Pros: A must for any avid collector with comprehensive price list.
Cons: Many times it takes several issues before a new sets prices appears.
The Bottom Line: If you are serious about card collecting then Non-Sport Update is required reading. Its comprehensive price guide will help you value your collectibles.
I have been an avid card collector for over 20 years. I collect mainly Science Fiction cards like Star Wars, Star Trek, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and Farscape. I also collect some adventure type cards like James Bond, Indiana Jones, and X-Files. If you collect any cards like these then Non-Sport Update magazine is a necessity for you.
The Value Of Your Collection If you do any serious collecting then you know that the value of your pieces is important and you cannot do this without the assistance of a respected price guide. Non-Sport Update fills this need. Using the easy to read guide you can quickly find the value of each card in your collection and then the total value of your collection. When I open a pack of cards and get a nice trailer card the first thing I do is open a recent copy of Non-Sport Update and get it's value. Sometimes I'm very surprised how much a card is worth (or sometimes how little).
Departments: Each issue has the following departments:
Editorial - This may contain anything regarding cards. Sometimes information about a recent convention, or something about a particular vendor or about a newly released card set.
Promo Column: This subject covers various topics with regard to promo cards. Old cards, current cards or cards yet to be released. Promo cards have become as eagerly a collected item, sometimes as hard to find as are the cards from regular sets.
New & Noteworthy: Discussion here is about new cards that are coming out. Sometimes there is multiple card sets detailed in this column depending on how many sets are new to the marketplace.
Upcoming Card Shows: This is a listing of upcoming card shows for the next 3 months.
Features: There are a different number of features in each issue of Non-Sport Update. The issue I am currently looking at is the February/March 2009 issue. In this issue are articles about the three stooges and their upcoming 50th anniversary of their first card set. There's information about new sets Ghost Whisperer and Dexter. There's also an article entitled Art Wars which covers Topps creating more Star Wars art cards and other sets that are following.
Many of the articles give you up-top-date information on the card cxollecting hobby and what to do and what to not do. Contributers range form all types of people in the business. They have regular contributers from the large companies as well as articles by staff writers for the magazine.
Advertising: Like any other magazine there's plenty of advertising. There is everything from manufacturers showing new sets they are going to release. There are card dealers who have single cards and sets that you may wish to purchase. This is a good source of a variety of places to look to complete your sets.
The Price Guide: The price guide comes with every issue. It contains all cards from 1879 OR present except they have now decided not to include any sets which have not changed price since 2003. Instead these sets will be included in the Encyclopedia of Non-Sport and Entertainment Cards which they publish annually. This is a valid attempt to cut publishing costs and make the magazine still as informative and accurate as possible.
Overall: I have been using this magazine for several years to keep track of the worth of my collecting and I rely on it heavily. I also know that many card dealers use this price guide as their bible for pricing cards to sell and buy. If you want to view an issue go to your local bookstore and pick up a copy. I'm sure you won't be disappointed.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
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