What are some tips on making money in this hobby?

[tcalca24]

Looking for some ideas on how to flip and make a few extra dollars fueling my passion for vintage cards. I see avid “hobby” collectors at shows and wonder how they do it. Not looking for trade secrets but just some tips to make some discrentary spending money through hard work. I do the hobby for fun but realize i need up my game if I’m ever to own the big boy cards. Thanks Ted

[TUM301]

I`ve got one word for you son, P L A S T I C S !

[Snapolit1]

Overpay today for cards that are in great demand. Ruth Goudeys. Gehrig Goudeys. Shoeless Joe Jackson. Jackie Robinson rookies. Mickey Mantle. Your overpayment today will look like a steal in 2 years. But buy the card everyone seemingly wants. Buying the third or fourth most desired card won’t work out as well. And like houses buy a better one than you were planning on.

Stick to iconic names. If your coworkers have never heard of the player probably not a great investment. Are exceptions. Yes, Eddie Plank, I’m talking about you.

All my opinion. I am sure others will tell you I am an idiot.

[Vintageclout]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

Overpay today for cards that are in great demand. Ruth Goudeys. Gehrig Goudeys. Shoeless Joe Jackson. Jackie Robinson rookies. Mickey Mantle. Your overpayment today will look like a steal in 2 years. But buy the card everyone seemingly wants. Buying the third or fourth most desired card won’t work out as well. And like houses buy a better one than you were planning on.

Stick to iconic names. If your coworkers have never heard of the player probably not a great investment. Are exceptions. Yes, Eddie Plank, I’m talking about you.

All my opinion. I am sure others will tell you I am an idiot.

Exactly! Spend strong money on the “best of the best” for Ruth, Gehrig, Cobb, Jackson, etc. rarities and then put them away for several years. For baseball’s most iconic players, todays retail is tomorrow’s whokesale. Show a little patience and you WON’T be disappointed.

[ronniehatesjazz]

Originally Posted by Vintageclout

Exactly! Spend strong money on the “best of the best” for Ruth, Gehrig, Cobb, Jackson, etc. rarities and then put them away for several years. For baseball’s most iconic players, todays retail is tomorrow’s whokesale. Show a little patience and you WON’T be disappointed.

Sadly this is all too true. Ruth Goudeys were going for ~$1k or so in the 1-2 range a few years ago. I held off thinking they would come back below four figures only to see them catapult to $2k+ since. Iconic cards will always be in demand and the higher grade the better. There still are quite a few value cards out there right now. IMO any Jackie rookie is very undervalued right now. The same could be said about Mays 51 Bowman and perhaps even the 52 topps. Also T201’s are currently very under appreciated right now and I think collectors will “wise up” in the future and prices will rise as a result. The Cobb/Jennings card is one of the most undervalued cards in the hobby and is a total steal (no pun intended).

Then again you could always mortgage your house, flip a 52 mantle, and be living on a private island in the West Indies in a few short years.

[toledo_mudhen]

Buy Low - Sell High

[Johnny630]

I stick with other ways of making money, however if you have some discreationary money/patience, you may wanna give this a try. I know it's not sexy, in fact it's rather boring as hell, you maybe saving for a long time until the right time to buy comes. If the right time does not come hell you will still have a nice chunk of cash to do whatever the heck you want!! Most probaby think this idea is way out in left field.

Save your money up until the next resecisson. Wait for people to panic like Buffet. Buy the highest eye appeal graded Ruth/Mantle/Jackie/Clemente. Do not buy overgraded ugly cards with early grades, a lot of these were gift grades. I also like to buy virgin cards without vcp history.

If you land a few killer cards hoard them away for 10 years plus if not more.

This stratagey may only land you a handfull of cards in a 5-10 year strech, in the long run I've been very happy.

[Goudey]

Best advice I can give is buy when people are desperate. Tough times in the economy etc. Look for people on here who say they need to sell to pay rent/car/college. Best deals I’ve found are throwing them a low offer with a little sales pitch.

[samosa4u]

This is an interesting thread, and I have enjoyed reading some of your posts.

Here is my advice: invest in key vintage rookie cards from ALL sports. The higher the grade, the better. Baseball cards have become so expensive, and now we are starting to see cards from other sports catch up. For example, a PSA 8 1951 Parkhurst Gordie Howe rookie went for $50,000 USD (goldinauctions) and a PSA 8 1958 Topps Bobby Hull rookie $84,000 USD (REA). Ten years ago, if you had told me that these cards were going to sell this high in the future, I would have laughed in your face and called you an idiot (actually I wouldn't have done the last part because I wouldn't have wanted to get my a** kicked).

