SDIrishFan
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The idea being?
Sports cards
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calvegas04
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I assume some of the more expensive card weight more for whatever reason
SaltyND24
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With some products, difference in weight could mean there is an auto due to a slight difference in the card stock. My advice would be to buy singles that look to "gem-worthy" and grade them or buy already graded cards. Ripping packs with the hopes of flipping a big card into something is a gamble. I've lost enough times to know lol
IRISHDODGER
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Definitely don’t let your son do that. Don’t be that guy…nobody likes that guy. Plus, there’s a chance some dude w/ a cell phone films him weighing cards & puts in on social media to try to shame him.
IRISHDODGER
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I can’t speak to basketball unless it’s vintage but in baseball if I pulled a young star that was auto’d or #d & decided to get it graded, I’d sell it ASAP & try to cash in before the player normalizes b/c the chances of them being a superstar, much less a HOFer; are slim. If he wanted to get something graded that would hold or increase in value over time, go for the established superstars or HOFers. Again, you’ll have to hold them awhile so it’s a long view of things.
As I mentioned earlier, I only have a few graded cards & am just not interested enough into going ’all in’ but I love vintage & focus on Hall-of-Famers or future HOFers. Vintage basketball is fun b/c the 70s had so many Hall-of-Famers & cool looking cards. Trading cards jumped the shark in the late 80s but before that it seemed more pure. It likely wasn’t more pure, it was just that they weren’t looked at as commodities so they weren’t kept in great condition or were just thrown in the trash. Hope you son enjoys the chase!
SDIrishFan
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I have several Jordan cards I’d kept from when I was a kid. None of them seem to be very rare or valuable though.
IRISHDODGER
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His big ones are his Fleer Rookie & his Star Rookie. His 2nd year Fleer is pricey now too…very underrated set.
Blazers46
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I had sooo many. Jordan, Griffey, Barry Sanders, Jerry Rice Rookie, David Robinson rookie. I once bought three books of cards from Goodwill for 9.99 each that didn’t hold a card worth less than $20… all stolen by my older deadbeat brother and Pawned for peanuts.
BleedBlueGold
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Tough hobby to crack into. I learned the hard way. I had a ton of cards I sent for grading. Didn't know what I was doing. Thought I'd get decent grades on them, list on ebay, make money, repeat. I ended up getting a bunch of crap grades and sold like three raw cards.
If you have the time to hit up flea markets and garage sales, while also having a really good eye for raw cards that would grade high, and knowledge of which cards are more rare, etc...then Yeah, you could make some money. So many people are trying to do this, though, that it makes it difficult.
My advice, set expectations low and go into it with the idea of having fun, enjoying a hobby, and bonding with your kid over it. If you make money, cool. If not, at least you weren't expecting to get rich from it from the outset.
BleedBlueGold
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Westfield man posts manifesto of $350 million sports memorabilia scam then dies by suicide
In other news.....This dude lived 3 houses down from me. Unbelievable story. I'm so glad I never got sucked into this particular category of collecting. Lucky for me, I never talked to that guy either. Always knew he was up to something. He'd have a half-million dollars worth of cars in his driveway any given day. Crazy.
In other news.....This dude lived 3 houses down from me. Unbelievable story. I'm so glad I never got sucked into this particular category of collecting. Lucky for me, I never talked to that guy either. Always knew he was up to something. He'd have a half-million dollars worth of cars in his driveway any given day. Crazy.
Tejas
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Dude that's awesome. Do you deal with modern or vintage?
IrishinTN
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I have a ton of both. I collected when i was young and broke out all those cards but the past 30 years i collected a ton of autographs and decided to start selling a lot of those, too. Plus my daughter has Pokemon, which is also an huge business. Trading cards overall has exploded the past few years.
BleedBlueGold
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Any thoughts on when the sports card bubble might pop? Good grief. List prices and sold prices are still exceeding comps by a large margin on many players. For example, my son's interest in soccer has lead him to wanting to collect some Messi cards. Idk much about soccer, but I know he's one of the GOATs. I had a hard time finding any of his graded cards for under $50 (all of which had recent comps for $25-$35 range). Seeing the doubling of card values month over month is wild. Clearly people are still buying them though despite these crazy prices. It doesn't feel sustainable and I wonder when this all comes crashing down.
Blazers46
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I’m old school. I buy packs. The thrill of chance.
BleedBlueGold
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I used Christmas and my son's recent birthday as excuses to buy packs "for him", so I could enjoy them being opened. Haha.
I don't care much for the modern stuff though. If it's a specific player with a certain parallel, etc, I'll just go buy the graded version. However, as far as packs go, I feel you. It's so much fun. I just lean into the older stuff from my childhood. There's much more nostalgia and enjoyment in it for me with those junk wax Jordan pulls. Or even late 90s Kobe pulls. Unfortunately, those packs are very expensive and I question which ones have been tampered with and resealed.
