As a college student in the modern age, the internet has allowed the general public to consume media for any topic in the world. This allows for the discovery of new hobbies, especially throughout the pandemic.
From video games to sports cards, there are so many different realms of collecting to discover and as someone who’s been collecting sports jerseys for over 5 years now, I want to help spread some knowledge for the would-be collectors out there.
To start off, these tips are primarily geared towards collecting sports jerseys, but can easily be applied to other types of collecting.
Figure out why you’re collecting! The easiest way to go overboard is to not have a plan. Do you want a jersey from every team in a specific league? Or maybe you want as many jerseys as possible of your favourite team? Regardless of your desires, the best way to start off your collection is to write it down to keep yourself on track.
Keep your eyes open! Congrats, you now have an idea of what you want out of your collection! Now, you need to keep your eyes open at all times! You never know when or where you’ll find a jersey on your list. As someone who’s collection includes over 25 jerseys, many of them come from thrift stores. Thrift stores are easily the best and cheapest way to grow your collection, as long as you make sure the jersey is in good condition for the price.
Start off small! Set a limit for yourself over a certain time frame, be it every month or whatever seems fair to you and stick to it. While building up a collection super fast is the ideal, it is not always financially smart. Monitor prices for the jerseys you want and buy when they’re at their cheapest! As a rule, I set a one jersey a month limit for myself, in order to make sure I really want the jersey. If I’m willing to make it my jersey of the month, then it’s something I want in my collection.
I encourage every new collector to use these tips as they start off their collections! These tips can help ensure you’re building the collection you want and not just adding random jerseys for the sake of the collection.
