Making money in the Hobby (CDN user)?

[adampeps]

Hi all,

Getting back into the hobby a bit but am also looking to supplement my spending as well .

I've read quite a few threads on different ways people make money with sports cards (prospecting, grading and re-sale, etc). I am in Canada so the hardest thing for me with either of these approaches are:

Prospecting - seems to be mostly baseball as you can purchase prospect cards. Since the market is mostly US based i'd assume most sellers/buyers would rather deal with a US member (plus i'd have more expensive shipping).

Grading - I like this but it's expensive, again especially from Canada with the customs, shipping to and from BGS, etc.

So I guess that leaves flipping cards, unless there are other ways i've missed? I'm just curious if I am wasting my time with eBay fees and all of that and am curious if any other CDN members could chime in?

Thanks!

[clvc0017]

Welcome back to the hobby.

I am not the best person to answer this, but if I can give you my opinion, your best bet is to open product on release day and sell the cards you do not plan to keep right away. If you have the first of something, it moves and it moves quickly.

If you do manage to hit a big value card, and want to sell it, grading it is a good option still, but make sure you are good at judging the card before sending it in for grading. I have never done this before, so I cannot give you much more info.

That being said, if you are looking to make money, you're looking at this wrong cause a hobby is just that - a hobby. You're spending money, not making money, to obtain things you like to collect. If you want to offset some of your money being spent, sell what you don't want and sell quickly. But if you're keeping most of your bigger, more valuable hits, don't expect to recoup much money back.

[Stryfex]

I hate to represent the hobby as less attractive to someone...but this is the absolute worst hobby I can think of for making money. You'd be better off with Magic/Pokemon if you want to have a chance at making some money. Hockey is just such an ultra-niche hobby that there's no way that's not an extreme gamble to actually make money. This is one of those ones for people that love it for the fun and enjoyment it provides

[creasecollector]

I hate to represent the hobby as less attractive to someone...but this is the absolute worst hobby I can think of for making money. You'd be better off with Magic/Pokemon if you want to have a chance at making some money. Hockey is just such an ultra-niche hobby that there's no way that's not an extreme gamble to actually make money. This is one of those ones for people that love it for the fun and enjoyment it provides

This is a very good (and necessary) point to make. Glad it was said.

I think if you want to make money, then hockey cards will probably make you end up shaking your head more often than not. The best way would be to buy a product and re-sell right off the bat, but even they isn't a guarantee at all as value can drop very quickly on cards.

I would say, if you want to enter this hobby, enter it as that. A hobby.

Especially for us Canadians, grading would be super expensive with the brutal exchange rate and all. Unless it's for a massive McDavid hit, or something of the sort, it's almost not even worth it. But I'm no grading expert, so I could be waaaay off. Please someone correct me if I'm way off base here.

If you want to pickup a bunch of cards for your PC, then maybe downsize when/if your collection gets more specialized or specific, then that could be a way to help finance your newly emerging PC, and it can work, but don't expect to get much ROI (Return On Investment) on the cards when you first purchased them. Maybe 1 of 10 might sell for a little higher, depending on what and who you buy, but you'll usually take a loss on the majority of it.

[Leafsman]

I hate to represent the hobby as less attractive to someone...but this is the absolute worst hobby I can think of for making money. You'd be better off with Magic/Pokemon if you want to have a chance at making some money. Hockey is just such an ultra-niche hobby that there's no way that's not an extreme gamble to actually make money. This is one of those ones for people that love it for the fun and enjoyment it provides

+1

I've always thought you were better off getting a financial adviser and playing the stock market...your odds of making a lot of money are better than trying to sell a piece of cardboard.

[Maggot]

I'd say it's a bad sign if you have to ask ;)
If you're still looking to try it, I'd recommend taking a small amount of money and see if you can make a profit on it. Track all expenses like fees and shipping. If you're able to make money on X amount of dollars, scale up a little bit, so on and so forth.

[RGM81]

The best way for a person in the hobby to turn $160 into $30 is to open wax.

[canucksfan007]

Do not open wax. Your money wont go anywhere this way unless you hit it big early, then quit. Never touch wax unless its just for your own enjoyment.

Here is the easiest / safest way in my opinion to making money.

1 - Pick a player that isn't too high, but whos team has a chance of getting to the 3rd round

2 - Buy rookies only, and only rookies if the player is on the team he was drafted by. Look at a player like Seguin, he's done much better statistically since his move to Dallas, yet his rookies would be much more expensive if he was still with the Bruins. Don't expect any spike with Seguin unless the Stars make it to the 3rd round, and even then, unless he is the clear cut superstar carrying his team to the Western Conference Finals .... players like Benn / Klingberg .... maybe even Janmark or one of their younger forwards might see a higher % upswing in values because their rookies are pictured with the Stars.

3 - Buy right now ( best time during the summer ), and during the season if he isn't having a breakout year ... and plan to sell during the playoffs. This means you need to make your predictions now. Pick a handful of players that you think have a good chance at being in the 3rd round next year, and hopefully one will cash in.

4 - Don't buy the garbage rookies. Do your best to stick with mid end UD rookies, and higher end only Panini rookies. Buying 3 lower end Panini True Auto Rookies is much worse than buying 1.5 SPA FW Au RCS of the same player. For UD - Young Guns / Spx RC Au Jerseys / SPA FW / SPGU True Rookies / higher end if you want to invest more. For Panini - Dominion / National Treasures ..... possibly stuff like Silhouettes, but avoid the crap like Totally Certified, Prime, Rookie Anthology ..... they are all shorter printed than most UD mid tier auto rookies, which makes them look enticing, but Panini has so many of them that their values are just killed by all the similar sets.

A team right now that is incredibly low is Colorado. Are they are 3rd Round bound team? Not even close. But their season was so terrible last year, it killed players values. Before Pickard was claimed by Vegas, I thought he was a very cheap buy that could turn into something. Now being with Vegas, I wont touch him. The only guy most likely not on the table is MacKinnon, which has the chance to become a Superstar that will probably stick with the Avs.

[pigskinpete]

Lol a drug dealer once told me I'd make a great dealer because I don't do drugs. If you want to make money selling cards, don't collect them. The temptation to spend money on your own PC once you've sold something is too great and overwhelming. Also the risk is too high and often times what you thought was a great card that could bring $1000s ends up being discounted to the point where it doesn't pay for the pack you pulled it from. My LCS has no PC and no idea on the value of any singles, he deals in packs, boxes and cases of profit........ Just my 2 cents

[Absolutebeauty]

Statistically, if profits are your goal, I think you're probably better off becoming a professional slot machine player.

+1

I've always thought you were better off getting a financial adviser and playing the stock market...your odds of making a lot of money are better than trying to sell a piece of cardboard.