Don’t Break These Sports Card Collecting Rules

I’ve been in the hobby for about 25 years now and have come to realize over time there are certain standards and certain rules to uphold in parts of the hobby. These rules become things you hate to abide by, but know you have to do your part. Without rules in place anywhere, the world would not run smoothly.

The same goes for the hobby.

If you’ve watched NCIS, you no doubt know that Leroy Jethro Gibbs, the lead character, has a set of rules he lives by. These rules sometimes come into play in certain episodes. These are rules such as Rule 2: “Always wear gloves to a crime scene.” Or Rule 39: “There is no such thing as a coincidence.”

Gibbs’ rules play in the collecting industry, especially when you replace a crime scene with a box of Prizm. The “no coincidence” rule, for example, could be someone who dogs retail stockers and knows the exact time they’ll be rolling in.  at particular one may soon make my list of roughly 75 “rules” for the hobby.

My rules seem to grow by the day as opposed to appearing in episodes across seasons. Most are things I have experienced myself or have seen others experience in all areas of social media. These rules should be common sense in the hobby, but may not always translate to that. I’ve seen some make the same mistakes over and over again. Even the rule writer, such as myself, does occasionally break a rule.

Here are a few of my own hobby rules:

Rule 4: Always ship in a team bag or tape the opening of the top loader.

Once I cut a card with scissors in a bubble envelope because the bubble wrap had been taped all around, so there was no entry way in otherwise. As I was trying to open it, I noticed the sender hadn’t used a team bag and the card fell out of the semi-rigid holder. That was murder of a Prizm rookie. Any NCIS detective could have found the culprit who did it. The bigger question would have been who gets charged of the crime? The sender who didn’t follow the rules, or the person who made the mistake and caused the death?

Rule 48: Use painters’ tape to seal the top of the top loader and not scotch tape.

It often feels like you are dismantling a bomb in order to get the scotch tape off, while safely making sure the card isn’t damaged in the process. When I attempt doing this, my hands aren’t always steady with some arthritis settling in, so it makes for a challenging detonation and keeps the audience on the edge of their seat.

Rule 55: When trading, always send tracking to the person you are trading with when using a bubble mailer.

Unfortunately, USPS has been known to lose mail from time to time, so it’s best to have proof that you sent it and provided tracking information. You have proof that you were successful at your end.

Rule 68: When receiving mail, always give a shout out.

One of my biggest pet peeves in the hobby is sending someone a surprise mail day or a trade and the person on the receiving end of doesn’t even mention anything about receiving it. Don’t be that collector. Just a one sentence. “Thanks for your generosity” or something acknowledging the gesture.

And one, sometimes forgotten but still very important rule of the hobby:

Rule 72: Never . . . ever . . . leave the last pack behind.

I’ve had plenty of experiences in doing so. Some have been positive, while others have been, well, insert the cartoon of kicking yourself all the way home.

The experiences I have had with breaking Rule 72 can be traced way back to my childhood collecting day.

Case 1996:

SPx football was the hottest thing of the ’90s since Ask Jeeves formed and the local card show was hopping with collectors looking to score a pack or two. The problem was, $6.99 for a one-card pack was a bit expensive for the time. As much as I immediately wanted a pack of the die-cut holographic design, my father and I spent the show picking up a few other items instead. Just as we were about to head out the door, we walked by the last table which belonged to the local card shop owner who also put on the card show. He had two SPx packs left. I asked my father if we could get one and he nodded his approval, so I picked up a pack while my best friend’s uncle grabbed the last. Before we left, I opened up my pack to reveal a Barry Sanders base card I was pretty happy with until I could hear cheers from across the room as my friend’s uncle revealed a Joe Montana autograph, which was nearly impossible to pull back then considering the 1:433 pack odds.

I got sacked.

Case 2009:

Walmart had a bunch of packs that had been marked down and tossed into a bin. At that time, I had just gotten my nephew into collecting and he knew which packs to keep an eye out for. One of the most intriguing packs in the bin was 2008 Upper Deck Heroes Baseball. I grabbed what I thought were all the packs from the bin until he found one more. I pulled a bunch of base, while he pulled a card of my all-time favorite Yankees, a Derek Jeter pinstripe jersey card numbered to 25.

A swing and a miss.

Case 2020:

Panini Prizm Basketball. I’m sure you’ve heard of it. I bought a few hanging packs at Walmart on the hunt for a Zion RC. Of course, I would break my own rule without thinking and leftone rack pack hanging. Later, my father grabbed it. I opened my two, and was left witout much to brag about. My father picked up the fabled last pack, and, well, there was a Zion RC.

Basketball to the face for sure.

When I haven’t broken Rule 72, I’ve had some solid experiences with that last pack. Keep in mind these are just a few examples, but are ones I recall most vividly, the ones that were the biggest surprises.

Case 1996, Part II:

I may have missed out on the Montana auto, but it didn’t mean I always missed out when I would go to that show. I had one of my coolest pack pulls from the ’90s a few months later at that card show. The last pack of 1996 Zenith Football was sitting there staring at me, so I went and grabbed it and found myself a 1:72 odds Zenith Z-Team Emmitt Smith. That card was the talk of the show and I had quite a few offers on it early on but decided to keep it. It was my shining moment at the time. One of those offers came from my friend’s uncle who had pulled the Montana auto.

Case 2000:

My local Ames – remember that store?– had a few newer packs but only one pack of 2000 Stadium Club Baseball left. I was chasing Ken Griffey Jr cards at the time so I bought it. Like most of you, I couldn’t wait to open it. Inside was a Lone Star Signatures autograph of Fred McGriff! That wasn’t an easy pull by any means.

Case 2002:

While my earlier memories were pack-specific, this one is more of a last-blaster-box-on-the-shelf memory. I bought the final 2002 Upper Deck Prospect Premiers blaster box which guaranteed an autograph, and lo and behold, I pulled the best one from the set in Prince Fielder. That card was $100-plus for a long time until Prince’s career started to fall, as did the value. Still, it’s the best retail pull of my life.

Case 2010:

I was on vacation and visited the local LCS which I always do while I’m there and there was one pack of 2010 Topps Platinum Football left. I was always a fan of the brand and the owners knew me and off ered me a discount that I had “no choice” but to grab. Inside I found a multi-colored rookie patch autograph of running back Ryan Mathews. He was one of the top players to chase in 2010, as a first-round pick by the San Diego Chargers.

I still have all of the cards I pulled in those instances, as well as the memories of the ones I missed. Good or bad, I suggest to never leave that last pack. Rule 72 should never be broken.