[teleserv]

My son just turned 12 and walking down the Target aisle the other day we passed the card racks. I have gotten used to ignoring them over the years (baseball and baseball cards broke my heart in the early 90's and, well, most of you know the story).

But my son asked, 'Hey dad, can we look through all your old baseball cards sometime?' My heart skipped a beat and it was like an ignition hit in my chest.

Long story short, we have gone through my meager collection, figured out what's "worth" anything anymore and am now ready to move forward and I just need some suggestions cause the industry has changed so much since 50 cent packs.

The key for me here is to have something to do to bond with my son, but also to do it with an eye of collecting cards/sets/players that will hold value over time. Ultimately the goal for my son and I moving forward is to a) update/build my Cal Ripken junior set and b) find a vintage set (pre-1970 probably) and just start collecting cards, not overly concerned with a certain grade for the set.

My questions:

- I have never graded a card...ever. But my thought is that if a card is graded 8 or better on eBay and is worth more than $15, then it's worth getting graded. I think the cards I have are at least an 8 or better.

- Trading...I have never traded online. Does it actually...work? If I need a certain Cal Ripken card and have a Barry Bonds to trade, does that type of stuff actually happen or is it just easier to sell my Bonds and then buy the Ripken? Any pitfalls to avoid?

Thanks in advance for your time and thoughts. I perfectly realize I am the newby and my post count is at a whopping ONE, but it is my goal to get back into this community and hopefully be able to give back...as soon as I figure out what I'm doing;-)

[jn baseball cards]

Don't really know what kind of Cal Jr your looking for, but here are a few.

[Phillies_Joe]

1st off welcome back to the hobby and welcome to Beckett! I think this an awesome hobby for a parent to share with thier kid/s. I'll let others comment on the merits of graded cards, values and such as I collect only for my enjoyment and am not concerned with my "investment".

You can indeed trade on-line and I find that Beckett is a great place to do it! Look at the major threads when you 1st enter the forums module and read through them for suggestions, pointers and examples. Trading is really pretty easy here. One word of caution....until you have 20-25 completed trades, don't get upset if your trade partner requests that you send first. (pretty sure Beckett has a 20 trade beginner send 1st rule) This is to protect members from fly buy night traders looking to scam folks out of thier cards.

Best of luck, we have a great bunch of folks here and you can hit me up for a trade anytime once you get settled in.

[zeprock]

I echo what PhilliesJoe said. Trading is great here and easy to do when everything is working properly. Lots of members can give you helpful hints along the way via the forums. I don't have anything to do with graded cards either but am always trading to add to my PC. I'll trade with you once you're all set to go.

[bbcgalaxee]

This won't help with one of your questions, but if you want to get into packs or boxes, I'd HIGHLY recommend regular Topps.

It's a blast to open (talk about bonding!) with so many inserts, base cards and lots of shiny and cool looking stuff.

Panini prizm, topps chrome are also fun and the cards are awesome looking, both all "chrome"

Also consider checking out last year's panini pinnacle. The hobby boxes are very cheap and while the regular cards aren't anything special, the inserts are, especially all the see through ones.

[Midwestconnection]

buy bowman, bowman draft or chrome. You can learn about the next possible stars in baseball. Prospect on younger players and track their progress form milb.com. Very fun and bowman is just a blast to break. best of luck

[teleserv]

Wow - thanks everyone for the great feedback! I've got to get more familiar with the new cards...don't have a clue about panini or chrome.