How to start collecting sports cards, step by step
Pick a player, team or set, choose between boxes and singles, store cards from day one, and check each card against the maker's checklist before you buy.
By the Rip.fan Editorial Team.
Published 7 min read
Start with one focus: a player, a team or a set. Then learn that focus’s checklist, buy singles when you want an exact card and boxes when you want an assortment, sleeve every card you keep from the first day, and check each card against the maker’s checklist before you pay. That order keeps a new collection focused and easy to follow, and it guards against mistakes such as buying the wrong version of a card.
What kind of collector do you want to be?
Pick a focus before you buy anything. A set collector builds the sets from each product, a player collector follows specific players, and a team collector follows specific teams. A “personal collection” is a collector’s favorite cards, the ones not up for trade or sale. Some people collect for the hobby, some sell what they open, and some do both.
Each focus asks for something different:
| Focus | What you follow | Where to start | What trips people up |
|---|---|---|---|
| A player | Every card of one player, across products and years | The player’s base cards and rookie cards, found on each checklist | Parallels share a card number, so one card can come in many versions |
| A team | The team’s players in one product or many | The team’s cards in one large base set | Team cards sit across many sets each year |
| A set | One product’s base set, in full | A box or packs of that product, then singles to finish | Short prints, and base sets split across several releases |
| A personal collection | A handful of favorites | Singles, chosen one at a time | Tracking condition and versions as the list grows |
Whatever you choose, the maker’s checklist is your map. A checklist is the maker’s complete list of a set’s cards, used to track and finish sets. Our guides to rookie cards, parallels and autographs and short prints explain what you will see on one.
How do you pick a sport?
Start with the one you already follow. Knowing the players makes a checklist easier to read. Rookie cards are marked differently from sport to sport too: our guide to rookie cards compares baseball’s rookie card logo with hockey’s Young Guns. In hockey, for example, Upper Deck’s MVP product is the first set of the collecting year, and its main base set is split across three products. Our guide to Upper Deck hockey sets lays out that lineup.
A simple rule for a first season: one sport, one maker and one flagship set. In hockey, Upper Deck calls its Series 2 flagship base set the most widely collected one in the sport and the Young Guns the most anticipated rookie cards of the season. Our guide to Young Guns shows how one flagship set is laid out.
Should you buy boxes or singles?
It depends on whether you want a specific card or an assortment.
| A single card | A sealed box | |
|---|---|---|
| What you get | The exact card you choose | A mix set by the product’s card rates |
| Condition | Visible before you pay | Unknown until you open it |
| Special cards | Only the one you buy | A per-box average, such as six Young Guns per 2025-26 Upper Deck Series 2 box |
| If something is wrong | The seller’s terms | The maker’s terms, which may depend on where you bought it |
| Suits | Player, team and personal collections; finishing a set | Starting a set; collectors who like opening packs |
Two cautions. A per-box figure is an average across many boxes, so the box in your hands can hold more or fewer. And box sizes vary: a pack holds 1 to 60 cards, depending on the product, and a box can hold from 1 to 36 packs on average, so check the count on the box.
Format matters too. Retail boxes carry fewer packs or cards, or smaller insert ratios, than hobby boxes, and many premium products are hobby-only. Our guide to hobby and retail boxes compares them, and box breaks explains buying a spot in a box someone else opens.
Where should you buy, and what should you keep?
Buy where the sale is backed, and keep the paperwork.
- Hobby shops. Upper Deck currently takes dealer applications from hobby stores only, under its Certified Diamond Dealer process. It can help with damaged cards, or with a box or case that came up short of its listed insert ratios, only when the product came from one of those dealers, and only for up to a year after release.
- Online dealers. Upper Deck’s Authorized Internet Retailers are Certified Diamond Dealers it allows to sell online, for collectors with no certified shop nearby.
- Card shows. Our guide to your first card show covers what to bring and what to check.
- Singles online. Our guides to buying graded cards online and buying raw cards online cover seller checks, and trading cards covers swaps.