The most fun I've had in card collecting recently since getting back into the hobby was when I bought a box of 1987 Topps baseball cards. Total junk wax so the box was dirt cheap. But it was so much fun ripping those packs and seeing those players I loved as a kid. I've been craving more of that. Just haven't been able to bring myself to spending a chunk of money on a better box. Are there any specific sets who's boxes offer pretty solid ROIs in the Jordan era? Personally, I grew up loving the 96-97 Skybox Z-Force cards. Especially Series 2 when they added more inserts. But that box is usually in the $2500 range because of the Kobe rookies and inserts. Jordan base cards are in Series 1, which I already own. As a kid I bought a pack of Series 2 and pulled a Shawn Kemp Big Men On The Court Z-Peat parallel insert (odds are like 1: 1,120 packs). I still have that card to this day and one of my "dream" Jordan cards is his BMOTC insert (just need to hit the lottery first to be able to afford it. haha). Getting a box of Series 2 and pulling that dream card would be epic.
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calvegas04
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The fad shouldn't last long before people move on to the next thing tiktok tells them to like
IrishinTN
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They have really done a good job making things appealing to buyers with all the alternative, numbered and short-print cards. Pokemon, Disney and sports cards are all crazy. Since I started buying and selling 6 months ago, I have been able to get great deals on whatnot and eBay and then turn around and use the profit to get myself even better cards to sell so i have been increasing my profit methodically.
As long as sports stars are considered gods and Pokemon and Disney keep putting out new products, making the previuos offering obsolete, they continue to create fervor in the markets. Pokemon, for instance, changes their current offering about every 3 months, so any Elite Trainer Boxes or high value cards from teh previous theme are suddenly more valuable because "you can't get them any more."
I you want Messi, or another certain player, you can find them on Whatnot or eBay but you have to be patient. Some whatnot auctions bring ridiculous prices while others are steals.
I've done 3 shows and wanted to do more but the holidays and a dishwasher leak that has left my kitchen destroyed for almost 4 months has made me pause but I did schedule a pokemon TCS for the end of February, mostly for my daught but i have been educating myself on Pokemon the past few months and snapping up some steals which i send off to PSA. The pokemon people are crazy for cards, expecially graded. And the best thing about pokemon people...they don't dicker for pricing. They pay what the card lists. Unlike sportscard people who want to beg for insultingly cheap prices. I have had to take some deep breaths recently when folks offer $100 for a $200 card and i want to throat punch them.
As long as sports stars are considered gods and Pokemon and Disney keep putting out new products, making the previuos offering obsolete, they continue to create fervor in the markets. Pokemon, for instance, changes their current offering about every 3 months, so any Elite Trainer Boxes or high value cards from teh previous theme are suddenly more valuable because "you can't get them any more."
I you want Messi, or another certain player, you can find them on Whatnot or eBay but you have to be patient. Some whatnot auctions bring ridiculous prices while others are steals.
I've done 3 shows and wanted to do more but the holidays and a dishwasher leak that has left my kitchen destroyed for almost 4 months has made me pause but I did schedule a pokemon TCS for the end of February, mostly for my daught but i have been educating myself on Pokemon the past few months and snapping up some steals which i send off to PSA. The pokemon people are crazy for cards, expecially graded. And the best thing about pokemon people...they don't dicker for pricing. They pay what the card lists. Unlike sportscard people who want to beg for insultingly cheap prices. I have had to take some deep breaths recently when folks offer $100 for a $200 card and i want to throat punch them.
Veritate Duce Progredi
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It took me 6 months of buying cards with my son to realize it's all smoke and mirrors. In sports, only the really elite players RCs trade for anything valuable, long term. All the other 'good' players rise and fall over time with everyone chasing the bumps. There is zero inherent value in owning the pieces of cardboard with pictures.
It was a lot of fun to open cards with my son but we've been priced out of the market. Boxes have doubled or tripled in cost because of all the "breakers" and ownership's determination to pump the market. What used to be fun is replaced with the need to hit a big card or two to offset the cost of a $300 or $500 box.
@IrishinTN - when did list prices become the expected purchase price? From the industry vets I followed, I read repeatedly 'list' is outdated nearly instantly so it was sometimes used as a reference point. Comps over different ranges of time gave a better idea of pricing over time and if a card/player was losing or gaining velocity. Either way, glad you're able to make it work for you.
It was a lot of fun to open cards with my son but we've been priced out of the market. Boxes have doubled or tripled in cost because of all the "breakers" and ownership's determination to pump the market. What used to be fun is replaced with the need to hit a big card or two to offset the cost of a $300 or $500 box.
@IrishinTN - when did list prices become the expected purchase price? From the industry vets I followed, I read repeatedly 'list' is outdated nearly instantly so it was sometimes used as a reference point. Comps over different ranges of time gave a better idea of pricing over time and if a card/player was losing or gaining velocity. Either way, glad you're able to make it work for you.
BleedBlueGold
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Pretty much my experience too and why I’ve resorted to only collecting GOATS and vintage HOFs. I’m not interested in flipping cards or ripping to chase the flavor of the month.