[bigfish]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

Overpay today for cards that are in great demand. Ruth Goudeys. Gehrig Goudeys. Shoeless Joe Jackson. Jackie Robinson rookies. Mickey Mantle. Your overpayment today will look like a steal in 2 years. But buy the card everyone seemingly wants. Buying the third or fourth most desired card won’t work out as well. And like houses buy a better one than you were planning on.

Stick to iconic names. If your coworkers have never heard of the player probably not a great investment. Are exceptions. Yes, Eddie Plank, I’m talking about you.

All my opinion. I am sure others will tell you I am an idiot.

Agree 100 percent. Buy the players that are recession proof - Ruth Cy Young ....

[kailes2872]

Like real estate and most other things, the money is made on the buy. Cash is collected at the sale.

Also (as stated above) cash is made on the cut. Money is made on cucumbers when they are sliced into pickles. That is why you see advertisements for sets, near sets, bulk lots, etc. When you have the cash to outlay that someone else doesn’t have and can parse that lot or set out card by card you can make money on it but the money is made on the time and effort and is often time offset by postage, fees, and effort. It quickly turns into a minimum wage job.

I heard it said about auto racing and while not a perfect analogy because some do very well, it is said that the best way to make a small fortune in racing is start with a large fortune and then start a race team.

I don’t have the haggling gene to make a low offer that allows me the 50 points of margin to cover 20 points in fees 5-10 points in portage and supplies, 5 points in damages and fraud so I can squeeze out 15 points of margin that is only worthwhile if I am doing enough volume to justify that it becomes a second full-time job. I got into this hobby because I love the cards and the memories that it brings. If I had to go that route, it would quickly become unenjoyable

One member buys multiple sets of a year upgrades that way into the best possible set he can put together and then sells the duplicate sets that are lower grade for close to his initial investment and adds value. Even lower grade 50’s sets can be pricey so it takes capital but, to me, it seems a great way to build value in the collectiom.

Good luck

[pbspelly]

I am reminded of that old joke about how to make a small fortune on Wall Street - start with a big one.

[Fballguy]

Find a guy getting a divorce and desperate for cash.

Or a guy about to go to jail.

I've had luck with both.

[ruth_rookie]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

Overpay today for cards that are in great demand. Ruth Goudeys. Gehrig Goudeys. Shoeless Joe Jackson. Jackie Robinson rookies. Mickey Mantle. Your overpayment today will look like a steal in 2 years. But buy the card everyone seemingly wants. Buying the third or fourth most desired card won’t work out as well. And like houses buy a better one than you were planning on.

Stick to iconic names.

+1. Try to find (key word “try”) technically strong, well-centered big name HOF’ers... Ruth, Gehrig, Shoeless Joe, etc. that should always have a market. The higher the grade, the better. Quality will always have a market. Don’t fret over paying too much (within reason) and don’t be afraid to pull the trigger. Worst case scenario is that you’re “stuck” with a really nice Ruth... big deal. It’s better than being stuck with a piece of real estate or a vintage classic car you can’t unload IMO, as there are no upkeep or maintenance costs.

[Bored5000]

Paying up for iconic cards of inner circle Hall of Famers like Ruth, Cobb, Wagner is solid long-term advice. But are not any cheap Ruth, Cobb, Wagner cards.

Sometimes there are cards/sets outside the big four sports that are lottery tickets.

David Peck has posted on this board many times above the explosion in values of the 1982-83 Wrestling All Star sets. Peck has written on here that he bough his first Hulk Hogan card (that ultimately graded PSA 9) for $50. That card is now a $2,500 card in that grade. Peck also wrote he never thought he would see high grade commons from those sets selling for $1,000.

On the whole, though, when looking to make money, put your cash into a diversified mutual fund. There aren't any dividends with cards.

[Johnny630]

Never turn a long term investment piece into a sale to fund a new purchase. Almost always never works out.

[uniship]

The most money I ever made in my 42 years of collecting cards is when I purchased a ty Cobb/Cobb back at a price which was almost double the record high at the time back in 2008. I later sold it for a crazy 18 month gain.

