athletes or teams. If he has a favorite player, you can buy singles or small lots of cards of that player for a good price on eBay. You can even get relic cards (game-used jerseys, balls, bats, etc) for pretty cheap depending on the athlete.

Where it gets expensive is that certain brands of packs are higher quality of cards, or they have more exclusive products (cards that are serial numbered, cards that are limited print memorabilia or autographed cards, etc).

Feel free to send me a message if you have further questions. I've been in the hobby since I was a kid. The market went nuts the past couple of years, but it has cooled off a bit. It can still be a little competitive depending on the things I mentioned above though.