Another card investment thread

[x2drich2000]

Originally Posted by barrysloate

So people now want to invest in baseball cards without being card collectors and without any knowledge of what they should buy. Does that concern anyone?

Not anymore than people who blindly put money into the stock market or their 401k without researching the funds they have chosen. People should have a full understanding of what they are investing in regardless of the type of investment.

[packs]

I'd put the money into multiple blue chip cards over one card. Let's say you buy that Cobb PC and you make $5,000. Maybe that's good, but I'd rather buy all the Green Cobbs I could with 10K and then make the multiples later. If you bought 5 Green Cobbs for 10K 5 years ago you're looking at a huge windfall now.

[Huysmans]

Originally Posted by x2drich2000

Not anymore than people who blindly put money into the stock market or their 401k without researching the funds they have chosen. People should have a full understanding of what they are investing in regardless of the type of investment.

Huge difference in that the stock market has been the traditional vehicle for investments. The same cannot be stated in any realistic or tangible way regarding baseball cards.

[AGuinness]

Originally Posted by Huysmans

Huge difference in that the stock market has been the traditional vehicle for investments. The same cannot be stated in any realistic or tangible way regarding baseball cards.

I think it's completely realistic and tangible to say that people put money in the stock market and in baseball cards without doing enough due diligence. And real estate, currency, stamps and on and on, traditional or not.

[Huysmans]

Originally Posted by AGuinness

I think it's completely realistic and tangible to say that people put money in the stock market and in baseball cards without doing enough due diligence. And real estate, currency, stamps and on and on, traditional or not.

Sorry, while I agree that people should know what they're investing in, this logic is spurious.
Line up people with money to invest and ask them which they would sooner choose, baseball cards or the stock market... with no knowledge whatsoever of either, most if not all will choose the stock market. Again, one is tried and tested, the other, not in any perceivable way, hence, the comparison is not apt.

[AGuinness]

Originally Posted by Huysmans

Sorry, while I agree that people should know what they're investing in, this logic is spurious.
Line up people with money to invest and ask them which they would sooner choose, baseball cards or the stock market... with no knowledge whatsoever of either, most if not all will choose the stock market. Again, one is tried and tested, the other, not in any perceivable way, hence, the comparison is not apt.

I think the point of comparison with the stock market is that both cards and stocks have uneducated people investing, which is apt because the risk inherent in that approach (regardless of investment type). This thread is not an "either/or" exercise about lining people up to pick sides, as I have read it.
Even so, on this tangent, I might take the side that the sports card market has at least some perceivable way been tested through a few decades of auction house results, even if this testing is in its infancy.

[Yastrzemski Sports]

I would buy the cleanest Babe Ruth ball I could find.

[tschock]

Put it all in pre-1982 pennies. With the current meltdown value of just under 2 cents per penny, you could almost double your money in a few weeks. Just don't tell anyone.

[Huysmans]

Originally Posted by AGuinness

I think the point of comparison with the stock market is that both cards and stocks have uneducated people investing, which is apt because the risk inherent in that approach (regardless of investment type). This thread is not an "either/or" exercise about lining people up to pick sides, as I have read it.
Even so, on this tangent, I might take the side that the sports card market has at least some perceivable way been tested through a few decades of auction house results, even if this testing is in its infancy.

If this "tested through a few decades of auction house results" was in any way whatsoever perceived as legitimate, investors would be lining up, as traders are constantly looking for the newest or next big thing. This is not happening in any shape or form.

And the original question postulated was should people putting money into cards with no knowledge be concerning to others, with the answer I questioned being NOT ANYMORE SO than the stock market....
so yes, there is an either/or as baseball card investments to an endless plethora would be MORE concerning - regardless of knowledge of either - because of the aforementioned reasons given, ie, established market, registered companies, accumulative gains/loses, feasible research and on and on...

[AGuinness]

Originally Posted by Huysmans

If this "tested through a few decades of auction house results" was in any way whatsoever perceived as legitimate, investors would be lining up, as traders are constantly looking for the newest or next big thing. This is not happening in any shape or form.

I think we may be seeing things from a different angle. But from my corner of the hobby (and I am one of the smaller-scale collectors out there), and forgive me if this is addressing a different point than you are making, this IS happening in ways, shapes and forms. Investors do appear to be lining up, and have been. Various threads on this board address the numerous articles by Forbes on investing in baseball cards, collectors here and elsewhere often bring up the specter of "foreign investors" or somesuch when diving into price surges, PWCC has a section on their website for "Investors," the term "investment grade" is now well-established in the hobby, and even threads on this board dating from 2002 discuss investment in cards - and I'm sure there's many many other examples out there.
Anyway, I feel like this is a big tangent on a thread designed to help a board member's family in finding cards to fit their goals, and the tangent is perhaps belabored by now. Apologies to the OP if this has detracted from your inquiry!

[AGuinness]

Originally Posted by x2drich2000

Not anymore than people who blindly put money into the stock market or their 401k without researching the funds they have chosen. People should have a full understanding of what they are investing in regardless of the type of investment.

This is it in a nutshell. More people put more money in blue chip stocks or index funds without due diligence than in sports cards, and I'm sure EVERY investment (or quasi-investment) has a certain percentage of people doing this.
One of my biggest lessons, whether for my PC or cards I intent to flip, is to buy cards that I will enjoy even if the market collapses. I may lose, but I will still have something to enjoy.
With that in mind, I'd also suggest that your family member consider other places to invest this money. From your description, this $10k isn't going to make or break them, so I would ask them what they are interested in or passionate about and find something that they can get personal enjoyment out of. Art, wine, comics, tulip bulbs (ok, maybe not that), vinyl, whatever. This could be more than an opportunity to make money, this could be a chance to develop a hobby and gain more experience and expertise in a field they enjoy.