7 Lessons Learned From 2024 Card Collecting!
The past 12 months will help us make the next 12 months even awesome-r for our sports card collection!
Each Happy Hobby Sports Card Newsletter For Collectors has a handful of great sports card subjects, helping sports card collectors working with limited budgets!
This Week’s Newsletter Highlights!
⚾🏒🏈🏀 7 LESSONS LEARNED FROM 2024 CARD COLLECTING!
⚾🏒 SPORTS CARD TRIVIA!
🏀 🏈 ⚾ PATRICK’S PROSPECT CORNER
🏒 CARDS THAT MAKE US HAPPY!
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⚾🏀🏈 7 LESSONS LEARNED FROM 2024 CARD COLLECTING!
Patrick Imhoff gets behind the wheel for this entire Happy Hobby Sports Cards For Collectors newsletter! Enjoy!
At the end of 2024, I took stock of my card collection. I began collecting again late in 2021 and it was interesting to see how far I had come and what I had to show for it. I won’t say I was disappointed in what I found, but I will say I could have done better. As a collector on a limited budget, I decided that in 2025 I am going to make better decisions with how I spend my money and how I build my collection. So, here are some lessons learned and some changes I will try to implement in 2025.
Lesson No. 1 – Don’t Invest Too Much in Prospects
I learned very quickly that I enjoy collecting Bowman 1st cards of prospects. I don’t consider them a true rookie card, but I enjoy watching a prospect move up the ranks. The lesson learned for me was most of these guys are 18 and there is no such thing as a sure thing (see Spencer Torkelson, Jo Adell, Elijah Green, and many more). Moving forward I will not spend more than $20 on any prospect card (refractor, numbered, autographed) while they are still considered a prospect.
Lesson No. 2 – Rookies are Not Hall of Famers
Every year, we rank the top rookies and try and guess which ones will hit it big. As a collector, I love a great rookie card, specifically the gold numbered cards from Topps. What I have learned is that 9 times out of 10, investing in that card during their rookie season does not pay off. The better strategy and the one I intend to implement moving forward is to wait until a player is in their second or third straight consistent season before investing in a gold card. This may cost more for the individual player, but I will save more on players who are one-hit wonders.
Lesson No. 3 – Quality over Quantity
As a new collector, I felt overwhelmed with all the choices of products available, and as a result, I bought more than I needed or wanted. When I found a rookie I liked, for instance Oneil Cruz, I ended up getting his base rookie. Then I would stumble on the insert rookie. Then the Gypsie Queen rookie, and on and on. I ended up with a lot of $1.50 rookie cards. It took a while, but I have learned to look at the release calendar and focus on one or two rookies of a player I like and spend more money on them. I would rather have a $40 rookie card than a bunch of $2 cards. This may be the exact opposite for others, who want a large collection of their favorite player, but I prefer a smaller collection at this point.
Lesson Learned No. 4 – eBay Buying Strategy
It took me some time, and learning plenty from David Gonos’ YouTube videos, but I developed a bit of a strategy for buying on eBay.
I used to just make an offer on what looked like the best card, and then would see auctions ending with cheaper prices. I learned that when looking for a common card (one with many available on eBay), you can almost always find some up for auction, some that are Buy It Now (BIN), and some BIN with the option to make an offer.
What I started doing after checking comps, was to add an auction or two to my watch list. When there is about 48 hours remaining, I also add the BIN/Make offer cards to my watch list. Usually, I will receive an offer from the seller on one of the BINs that will expire after the auction card I am watching ends. Based on the offer price, I now know how to play the auction. If I win it cheaper in the auction, great. If the auction goes higher, I pull the trigger on the offer I received.
Lesson Learned No. 5 – Breaking is Not For Me
I spent some money on a few different breaks when I was getting started and quickly learned it was not for me. At the end of every break I always felt that I could have spent that same amount of money and bought a blaster or maybe even a hobby box that would guarantee me some cards/hits as opposed to the four base cards I ended up receiving of the same pitcher.
There are obviously those who come out ahead with breaking, but for me, the odds just don’t favor that I will be the one getting a hit card.
The exception to breaking for me is the #HappyHobby Buddy Break. This is different because there are no markups on prices. It is essentially a group of buddies getting together and splitting the price on cards and everyone gets an even portion. (Six people getting five teams each in a 30-Team MLB break!) I highly recommend finding some friends and trying something like this out.
Lesson Learned No. 6 – Collecting is More Fun with Friends
Three years ago, I was just collecting and learning all by myself. About 2 years ago, I stumbled upon an article by David Gonos in The Athletic and found the #HappyHobby community. Collecting is way more fun when you can share and learn with others that have similar interests. I highly recommend getting connected to a group and sharing with them.
Lesson Learned No. 7 – The Known vs. Unknown
Collecting is all about finding joy for me. That joy comes in two forms: one is having a fresh pack in front of me with endless possibilities and the other comes from adding an amazing card to my collection. The problem with this is that they don’t go hand in hand.
I love ripping open a box -- there is so much joy in the anticipation. However, more often than not, I find myself disappointed in the results. There is also a ton of joy that goes with looking at a slabbed-up Bill Mazeroski rookie card, even though there was less joy in how it was acquired.
It took me a while to figure this one out, but this year my plan is to find much cheaper options to get me the joy of opening, like buying O-Pee-Chee Hockey for around $60, instead of Upper Deck for $130. The anticipation will still be there, but the money saved will guarantee I have money in the budget to buy a hit card to ensure at the end of the year, my collection has improved. For 2025, I have a much more structured budget that I hope brings me joy all year round in collecting.
