Making money while in the hobby

[Buschmaster]

I'm into the hobby, I like collecting in general. But, I would like to make money on the hobby as well. What are the best ways? I was thinking the ways are...

Buying random packs and selling the cards inside them on ebay or here
Buying boxes and selling the cards inside them on ebay or here
Buying boxes and selling the packs inside them on ebay or here
Buying cases and selling boxes on ebay or here
A certain combination?

Here is what I was thinking, see if you guys can spot flaws...

I was thinking I'd buy a box like Hardcourt or Reflections and opening the packs and then selling the cards on ebay and here for a while. Maybe I would only make so much money on this for a little while. Would I make money on it, really? Then the idea was that once I've made some money off this or around this summer I could start investing in some cheaper cases and selling some boxes in those and maybe opening a box in each case to sell individual cards and keep building my own library.

Thanks for any help, guys!

[movel23]

I don't want to sound skeptical but generally opening packs and boxes doesn't yeild the cost of the box itself unless you get lucky and pull something nice... I know a lot of store owners will buy individual cards at extremely cheap prices and sell those online, usually they buy something that's hot at the time, exquisite or wade for instance.. .hope that makes sense.. but good luck whatever you choose to do!

[jeremy17]

exquiste.You buy an exquisite of a player unknown then when he starts playing well you resell for more.I know a guy who made a ton on k-marts and they say the next guy to make his money is C.J miles.

[sportsguyryan]

Wouldn't reccomend trying to make money on basketball, much easier on football.

[the_future]

Wouldn't reccomend trying to make money on basketball, much easier on football.

I completely agree. It will be ALOT easier in football. I have been ripped off a lot when I have purchased boxes in basketball. For example, I bought a 05-06 UD Hardcourt box for about $60-$65, which at the time was a fair and decent price. I got a GU of a no name player (Jamaal Magloire) and an auto of C.J. Miles. I could have bought each of those for $3 a piece of ebay. I knew it only came with 1 auto and 1 gu, but I expected better players. In football, it just seems like you have more of a chance at pulling a nice gu or auto of a big name player. Good luck!

[coolguy69]

Yeah man, basically what everyone else is saying. NEVER buy boxes in order to try to sell what you pull, other than maybe Exquisite, but that's really high end. IMO, the best way to make money in the hobby is to buy boxes/cases of strong draft classes in all 3 sports and sit on them for a while. They almost always go up in price as they become less common. Take the 03/04 Exquisite cases now going for 15,000. Insane. The other way is to do your research and buy players that you think have excellent hobby potential. For example, a backup quarterback that may get his shot after a veteran retires, or an underachieving basketball player that you think may break out. It's tough to do, but completely possible. You just have to become familiar with price trends and some of the obvious stuff, like buying cards in off seasons, such as buying football during baseball and baseball during football, etc...

[jeremy17]

I completely agree. It will be ALOT easier in football. I have been ripped off a lot when I have purchased boxes in basketball. For example, I bought a 05-06 UD Hardcourt box for about $60-$65, which at the time was a fair and decent price. I got a GU of a no name player (Jamaal Magloire) and an auto of C.J. Miles. I could have bought each of those for $3 a piece of ebay. I knew it only came with 1 auto and 1 gu, but I expected better players. In football, it just seems like you have more of a chance at pulling a nice gu or auto of a big name player. Good luck!

I'd be interested in the c.j miles if its ft!

[jeremy17]

Yeah man, basically what everyone else is saying. NEVER buy boxes in order to try to sell what you pull, other than maybe Exquisite, but that's really high end. IMO, the best way to make money in the hobby is to buy boxes/cases of strong draft classes in all 3 sports and sit on them for a while. They almost always go up in price as they become less common. Take the 03/04 Exquisite cases now going for 15,000. Insane. The other way is to do your research and buy players that you think have excellent hobby potential. For example, a backup quarterback that may get his shot after a veteran retires, or an underachieving basketball player that you think may break out. It's tough to do, but completely possible. You just have to become familiar with price trends and some of the obvious stuff, like buying cards in off seasons, such as buying football during baseball and baseball during football, etc...

Yeh what he said lol.How bout these guys for examples Tony Romo and Kevin Martin.

[sportsguyryan]

If you play fantasy football, you'll know if there is a guy who will be a first year starter on a new team or something. Pick up some of his $5 autos and see how well he does (hint hint michael turner free agent hint hint)

[slamma3]

Some Dealers use other people to help sell their cards and then pay them a commission (usually 10%) on whatever they sell. The dealers usually hold onto the cards and all you basically do is find buyers for these cards at the prices the dealer supplies you with. The buyer contacts the dealer and you get you commission monthly. It is an easy way for someone to make some money and never have to spend a dime for the cards.