Hockey, in the United States is a very popular sports, so it follows that hockey card collecting is one of the oldest card collecting hobbies known to hockey fans. A beginner to the hobby of collecting hockey cards is often left puzzled and confused with the variety of choices and cards. A lot of companies have started manufacturing hockey cards which causes some confusion. Even the terminology used by hockey card collectors is special and needs some initiation before one plunges into collecting hockey cards. When you enter into sports card collecting, the first question is where to begin and what to buy. The rational answer is to collect what you love. However, many will suggest, not unreasonably, that you buy hockey rookie cards, they are the best. But what are rookie cards is the next question?

Rookie cards are the first cards published of a hockey player when they make their debut in the NHL, National Hockey League. Almost immediately after the player has been drafted, hockey card manufacturing companies sign deals with various players to produce their rookie card. The demand for these rookie cards depends upon the hockey player, season and other factors.The hard part of collecting rookie cards is identifying the ones that are worth investing for your hockey card collection. You have to decide whether you want to buy rookie cards of all players or only of those who you like or believe will go on to a great NHL career.

If you are starting or expanding your hockey card collection for the love of the game and love for collecting, then you could buy all the rookie cards, irrespective of their actual value in the market or choose only those that you like and forget what the markets say. However, if you are in to hockey card collecting for investment or other purpose then you might want to look out for rookie cards of players like Sidney Crosby, Jason Spezza, Henrik Zetterberg, Marion Gaborik, Vincent Lecavalier, Roberto Luongo. In the alternative you might even want to look out for the yet to be released rookie card of Evgeni Malkin or of any of the new players, playing for the first time this season.

Posted by admin under Collectible Cards & Collecting & Hockey Card Collection & Hockey Cards & Hockey Player | No Comments »

A review of current searches and stats of hockey cards at HockeyCardChase.com reveals that the old saying of something old and something new can be applied here. The two most popular hockey player cards come from a recent player and a hall of famer.

First, Wayne Gretzkey, top the list. For collectors of hockey cards, a collection is not complete unless there is a Wayne Gretzkey card present.

Right behind Gretzkey as the most popular hockey player card is Hall of Famer, Gordie Howe.

Posted by admin under Collectible Cards & Collecting & Hockey Card Collection & Hockey Cards & Hockey Player | No Comments »

After your initiate the search by entering in a hockey player name and, optionally, the hockey card year, HockeyCardChase.com will display search results for you. Typically, results will have prices and values, some will display the vintage hockey card you searched for.

On the left column of the results is a list of hockey card dealers and retailers of sports cards. The right side of the page will show the results of your hockey card search.

To see dealer results of old hockey cards, click on the name of the online sports card retailer. The hockey player search that you initiated will be displayed from the dealer’s website. Click on the next hockey card dealer if there are no matching player cards. For any match, the hockey card will be displayed in the right column of the results page. Usually a price or value will be displayed with the player card, but not always.

If you find a hockey player card that interests you, click on the image or link to the hockey card. The page will refresh and take you to the dealer site to purchase the hockey card or to send an email for more information.

Posted by admin under Auctions & Dealers & Hockey Cards & Hockey Player & Searching | No Comments »

Finding hockey cards that you were interested used to be a frustrating exercise of searching stores, opening packs, contacting dealers and going to sports card conventions. Now, if you need a specific hockey card for your player sports card collection, you can find it, with HockeyCardChase.com.

Starting your search for that elusive hockey card for your sports card collection starts with a name. Once you know the correct spelling of the hockey player you are interested in, just type the name into the player field. The hockey card search engine will be based off of the name you enter here, so be sure to spell the name correctly. Looking for that vintage hockey card only needs a first name, last name or both. Obviously, if you enter the hockey player’s first name and last name together, the search results will be more relevant.

If you need a hockey card from a specific year, you can type in the year. This is optional and not required to use the hockey card search engine. Please note that you need to enter all four digits and not just two for the year.

That’s it. When you click the search button, HockeyCardChase.com will search the Internet for the old or modern hockey card that you are looking for.

Posted by admin under Collecting & Hockey Player & Searching | No Comments »

HockeyCardChase.com is finished with the initial beta of the site. Whether you are searching for old Gordie Howe cards or Wayne Gretzky or Joe Sakic cards, the search engine for hockey cards is now working. Player cards with values and prices are being displayed in the search results. Sports card dealers and online hockey card retail shops are stored in the database and showing up in the results.

With the close of beta, we will now be posting blog entries centered around hockey cards and the hobby of collecting sports cards. Please feel free to write us with your suggestions by clicking on the contact us page.

Posted by admin under Hockey Cards & Hockey Player & Searching & Site Updates | No Comments »

Collecting hockey player cards is an age old hobby that began way back in 1910, when the first set of hockey player cards were manufactured. However, because of the two World Wars and the resulting shortage of sports card manufacturing material, fewer cards were manufactured and this resulted in scarcity as well as loss of original cards. Companies did come up with newer versions of old cards and these have formed great collectibles today. These cards now fetch very high prices in the market and are treated as gold in hockey card collectibles.

The hobby of collecting hockey player cards is, however, slightly different from collecting other sports cards. Where the player is the most important aspect in the other games, in hockey, the player and the team are rated together. Even if a player were good, his value would largely depend on the performance of the entire team. Hence, if you want a true assessment on the value of a hockey card, then you should assess the performance of the entire team and this helps determine the need for the player’s card. Unlike other games where the value of rookie card is dependent on player, in hockey rookie cards, value depends on both player performance as well as the team. In hockey card collecting, both the team and the individual player are given equal importance. I’m not sure why this is so, perhaps due to the fact that there aren’t as many big name stars in the early years as today.

Along with the team’s performance, the year the player and his team had also plays a role in determining the value of a card. In other words, if the year of manufacture of the card symbolizes a great season for the player, then its value increases. Milestones achieved by the player impacts the value of his card. You should also pay attention to the details of the card itself, whether it has a hologram or it is an autographed card or it has other inserts, this will help determine its value and all this needs thorough research on the part of hockey card collector.

Lastly of course, proper research by asking around and verifying price guides will help determine the real value of the card. Experts in the field of collecting hockey player cards are a good resource along with leading price guides like Beckett and Tuffstuff. Finally, use the the global online marketplace found on the Internet to gauge the value of your hockey cards.

Posted by admin under Collecting & Hockey Cards & Hockey Player & Hockey Team | No Comments »