WNBA Caitlin Clark cards…
Leeroybrown
Posts: 480 ✭✭✭✭✭
I am interested in the group thoughts on the three of these cards and which one would be the best to hold onto and which ones would be best to move now and why? The origins is numbered to 49 and only has three psa 9’s Graded at this time, and I know this series is a Condition rarity. The select courtside silver is also a very tough and scarce as well with only five Graded PSA 9 And only five graded PSA 10 Currently. The autographs are always in high demand also…
Please let me know thoughts!
Thx in advance!
0
Comments
Long term - 10 years and out I would not invest one cent. Anyone who invests money in WNBA cards for the long term will most likely lose a lot of money.
One thing I learned about investing decades ago: If someone is telling you to buy/invest in something make sure they are also buying/investing in it. If not the opinions should not be taken serious.
No comment.
.
I think they're all pretty cool. I never sell anything so I have no advice for you. Just like the cards.
Im confused…. Why comment, “no comment”…
If you have something to say, say it or dont leave a comment at all…. Im very confused
Sorry. Caitlin was a contentious topic around here some time ago. I'm rather impressed with her. If I was an investor, I'd buy and hold. She'll be pushing values up. Hang on to your cards.
.
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1107429/caitlin-clark-s-autographed-wnba-rookie-card-sells-for-eye-popping-amount/p7
Entertaining thread if you have a couple weeks to sit down and digest it all. Reactions to what you said probably have a little to do with this thread
If it was me, I dont know what WNBA cards sell well, I would research which sets are popular and are selling for decent prices whoever the player is using eBay Sold searches. Can get tricky switching sports or leagues because for football Panini Prizm is strong but baseball no. Think NBA Prizm is popular but not sure on WNBA. Would assume so. Low pop can get tricky cause maybe it does not grade well or is scarce or maybe the set is not one that has a lot of interest. The auto feels like a winner as auto cards command a premium but its raw so you would just have to take a loupe or magnifying glass to it and make sure there are no serious indentations or scratches creases dings that could make it a PSA 6. If it is Mint or better condition I'd lean that way as the keeper.
Sincerely,
Jim Croce
Another way to look at this. If this is for investing would buying WNBA cards be a better investment than buying Mickey Mantle cards in PSA 8 condition. This should take about 5 seconds to figure out.
Would be pretty boring if we all collected PSA 8 Mantles, even if they would be the best investment. Not sure how that is relevant to a question on which of three Clark cards will do best over time.
OP - I’d look at recent sales, number of bidders, to get a sense on market demand.
Ok instead of Mantles how about Ted Williams, Aaron, Mays, PSA 9 rookies from the 70's, vintage football cards, vintage basketball and hockey cards and so on.
Investing thousands of dollars in a league that is not popular and has never shown a profit is probably not a good long term investment. The guy is asking for opinions and I don't want him to lose a lot of money which he most likely will if this is a long term investment.
The OP asked about 3 cards. THREE. Sheesh.
.
Sounds to me like he already owns them - he’s asking which ones to move and which to hold.
Jim
good to know the WNBA is still not profitable at the very least.
I think modern cards of a star a couple seasons into their professional career are going to be a volatile item. The Origins is my favorite of the 3.
this is absolutely the truest truism of card collecting. We've all been guilty of hoarding a hot young phenom with visions he'd be the next Mantle or Clemente, but then he turns out to be the next Alvin Davis or Mark Prior.
I cant say I have a strong opinion on whether Caitlin Clark cards will work going forward from today but in terms of WNBA investing and young currently playing player investing, I'd look at how it has worked for past WNBA players. A Sue Bird card just sold for $6,355. What was the price of that in 2002 her rookie year? If it was like 20 to 50 bucks I'd say yeah, pretty profitable street to go down with a winning investment.
Would also be careful with the idea of the cards cant go up in value if the WNBA has never been profitable because some cards have gone up a lot while the league itself is not turning profits. That breaks the statement the cards cant go up in value if the league does not make money.
