It was 1992 when Azlan Ang opened his first box of trading cards.
He was eight years old, sitting in a hotel room in Singapore with his older brother while on a family holiday, with a big box of 1991 Upper Deck basketball cards.
“I remember smelling the cards because they had a really distinct smell,” Mr Ang laughed.
“I got a few good cards because there was a Scottie Pippen, and I was also trying to go for a (Michael) Jordan.
“It was a blast because as a kid, a big box of cards was really expensive but so exciting.
“And at the time the concept of selling cards didn’t even exist; it was all about collecting.”
Mr Ang has since spent more than a quarter of a million dollars on trading cards.
He says his collection, which includes NBA, Pokemon, Fortnite Series 1, Magic: The Gathering and Marvel, is valued at $300,000, funded by his full-time employment as a contractor.
Mr Ang said his collecting kicked off last year when he bought a rookie Michael Jordan card for $400.
“And then the docuseries ‘The Last Dance’ came out on Netflix, which follows the story of Jordan,” he said.
“And suddenly the Jordan card exploded to $900 and I remember thinking ‘oh my God, this is a legit thing’ and started analyzing the trends.
“Now the Jordan rookie card is worth so much more.
“But it’s not just about that — it’s also about what cards mean to people.
“They can remind them of things like their first kiss or first memories. When my friend’s father died he wanted to buy Marvel trading cards because they reminded him of his dad. ”
Mr Ang said he found it therapeutic spending hours collecting and arranging his collections in binders for display.
“I’m a perfectionist, and it sounds weird but what I like the most is sitting in my room, putting cards in the sleeves in the right order and then having that sense of completion and accomplishment in what I’ve done,” he said.
“The simple thing about cards is that they’re fun to collect, unlike gold or bonds or shares which I find boring.
“They’re accessible, fun, tangible, infinite, plus you can smell them.
“My advice to anyone wanting to get into trading cards is to find a card you like and then do at least five hours of research into that set.
“And also set yourself a budget because it can be a black hole — I started with $1000 and I’ve now spent $300,000.”
At the time of writing Mr Ang was three cards away from completing a Marvel trading card set which has so far cost him $100,000.
When completed, he said he would be the first person in Australia to have a Professional Sports Authenticator 10-graded set, the highest grade achievable with trading cards.
Most of his collection is in a vault in the United States.
Mr Ang also has a YouTube channel where he opens packs of trading cards and does giveaways, as well as the occasional comedy skit.
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