Cards & Profits

[grayrob8178]

Is it possible for a non-dealer to actually make a profit on cards?

It seems like the regular collector doesn't have a chance unless he hits a big card that he doesn't mind selling.

Seems like to make money, you have to buy products/brands strategically and these products may not even be something you want to collect.

[JesRey]

If i wanted to right now, i could make a pretty nice profit on my Toney Douglas PC.

Also i have a small Tyreke Evans PC that i will be selling once he wins R.O.Y. and hopefully i make some profit off of those

[hhliving1101]

I think it is if your Buying Ind. cards, Not boxes that's a Lottery Shot.

[Rybowski]

It is definitely possible. Got to think of the hobby as a smaller stock market. If you can snag some cards of a player and then that player blows up, the want of that player will be where the profit will be. Just be careful on who you choose.

[bobsanders2120]

Look for bad listings on ebay. i bought a shonn greene ultimate triple patch and an ultimate auto on ebay for pretty cheap because the sellers spelled his name wrong. I listed them on ebay and am hoping to make a profit.

[twinsfan48]

I think the key is to focus on smaller segments; if you narrow your focus, you can better see profitable cards, players, etc. that you may be able to take advantage of and make a profit.

[bouncer]

Another thing I look for is a people selling lots of different cards. Pickup the lots and break them up.

I've also had success at selling my 2010 UD and Heritage doubles on e-bay. I typically let the buyer pick 7 cards he wants from a list and I usually start the auction out at .99.

[asujbl]

A "true profit" over the long haul? Very doubtful - you'll end up just spending what profit you make so you aren't really ever going to realize any true income off it...

Can you flip items to make enough "profit" on them to buy other things? Sure

As early as last Sunday you could buy Jason Heyward Bowman Chrome RC Auto's from anywhere between $85-105. I watched about 25 sell in that range.

After Monday the same items are going for, at minimum, $160.00

Point being. If you happen to have a few Heywards you could have turned a few hundred dollars profit.

It's rare - but possible.

[Stang81]

It is almost impossible to make a profit on cards.

Here are a few ways you can make profit.

1.) Buy a few packs, hit a sweet card and sell it for more than you paid for the packs. (Its a long shot since the ratio for Scrubs:Stars is about 10:1 at least).

2.) Search eBay....either items freshly listed with BIN prices that you feel are a good deal. OR items that are ending within a few minutes. (Many times there are so many cards on eBay that people can't buy EVERYTHING they want. If you budget for cards that are under $10 you will find many that you will think are good deals).

3.) Decide what you can afford. If you can afford it, usually the more money you can spend....the more money you can make. You might spend $1000 to make $100 profit (on a single card) or you might buy 10 cards for under $10 each and then sell them for at least $10 and gradually the profit will add up.

The thing that is so tough is seperating your profit from your spending cash. It is easy to say "Hey, now I have $200 instead of $100....I can buy more stuff or higher quality stuff" but then its hard to keep track of your profits.

Back in 2003 when I quit my job to deal only in sportscards my thing was buying cases and selling out the boxes. I normally made $10-$20 profit per box sold and cases usually had 12-24 boxes so at the time $100-$200 profit wasn't bad.

This tactic really only works when you are dealing with a new release because eventually there are bigger dealers who can cut their prices down and still make profit.

And with cases, you can also bust them open and sell the singles but this is also hit or miss. I had success with Topps Pristine, Playoff Honors and a few others. But you have to do this when the product is a new release also and set most cards with a BIN that you feel is fair. With new products, EVERYONE is shopping for that particular set at the time (like now with Exquisite, there are tons of people focusing only on that brand right now) and since it is new you can kinda steer the market value with BIN prices.

Thats probably enough from me..... lol

Hopefully this helped someone. It is difficult to make money in the Sportscard "Business".

eBay is a buyers market and generally the lowest prices anywhere. If you have a market outside of eBay and outside of the internet (like a small shop or outlet where you can deal with customers face to face) then you might be able to make profit.

How many people hear this EVERYTIME they are trying to sell something here....."I am ONLY buying if its less than eBay prices".

Guess what? If you buy stuff on eBay only to have people want to pay you LESS than eBay then you are going to be broker than a joker before you know it....

Thanks
Mike

[Stang81]

And I forgot to mention.

If you are SELLING on eBay then your profits will be cut down by FEES.

I recently sold $56 worth of cards on eBay and its going to cost me $18.75 in FEES. Now I need to sell a card for $20 JUST to pay the fees.

They should change their name to "FEEBAY"

Thanks
Mike