People can always say what the better investment is but it comes down to what you are looking for. Do you want safe stable, something with the highest floor or something with the highest ceiling. Mantle Mays and Aaron cards are not bad investments for sure. But if you have 20/20 forward vision there are always better investments than those players. But noone can see the future. We guess and if we are right that is a huge massive increase in value. Caitlin Jayden Daniels Aaron Judge Shohei C.J. Stroud Corbin Carroll Bo Bichette Jasson Dominguez J.J. McCarthy Wemby Caleb Williams Juan Soto Jackson Holliday Marcelo Mayer Cam Ward. Maybe some of those cards have 1000% upside in the next 3 to 5 years. Some may go down in value 50 to 75% or already have since their peak. Some may continue to do great things but you are too late cause first ballot HOF and two more MVPs or Cys have been factored into the current price. So do you want to walk in the casino and play craps and bet on a single number on the roulette wheel and dont care if you walk out with empty pockets or do you want a bond or a mutual fund where the likelihood of losing significant money is small or not a possibility?
Fair enough. Don't hold any of them for the long term.
My man, if I could predict the future as well as you think you can I'd have my money in about 100 other things than baseball cards, and I would not have a job either!
If you were given 10K as a gift and were forced to invest in one particular player and had to hold the cards for 10 years would Clark be in your top 10. How about your top 20? Top 30?
Yup.
.
Does Charizard count as a player? If so Caitlin may be 21.
While I'm asking what about Evil Eddie?
College football cards are here. And soon to come is volleyball and pickleball. Don't be surprised .
Pokemon and non sports cards are both good investments. Nothing wrong with that and they both have a history of long term profits.
I used to buy Pokemon boxes when my kids were little during like 2009-2018 and give them packs when they were good or just because kids are fun. Boxes of that stuff used to be so cheap on eBay.
Okay then, my list
Sorry Caitlin, missed this cut.
The last two big card shows I attended in Southern California with over 500 tables had at least 50% of the tables just selling Pokemon cards. Since I don't collect them I was a little disappointed but there's no doubt that Pokemon is very popular and a lot of the cards sell for big money.
Oh goodie, now it's a Pokemon thread.
.
The Origins is the only card I like of those 3 and I think sticker autographs are trash. I would get the Origins auto'd and inscribed in person as a collector. I don't know enough about how people value those autographs, but I think the Origins should be the more valuable card of the 3.
Honestly, if you want a Clark card in your collection, I would probably sell all 3 and get something that is more popular among collectors. The Origins looks nice but for WNBA, Origins hasn't really gained any traction. Not saying it won't in the future, just hasn't yet. Having an auto is great... except it's Draft Picks and will never hold a candle to regular Prizm. The Select (edited) .... IS the courtside so probably the best hold of the 3, even in a 9.
I would probably sell those now then wait a while while prices drop a bit then pick up a 10 of something in regular Prizm. I haven't followed prices after the first couple weeks after release but I assume prices have come down. Gives you some time to do some research and decide what catches your eye and what you would like to keep in your collection long term.
For those that think there is no long term value in WNBA cards, you really need to do some research. There are and were a lot of collectors before Caitlin came on the scene. I'm willing to bet the owner of COMC probably has be biggest collection of WNBA Prizm gold cards out there. He's not been afraid to put a lot of money out there. Not sure about his end game but the collection has to be insane.
For those that think there is no long term value in WNBA cards, you really need to do some research. There are and were a lot of collectors before Caitlin came on the scene. I'm willing to bet the owner of COMC probably has be biggest collection of WNBA Prizm gold cards out there. He's not been afraid to put a lot of money out there. Not sure about his end game but the collection has to be insane.
I have done my research and anyone putting big money into WNBA cards and putting them away for at least 10 years is playing with fire. If they want to buy and flip them that's something different. There's to many negatives and very few positives for WNBA cards to be considered good long term investments.
I discussed this with a dealer at a recent show I attended. He was telling me and another potential customer that Clark cards and some other WNBA cards were hot items that would go up in value. I asked him if that's true how come he's not holding his WNBA cards instead of selling them? Of course he had no answer to my question. The opinions of short term flippers who talk up their product should not be considered by serious investors.
