When did collecting turn into a way of investing and making money?

[Bilko G]

For me, living in Canada, it was the 1985/86 O-Pee-Chee Mario Lemieux RC. I got my first Hockey card price guide, i believe it was called the Charlton Hockey Card checklist and price guide somewhere shortly after 86 or maybe 87. The Lemieux RC booked for something like $6 and i thought it was really cool because i owned 4 copies of it.

[sbfinley]

To answer your question I would say that decade between 1983-1993 was the heyday in which card collecting merged with honest investing. It was during that time that mass-produced rookies were hoarded by people who started to notice what the cards their moms threw out were worth. It was also during that time that the T206 Wagner invaded the national conscience as the preeminent sports collectible.

On a personal note.

For years I bought cards that didn't fit into my collecting focus by telling my wife "it was a good price", "I can flip it for a good profit", or "It is a sound investment." Never have I ever sold a card for a reason other than funding something that did fit within my focus. For some reason I can't bring myself to part with cards easily. I'm too attached to them, with or without fitting within my collecting focus.

Precious metals are a different story. I have found that with a little searching I can find silver and palladium for under or close to spot price and I have no attachment to them so unloading is stress free. Also, splitting my disposable hobby income between cards and metals has made me more concise in my collecting habits and opens up more funds for my collecting focus when I sell.

[rainier2004]

Originally Posted by sbfinley

For years I bought cards that didn't fit into my collecting focus by telling my wife "it was a good price", "I can flip it for a good profit", or "It is a sound investment." Never have I ever sold a card for a reason other than funding something that did fit within my focus. For some reason I can't bring myself to part with cards easily. I'm too attached to them, with or without fitting within my collecting focus.

That sounds about right.
I feel as though I force myself to think of it as a business sometimes to rationalize my spending. Yesterday I bought an expensive card included with a lot. The card is arguably too "nice" for my current set, and figured to sell immediately to help pay for the rest of the purchase. In less than 4 hours the card found its permanent home on my display and now i have a payment plan for the card...its sweet though! Still not a business.

[bcbgcbrcb]

1981 Topps Fernando Valenzuela & Tim Raines rookie cards................

[Chris-Counts]

The first cards I recall being hyped as money-making ventures were the 1954 Topps Aaron and the 1963 Topps Rose rookie. This was in about 1976 or 1977. I believe the Rose rookies were faked at about this time a well, a sure sign that money-making was becoming a bigger part of the hobby ...

[pitchernut]

3 to 4 years after ebay came online.

[CMIZ5290]

My biggest failure from an investment point was 1987 bellingham griffey rookies. I bought 15 or so back in the late 90's, all psa 10's, sgc 98's, and beckett 9.5's. The market value on them then was $2000-4000. Beckett 9.5's at the time were bringing the most because they were the new kids on the block and their prices were really ringing the bell. I still have 10 or so left and would kill just to get 30% of my investment!

[Exhibitman]

I attended my first show in 1976 and was setting up at shows by 1978. It became an investment around the time the first price guides came onto the market and took off when (1) the key 1950s rookies and desirable cards soared in price and (2) modern rookie cards became a craze. By 1980 the race for cardboard gold was on in full force. I recall buying a 1953 Topps Mays for $25 in 1976 and being able to flip it for $500 in 1980. 1981 marked the start of the multiple issuer modern cards and the Fleer error cards like the "Craig" Nettles soared in value. Then came the rookie card thing, which hit its stride with 1984 Donruss and Don Mattingly and peaked with the 1989 UD Ken Griffey Jr. I'd characterize that as more the penny stocks phase of things; lots of people made money on short term trades of rookies but anyone who held on to those cards thinking they had a nest egg were sorely disappointed [should have invested in a solid American company's stock, like Braniff Airways]. Since the hobby has spawned full time dealers, price guides and the National it has become an entrenched business. There was an [in]famous Sports Illustrated artice about Alan Rosen and another study by some economists that determined one of the best ROIs over a decade had been old baseball cards. People who are in the business of selling the general public stocks, bonds and other casino bets grudgingly will admit that baseball cards, art and other collectibles are "nontraditional investments" but will advise their marks, er, clients to allocate no more than 10% of their investment money in it. Ebay was another boon to it IMO as it adds liquidity to the market and eliminates middlemen. It is possible to engage in the equivalent of short term trading with Ebay: spot an undervalued or misrepresented item, snag it, flip it.

[Fred]

I think my first introduction to the rookie card craze was when I was happened to be in Tucson in 1984 and Scott Bradshaw (I think it was him) was ripping through huge amounts of 1984 cellos, wax or vending boxes trying to extract the Don Mattingly cards and selling them for a couple of bucks a piece. I was absolutely stunned that someone would pay a few bucks for a nobody because it was their first appearance on a baseball card. I never got into the rookie card thing but I do recall buying a lot of (100) 1984 Dan Marino rookies for about 39 cents each and then selling and trading them after they went ballistic.

The funny part was the when everyone was knocking themselves over the rookie cards the vintage stuff was still relatively cheap. I could never understand why someone would spend $35 on a bunch of "rookie" cards when they could have picked up a decent T205 of Matty for that price.

I've definitely bought more than I've sold but I regret selling a lot of the stuff that I did have just because I could make a bit of money off of what I paid for the cards. I've let a few really nice things go, for example a full run of 52T semi-highs (minus Mays) in at least ExMt+ condition.