What are some lessons you learned from collecting sports cards on a limited budget in 2024?
⚾🏒 BASEBALL/HOCKEY CARD TRIVIA!
Send us the answer to this question – you could win this free card from Patrick Imhoff! 1982 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky -- Card No. 106
Which former No. 1 NHL draft pick was also given a baseball tryout and had a baseball rookie card in the early ‘90s?
Email your answer to gonoscards@gmail.com and you can win this 1982 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky card! Rather than take the first person who answers it right, I’m going to do a random drawing of all the people who answer this question before midnight, Friday, January 17. The winner will be announced in the Jan. 23 newsletter.
⚾ PATRICK’S PROSPECT CORNER
Imhoff will start sharing some of his favorite prospects to pick up every few weeks!
Bowman 1st prospect cards are always a hot ticket. With that comes high prices for the so-called top prospects. In this corner, the goal is to highlight a prospect with tons of potential that doesn’t come with the high price. In this edition, we are highlighting Jaison Chourio.
Chourio is the younger brother of Jackson Chourio, but Jaison is starting to make a name for himself. In the stacked Guardians farm system, he is ranked #3 while also being #64 in the Top 100 on MLB Pipeline. As a 19-year-old, he was raking in Class A before an injury ended his season. Based on his name and pedigree, there is no reason not to expect great things.
The best news about Chourio for collectors is the price of his cards. His 2022 Bowman Chrome 1st BCP-174 is not going to break the bank. For under $5, you can find the mojo refractor, and for around $10 you can find his /499 numbered refractor. Finally, in the $20-$40 range you can find Jaison Chourio’s lower numbered refractors, like /199 and /75.
🏒CARDS THAT MAKE US HAPPY! 1985 Topps Mario Lemieux
In the 1984 NHL draft, the Pittsburgh Penguins drafted Mario Lemieux with the first overall pick, and his impact on the franchise is still felt 40 years later.
As a kid growing up in Pittsburgh, the local sports team were all that mattered, we bled black and gold. As an adult, who got back into collecting cards, the Mario rookie card was one of the first cards I went after. I got this one raw and later got it graded, and it is still the most expensive card I have ever purchased, despite being just over $100. I could probably write a book on why I love this card, but to save some words, I will give “yinz” some bullet points on why Mario is considered royalty to all Penguins and hockey fans.
His Name Says It All: Let’s start with the last name. The French surname Lemieux translates to “the best” or “LeMagnifique,” as he is often referred to.
As a rookie in the NHL, his impact was immediate. Words will not do his first NHL shift justice, so check out the YouTube video:
Number 66: It was chosen as a sign of respect to the great one, Wayne Gretzky! Those two, 66 and 99, dominated the NHL. Check out how cool it looked when they were side by side or even better, check out the opening faceoff of the 1986 NHL All Star game.
Second To One: Was Mario the best? Well, I am not going to debate that and compare him to Gretzky, but he finished his NHL career in 8th all-time in points, however, he is only 200 points out of second place – and he played 800 fewer games than second place. Where you see this is in his points per game, where he and Gretzky are in another level, both averaging over 1.9 points per game compared to the next best of 1.5 points per game. Pure domination!!!
The Mario Lemieux Hat Trick: He has his own hat trick named after him. Go score an even strength goal, a power play goal, and a short-handed goal, and you are in the club. He made it look so easy.
Amazing Comebacks x 3: Mario defied the odds three times to make amazing and meaningful comebacks in the NHL.
The first was in the playoffs against the Rangers in May of 1992. Adam Graves slashed and broke Mario’s wrist. He missed only 5 games, returned and led the Pens to the Stanley Cup and he won the Conn Smythe trophy.
The second come back was on March 2, 1993. He started the day in Pittsburgh receiving chemotherapy treatment for cancer and finished the day in Philly scoring a goal.
Sorry to M.J. and “The Flu Game,” it doesn’t compare.
The third comeback was after his early retirement for chronic back issues and Hodgkins lymphoma. Following a 3.5-year retirement, he decided to come back on Dec 27, 2000, and he had a goal and two assists, and he played until the 2005-06 season, when another young superstar showed up!
Mario was the Penguins’ Savior!!! As the Penguins were on the brink of bankruptcy and leaving the city, Mario swooped in once again. He took the millions he was owed by the Penguins in back salary and bought the team, kept it in Pittsburgh with a new arena, won the lottery and drafted Sidney Crosby!
Mario will forever be loved in Pittsburgh and by all hockey collectors, myself included. If you need an NHL card to add to or start your hockey collection, Super Mario is a good place to start!
Coming Next Week!
⚾🏈🏀 THREE PRODUCTS TOPPS WE WANT RIGHT NOW!
🏈🏀⚾ SPORTS CARD TRIVIA!
🏀⚾🏈 ANNOUNCING OUR 5K YOUTUBE SUBSCRIBER GIVEAWAY!
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Wonderful job, Patrick! I thoroughly enjoyed reading about your collection/goals for 2025. I think you make a lot of great points, and have great strategy for making yours a Happy Hobby! Love your eBay strategy.
Also, I’ve never followed hockey very closely, so it was very enlightening reading about Mario. I didn’t know most of that stuff, and the Mario hat trick is really cool! Well done, great read!
Great article, Patrick. These are the same lessons I learned when I returned to card collecting this past September. The BIN/Offer advice is great and I plan on implementing it going forward. I need to stop adding cards in advance to my watchlist. I do this as a placeholder/reminder. But I just end up getting offers from sellers when I don't have the money to buy.