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Last Updated On: September 16th, 2023
Many collectors would agree that finding a community or group of card collectors to connect with makes the whole experience far more fun (the banter is non-stop) and rewarding.
This post highlights how I find sports card collectors near me. A sports card group can be a great sounding board for your ideas, or to keep a pulse on the hobby firsthand as sports seasons end and new ones begin. They’re also a low cost way to buy, sell, and trade cards without incurring auction fees as you do on the major platforms like eBay, or PWCC, or shipping related fees when possible.
Whether you’re looking to join a local group of collectors or larger groups online anywhere in the world, social media and local card shows are a great way to make friends in the hobby.
Using Facebook to connect with groups of like-minded card collectors
One of the best ways to find card collectors near me is by searching Facebook groups. There are a ton of private groups to choose from with categories such as vintage or modern baseball cards, football and basketball cards, and even sports memorabilia. I also find player-specific groups with thousands of collectors buying, selling, and trading cards of Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Tom Brady to name a few.
To do the same, you can login to your Facebook account and head to the ‘Groups’ icon at the top of the screen (if you’re on a desktop machine). If you’re using the mobile app, you’ll need to tap the Menu icon in the lower right and choose ‘Groups’ from the following page.
Assuming you’re using desktop, go ahead and type in a few keywords in the search box and hit search. For example, I searched ‘Sports Cards’ and found the following groups; one of them even has 53,000 members!
Simply tap Join and fill out the short questionnaire for each respective group you’d like to join to get approved. You’ll notice the groups I’ve joined are the ones at the top of the screenshot below where a ‘Visit’ button is displayed versus Join, such as the groups Only LeBron James…, and Make An Offer…
Here is another example where I searched for ‘Michael Jordan Cards’:
And a final example of searching for Modern Football Cards groups as shown below. Obviously if you want to hone in on a specific Football card type or brand, you can try more tailored searches to find the group that works best for you.
Connecting with collectors on Instagram
Instagram is also a great place to post images of your cards and follow sports cards influencers, along with the friends you make on Facebook. I normally join larger FaceBook collector groups and create a post asking:
“Hey everyone, any of you located in the Chicagoland area? I’m a huge Tom Brady collector looking to connect with more collectors in the area. Here are a few of my big hitters, although not currently for sale or trade 🙂 [attached photos of Brady cards]
Send me a direct message or post your instagram handle and I’ll follow you!”
Obviously follow the rules for the group and don’t spam the community (a quick way to lose friends). I usually only do this within groups I’ve been contributing to for many months so it doesn’t appear to be a solicitation post.
Speaking of instagram influencers, some of the great follows include @cardboard_chronicles, @natsturner_cards (president of PSA grading company and fellow collector), @thewharfsportscards, and @cagelawyer to name a few.
Finding local sports card shows and dealers near me
Another way to make friends in the hobby is by finding baseball card shows near me. Sports Card Investor’s website has a handy search to find upcoming shows. Just type in a zipcode and hit Find Events.
I also use Beckett’s venue webpage to see upcoming sports card shows near me. They even show the number of dealer tables expected to give you an idea on the size of the event, and whether any entry fee is charged. You can filter based on location at the bottom of the page as shown below. I’d recommend filtering by State to start since the shows can be in small towns in any given region.
Hope that helps get you started! Be sure to follow this blog for more tips by clicking the button at the bottom of this post.