General Forum

I'm curious to learn how poeple on here started a child's card collection.  Did you buy a factory set each year, a hobby box, team set, something else?  I'm looking to do the same, but will be a few years before they are old enough to have the cards to "play with" or you know, understan they are for them.

When you can find it I would buy loose packs and set them aside. Say you open a box take a pack and put it away. Any players you have dups of then put them away. I do not have a kid but this is my plan.

my cousin and his dad started me on it him and his dad stopped collecting me i kept going to this day i have a FULL 5x6x10 storage unit to the brim of nothing but cards sadly NOT in order :( :( working on it 

I gave my kids my doubles. Once they started to show interest in the cards, I began to get a few cards specifically for them. 

The save a pack from a box I buy or a loose pack here and there sounds fun.  

I found someone selling a box of 700ish cards from our team.  It had quite a few duplicates, but I got it for about $20 after shipping.  I sorted it first and pulled out a few to make sure they were kept nice for when she gets older, but then let her have the rest.  She was thrilled that they were all of our team.  I just went into it knowing that some damage would happen.

I have a little guy, 6, who whenever he asks me for cards, I just give him cards. I've got lots of commons that aren't sorted on here and I just give him a handful and he's happy. If I find damaged cards, I put them away for him too, just so there is always something to give him when he wants some. We sit and sort them (by color so far only :) ) . He moves them around on the floor, he pretends they are snow and he plows them with his trucks, etc. I just let him enjoy them how he wants to. Just like I used to. I had an 83 Johnny Bench go through the lawnmower as a kid. The memory of that card and why it was in the yard in the first place is worth way more than the card itself.

I thorw my damaged cards on the floor for my 1 year old duaghter...she loves to chew on them.

I do this for my kitten

With my nephews I gave them a binder with cards of common players. After a few years I would see how they took care of thier cards if they were tore up I didn't give them any more cards if they took care of them I gave them some good cards like Jeter and A-rod rookies some cal Ripken cards along with at the time future HOFERS. They are now in thier late 20s early 30s and they still have the cards in mint condition. Since my 2 nephews were brothers they got the same cards so no fighting between the 2 of them. One buys packs to this day the other has them stored away and asked me a while back if I would have any feelings if he sold them. I said they are your cards do what you wish. As of June this year he still has them in mint condition