Glossary of Hobby Terms

• Auto: A card containing a player's autograph

• Case Hit: An insert card (usually SSP) that is found at a rate of 1 per case.

• FS: For Sale

• FT: For Trade

• Hobby Box: A product that is generally sold to hobby shops or individual consumers at a higher price point than retail, but typically contains a higher percentage of valuable cards and/or autographed cards.

• Numbered Card: A card with a limited number of copies printed, as indicated by a serial number (ex 1/10) printed on the card.

• Patch/Jersey Card: A card containing a swatch cut from a player's jersey. Generally a jersey card contains a single color/material, while a patch card contains multiple colors or materials.

• PC: Personal Collection

• Printing Plate: Certain sets contain 1/1 inserts of the four colored (CMYK) printing plates for a card. Generally black is considered the most valuable of the four colors.

• Retail Blaster/Mega/Hanger Box: A product that is generally sold to large retailers (Target, Walmart, and others) at a lower price point than hobby boxes.

• RPA: Rookie Patch Auto

• SP/SSP: Short print and super short print cards are produced in limited quantities, but the quantity is not indicated on the card like with numbered cards.

• Vintage: Generally used to refer to cards from before 1980.

What should I be buying? - Baseball Edition

What’s going on with the PSA Pricing Update?

Where can I get cards

For new Unopened packs, you typically need to buy retail from places like Target and walmart. For individual cards, often Ebay and other forums like facebook marketplace and craigslist will have options, just be careful for scammers. Breaking rooms have also become big over the last few years for guys to get an opportunity to pick up cards they might never have had to chance to get.

What is Breaking

Collectors buy into a break — which can cost anywhere from a few to hundreds of dollars — and watch the unwrapping live. A few Days later, they receive their share of the cards in the mail. In some cases, participants’ positions in a break are randomly assigned; in others, they select a team, and all the cards from that franchise are his or hers to keep.

What Is Card Grading

Grading is the process of sending your card to a grading company (PSA and BGS primarily) to check the quality, centering, coloring, and condition of your card. The higher the number (between 1 and 10) the better the cards value.

What is Card Consignment

Why is Mike so mean?

Jealousy of Jesse seems the most logical explanation