A well-researched "error" or "variation" card collection can earn a hobbyist quite a nice status within the hobby. Unfortunately, many collectors and card sellers don't understand the difference between an error and variation card. Buyers need to educate themselves and refrain from buying cards that have been misrepresented.

Here are both definitions in the simplest of terms:

ERROR CARD -- Simply put, an error card contains a mistake of any kind. The error can be any of several things, but the most common error is an incorrect statistic on the back of the card. Other typical "minor" errors are misspelled names, incorrect personal information, and missing data. Countless cards contain these kinds of errors, and many of these small mistakes go unnoticed for years. The more obvious types of errors are photos showing the wrong players, incorrect team names, and borders that are the wrong colors.

Most error cards are NEVER corrected, and usually will NOT have any extra value due to the uncorrected error. If an error card IS corrected, this creates a...

VARIATION CARD -- Variation cards are created when two or more versions of the SAME card exists. Most variation cards are created to correct obvious errors, like incorrect player photos or incorrect team names. Of course, variation cards are also created when the more "minor" errors are corrected on the backs of cards.

Not all variation cards are created to correct errors. Companies have been known to replace or alter card photos for a variety of reasons. They may edit or blur parts of a photo to obscure advertisements, obscene gestures, or any other objects that shouldn't be in the photo. Sometimes, a player or team may even request an unflattering photo be changed.

Scarcity is the key when it comes to the value of variation cards. The rarer of the two (or three, or four) versions of the card will usually have the greatest value. Often, pairs of variation cards are worth the same amount because the two card versions were released in roughly equal amounts.

Once again, an error card contains a mistake of some kind, regardless of whether it was corrected or not. If a card is ever corrected or changed, which creates more than one version of that card, these cards are now considered variations. As a general rule, the scarcer variation will be more valuable than the easier to find one.