In the mid 90's I thought Nolan Ryan rookie cards were a great long term investment. I bought as many of them as I could and I was not flipping them. I was buying and holding them. A couple of years later I had a couple of kids and had to sell my entire collection. I made 10 x my money on the Ryan's. If I still had them I would have made 100 X my investment.
Looking forward to Caitlin's second pro season tossing up bombs from halfcourt.
.
My point was that none of us can predict the future. I learned many many years ago that I don't have any ability at all to predict what things will do, where prices will be and what assets will do what. I mostly learned that the hard way unfortunately.
If someone gave me $10K tomorrow to invest it 100% would not be in any trading card of any kind.
If it had to be spent on cards then that depends on my appetite for risk. Do I choose the cheaper one that might run the highest (with the most downside unknown) or do I go the blue chip route. Since I only buy vintage I'm not really the person to ask about that choice.
Of course we can't predict the future. All we can do is look at the past and look at the data and make the best choices we can. I can't see any data that would indicate that WNBA cards would be a good long term investment. Also using common sense I can't see the WNBA ever making consistent profits or becoming a league that most sports fans will watch. I have said this ample times I'm in law enforcement and work with hundreds of die hard sports fans that spend 6-8 hours watching football every Saturday and Sunday and who also watch the MLB, NHL, and the NBA. NOT ONE watches the WNBA. The league is considered a complete joke by the men I work with.
We have discussed this before so there's no reason to discuss the many other reasons again. The OP wanted opinions on the Clark cards and I gave my opinion. If some of you disagree that's fine but before you give the guy advice to spend more money I sure hope you are also spending ample money on the same cards. Otherwise IMO the opinions don't mean anything.
Most prospecting / rookie card collectors get smashed on long term value. How are Morant or Zion cards doing? Some have lost 90% of value.
So ya, safe bet that values decline. Again, not sure that is relevant to the OP’s question , which was answered very well a few posts above.
I thought he asked what card is best to hold onto? My opinion was none of them especially for the long term. Regarding your comment about Morant and Zion this is just one of the many reasons I would not invest in WNBA cards. Modern cards are extremely risky for long term investing.
Don’t disagree with that at all
Sell all 3 as fast as you can.
We found common ground - very nice.
OP wanted an opinion of 3 cards and turns into a WNBA bash & investment thread.... typical, hobby is now all about the $$
**
****This was the question the OP asked:
I am interested in the group thoughts on the three of these cards and which one would be the best to hold onto and which ones would be best to move now and why? ****
**
He asked why and I gave reasons why I felt this way. Of course it comes down to money, If the cards only cost $10 then who cares but when collectors are spending hundreds and thousands of dollars on a card money will always become an issue.
Some folks can have a complete meltdown about it.
.
Oh No I can't choose. What am I going to do ????
Caitlin Clark has changed womans basketball. For years the woman has been going into the HOF. Card collectors now go after the card in the registry. Many of the high grades are going for 1000's. Many are low pops. Thus, the big bucks for the Sue Bird card.
1948-76 Topps FB Sets
FB & BB HOF Player sets
1948-1993 NY Yankee Team Sets
Mickey Mantle is one of the top 10 greatest baseball players who ever lived. Candace Parker or Clark are not even in the top one million basketball players who ever lived. Comparing the two is what crack smokers do.
How many people who are buying the WNBA card are going to hold the card for at least 10 years? I would be surprised if there's more than a handful at most. If they do they should be prepared to lose at least 50% of their investment.
I'm currently watching the March Madness games with 12 of my work buddies. I just showed them this thread and they are dying laughing. To compare any WNBA player to Mickey Mantle is beyond crazy. One of my buddies who is at my house right now would smoke Parker or Clark in a one on one and yes I would put money on it.
Hi Buddies! Which one of you is coughing up the $100?!
.
I always felt that I could have dominated in the Special Olympics.
Amazing you continue to repeat this when it is utterly irrelevant.
So for the record, people were crazy to care about Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Serena Williams, Steffi Graf, etc. because they couldn’t beat men?
Best beware what you say to him or he will bombard you with hate-filled messages like he did to me.
.
I’m so glad I waisted my time posting on this thread…. Thanks for the help guys…. Never mind. I will figure it out.