Cards & Profits

[nebboy]

1st - Your doing the right thing by asking questions. Weather your putting together a great collection, or looking for profits.

2nd - This is a hobby and you can make money from other collector, but not by thinking like a collector yourself. Your never going to make any money buy busting boxs, and selling off what you don't like.

3rd - Buying and selling cards that have a solid stable fan base. HOFs in really nice condition, 52 topps, T206s. New cards prices go way down in a year or so, but really good high grade HOFs just keep going up and up.
Here is my best suggestion save up the price you would pay for 3 to 5 boxs of new cards and by the best Mantle, Mays, AAron, Kofaux, Cobb, ect. Keep it as long as you like and when you go ands sell it you will not lose any money and may make some also. It works and its not as much as you think, when you add up all you spent on cards for the year. You could have bought 1 or 2 killer cards. If you keep this up for 20 years you end up with a collection that you can be very proud of and sell for the down payment of your vaction home. Good Luck and have fun with you collecting - John

[twinsfan48]

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.

good points, but couldn't you increase your profits and total revenue by keeping ur purchases to a percentage that way you aren't always spending that extra profit which would eliminate any profit? i know prolly most don't do this but if you were stictly in it for the money, I think this would be a good rule to follow in order to maximize one's profits.

[twinsfan48]

Here is my best suggestion save up the price you would pay for 3 to 5 boxs of new cards and by the best Mantle, Mays, AAron, Kofaux, Cobb, ect. Keep it as long as you like and when you go ands sell it you will not lose any money and may make some also. It works and its not as much as you think, when you add up all you spent on cards for the year. You could have bought 1 or 2 killer cards. If you keep this up for 20 years you end up with a collection that you can be very proud of and sell for the down payment of your vaction home. Good Luck and have fun with you collecting - John[/QUOTE]

thanks for da good tip...

[twinsfan48]

I know Sportsbuy isn't perfect, but I like the fact that there are not nearly as many fees as Ebay. I wish SportsBuy would get more attention, but the only way to do get more attention is by word of mouth. So, for my 2 cents, I think SportsBuy is an excellent alternative to buying/selling cards.

1) You can have ur own store for free and list as many items as you wish. From your store inventory, you can send them to a auction with a click of the button with all of the info pretty much filled in and uploaded.

2) No insertion fees for auctions

3) For buyers and sellers, they compute a fair shipping rate that doesn't kill the buyer but also covers the shipper's expenses.

Just a few thoughts...

[Stang81]

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.

Normally stuff YOU want to collect isn't what everyone else is buying.

Me for instance, I am a Detroit sports fan. Lions, Red Wings, Tigers, Pistons.

I would love to collect Detroit Lions, but nobody other than true Lions fans want those cards. The Red Wings are the most popular team in the NHL but you either love them or hate them. All Detroit Fans love them and all fans of other teams Hate them.

Look at teams and players that are really popular, even if it is stuff YOU wouldn't normally buy.

Like Sidney Crosby. I acknowledge his talent, but I also dispise his attitude. I personally wouldn't buy ANYTHING of his but his stuff sells well. Even base and inserts and stuff like that.

Same with a player like Lebron or Kobe. Tom Brady or Peyton Manning. They have so many fans who collect their stuff that there is even a market for the base and lower end cards. Sure it isn't much but if you buy Base of any of these players cheap and then put a 5-10 card lot together it might sell for $1.00-$10.00.

Buy teams that are popular or in the playoffs every year like the Ravens, Patriots, Colts, Cowboys, Steelers. These types of teams generally always have a market.

And the last point I will make is that the sports off-season is the time to BUY. Nobody is playing so their awesome play that just made the top 10 on Sports Center isn't going to drive the price of cards.

During the season when you are selling, try to use strategy to list your cards. Its usually a good idea to have an item ending either during a game that they are tearing it up in, or after a game has just ended. (But if they get hurt during the game or just suck then that might not help).

Its all hit or miss in the end. There is no 100% guarantee in the long run that you will make profit dealing in sportscards.

Thanks
Mike

[twinsfan48]

Mike, thanks your great insight. Do you use any software to track your sales, profit/loss, etc.?

I set up an Access database to not only keep track of my cards, but also sales and profit/loss, etc.

[Stang81]

Mike, thanks your great insight. Do you use any software to track your sales, profit/loss, etc.?

I set up an Access database to not only keep track of my cards, but also sales and profit/loss, etc.

I used to be on top of all that back when I actually made a profit.

I just made a spreadsheet on the basic Microsoft Office or whatever program it is. Most computers already have this program.

A few years ago I offered a product called "Mike's Mojo". I had a website and all, it was pretty cool. The majority of my customers were actually here on this board. You might be able to type "Mike's Mojo" in the search and see some pack breaks from the past.

This was the only thing I had ever made sure profit on in my whole 20+ years of dealing with sportscards. I only averaged about $1.00 profit per pack sold, but I also offered FREE SHIPPING and I was putting some sweet stuff in my packs.

They were grab bags and not many other people who have sold grab bags can say they have sold over 2500 packs with many return customers and satisfied customers.

There were a few slow times where packs didn't sell well, but there were times I would sell out 50 packs within a few minutes after release.

A spreadsheet is a helpful tool to use when trying to track your sales and profits. You need to make sure there is a Paypal Fees, and Shipping Costs column on it too.

Thanks
Mike

[dustyshelf]

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.

You can make money off cards, no doubt. The key is to know what product to rip and flip, and when.

1). Research is key. You have to be able to anticipate which releases will be good sellers.

2). You have to buy big, and I mean by cases. It's difficult to rip and flip boxes for any positive gain. By investing in multiple cases, you can sell off the big hits, insert lots, base sets, etc.

3). Sell early, holding is dangerous. Selling in the first week after release can result in a good return. List sets/lots/hits as early as possible. New cards bring out buyers but it won't last.

*note, prospecting is an entirely different animal with an entirely different strategy.

[tutall]

I know Sportsbuy isn't perfect, but I like the fact that there are not nearly as many fees as Ebay. I wish SportsBuy would get more attention, but the only way to do get more attention is by word of mouth. So, for my 2 cents, I think SportsBuy is an excellent alternative to buying/selling cards.

1) You can have ur own store for free and list as many items as you wish. From your store inventory, you can send them to a auction with a click of the button with all of the info pretty much filled in and uploaded.

2) No insertion fees for auctions

3) For buyers and sellers, they compute a fair shipping rate that doesn't kill the buyer but also covers the shipper's expenses.

Just a few thoughts...

I used to list on sportsbuy/naxcom but there just was not enough of a market to sell your cards in to make it worth my time... I made a few bucks a month on it but i had about 50K cards listed (30 percent or so were inserts/GU/Autos) for very fair prices and nothing moved.... Not saying you cant make it work but unless you make it to VIP area and are willing to pay the fees forget it. Everyone on that site is looking for free shipping which you cannot offer until you get to VIP status

[twinsfan48]

your probably right, although I wouldn't know since I don't have 50k cards. lol but nonetheless, I still think it's a good alternative to Ebay. Also, are u saying that they don't move on SB but move better on Ebay? Even if the cards don't move, I still like the fact that I can have my own personal store inventory without worrying about paying any fees to have available to customers online.