Keep the receipt and note the box’s serial number. For a damaged card claim, Upper Deck asks for a photo of the receipt plus the number printed on the white sticker on the box’s side. Graded and slabbed cards are not covered, and replacements usually take 12 to 16 weeks.
How should you store your first cards?
From the first day, before anything gets bent. Ultra PRO’s support page for baseball card collectors suggests a starting setup, and the table matches each holder to the cards it suits. Every card you keep goes in a soft sleeve first, which Ultra PRO says helps against surface marks and corner wear.
| Your cards | Holder | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Rookies, autographs and numbered parallels | Toploader over the sleeve | Ultra PRO recommends its regular 3 by 4 inch toploader, made for standard 2.5 by 3.5 inch cards up to 35pt thick. BCW’s standard toploader also fits up to 35pt, with an outside size of 3 by 4 1/16 inches |
| Patch, memorabilia and thick autograph cards | A thicker holder | Ultra PRO says these may not fit the standard 35pt size |
| A set or a team run | Nine-pocket binder pages | Ultra PRO suggests them for complete sets, team collections, rookies and inserts |
| Cards you plan to send for grading | Semi-rigid holder | Ultra PRO notes that many collectors prefer these for shipping to grading services |
| Base cards, inserts and duplicates | Storage box | Keeps bulk cards together and easy to reach |
Ultra PRO also says that handling cards as little as possible, and sleeving them at once, helps if you might grade them later. Our guides to storing trading cards and organizing a collection go further, and the toploader entry explains the sizes.
How do you check a card before you buy it?
Run through this list each time, and more carefully as the card gets scarcer.
- Match the checklist. Confirm the year, product, card number and any parallel. If the card is stamped, the run must match the parallel the seller names, as our guide to serial-numbered cards explains.
- Check condition. Look at corners, edges, surface and centering. Bent corners and creases lower a card’s worth. Our centering checker measures the borders and shows which CGC and SGC grades allow that split, and our guide to condition grades covers the rest.
- Check any autograph. Find out whether it is signed on the card or on a sticker. Upper Deck suggests having a rare or costly card or signature looked at by a trusted hobby shop owner or a paid grading service. Our guide to checking an autograph card lists the steps.
- Check redemption dates. Redemptions last two years, and Upper Deck counts them two ways: from the release date and from the copyright year printed on the pack. Either way, an old unredeemed card may have run out. Our guide to redemptions explains the process.
- Read the slab. For a graded card, our guides to reading a CGC label and spotting a fake slab cover the checks.
- Check recent sales. Price the exact card from what it has sold for, as our guide to valuing a sports card explains. Rip.fan’s card price lookup covers English Pokémon cards only.
Where to go next
Our start here page sets out reading paths, the glossary defines the terms, and the sports cards hub gathers Rip.fan’s sports card coverage. If you collect Pokémon cards too, our guide to starting a Pokémon collection covers that side.
Frequently asked questions
Why keep the receipt for a box?
Upper Deck replaces cards damaged in packing for up to a year after release, but only with proof of purchase from one of its Certified Diamond Dealers, and it asks for the serial number from the sticker on the box.
How many cards are in the Upper Deck hockey base set?
750 in 2025-26, across 3 releases. Series One holds the first 250, with 198 veterans, 49 Young Guns and 3 checklist cards, Series 2 the next 250 in the same split, and Extended Series the final 250.
How big is the 2025-26 MVP hockey base set?
250 cards: 200 regular cards and 50 SP's and Rookies cards.
Can an expired Upper Deck redemption still be used?
Yes, for a time. Upper Deck honors expired redemptions for 1 year past the expiration date, and its Customer Care team submits the code.
Can Upper Deck replace a damaged 1 of 1 card?
Not card for card. Cut signatures of deceased athletes, 1 of 1 cards and printing plate cards often cannot be replaced, so Upper Deck can send a card of equal value instead.