A hobby “career?” - where might the puck be going?

[Jewish-collector]

This basketball collector changed careers to work in the sports card business and spoke about it in his last two podcasts

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas...t/id1084965169

[Snapolit1]

Modern cards come in and out of favor. I have a card store in town in relatively pricey real estate and I have no idea how this dude stays in business. Must be independently wealthy. I've walked in a few times and usually there is one other customer milling about. Anyone with half a brain realizes they can buy boxes from Panini direct at a much lower rate than what these guys charge. And the single cards are never competitive with ebay or auctions.

That's a tough racket right now.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

We're hiring.

[Exhibitman]

Get yourself a starter store on eBay ($4.95/mo.). Use the tools they have to develop some templates and mechanisms for selling and give it a try. That will tell you pretty quickly whether you like it enough to try and make a real go of it.

[Dead-Ball-Hitter]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

Get yourself a starter store on eBay ($4.95/mo.). Use the tools they have to develop some templates and mechanisms for selling and give it a try. That will tell you pretty quickly whether you like it enough to try and make a real go of it.

Great way to start. Given the pendulum swings in value for many items, its tough to start though without having some serious inventory already.

I heard a story of a collector with comparatively few items to sell make a success of selling simply because he purchased a large collection at a reasonable price. Took him two years to part it out, but made his money back quickly and then some. Then started to reinvest in more product. FYI he put this $50K collection on credit to get started. Made about $205K in return. had to spend some on grading so that added to the base cost.

If you can find a collection with some room if purchased right, that might be one opportunity. Always risk in doing this of course.

[G1911]

Running a card business yourself is a ton of time for low margins and a very low chance of success or supporting yourself and your family.

A job in the industry at the big boys would be more dependent on one’s particular experience, skill set, resume, and social connections.

A job elsewhere in the hobby would probably not pay much money and not be a career type job to support oneself, but would probably be a lot more fun than other starter jobs. I wish I had got to sort cards at a shop instead of anything I worked

[Michael B]

When you dive into trying to work for the federal government one of the important questions they want answered is: 'What are your SKA's?' It means skills, knowledge and abilities. I believe the same would apply here. What do you bring to the table? Are you just a collector or have you spent time studying any one of the various collectible categories? Breadth and depth of knowledge can be quite positive if you wish to offer your services to others. What are your strengths; pre-war cards, post war cards, equipment, publications, autographs?

There have been some good questions and suggestions posted by others if you want to be a dealer. Can you afford to do without the income until you have established yourself? What is your comfort level if you struggle as you start out? Ignore the person who tried to whine about the $600 reporting ceiling. First and foremost that is the law. If you are going to sell on your own learn about income reporting and deductions. What you need to report and what you can deduct whether you are selling on ebay or travelling to shows. The more you learn, the better off you will be.

No matter what you decide, good luck. A life's path is not printed in a book you buy at the store. It is something that is constantly being rewritten and changed.