Great Investment: Unopened boxes of 03-04 basketball

KallMaloneSay

If you can resist the temptation to open them up, any boxes of 2003-04 basketball major brands should be a very good investment if sold a year to twenty years down the road. This is one of the best draft classes ever, and the major products from 1996-97 and 1998-99 (Kobe/Iverson and Vincanity/Nowitzki) were around two to three times their original price two years after their release. No matter if you're a LeBron hater or not, the fact is he was the best High School basketball player ever and there is no reason to beleive that he won't be one of the top ten players of all time (don't worry, major free agents will want to play with him in the next few years, so Cleveland will become a dynasty). Carmelo, Bosh, and Wade all appear to have potential Hall of Fame talent, and Darko and Barbosa appear to be greatly underappreciated thus far as well. This is a once in every twenty-thirty year draft (the 85 draft with Jordan, Olajuwon, Barkley, etc was the most impressive in my book).

Buying unopened boxes of SPx, SP Authentic, and Bowman/Bowman Chrome should be easy money. I like Sweet Shot and UD Glass as sleeper products also; Sweet Shot has three LeBron AUTO's and a Jersey while Glass has an AUTO, a dual AUTO/Jersey, and four other jerseys of LeBron. Let's bring this thread back in a year or two from now, mark my words. (Oh yeah, just basically go for Upper Deck products so you got a shot at LeBron AUTO's and Jerseys, and keep those boxes sealed).
Jason

KallMaloneSay

Oh yeah, even better would be to buy a sealed case and put it in the closet for a few years; buyers will pay a premium per box if sold as an entire case as witnessed by a 2001 SP Authentic FB sealed case that sold a few months ago.

Rainman

i agree, and think it's true for baseball as well. now if only i could resist opening the packs/boxes.

Jmnesq

What happens when Lebron and Carmelo pull a Vince Carter? The basketball market, more than any other, seems to be a "what's the flavor of the month" type hobby.

helionaut

If you mean "pull a Vince Carter" by seeing his best RC shooting up to four figures in value, then you should sell at that time. If you wait for him to slide back down to low 3 figures, then you would not be an astute investor. Investment means buying in order to sell at a profit later. If you just want to hold onto them, then you'd be a collector.

I don't think there's much room for Lebron's (or Carmelo's) prices to grow right now. I mean, what else is he likely to do this year? ROY is a foregone conclusion built into his prices. MVP? That might earn a bump, but I don't know how likely that is to actually happen. But the point in investing in these products isn't so much Carmelo or Lebron, but all the other talents that people will "discover" next year or the years after. It might actually be better to wait till after the season is over and the next draft comes and the excitement over this year's crop dims and see if prices soften. Then when this year's rookies do start winning championships or MVPs, there could be a big resurgence. That is a big if on the prices, though. And picking the right product to get the best return might be tricky, too.

joestalin

agreed with the above, I think the ceiling is now, and the only thing that is going to propel these
guys are rings, and that isn't going to happen anytime soon. Rookie hype only lasts so long and
if that hype doesn't carry into playoff time, then no one cares. Remember how hot Ming was
last year before the season started?
JRich...Miles...Brand......Baksetball is NEVER a wise investment.

JS

goodriddance189

you could say the same about rookies from most sports, save for the top tier stuff like SPA and Ultimate. the problem with investing in unopened product now vs. several years ago is the short printed rookies. if i planned on picking up a high end LeBron a few years down the road, i would buy the card, not a box. the odds are too low to pull a LeBron and it'd be much cheaper to just buy the card. take '01 SP Authentic FB...i dont know what unopened stuff sells for, i would imagine its around $350/box. you could either buy 5 boxes, or the money card (Vick Patch/AU Rc) for around $1500. sure, you might pull something spectacular, but the odds of pulling a Vick are way too low. the last true solid unopened investment ive seen were '99 Bowman Chrome Series 2, and 96-97 Topps Chrome basketball.

helionaut

2002 Bowman Draft Picks was pretty nice at $70 a box when it came out, and it has so many prospects it has a half-life of at least 4 more years. Even after Dontrelle-mania died down hobby boxes go for around $125. It has the best RCs of a ton of great prospects and when they get to triple-A or the majors, it should heat back up even more.