I started off collecting for fun when I was a kid. When I hit middle school, I started buying as many cards as I could get my hands on in hopes of one day paying for college.
Eventually, I figured out that base cards weren't the way to go, so I switched over to collecting rookie cards. A few years later, companies began putting inserts and parallels into packs... so I began chasing those instead. In college, I was introduced to autographs and memorabilia cards.
After I started teaching and living on my own, I realized how much money I had wasted in the hobby... so I decided to cut my losses and pay off my debt. I sold the majority of my collection and figured I was finished with the hobby.
Fast forward six or seven years... when I noticed two students trading cards at recess... and in a blink of an eye... I was back into the hobby. This time with a whole new philosophy.
I was just going to collect a couple of things: autographs and memorabilia cards of certain players and teams. And most importantly... I decided this time around, I was going to do it for fun... not as an investment.
Well... I actually stuck with this philosophy for several years... until a few months ago. That's when I picked up a few cards for a set and realized I didn't need them.
So I turned around and was able to sell most of them for a small profit. At this point, nothing had really changed... I still had little interest in selling cards.
Recently, a dealer on COMC dumped a bunch of his PSA graded cards at insane prices, so I decided to purchase a few that I liked.
Last night, I finally sold two of them.
The best part about it is... it was a win/win situation for both me and the buyer. They picked up a 1992-93 Ultra PSA 10 rookie card and a 1992-93 Hoops PSA 10 rookie card for $10 each. One of the Ultra rookie cards recently sold on eBay for $20 (free shipping), while the Hoops rookie card closed for $9.99 (+ $2.50 shipping)... which means the buyer saved over $10... while I made $13.28 in profit.
By the way... if anyone else is interested in picking up PSA 10 graded copies of Shaq rookies, I still have eleven more Ultra's and eight more Hoop's for sale.
I'm asking $15 each, but will accept offers of $12 on the Ultra rookie and $9 for the Hoops rookie... or I'll sell one of each for $20.
As I'm typing out this post... I just realized I'm like a shark who smells blood in the water. I've gotten a taste of money and I like it. But don't worry... I have no intentions of falling back into old habits.
These Shaqs were too good of a deal to pass up... and it's hard to turn away free money. As soon as COMC has a shipping special, I'll take them down... have them shipped to me... and my sports card collecting philosophy will return to the way it was... collecting for pure entertainment purposes.
Lol... until Shaq is inducted into the HOF... then I'll throw all of these onto eBay.
What about you...
Have you ever collected cards as an investment?
What the most profit you've made off of a card?
By the way... I apologize for the lack of posts. The past few days have been crazy. It's the start of the school year... plus I've been spending a ton of time sorting through a huge sports card pickup I made on Craigslist. I'll write about it in my next post. Stay tuned.
Happy Friday everyone. Sayonara!
I've never made a profit off a card. I've never had the means to buy high end cards and have never pulled some truly valuable, so the time and effort to sell a card that won't make me too much money has never been worth it.
ReplyDeleteIf I were to ever make any sort of profit, I'd probably have to bundle most of my Yankees collection in a lot or package.
I've started flipping cards I like and see cheap on COMC.com, made a few sales, my biggest profit is currently being sold!
ReplyDeleteMe & TMCD went halves on a box of 2010 Bowman and hit big, but on comc I've made a 300% profit.
I dabble in Ebay now and then but like TLC I never have the means to have the good stuff. And I've found with high endish stuff that does get to my hands that I generally trade it for something good in the end rather than adding coin to my pocket.
ReplyDeleteI think the most I made on one card was selling my rarest God Shammgod for like $25. As a lot, I sold a bunch of 2001 MLL cards (that I now wish I had back since I'm collecting the set haha) for about $35.
I stopped doing the investing thing in 1991. If that year didn't teach people about investing, nothing will.
ReplyDeleteI've managed to turn a profit off a few cards, but it's not something I do regularly. I've had a couple nice pulls that I turned around and sold, and when I got back into collecting in '03 I built up a great relic and autograph collection that I later sold on eBay at a surprising profit. None of it was intentional, though, and I wish I hadn't sold several of the cards.
ReplyDeleteI have never set out as an investment but will sell any cards I don't need. I have such a niche collection now I have to buy a good amount of the cards I need. Wifey isn't keen on "wasting" money on cards so my profits can buy new cards.
ReplyDeleteI did sell my Cal Ripken collection to help pay for an engagement ring/wedding/house. Unfortunately I probably took a huge bath on the whole deal.
I got a 1912 minor league card off ebay.co.uk for $9.99 and sold it to an American collector for $50. Most of my profit is in small increments, enough to help fund my pcs.
ReplyDeleteI'm not going to sell it, but I bought a Lance Kendricks draft patch auto for $0.99 last week and now they are going for over $25!
ReplyDeletethe lost collector - i agree, it's easy to forget the time and effort part of the equation. i don't know how dealers do it.
ReplyDeletemartyn - wow... you and tony cleaned up on that box. congratulations!
spastikmooss - love the god shammgod cards. surprised you sold one of those. i'm a lot like you... i usually trade the nicer stuff i pull for things i want.
captain canuck - amen brother... amen.
ryan g - thanks for bringing up the sellers regret point... that's a great topic i might cover in a future post. i've sold several things i wish i could get back.
kirk - i guess that's why i'm still single... i know for sure i'd lose money if i sold my collection for a ring.
hairylemon - congratulations on the sale... nice $40 profit.
cheap card collecting - wow... great find. congratulations!