Hobby versus Making a Living

[donmuth]

Just curious about how many forum members consider ball cards as primarily a hobby versus how many make their living buying & selling cards?


Some follow up questions:
- How did you get started in the card business and when?
- In your opinion, what are the keys to having a successful card business?
- What were the biggest obstacles in starting up your card business?
- If you had it to do over again, would you choose to be in the card business or was there another field that you really had your heart set on?

[ullmandds]

Definitely a hobby...albeit an expensive one at times...nothing more!

[Jim VB]

A hobby for sure. This is where I'd be living if I tried to make a living doing this. (Since I don't, I can afford a double wide.)

[albrshbr]

A hobby and nothing else...although I have quite a bit I should probably try to sell someday

[ullmandds]

Jim...I could picture you sleeping in that cardboard box clutching your 33 Goudey Lajoie in 1 hand and a bottle of maddog in the other!

[joeadcock]

Hobby for me.

Frank

[oriolesbb6]

I take offense to the double wide comment-Here is mine and it is for sale..LOL

[Jim VB]

Jim...I could picture you sleeping in that cardboard box clutching your 33 Goudey Lajoie in 1 hand and a bottle of maddog in the other!


It's been a loooong time since I consumed any MD 20/20! Yikes!

[ethicsprof]

hobby only.
no job compares to the bliss.

best,
barry

[JP]

I take offense to the double wide comment-Here is mine and it is for sale..LOL

This clearly belongs in the BST! :) :) :)

[Steve D]

It's strictly a hobby for me.

Back in the early 1980s when I was around 18-21ish, I worked for Bill Goepner and Nacho Arredondo at San Diego Sports Collectibles. I had a lot of fun working in their retail store. I did find though, that it soured me on spending large amounts of money on cards. The one example I remember is that at the time, I was looking for a nice 1967 Topps Tom Seaver rookie card. It was a high-demand card at the time and was going for around $80-$100, which wasn't exactly "chump-change" for a college-student/part-time worker. It was also not that easy to find one in San Diego CA.

Anyway, one day I came to work and upon entering the shop, I layed my eyes on a 9-pocket sheet in a display case, with 6 or 7 Seaver rookie cards in it. Suddenly, I just wondered why if it was so expensive, how could I be looking at 6 or more of them at one time (when if I remember correctly, I hadn't even seen ONE of them in a long time...if ever!). I didn't buy any of them, but did get one a bit later.

Edited to add:

I also sold at some local shows in the San Diego/Anaheim area back in the early 1980s. I had thoughts of trying to do it full-time, but after tasting the card shop experience and how it just took a lot of the fun out of collecting (at least for me), I elected to not go in to "the business", and kept it a hobby :)

Steve

[steve B]

Hobby for me too, but I have also done a couple shows and occasional flea market in the past.

At one point we had a speaker at the club that asked how long people had been collecting without becoming a dealer. I think I was the only one over 15 years, and did a show shortly after that.

Among the successful dealers I've known there are a few common things.
1)sufficient operating capital. Most of the late 80's early 90's guys washed out from having to sell below cost to afford the next product.
2)Knowledge. There were a few dealers I'd visit every 6 months or so to see what stuff they had no clue about. (If it's not in Beckett it can't be worth much right?)
3) More recently, good use of the internet and other networking. One place I go offloaded all the Curtis Martin cards to a NY dealer the day after he went to the Jets. He avoided them becoming locally unsaleable.
4) Either specialising in older stuff and building a strong client base and good inventory or Being a generalist and having a good feel for what was selling well right now.

And it's pretty much the same in any hobby.

Steve B

[ChrisStufflestreet]

Hobby for me.

I sold at weekend shows way back when and realized that if I were ever going to take it to the next level as a seller, I couldn't do that and be a collector too.

[alanu]

Hobby.

I buy and sell cards to help raise funds for more cards, but nowadays it's often a losing proposition.

[martyogelvie]

Yes... i do...

Some follow up questions:
- How did you get started in the card business and when? I owed the IRS about 4k one year and decided to sell some of my collection..

- In your opinion, what are the keys to having a successful card business?
not to sound to simplistic but you buy low and sell high.. or at least higher.. plus contacts.. you have to maintain a base of buyers.. also, an online store today makes more sense than a brick 'n mortar.

- What were the biggest obstacles in starting up your card business? attachments to your cards... in the beginning I had a hard time selling my cards.. after a while, it got earier.. plus finding cards at prices that will allow you to make a profit. That's easier to do in the NEW CARD market vs the vintage market.

- If you had it to do over again, would you choose to be in the card business or was there another field that you really had your heart set on? yes, i would.

[glynparson]

I started buying and trading cards in 1979 when I was 7. I didn't start selling until I was 18 in 1990, my Dad and I would set up at shows. In 1995 When I graduated College I was doing well enough selling cards that I just kept doing it, excepting the short time I worked at SGC. The key really is finding material at prices you can sell it quickly and at a profit. You need to know a lot of different issues and also how to grade to be successful at it today. I didn't really have any obstacles because I had a nice collection and started before prices got crazy. To be succesful it helps to be nice and offer fair prices. You don't need to give away your best stuff but price your junk and more common material cheaply and it sells, even in this economy. If I had to do it over again, would I? Absolutely, its the best job in the world and what I dreamed of doing as a kid. This may sound funny but I wanted to be a card dealer more then a baseball player.

[teetwoohsix]

Right now I only collect,and am very content with that.I've tried to entertain the idea of selling off a few of my T206's to go after a few of the pricier T206's,but can't bring myself to do it-I guess I'm too attached to them :D

For awhile now,I've had the fantasy of opening a small pre-war card shop here.No modern stuff,and very little 50's-70's.......more along the lines of 30's on back.I talked to the owners of a couple of shops out here,and asked why they don't carry pre-war at all,and both said there was no market for it.One told me that if he didn't sell on ebay,he wouldn't survive.The other said he does well with 50's to present,but said the local demand for pre-war is just about non-existant,and on top of that,he said it's too hard to get good deals on pre-war to make any type of significant profit.This was discouraging to my idea,so,for now,it will remain a "fantasy" :(

A few years ago,I was lucky enough to go into a local shop for the first time and the guy had almost everything packed up into boxes-he was closing shop and going out of buisness.He really didn't have any vintage,mostly modern stuff.He sold me two large boxes with mostly cards from '98-'06,,with lots of rookie cards,chrome refractors,serial #'s,and regular stuff.Nothing major,but IMO a great deal.I figure when I really want to get into selling,I will sell these cards off on ebay,and use whatever $$ I make to funnel into pre-war cards,and take it from there.

Wouldn't that be the ideal "dream job" for most collectors-to be a financially successful card dealer? :D

Clayton

[drc]

If you want to test be being a dealer, start small and see how it works. Can expand from there. Buying and selling 10 items is as a good a start as any.

The key to being a good seller is being able to predict (with some accuracy) what an item will sell for for you. Emphasis is on 'for you,' as opposed to for REA or for Steiner. May sound simplistic, but it's a skill a lot of beginners don't have, as they often overestimate the sell price. Buying and selling is the best way to learn pricing, costs, etc.

Being honest and accurate is to your advantage in the long run. Lies and deceit may bring in a few extra $$ int he short term, but you may find out in five years that no one will buy from you. In a sea of deceit, having a reputation as being fair on honest is an invaluable marketing tool-- and you don't have to be a wealthy dealer to have a good reputation. You just need to be honest and accurate in your dealings and positive word will get around.