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

[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.

[Mark17]

If you can, find a niche. For instance, if you make a study of GU jerseys, you can do well buying and selling, maybe eventually authenticating, and maybe even restoring, if you're good at working with materials. Or use that basic principle in another area, like specializing in certain sets, postcards, yearbooks/programs, and so on.

Personally, I would avoid autographs because I think, to be acceptably good at recognizing fakes from authentic, the learning curve would take years, and even then, autographs make me nervous. But that's just me.

By finding a specialty, you can gain an advantage through studying and understanding that market better than the average collector. I think that's one of the secrets to success - find a way to be well above average in your area of expertise.

[Rich Klein]

As a person who works *IN* the hobby you have to consider the world of the hobby and not just buying/selling cards.

Card companies, licensors, licensees, dealers, auction houses, consultants, "influencers", etc etc. Don't lock yourself into only looking for one type of work

Rich

[JollyElm]

God, the frickin' "influencers." What a joke. I used to love hitting Youtube to watch a video or two, to check out things that are interesting to me...but now it's nothing but screennames giving shout outs to other screennames while endlessly talking about themselves as if everyone is glued to the screen waiting to hear their thoughts. Jesus, get over yourselves!!!

Rant over.