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Tuesday, March 3, 2020

A straight up investment

I know the words "investing", when mixed with "hobby", create quite the visceral reaction, especially on Twitter. There are some who are firmly in the camp that collecting cards is a hobby and only a hobby. There are some who want to stock up on all he latest prospects now, taking a more investment-based approach.

I fall in the middle. I don't chase massive hits and open cases of the latest looking for Vlad Jr and Tatis and Wander Franco. But I don't get upset at people who do. Everyone collects for different reasons. Some to actually collect. Some to make money. Some to do both.

I recently bought an autograph of a Yankees prospect that I have no intention to keep.
It's not that I'm not a huge fan of him. I've been advocating for Clarke Schmidt for a long time. I have a lot of his cards, specifically autographs.

However, this one doesn't mean much to me. It's just another card. Emotionless. It's a sticker, it came from some on-demand product, and it's not one I particularly care to own. But Schmidt is having a fine spring and showing massive potential.

And it's numbered 7/10. That's nice. I have every intention of selling this card once he makes it to the majors or the hype train picks up while he's in the minors. And it might not. There's always risk, especially with pitchers. And Yankees pitching prospects. And he's a pitcher who had TJ Surgery before. It's a risk.

At worst, I bought a Yankees autograph for $24 that will sit in my collection. At best, I'll sell it for twice that or more and buy something I'd rather have, such as a Jorge Posada or Rickey Henderson autograph.

Investing? Hobby? Whichever. It's all gambling, and I just placed a futures bet on Mr. Schmidt, whether I keep the card or not.


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5 comments:

  1. The Bucs Stop HereMarch 3, 2020 at 4:29 PM

    Nothing wrong with an investment! I do the same thing. I try to buy low on some guys on the Pirates that I think have potential and could explode some day soon. If they don’t, well, just another card for the PC.

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  2. Zippy ZappyMarch 3, 2020 at 7:27 PM

    "Whichever. It's all gambling"

    Now there's a slogan.

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  3. P-town TomMarch 3, 2020 at 8:56 PM

    Investment or not, Mr. Schmidt could spend a little more time on his auto. Yikes.

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  4. FujiMarch 4, 2020 at 9:04 AM

    Best of luck. I've got no issues with flipping cards for a profit. I know a few people who sell sports memorabilia to help pay the bills. I actually wish I had the motivation to do it, since a lot of my flea market pickups are perfect flipping material. Maybe one day.

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  5. JonMarch 4, 2020 at 11:16 AM

    As long as they're not stolen from some retail outlet, I don't really care what people do, or don't do, with THEIR cards. I have a terrible track record with picking out future stars, so I stay away from the prospecting, but have no problem with those who are able to profit from being able to accurately predict who's going to be the next big thing.

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