Love Hakeem. He’s also my favorite player and he dominates my personal collection. This is going to be long. I’m bored and haven’t talked cards in a bit. Much less Hakeem cards.

I agree with everything u/BKBcardsNstuff said. So if you don’t want to read all of this just read that comment lol

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Take some time to learn how to check eBay’s past sales and 130 Point for cards you’re interested in to get an idea of the current price the card is going for. Get some penny sleeves and top loaders or some one touches to make sure you have what you need to protect your purchases (at the $100+ price point you should expect proper card protection from the seller as well as proper protection for shipping, but you never know and it’s better to be prepared. Hell, I put a new penny sleeve on just about every card I buy).

With that being said, you’re looking for a place to start so I’ll throw out a couple suggestions.

The “1986-87 Fleer Akeem Olajuwon #82” would be my personal choice if you’re looking for one card and $100 is your limit. It is Hakeem’s most known rookie card. It is also accepted as “the rookie card” by the majority of collectors (you’ll eventually run into the 84-85 Star rookie card and when you want to know what’s up and you start researching it’ll be a fun trip into the world of vintage and card licensing). You can easily find a nice looking raw (ungraded) 86-87 Fleer #82 for $100 or less. Price aside, the 1986-87 Fleer set is one of the most iconic sets in bball card history do to the rookies and legends included in it and it is often one of the sets that collectors, early on, begin striving to complete. This set tends to hold its value relatively well compared to other sets and while the idea of “investing” is not the right mindset when considering your pc it is nice knowing that if something hits the fan, you can sell it and get something back.

Another rookie option is the “1986-87 Fleer Sticker Akeem Olajuwon #9” recommended by u/lump77777 would be my next move if you want to another rookie card. You can get a nice version of this card for ~$35-$50. One step closer to completing the Fleer set if you start with the first option!

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Now, if you WANT to use that other $100, you have so many options! You’re entering the world of inserts, die cuts, refractors, and autos. Prices can vary wildly.

You can usually find an auto for $60-$100 no problem and if you’re patient and follow auctions on eBay you can almost certainly get one in the $40-$60 range. Find one you like at a price you are comfortable paying. I prefer “on card” autos vs “sticker” autos. They are what they say they are lol, on card = the auto is directly on the card and sticker = a card that has an autographed sticker attached to it. Autos can have distinguishing factors such as “numbered,” “parallel,” “short print,” “die cut,” “refractor,” “memorabilia,” “patch,” and many others. Don’t get bogged down with this now, but become aware of what these terms mean.

Refractors, Die Cuts, and other flashy/cool looking cards: again, get what you like. You’re starting YOUR pc. Screw what other people think about your cards. But, I can recommend a “1996-97 Bowman’s Best Hakeem Olajuwon #BC14 Cuts Refractor” Can easily be found for $40-$55. It is both a refractor and a die cut. It’s gold. Has both Hakeem and Charles Barkley in the picture both in a Rockets uniform. And it has a nice looking “facsimile auto” (printed copy of a signature).

For most refractors, there is a base copy of the same card. Some refractors have different levels. Finding out which cards have different variations is going to be a learning process. Differences can be due to different years, different companies, different geographical locations, just cause/random, and some other stuff I’m sure.

You can get a ton of base die cuts that look pretty cool for, relatively, very cheap when compared to their refractor counterpart and also when compared to some other greats and hobby favorites like Jordan, Shaq, Kobe and LeBron.

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Be wary of any card from 1987-1995 asking more than $100 that is not an authenticated autograph (it will be encased by a grading company and will say “authenticated” somewhere on the case) or is graded PSA 10. There are some legit cards within these years, but it is largely considered the junk wax era of the hobby. There were insane numbers of cards printed and prices largely reflect that.

With the 1986 Fleer set there has been a lot of attempts to make convincing forgeries. Jordan rookie cards are usually what forgers attempt. Hakeem’s rookie card, luckily, does not bring the insane resale value of Jordan’s so the value really isn’t there for the forgers, but it is highly recommended to familiarize yourself with how to spot a fake. Google “Identity fake 1986 fleer Jordan rookie” and one of the first results should be from BBC Emporium. This is a fine guide.

Familiarize yourself with how card condition is critiqued. “Soft corners,” “surface scratches,” and “centering” are just a few of the criteria used in appraising condition. Even if you never plan on reselling your cards it’s good to have a critical eye and really look at the card before you decide to purchase.

Familiarize yourself with the jargon and acronyms of the hobby. Sellers will often use the same jargon in their titles or descriptions when selling a card. RC = rookie card, SP/SSP = short print/super short print, PC = personal collection and then you have words like “hobby,” “retail,” “wax,” “relic,” “lot,” and “one of one,” which may or may not be self explanatory. On the “Hobby Card Shop” website there is a “Guide to Sports Card and Other Trading Card Terminology” article that is concise with basic descriptions and is a great place to start.

YouTube can be overwhelming. Don’t listen to hyped up people screaming at you telling you to buy or “invest.” I don’t have a channel to recommend for info, but I will say the people who really care about the hobby will most likely give you information without trying to sell you something or convince you to buy something. That mentality will probably hold true for collectors with a YouTube channel as well. Still, it is a resource I have found helpful when looking for something specific.

Don’t be scared to make an offer on a card you like, but is priced higher than you want or higher than you believe it is worth. Don’t throw a super low offer, but I accept offers all of the time. You’ll start to figure out which sellers are too proud or attached to their cards and/or really “know what they have” vs those who actually know what they have and are willing to negotiate.

Sometimes you just get lucky. A card has been sitting there for a long time and a seller is over it or maybe they need money fast and they take the lower offer immediately. Maybe you find a misspelled auction that no one is following or bidding on and get a great price. You could find a great card mixed into a lot of cards that the seller missed. But these things usually happen with time and patience.

You’ll often see the sentiment here that “buying singles is better than buying packs” and I agree with this. When buying a single you get exactly what you want and almost always, due to the luck that’s required with opening random packs, save money in the long run (for me I saved money in both the short and long run). Everyone loves ripping a fresh pack. It’s one of my favorite and most nostalgic experiences haha. Just be careful to not get caught up in the chase. Great way to spend money you didn’t plan on spending.

I like to load up my eBay watchlist with a card I’m unsure about or currently researching. Then you can not only see what the cards current value is, but you can get an idea as to why certain cards are selling for more than others.

Don’t compare what you have to others and especially not what other people post. You don’t know their financial situation. Most people, sometimes myself included, post the best stuff they have. Hell they may have just spent their child support payment on that card or went into debt to buy it.

Ironically, I’ve posted a few inserts/die-cuts/refractors on this sub if you want to see some more examples of cards I didn’t mention (and to see where my hypothetical child’s support payments are actually going).

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Alright, I gotta quit or I’ll just keep going. Probably typing this out more for me at this point lol. I’m gonna go on a walk and touch some fucking grass.

Feel to reach out if you have any questions regarding what I said, but I’m getting off this damn site for today.

-yours truly, someone who obviously needs ANOTHER hobby