Fast Five: Strategies to still collect if you can't land new packs

Fast Five is a quick list under a simple topic that might offer a basic starting point for a themed collection. It's a basic list of five items that could be fun for a starting collector or a new way to add to a stash that might already seemingly include everything when it comes to cardboard. For some of you, it's probably common sense. For others of you out there, it's perhaps something to ponder.

This time? Five strategies to still collect if you can't find brand-new boxes ...

FIND A NEW NICHE ...
No, I'm not starting a collection of Crazy Hot Dog Vendor "Rookie Cards" or a stash of (fake) ostrich cameos on baseball cards, but I wanted to lead things off here with something odd and attention-grabbing to make a point. You don't have to only collect the latest shiny new release like everybody else wants to -- especially if you can't (or in my case won't) camp out a few hours waiting for the retail aisle to "open" for your chance at the limit-two lottery. There are a ton of ways to collect out there that you can pull off on the cheaper side of things that aren't ripping boxes to see what you find. They can keep your collecting juices flowing between big-box breaks of the shiny new stuff if and when they happen. It may be a common-sense tip, but finding a niche within a wild world of big-priced possibilities can keep things sane for you in a crazy market. A new niche can obviously still be something simpler from inside those shiny new packs that others are taking the chance at ripping, too. Odd cards can carry more value than you might think ... like this Glenn Hubbard.

Keep reading for four more making up the list this time.

LOOK WHERE OTHERS AREN'T ... 
What's hot and rare now might not be later -- that's a lesson anybody can tell you if they were collecting between 1989-1992. Yet, ironically, after "later" that stuff can still pick up steam -- that's where we are now. That's a basic thought that leads me into tip No. 2 ... look where others aren't when buying. There's a huge difference between now and the late-1980s/early 1990s with autographs, memorabilia in boxes (and their price tags), but the basic thought of "diversify your portfolio" applies in either era along with "buy low, sell high." Grabbing cheap stuff in some volume when it's cheaper or not being watched can pay off later. Rewind the clock five or 10 years and you can see how this has happened with some releases like Prizm NBA (not ever super cheap but explosive growth since), some Panini baseball (Cooperstown, Golden Age, Prizm, Select) and so many more things that have taken off in just recent times. What you see above are some 1990s promo/sample packs that were all dirt-cheap buys (all under $1) despite them being somewhat obscure and far rarer than the standard cards that they promote. Right now, weird stuff like this is where I'm occasionally looking ... at least when dabbling with stuff from that era.

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BUY A SET OR SMALL LOT/COLLECTION ...
Can't rip into a box or even find a box of some stuff? Try grabbing sets, small lots or small collections and then seeing what you find. (The surprise can be even more dramatic than ripping into a box.) The cost often correlates with what somebody sees as the quality -- the better the lot the higher the price in many instances -- but you never know what you might land when people are dumping old to raise funds for new stuff or just clearing out their collections that they haven't looked at in years. My collecting tastes have been focused a bit in the last year or so with wrestling perhaps taking on a higher profile due to costs vs. stuff from the traditional sports. These are still feeling more affordable and more of a bargain for me compared to the more-volatile traditional sports -- I'm still buying MLB and NFL stuff but perhaps not as much and instead going this direction for the price. This is a selection of just 18 cards from a small hits collection I bought last year -- I averaged about $3 per card here ... these aren't the best finds from the lot but they are good ones. (On the flip side, here's no way I'm finding cheap wax for a lot of the WWE releases seen here ... so that makes this lot even better.) Lots can be found all the time in all sports but they aren't the same ... I like the dig here, too, both in finding them and then digging through them once they arrive.

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IN THE MEANTIME, COLLECT A SMALL SET ... 
This kind of ties into earlier tips here but a small set can be a short-term project to keep you checking out the card world instead of checking out if the prices are getting too nutty. Here's an example of a small set, 2019 Deadpool Sport Ball!, that can be had for very little. This insert set from a Deadpool non-sports release has the iconic character taking on past memorable Upper Deck and Fleer sports cards. A few of these cards might cost a buck or two -- the Shaquille O'Neal nod is really the only pricier one -- while many can be had for pocket change. This is also a set where you can take the project further and add the original cards that they are nods to. The only tougher ones there might be the 1989 UD Dale Murphy and 1989 Fleer Billy Ripken error cards. There are many options like this out there ... you just have to search and find them to then start picking them off. That leads into my last tip.

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CONSIDER IMPORTS/ODDBALLS ... 
In some instances, there is a whole world of possibilities out there for you to collect that you might not even know about  -- you just have to take some time to search names and categories online and find them. (One place I'd suggest taking a deep dive like this is over on COMC.com ... there's a lot of stuff there you have probably never seen before.) One of those possibilities? Imports. In some cases there are new releases like those from Topps UK where gaming and other sets arrive regularly. Then there are dealers who specialize in some sports or some international niches -- for example there are at least a couple of American dealers who specialize in Japanese baseball cards (and in some cases MLB cards made in Japan). Sometimes you can find former MLB players on their checklists. (That could be a niche for you if it piques your interest.) Meanwhile, other times international releases for NBA, WWE and other sports with global appeal can pop up in simple eBay searches. Some stuff is more common than others but that can mean you just don't have to pay as much to explore something different. Above are the results from three packs of 2004 Tesla WWE Smackdown Crystal cards ... I had never seen them until recently. I happened upon them on COMC and then wondered what might be out there. Will I go all in and try to find a bunch more? Maybe not, but I might pick off some notables where I like how these cards look and put them with the normal stuff in my stash. One reason imports might be appealing? You might be able to get more for them if you're a seller vs. standard American stuff.

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What would you want to see in a future Fast Five? Let Buzz know on Twitter or email.

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