[muschlerm]

Hi folks,

I'm completely new to the hobby and looking for general guidelines or tips on where to start with collecting football cards. Are there certain packs worth exploring first? Is it best to approach the hobby with certain goals in mind?

I'm a die hard Vikings fan and would love to collect a full roster for the 2018 season - working from that goal, where do I begin?

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

[kerryandbeth]

Welcome to the Beckett community and sports collecting! It can be a lot of fun if you set parameters and stick to them.
You could get a lot of different advice for your questions, but nearly everyone will tell you that there is no 1 method that fits all.
I am a die-hard Viking fan too but I collect based on the look of the card and then the player. So, I do trades or purchases or online breaks of products that look good to me.

If you like a few certain players, then searching COMC or Beckett Marketplace is a good option. If you like anything in Purple, then just buying packs is not a good economic choice.

Good luck and update your progress once in a while.

[Jquinn83]

I was going to suggest joining the BCCG team trade group but the Vikings are claimed by StylinDylan. I would go ahead and contact him though, I have traded with him a couple of times he a good guy and probably trade you a boat load of duplicate purple that he has.

[savagenate]

Welcome! Like was said before, no one set of rules is the same for everyone. However, if you are trying to put the roster together, then buying singles through various sites are the way to go. You'll waste hundreds if not more dollars trying to do it by opening packs. Opening packs is a blast though, so if it's something you like to do, and have the money to burn, go for it! I personally chase rainbows (all the colors of a certain player from a certain product, like prizm, or score), SB MVP's cards, and various favorite players. Some collect sets, so they try to get one of every card from a specific product, regardless of team. Others "super collect" (try to obtain every card of a single player, see Jaderock's thread for instance). The point is to pick a budget, and stick to it, and have fun! Best of luck!

[jplarson]

Welcome to the boards and the hobby! As others have said there are different ways of collecting. It's good to set some expectations and goals in mind them pursue them. When I was younger I would buy anything/everything. Now I'm mostly disciplined, I like to collect complete sets of specific brands and enjoy the design and changes it underwent through the years.

If you like send me a private message with your name/address and I'd be happy to send you some duplicates from my collection to get you started. Welcome again !

[jwlawrence06@gmail.co]

Welcome! I'm fairly new as well, so I recently went through the same dilemma that you are going through now. One thing to keep in mind (as others have said) is that there is no 'best' or 'right/wrong' way to go about your collecting...just collect what you like! That being said, here's a few things I've picked up recently:

1. Buying packs is a good way to build up an inventory that you can eventually trade with others via different channels (Beckett, facebook, SCF, etc.). This can get pricey, and if you are only interested in collecting a team, might not be the BEST option, however there are a few relatively inexpensive brands that will allow you to build up a collection (Score, Donruss, Classics, Prestige, Panini Football amongst others).

2. Keep an open mind with your collecting. You've already established that you want to collect Vikings cards which is a good place to start. Do some research on different collecting methods. A couple examples are rainbows, team sets, parallels, and inserts. This will keep everything new and fun, and the constant search to complete a set is always fun!

3. Don't try to collect everything. This will get costly and frustrating! Stay within your means (budget, time, etc.).