Visiting from the Coin Forums - need help
OnlyBuffalos
Posts: 817
The US coin market has become too costly for my wallet and until there is a market correction I plan to give baseball cards a whirl.
From a financial perspective have better/scarcer baseball cards generally held their market value?
Is eBay the best source for commons? What are some good sources for better material? Are there any shows in the Dallas/Fort Worth area? Any recommended dealers in the area?
Thanks for any guidance.
From a financial perspective have better/scarcer baseball cards generally held their market value?
Is eBay the best source for commons? What are some good sources for better material? Are there any shows in the Dallas/Fort Worth area? Any recommended dealers in the area?
Thanks for any guidance.
0
Comments
Shows:
Jun 11 - Dallas Sterling Hotel, 1055 Regal Row, 9-1, 60T, a:$1.00 - Raymond Jones 972-240-2928 rcjones24@juno.com
Jun 12 - Houston Park Plaza - Reliant Center, 10-4, 30T, a:$2.00 - JMV Entertainment 254-774-7185 info@jmventertainment.com
Jun 15-19 - Austin North Cross Mall, W-F 10-9 Sa 11-9 Su 12-6, - Larry Brown 214-641-3384
Jun 18 - Arlington Six Flags Mall, Hwy 360, 10-5, 30T - Kyle Baldwin 817-472-5239 kylevon@comcast.net
Jun 18 - Greenville 2701 St. John, 9-5, 20T - Curt Hazlett 903-455-5293 curtnkate@yahoo.com
Jun 18 - Houston Holiday Inn N., 16510 I-45 N., 9-4, 25T, A: - Howard Lau 281-589-9600 hsclau@flash.net
For more shows go here. and pick up some card collecting mags.
eBay is good especially to find the odd great deal but to find incredible pieces that are graded high but are also sold at high prices take a look at the big dealers.. You'll see their adds in the magazines and if you look around on this forum for a bit you'll see some of them being mentioned.
Groucho Marx
It has also become a way for collectors to get the most out of their collection....SELLING TO OTHER COLLECTORS. Case in point. I have a 64 topps mantle psa 8 up. Upon listing it I asked a seller i know a few questions about how to sell since i mostly buy. He inquired to what I was selling and I told and showed him the scan. He asked how much and i said 800. He came back and said that sounded high and he thought 650 was a great price....650 shipped. I knew that I could get more for the card...lets flash back to 1990...no internet...and what would i do? Id SELL IT TO HIM FOR 650. Instead I put it up for auction and its up to 795. Now dont get me wrong I like this dealer....I really do.....He is a good guy to talk to but he is running a business and he will try and make profit off everything at the expense of the collector...me. Ebay allows us to bypass that and get our own money back. He is not sentimental at my plight of needing to pay off that grand i spent in the last month while on vacation so I must do what I must do. Its a sorry state for the dealer who decided to make a living off this hobby...I would NOT want to be in there shoes. One day id love to open up a shop as a hobby..after I retire or shortly before when i wont have to work as many office hours....but it will never be more then a hobby for me...as dealers wont be pushing the profits on anything less then mickey mantle 52 topps cards that you cant find on ebay.
On an interesting note....I hear 707 has a suitcase full of 52 mantles in all grades....and it would take a hit on fort knox to get him to part with the higher graded ones......all i got to say about that is...hope God lets him take them with him in the afterlife....
loth
You have asked a good question and will get quite a few different responses.
How about a few more questions?
First and foremost: Are you looking for a hobby or a place to invest your money?
Second: How much do you want to budget - the area of the sports market that has done the best is High
End - and thus, quite costly. Truth: this market like others, to a degree, is tied to the economy - having said that - real high end stuff sells even in a "bear market" IMO.
Other questions may be predicated on the first two questions. Personally, I believe that the "dividend" for collecting is the "fun" of finishing a set or finding a certain card, e.g.
But, if you choose to jump in - I wish you luck and hope we can be of assistance.
mike
To answer some of the questions asked:
Probably like most collectors, I am primarily intested in a collecting challenge (hobby) but when it comes time, for whatever reason to sell, I would like to recover some/most/all of the cost (don't want to take too much of a bath).
The coin market has been especially lucrative the past 5 years and have around $25K for this new hobby.
So far, Bowman Baseball, 1950 and 1953 look interesting in PSA-8 or PSA-9. I still need to learn more about grading standards and to be able to distinguish between high end and low end for the grade, etc. before I purchase anything.
There appears to be a great deal in common between collecting coins and baseball cards.
Any additional help/suggestions is most welcomed. Thanks.
Moss
Oscar Wilde
Collect for the love of the hobby, the beauty of the coins, and enjoy the ride.
Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.
<< <i> So far, Bowman Baseball, 1950 and 1953 look interesting in PSA-8 or PSA-9. I still need to learn more about grading standards and to be able to distinguish between high end and low end for the grade, etc. before I purchase anything. >>
Sounds like you have good taste - 53 Bowman Color is one of the nicest sets ever made - the Reese and the Bauer/Berra/Mantle have always been favorites of mine.
One word of caution though, you may want to familiarize yourself with the so-called "low pop" cards. These are cards that there are few graded examples of (usually commons) yet the SMR still reflects their value as the same as other - easier to find commons. Whitey Lockman comes to mind here - the "book" value on a PSA 8 is $575, yet he's sold for as much as $7,100!
Brian
<< <i>
<< <i> So far, Bowman Baseball, 1950 and 1953 look interesting in PSA-8 or PSA-9. I still need to learn more about grading standards and to be able to distinguish between high end and low end for the grade, etc. before I purchase anything. >>
Sounds like you have good taste - 53 Bowman Color is one of the nicest sets ever made - the Reese and the Bauer/Berra/Mantle have always been favorites of mine.
One word of caution though, you may want to familiarize yourself with the so-called "low pop" cards. These are cards that there are few graded examples of (usually commons) yet the SMR still reflects their value as the same as other - easier to find commons. Whitey Lockman comes to mind here - the "book" value on a PSA 8 is $575, yet he's sold for as much as $7,100!
Brian >>
That's true Brian
And that may be one of the "pitfalls" of the highend graded set - the pops can change and one could buy a card for 7 grand and be worth a few hundred down the road?
mike
That is so crazy, yet so true Stone. I didn't know that about Whitey and I just got back a '59 as an 8. Either way, with a passion this is the best HOBBY in the world. As an investment, you probably could find better places to lay your $$. If its the chase that excites you, this may suffice. You probably won't hit paydirt but if you do your homework and actively and intelligently persue your chosen set(s) you probably won't take a bath. And hey, you may even enjoy yourself. Good luck and remeber to never trade Buffalo nickles for Buffalo chips.
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