[tiger8mush]

a lot of it is speculation, trying to determine what is under-priced now and will rise in demand in the future.

I'm horrible in that aspect, so I treat it as a hobby and have fun with it. If making money off it was my goal, I'd spend my time and effort elsewhere cuz I rarely come out ahead when I sell cards.

edited to add: Steve is an idiot (i keed, i keed )

[savedfrommyspokes]

Originally Posted by tcalca24

Looking for some ideas on how to flip and make a few extra dollars fueling my passion for vintage cards. I see avid “hobby” collectors at shows and wonder how they do it. Not looking for trade secrets but just some tips to make some discrentary spending money through hard work. I do the hobby for fun but realize i need up my game if I’m ever to own the big boy cards. Thanks Ted

For a quicker return on your investment, and if you have the time, buying lots/groups of cards and breaking them down will in many cases yield a reasonable profit based on your initial investment. I have built a near complete run of Topps sets for a minimal cost using this method.

[bensie]

What you propose is a very difficult thing to accomplish reliably. The number one advice I'd give is to establish a relationship with an auction house and negotiate favorable rates. If you don't or can't, auction fees will eat up all of your profits and then some.

I've had a small amount of success flipping, but it's a real grind. I would routinely put in over $100k worth of bids on cards only to come up empty or to get a card that would flip for a couple hundred bucks. I did that for a couple months, but it's not fun nor is it worth the time. I went back to simply buying cards I like.

When I talk to people about it, I liken it to card counting in blackjack. When I was young, I was pretty decent at counting cards and could reliably make money. However, I was spending full days in the casino and it was boring as hell. I then decided to give it up and just get a real job since the time investment was about the same and the money wasn't much different. Same story with cards. Gave up the flipping and am focused on other ways to make money.

To put it succinctly: there's no free lunch.

[oldjudge]

1. Apprentice with a card doctor
2. Shill your consignments in online auctions
3. Buy online and immediately relist your winnings with a higher BIN. If it doesn't sell reneg on the original purchase

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by TUM301

I`ve got one word for you son, P L A S T I C S !

^^This is easily #1^^ Not is the buying/selling/trading of cards already in plastic. Getting raw high grade cards into those magic plastic holders is the real money maker.

Originally Posted by oldjudge

1. Apprentice with a card doctor
2. Shill your consignments in online auctions
3. Buy online and immediately relist your winnings with a higher BIN. If it doesn't sell reneg on the original purchase

^These are by far the most common ways^

[swarmee]

1) Don't get into group breaks of modern product or bust cases. Good way to go broke fast. Sure, some people hit big, but they do in Vegas too. Modern card buying is like buying lottery tickets.
2) Read my primer on COMC here:
https://www.blowoutforums.com/showthread.php?t=1211826
3) Buy low, real low. Don't buy gigantic lots and pay market price. Make sure you have enough meat on the bone to not get eaten up by eBay fees, shipping costs, etc.
4) Make sure you know what your cards are worth, and where best to sell them. eBay is good, but if you don't describe your cards right, you'll just be feeding the flippers on eBay and not making the money for yourself.
5) Read the COMC flipping thread:
https://www.blowoutforums.com/showthread.php?t=807253
Shows how some can take cards and turn them into profits by finding diamonds in the rough, see which cards sell for premiums, etc. I am a fan of Topps error/variation cards listed in PSA master sets.
6) Learn how to grade cards, learn the graded card market, and send your submissions to PSA on bulk specials.
7) Figure out how to tell real cards from reprints.

[doug.goodman]

Your original question is a contradiction.

Doug

[iwantitiwinit]

Originally Posted by doug.goodman

Your original question is a contradiction.

Doug

Exactly.

[Snapolit1]

Originally Posted by doug.goodman

Your original question is a contradiction.

Doug

Why can't a person make money with a hobby? Seems to me people have been doing that forever. My grandmother knit sweaters in the 30s and sold them to families in the neighborhood. My dad collected coins and traded some for profit. People rebuild cars and happily sell them.

[Vintageismygame]

Originally Posted by savedfrommyspokes

For a quicker return on your investment, and if you have the time, buying lots/groups of cards and breaking them down will in many cases yield a reasonable profit based on your initial investment. I have built a near complete run of Topps sets for a minimal cost using this method.

I second this method as I have a collection that has an appraised/insured value of over $600,000 that I about $25,000 of actual out of pocket.