Looking for cardboard investment

[Bosox Blair]

For me, if you want upside you have to avoid cards that have already recently run up - so that rules out T206 and 1914CJ.

I agree with Leon: I think T205 would be interesting to collect and prices are low now. On the E-card side there are lots of good options - E-card pricing is generally way down from its all-time highs 8-9 years ago. As the OP indicated E95 would be a good set to build in very nice shape for not a great amount of money. Or an E93 or E92 set (but not the super-tough ones like Nadja or Red Crofts).

Have fun (and patience)!

Cheers,
Blair

[Mick]

I've decided to do the T205. As Blair said, they have been extremely flat for a number of years, are fairly available for less than knee bucking prices and are freakin sweet to look at.

I scored my first one today. A Chance PSA 6.

[EvilKing00]

Originally Posted by Mick

I've decided to do the T205. As Blair said, they have been extremely flat for a number of years, are fairly available for less than knee bucking prices and are freakin sweet to look at.

I scored my first one today. A Chance PSA 6.

Great choice mick! Alot of info on them in this forum and the arcived areas. Good luck!

[pokerplyr80]

Originally Posted by Mick

I've decided to do the T205. As Blair said, they have been extremely flat for a number of years, are fairly available for less than knee bucking prices and are freakin sweet to look at.

I scored my first one today. A Chance PSA 6.

Nice choice, a great looking set. Should I decide to try to build a set again this would be near the top of my pre-war list.

[Mick]

Well it turns out I DIDNT buy a 6. The seller had mixed in photos of a graded 6 with close ups of his raw, terrible card.

I've bought hundreds of cards, and missed the subtleties of his scam.

At least I didn't pay!

[bbcard1]

The first vintage set I did was a really rough T205 set…it has several skins and a lot of really bad looking cards…I did a blog on it and I really enjoyed it.

I did settle for only doing distinct fronts…the funky backs get really pricey. That said, a higher grade set and distinct backs will lead to better payout eventually. Some things you do as a hobby, others as an investment.

[4815162342]

Originally Posted by Mick

Well it turns out I DIDNT buy a 6. The seller had mixed in photos of a graded 6 with close ups of his raw, terrible card.



I've bought hundreds of cards, and missed the subtleties of his scam.



At least I didn't pay!

Link?

[Eric72]

Originally Posted by Mick

Well it turns out I DIDNT buy a 6. The seller had mixed in photos of a graded 6 with close ups of his raw, terrible card.

I've bought hundreds of cards, and missed the subtleties of his scam.

At least I didn't pay!

Please tell us more about this.

As for the original post, I offer the following:

Card collecting is, and ought to be, a hobby. Investing is typically done for the primary purpose of making money.

Rarely can one person find a way to truly converge the two. I was able to do this for a brief time when I was in my early 20's. As a dealer who mainly set up at card shows, I used the power of trading from the advantageous side of the show table. Many cards cycled through my inventory and I enjoyed having them...for a brief time.

Aaron rookie? Check. '56 Mantle PSA 7? Check. Gretzky rookie? Check. T206 Frank Chance Batting PSA 5? Check.

And so on, and so on.

I have tried to get back into this; however, am finding a reluctance from people to trade, relatively speaking. Perhaps I will recapture what I did as a younger man. Maybe not.

Either way, I truly enjoyed being a temporary custodian (realistically speaking, aren't we all) of certain cardboard treasures. And, along the way, I was able to make a modest living.

It is a part of my life that I treasure more and more, the deeper I delve into the collecting side of this.

Hope this helps a little. Happy collecting...or investing...or both.

Best regards,

Eric

[Mick]

Here's the link. He was totally non communicative and then once I asked him if I had just bought a raw card, he finally said I did and then invoiced me for a USPS shipping box. I live in Canada and so do they!

I asked him to cancel it, and now he's getting aggressive. I asked him to cancel or open a case. I can't believe I didn't figure this was a raw card

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1911-T205-Go...vip=true&rt=nc

[Touch'EmAll]

You don't have to get locked into one particular set. Big name HOF'ers are tough to beat - maybe a Matty from this set, a W. Johnson from that set. A cool Cobb from the other set. A T206 Cy Young perhaps. Drop some coin on a sweet Ruth. Top it off with a Goudey Gehrig and a Playball Teddy. Now you're talking.

[glchen]

Originally Posted by Mick

Here's the link. He was totally non communicative and then once I asked him if I had just bought a raw card, he finally said I did and then invoiced me for a USPS shipping box. I live in Canada and so do they!

I asked him to cancel it, and now he's getting aggressive. I asked him to cancel or open a case. I can't believe I didn't figure this was a raw card

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1911-T205-Go...vip=true&rt=nc

I would not pay for that card either. The listing is misleading.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Mick

Here's the link. He was totally non communicative and then once I asked him if I had just bought a raw card, he finally said I did and then invoiced me for a USPS shipping box. I live in Canada and so do they!

I asked him to cancel it, and now he's getting aggressive. I asked him to cancel or open a case. I can't believe I didn't figure this was a raw card

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1911-T205-Go...vip=true&rt=nc

Lame listing, intentionally deceptive. Yes, in hindsight you missed it, but so too would many people.

[pokerplyr80]

Originally Posted by Mick

Well it turns out I DIDNT buy a 6. The seller had mixed in photos of a graded 6 with close ups of his raw, terrible card.

I've bought hundreds of cards, and missed the subtleties of his scam.

At least I didn't pay!

Those pictures are very misleading but I don't think I would buy a card like that in the first place from a seller who has only received feedback from 2 people.