I’ve spent about $75 on individual packs for my kids the last couple of months and only pulled about $5 worth of cards. It’s only fun to rip as long as you’re not in it for the ROI.
When I started hearing stories about card companies sending influencers special boxes to break for publicity, I knew it wasn’t for me.
Now my current fear lies with fake slabs and getting scammed. The people at my local shop are dickish so I basically only use eBay or other online sellers to sift through for deals.
I feel the more insulated I keep myself from the crazies, the more I enjoy the hobby. I do it for me. Not for the money or anything else.
OhioIrish
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This is where I am at too. I buy only PSA 10 rookie cards of players who are, or were in the hunt to be, rookie of the year — a la Victor Wembanyama or Conor Bedard. Hold them for long term gain, and if they flame out you can usually sell them for close to what you bought them for. Keeping it simple will is more fun and it works.
IRISHDODGER
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That’s the best way to enjoy the hobby. I love vintage and focus on 1950s-1979 baseball, basketball & football Hall-of-farmers/stars. Baseball may not be anywhere near the most popular sport but vintage baseball cards dwarf the other two sports in cost. Basketball & football (& hockey) are very affordable. To me, it was when the hobby was pure. Sure some kids back in the 50s were wise enough to save their collection because it’d be valuable one day, but most lost track of theirs or their parents got rid of them.
Ripping is fun but if you’re looking for ROI, you truly have to spend money to make money. With evidence that Topps has cranked back up the print runs, it’s looking like another junk wax era. That’s probably why the focus is solely on autos & rare parallels (numbered cards). I ripped a few hobby boxes of 2025 Topps Heritage High numbers. The auto was Junior Caminero. He was coming off a big year so I put it on ebay and made most of my money back. Same w/ some of of the rookie parallels. I look at it from the viewpoint that if they’re not already a superstar/future HOFer, the odds that they become one are slim so I sell ASAP while they’re still popular. Odds are, they’ll level out or completely wash out and be a common so I come out ahead. I learned that early on when I held onto a numbered Bowman Jared Kellenic auto. He went from rising hot prospect to journeyman real quick.
Armyirish47
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I haven't bought a pack or box in years at this point, but I've narrowed my focus to things that interest me. Still try to get an auto card of every Notre Dame player that gets one in a year. Still chasing the Upper Deck Notre Dame 2013 set like a maniac. And I've been working a PC for a 90's hall of famer I have a personal connection to and I'm at 422 out of 546 cards with a few 1/1s gathered.
IrishinTN
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It can be tough, but with sales in my area everyone tries to low-ball comps. I will sell at comp or just below because I think that's fair and it seems to be that way for other dealers I know. But I buy cheap and send to PSA myself. Sometimes you hit a home run, sometimes you strike out. But the home runs get me enough profit to make it worthwhile. For instance I got a chipper jones refractor card from 1999 for $25. Paid $22 for grade and got a 9. Sold it today for $71 less than a week getting it back from PSA. Also bought a ton of Drake Maye early in the year and got several 10's which are now worth beau coup. But Pokemon 10's are where the real money is at. Some sell for 3-10 ungraded. Get a 10 and they are worth up to $600.
Like I said, you have to be patient.
GATTACA!
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As a Pokemon person I've actually found this environment to be great if you're actually interested in collecting and not just hunting super rares to try and flip for profit. Ripping packs is a waste of money but with everything outside of 10-15 full arts or secret rares per set being considered worthless trash you can put together 90% of a master set for literal pennies on the dollar. Not even exclusively newer set either. I've gone through and bought bulk from early 2000's sets off TCG and will routinely put together 50-60 card orders that are $10-15.
IrishinTN
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I have my first Pokemon focused card show this weekend and today I got 6 cards back from PSA...5 10's and 1 9. Then I went on Whatnot doing wild card box breaks and got a Riley Leonard auto, a Cam Skattebo 1/1 auto and a Jeremiah Love 1/1 auto! I'm pumped!
GATTACA!
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Nice! What cards are the tens?
IRISHDODGER
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Ripped a 2026 Topps Series 1 Hobby Box. Pretty disappointing until the very end. Of course I got a relic (Gerrit Cole jersey) instead of an auto & one of the corners was dinged. Got all the rookies which are pretty much worthless b/c Topps/Fanatics reportedly printed over 1M of each card. Few decent inserts but nothing to justify the purchase. Then in the 2nd to last pack I pulled a Golden Mirror SSP of rookie Jacob Misiorowski the rookie fireballer for Milwaukee. Put it in on eBay starting at $19.99. Just closed last night at $300 and the winning bidder has already paid.
My hope is the bidder looked at all the pics b/c I showed close ups of every corner. While it was a “pack fresh” card, looking at some of the corners from the backside, it was not gem mint. Not bad…just not perfect. Thanks Fanatics!. Still a great pull.
My hope is the bidder looked at all the pics b/c I showed close ups of every corner. While it was a “pack fresh” card, looking at some of the corners from the backside, it was not gem mint. Not bad…just not perfect. Thanks Fanatics!. Still a great pull.