[Muir2]

By Erin Bolen


The Toronto Expo has come and gone.


For me, it was yet another year where I couldn’t get there. In fact, other than last year’s NHL All-Star card show in Dallas, I’ve never been to a card show that has a significant selection of hockey cards.

That’s just part of the fun with living in an area with very few hockey card collectors.

In my city, well, a town of just under 90,000 in an isolated area of West Texas, card collecting is not the most popular hobby. There is one card shop in town with a decent but limited selection, particularly when it comes to hockey cards. Without a minor league team, a staple in so many similarly-sized towns in Texas, the market is practically nonexistent.


When you’re a hockey collector living in a non-traditional market – be that a Sun Belt NHL city, a non-hockey city or a city in the boonies like me – collecting hockey cards can be a unique challenge. Most card stores, if you’re lucky enough to have one, will focus on football, basketball, baseball and gaming, with only a few hockey products.

Collectors in large cities or traditional hockey card markets have access to several card shops and/or shows with a breadth of hockey selections. At the very least, the stores in towns will carry at least a little of each new product as it comes out. Some of the better stores will have singles available and in the best markets, hockey cards will be fairly easy to come by.

Those of us away from those hobby centers can’t say that. At those cards stores that are around, new product is often spotty at best, and singles are virtually non-existent. There may be three or four other hockey card collectors in town if you’re lucky.

Before the internet, being a hockey collector in a market like mine would have been nearly impossible. Now it’s an entirely doable proposition.

The strategies are fairly simple. Auction sites, online stores and online trading message boards are your friends. Yes, shipping can be prohibitive and it takes a while to work up a reputation, but these are the only easy way to get new products.

If you buy boxes, you may be able to work out a deal with the local shop owners to preorder boxes, especially if they pick up other sports from Upper Deck. If nothing else, showing an interest may cause them to order some of the new products in the future.

If you really have the itch to open packs, hit up your local mega mart. Trust me, if the stores in far West Texas have hockey blasters and the occasional value packs, yours will too. The value isn’t great, but it will satisfy the itch for a while.

Speaking of value, beware most value packs. Several years ago, value packs of eight for $15 or 20 for $20 were available, but they’ve been replaced by far inferior models in the recent seasons. If it seems like the box isn’t worth the money, chances are it isn’t.

Being a hockey collector when you’re away from most collecting resources is a struggle, but look at it this way. Living away from the temptation of card shops and shows makes life substantially easier on your wallet.