Some are into toys, comics (Marvel comics mostly), dvd, greeting cards, pens, caps, mugs, jackets, and even the most mundane things like stamps, post-cards, or letters. Those who can spare more bucks collect cars, mobile phones, jewelries, and even villas. And who isn't aware of the very wide and costly shoe collection of Imelda Marcos reported to have numbered into thousands, still counting. Some I know started collecting as early as the age of 9 or ten. Others start late but are as eager as the early starters.

You can just imagine how startled I was when a friend's cousin showed me his collection of Beatles memorabilias spanning for 30 years occupying the entire second floor of his house. From posters, to concert tickets, records, music videos, autographed notebooks and papers, Beatles-printed mugs, plates, papers, life-size replicas, biographies, and documentaries featuring Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, and George Harrison.

Obsession as others may call it, the habit of collecting isn't essentially a bad thing unless it leads someone to doing harm to others and most especially to him/her self. It is actually an indication of a person's determination and focus to whatever interests him/her. I am a self-confessed collector and it has been doing me more good than harm (I honestly can't think of any).

My fascination with sports goods began at the age of 7. Having been raised by sports-minded folks, my appreciation for almost all kinds of sports comes effortlessly. My collection began with tennis balls. Until I was about 9 or ten, my dad would always bring me to his Saturday tennis games with his friends. Each Saturday, I would ask one tennis ball from my dad which he would willingly give me upon a promise of behaving well while he was playing. His friends would also give me one every now and then. Before I knew, I already had about a hundred of them displayed or kept in my room.

In the mid and until late 90's my habit of collecting shifted to NBA cards. Widely popular among my classmates, friends, and neighbors, our generation proudly dubbed ourselves as the MJ generation (in veneration of our basketball icon Michael Jordan). My love for the sport made me not only watch every game but to collecting NBA cards as well. I remember even skipping on meals and snacks just to save enough money to buy cards of Jordan, Shaq, and Rodman. When online trading and selling of NBA cards began, I made most of my purchases through the internet.

Most of my purchases were through eBay. It has a wide collection of hard-to-find NBA cards and other sports goods for collectors like me. I bought about 30 to 50 cards through eBay and was the envy of all my friends upon seeing how wide my collection has become. My top favorites are the sky view hoop shots, dunks, lay ups, and drive shots of *Michael Jordan*. My Chicago Bulls NBA cards reached about 20 and I'm still planning to buy those I still don't have.

Recently I discovered more websites selling NBA cards, and a lot even offer discounts and promotions. NBA cards being sold in MSN's shopping site are priced with much higher discounts than say eBay. Just last week, I bought a Dennis Rodman 1997 hoop shot for only $40.

Right now, I already have about 500 NBA cards in my collection. I intend to keep them in very good condition for as long as I can. Unknown to many, collectibles are actually good investments. The rare to find cards I bought a couple of years ago are currently priced more than double when I bought them. And the rarer they get through time, the higher the value they obtain. Who knows, I might be able to raise a million if I decide to auction my cards some years from now.