Sports Card Gifts for Collectors: 2024 Holiday Buying Guide
Top gift ideas for the sports card collector in your family
The holiday season is in full swing and it’s time to start shopping for your friends and family! Buying sports card gifts for the collectors in your life can be tricky, but AA Mint Cards is here to give you a variety of options no matter your budget.
All of the products in this Holiday Buying Guide are available at our physical store in South Florida. If we sell out of an item you’re looking for, ask our experts about similar products in your price range. If you want to start shopping right away, check out our online marketplace for more sports card gift ideas today!
Helpful Tips for Buying The Perfect Sports Card Gifts
We’ve all had the experience of receiving some really great gifts and others that were well-meaning but missed the mark. For sports card collectors, a great gift can be a sealed box or a card of their favorite player. While you might mean well, a bunch of junk wax cards (cards from the late 1980s to early 1990s) is like reaching in your stocking to find a lump of coal.
Buying a gift for a sports card collector can be difficult because there’s so much out there, but knowing what they like to collect can help narrow down your search. Here are 3 things to keep in mind as you shop for sports card gifts:
Know what types of cards they like to collect.
This seems like a pretty obvious tip, but it’s important! What sport and players do they like to collect? Gifting a box of soccer cards for someone that only collects football cards isn’t a good idea. Similarly, buying a Derek Jeter card for your cousin that’s a die-hard Red Sox fan might start a fight at the dinner table.
Additionally, some people only collect vintage cards. Most collectors consider vintage cards as those made before 1980, so buying a box of ultra-modern cards from 2020 is a surefire way to disappoint the vintage collector in your life.
If you’re not sure what type of cards they like to collect, ask to see their collection and what they like to collect!
Find out if they like graded or ungraded cards.
Some collectors love graded cards, while others prefer ungraded (also referred to as “raw”) cards. The most well-known and respected grading companies in the industry are PSA, BGS, and SGC. These companies will appraise the cards and give in a numerical grade (1 being the worst and 10 being the best) based on the overall condition of the card. A card graded a perfect “PSA 10” is much more valuable than another copy that is ungraded or received a lower grade.
If they like to collect graded cards, make sure you know which company they prefer. Some people will only collect cards graded by one company and steer clear of others. Once you know which grading company they like, you can search for graded cards of players they collect or even offer to pay for their next grading order.
Set a budget.
Sports cards can get expensive, so it’s good to know how much you want to spend before you start shopping. You can find plenty of affordable boxes and packs from a variety of sports, but you’ll also find boxes with very high price tags. The most expensive box isn’t always the best gift, so make sure you follow tip #1 and know what type of cards they like to collect!
Sports Card Gifts for Every Budget
We’ve broken down our guide to sports card gifts into the following budget options:
- Gifts under $50
- Gifts under $200
- Gifts under $500
- Gifts over $500
Under each price range, you’ll find our gift recommendation for the following sports:
- Football
- Basketball
- Baseball
- Soccer
- Hockey or Formula 1 Racing
Gifts Under $50
These boxes offer an affordable way to give the gift of opening packs with cool cards and the chance to pull something unique.
2023 Panini Absolute Football Blaster Box: $49.99
- Kaboom! Inserts are the chase in Absolute, but you’ll also find 3 Green Parallels per box on average and have a chance for retail-exclusive autograph and memorabilia cards.
- Top rookies: C.J. Stroud, Anthony Richardson, Bryce Young, Brock Purdy, Bijan Robinson.
2023/24 Panini Mosaic Basketball Hobby Blaster Box: $39.99
- Find 3 Mosaic Prizms and 1 Blaster-Exclusive Green Ice Prizm per box on average, and search for the ultra-rare Genesis Prizms.
- Top rookies: Victor Wembanyama, Brandon Miller, Scoot Henderson, Keyonte George, Cam Whitmore.
2024 Topps Allen & Ginter Baseball Blaster Box: $29.99
- Allen & Ginter is a unique release that “celebrates the idiosyncrasies of The Hobby’s history with a variety of fun inserts.”
- Top rookies: Paul Skenes, Elly De La Cruz, Jackson Chourio, Jackson Holliday, Jasson Domínguez.
2022 Panini Prizm World Cup Soccer Blaster Box: $49.99
- Hunt for Blaster-exclusive parallels like Green Wave, Purple Wave, and Gold Power Prizms of players representing their home countries.
- Top players: Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Neymar Jr., David Beckham, João Félix.
2024 Topps Chrome Formula 1 Racing Blaster Box: $29.99
- Find 4 Retail-Exclusive Sepia Refractors per box on average.
- Top drivers: Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piastri.
Gifts Under $200
If you want to spend a little bit more, these boxes offer at least one guaranteed hit or exclusive cards and are sure to excite the collector you’re buying for.
2023 Panini Donruss Optic Football Hobby Mega Box: $199.99
- 1 autograph or memorabilia card per box on average, plus 3 Rated Rookie Red Hyper Parallels.
- Search for the popular Downtown! Inserts.
- Top rookies: C.J. Stroud, Anthony Richardson, Bryce Young, Brock Purdy, Bijan Robinson.
