other articles in this section by clicking any link below:
Card Condition | Hobby Collectors | Serious Collectors | High End Investors