Signed rookie cards

bigjed

Been collecting baseball Hall of Famer signed rookie cards for the past few years like many others. All my cards I buy raw and get signed through in person signings or TTM. Now, the primary reason for doing this is because I am a collector. But at the same time I can't help but look at the number of other rookie cards being signed by the players. Seems like it won't be long when the most common autographed card by said Hall of Famer is his rookie card. With the flood of signed rookie cards the value on the secondary market should fall.

Signed cards of players who passed away before or during the early stages of the signed rookie card craze will maintain or increase in value. But I can't help but think will I ever recoup the value I am putting into the collection. (Again, doing this for fun and will continue to do it but can't help but consider the monitary aspect to the collection.)

Any other signed rookie card collector wonder what the future looks like for this niche hobby?

YogiBerraFan

You will probably make money on some and loose on others depending on how much you pay for certain autos. People that collect but also do their best to not loose money if they ever sell draw a line at how much they will invest in the total cost of a signed card. On average a person who collects just to collect and have fun never gets back what they paid for their collection. It is like that with most hobbies.

VitoCo1972

I share your feelings about paying ridiculous prices for an ever growing supply of signed RC's. It's largely why I became a set collector.

bcubs

Unless you're doing this for a living, and it sounds like you're not, I wouldn't worry too much about losing money. If you like collecting it, keep collecting it for the enjoyment it brings you. Of course, i don't see them losing value just because more of them are signed than other cards. An autographed rookie card of an HOF'er probably isn't going down in price.

edmundfitzgerald

The key to any hobby is not to be overly concerned with making or losing money.
Sure, no one wants to lose 50% on their hobby purchases, but I would not be concerned with making or losing money.
Keep it simple, spend as much as you can afford to lose, and enjoy.