2023/24 Panini Prizm Basketball Hobby Mega Box: $199.99
- 10 Mega-Exclusive Green Ice Prizms per box on average.
- Look for Rookie Penmanship autographs and Silver Prizms.
- Top rookies: Victor Wembanyama, Brandon Miller, Scoot Henderson, Keyonte George, Cam Whitmore.
2023 Topps Chrome Update Series Baseball Breaker’s Delight Box: $199.99
- Find 2 autographs, 3 numbered parallels, 6 Refractors, and 1 Breaker’s Delight-Exclusive Youthquake Insert.
- Hunt for the 1/1 Rookie Debut Patch Autographs.
- Top rookies: Gunnar Henderson, Corbin Carroll, Adley Rutschman, Anthony Volpe, Jordan Walker.
2023 Topps Chrome MLS Soccer Hobby Box: $199.99
- 1 Chrome Autograph per box and at least 10 Refractors.
- Lionel Messi makes his MLS debut.
- Top players: Lionel Messi, Wayne Rooney, Kaka, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard.
2023/24 Upper Deck SPx Hockey Hobby Box: $189.99
- 1 Autograph and 4 Memorabilia and/or Tech Cards per box on average.
- Search for the popular UD Black Lustrous and UD Black Pride of a Nation RPAs.
- Top rookies: Connor Bedard, Luke Hughes, Logan Cooley, Leo Carlsson, Adam Fantilli.
Gifts Under $500
From loaded rookie classes to multiple hits, these are great options for gifts under $500.
2020 Panini Prizm Football Mega Box: $399.99
- 1 autograph per box on average, plus 2 Neon Green Pulsar Prizms.
- Hunt the ultra-rare Color Blast Insert.
- Top rookies: Joe Burrow, Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Herbert, Justin Jefferson.
2019/20 Panini Obsidian Basketball Hobby Box: $499.99
- 2 autographs per box on average, plus 2 inserts or parallels.
- Look for Rookie Jersey Autographs in a variety of numbered parallels.
- Top rookies: Ja Morant, Zion Williamson, R.J. Barrett, Cam Reddish, Rui Hachimura.
2024 Topps Museum Collection Baseball Hobby Box: $474.99
- 2 autographs and 2 relics per box.
- High-end release that delivers museum-worthy cards like the Framed Autograph and a variety of booklets.
- Top rookies: Paul Skenes, Elly De La Cruz, Jackson Chourio, Jackson Holliday, Jasson Domínguez.
2023/24 Panini Obsidian Soccer Hobby Box: $379.99
- 4 autograph or memorabilia cards per box on average.
- Case hits include Black Color Blast and White Night Inserts.
- Tops players: Lamine Yamal, Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham, David Beckham.
2024 Topps Chrome Formula 1 Racing Hobby Box: $249.99
- 4 Refractors, 1 Checker Flag Refractor, and 12 Inserts per box on average.
- Look for Chrome Autographs from the top F1 drivers.
- Top drivers: Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piastri.
Gifts Over $500
If you really want to knock it out of the park, consider some of the best high-end sports card gifts.
2023 Panini National Treasures Football Hobby Box: $1499.99
- 8 autograph or memorabilia cards.
- Home of the iconic Rookie Patch Autographs.
- Top rookies: C.J. Stroud, Anthony Richardson, Bryce Young, Brock Purdy, Bijan Robinson.
2023/24 Panini Prizm Deca Basketball Hobby Box: $1199.99
- 2 autographs and 10 Prizms per box on average.
- Prizm Deca debuts as a tribute to the original 2012/13 Prizm Basketball set.
- Top rookies: Victor Wembanyama, Brandon Miller, Scoot Henderson, Keyonte George, Cam Whitmore.
024 Topps Gilded Collection Baseball Hobby Box: $949.99
- 2 autographs including a chance at the Gilded Champions Autographs and Gilded Hall of Fame Plaque Autographs.
- A golden take on 2024 Topps Chrome with all kinds of unique and exclusive parallels.
- Top rookies: Paul Skenes, Elly De La Cruz, Jackson Chourio, Jackson Holliday, Jasson Domínguez.
2022/23 Topps Dynasty UEFA Champions League Soccer Hobby Box: $2999.99
- 1 Encased Autograph or Autographed Relic #’d to /10 or less.
- Autograph is guaranteed to be on-card and all relics are match-worn.
- Top players: Lionel Messi, Neymar Jr., Ronaldo, Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham.
2022/23 Upper Deck The Cup Hockey Hobby Box: $929.99
- 1 Rookie Patch Autograph and at least 1 additional autograph.
- Search for a variety of high-end cards including the 9-Way Signature Booklet of top rookies.
- Top rookies: Matty Beniers, Matt Boldy, David Jiricek, Wyatt Johnston, Owen Porter.
The Best Sports Card Gifts for Collectors
No matter what the sports card collector in your family loves to collect, there are plenty of gifts to give this holiday season. If you’re interested in these items or want to see more options, check out the AA Mint Cards online store today!
If you’re in South Florida, stop by AA Mint Cards for the products listed above or to get even more recommendations from our team of sports card experts.
