Advice on High End Card purchase

[pokerplyr80]

I personally think for what you're looking for, purely an investment, Venezuelans would be a risky choice. The supply is very limited, but there's a limited market as well. You could hit a home run, or you could take a hit.

Nothing is ever a sure thing, but personally I think you'd be better off with a big name HOF rookie card in the nicest condition you can afford.

Aside from what's already been mentioned I believe a 51 Bowman or 52 Topps Mays still has quite a bit of upside potential.

[autograf]

Like the 1952 Mays, 1952 Robinson, 1952 Campy mid-to-high grade cards. All under-appreciated.......

[Canofcorn]

Originally Posted by autograf

Like the 1952 Mays, 1952 Robinson, 1952 Campy mid-to-high grade cards. All under-appreciated.......

I actually have those 3! Mid grade with nice eye appeal. (despite picture quality)


[IMG][/IMG]

[autograf]

Great centering. Love that campy at a 3.5. What a beauty!

[Econteachert205]

I'd pick up some super high end raw 1970s sets.

[Canofcorn]

Originally Posted by autograf

Great centering. Love that campy at a 3.5. What a beauty!

Thanks! I had a thread on the Campy (which has much better pictures)...seeking advice on possible bump. Not going to try and bump for now is what I took from it...

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=208295

[rats60]

I would stay away from post ww2 cards except for Mantle. Those cards are too plentiful. I would look for rarer cards. 33 Goudey Ruth would be a good choice. I would also consider t206 hofers, Cobb, Johnson, Matty, Young or Speaker. I would also consider a t205 Cobb.

[Canofcorn]

Guys thank you!!! I have plenty of info at this point.
I will make sure to post my purchases in a few months on a seperate thread.

in the meantime, I might be selling some other cards on here!
Your recommendations are expensive!!

Best,
Mike

[David W]

I think OPC cards of the major rookies would be a good investment.

OPC from 60's and early 70's are just a small fraction of the amount
of Topps printed.

[hcv123]

The underlying factor to this questions is one of basic economic theory (of which I remember very little about, but will be happy to offer my opinion anyway). Price being the variable - if demand is greater than supply price is driven up. If supply is greater than demand - price is driven down. Time is another relevant factor in this conversation. Today baseball cards are widely collected - part of a sport that is our national pastime, etc, etc. An important question is - is the fan base for baseball growing or shrinking? A growing base would lend itself to a position that baseball card collecting isn't going anywhere and in fact is sustainable for the short to intermediate future. If the fan base is shrinking, it would definitely cause concern for the intermediate but perhaps not the short term.
I would prefer to take the risk with an item I know to be in short supply of the most collected player(s). While often times there is less demand for them, I usually only need 2-5 people interested to get some price appreciation (as in the case of the Venezuelans). Something like the Mantle rookie from a supply stand is much more risky over time- why is the market climbing - are there really that many more people willing to pay that much more for it? Is it being driven artificially in some way? Assuming all is legit - what happens to the price at the point where demand starts to fall and the supply is so plentiful? All of that said. Time will tell.

[drcy]

Remember that investment value is based on the specific price you paid. Some people get this idea to invest in a card and don't think twice about what they pay for it. Though knowing values and following auctions, you get a 10% discount ('good deal') on your card, that's the monetary same of the card going up 10% in value. If you are enamored on the 'investment possibilities' of a card and over pay, you can lose money even if the book price goes up.

Certainly buying a card that has good eye appeal for its grade is a good idea.

[ls7plus]

The winning formula throughout all collecting fields is really rather simple: rare and significant in the best condition you can find or afford. As to specifics, that is where in depth of knowledge of both the game's history and the cards that reflect it come in. Get the knowledge before buying the card, analyse it, and make your own best decision! Rather than simply jumping on someone else's bandwagon, you might want to consider the approach a very knowledgeable coin collector, John J. Pittman took. Pittman was an Eastman Kodak engineer, making a good but never great income, but sought out knowledge and rare and significant but undervalued items (he could never afford the true "trophy" types of coins, such as an 1804 Silver Dollar or 1913 Liberty Head nickel). Over about five decades of pursuing knowledge of the field and that strategy, he was able to amass a collection that sold for more than $40 million after his passing. He also must have had an understanding wife of truly epic proportions, as she agreed to a second mortgage on their home so Pittman could travel to Egypt to participate in the King Farouk collection auction held after Farouk was deposed in the '50's!

As prolific author/head of the class dealer Q. David Bowers wrote in his books on coin investing, buy the book(s) before the coin!

Your effort to gain knowledge, analytical ability, diligent pursuit of the items you consequently determine to seek out and long-term perseverance will determine your success in monetary appreciation concerning the cards you procure.

Best of luck in your endeavors,

Larry

[clydepepper]

High-Grade base Mantle issues are what I just finished and I believe they are the closest to anything being a guarantee. I purchased 8's when I could afford it and 7's otherwise...I only have one of each, but would probably consider getting additional copies.

The '52 Topps is way out of my range - especially since I will not take in beaters even if they are graded. That card may not get much higher IMHO. The '51 Bowman is a better possibility for growth.
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Ruth is also a great choice - but nothing compares to The Mick.
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[1952boyntoncollector]

You also want to look at price points...there are lots of guys that make 100k a year that wont pay more than 2k for a card..

so a card that's 1600 now that's one of the cards mentioned on the thread..may have room of 400 to that 2k.....or better yet a card selling for 1200 now....it becomes trickier when buying a 5k card....yeah the more expensive the card the more chance for bigger profit....but the amount of buyers interested in 10k plus cards is a lot less than buyers in the 1-2k range...