Help with higher end card purchases
 

I am one of the ones that got back into the hobby in 2020. Except this time I quickly gravitated to vintage and have been here ever since. But I have mostly been collecting lower end cards. The most I have spent on a card to date is about $750. My wife and I have recently agreed to up my card budget to allow for a few higher end cards per year (2-3k per card). I am looking to you all for advice. Do you have any advice for someone new to this higher end price? Also, do you have any recommendations on cards to look at? While I am collecting, I do want these cards to appreciate over time. Trying to think through if I should go after some higher grade easier to find cards from late 50s and 60s. Or if I should look to the lower grade tougher cards like a short print 53 Mays. Any other good short prints to look at?Or maybe a combo of both strategies.

So, open door here… any advice or thoughts?


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when you mentioned the word 'appreciate over time' - it seems like more of a investment. If so, you can't go wrong with a Mantle card.
Now if for just enjoyment to collect, go for what you like,
but try to buy the better centered cards and better sharp corners, then again eye appeal is all that matters.
Its up to you to decide if this is for pleasure or investment.

If looking for longer-term investment, growth, and safest cards to invest in (least likely to drop in future value), the newer saying is pretty much true. Buy the highest condition card, of the most well-known, famous, and/or iconic/HOF players, in the most popular and highly collected sets, you can afford!

And if not looking for safe, long-term investments, and are truly just a collector/hobbyist not concerned at all with future value or value retention, simply buy what appeals to you and that you like and makes you happy.

And also, if just a true collector/hobbyist, buy the card and not the holder. But the exact opposite is often truer if you're more interested in investment and value. In that case, you may want to look more at the holder than the card itself.

Good question. My purely collector/hobbyist budget is still fairly low and I will remain in the lower end cards there. These few bigger cards a year will sort of serve a dual purpose with a blurry line between hobby/investment. We believe that financially we will never need to sell these bigger cards but want to buy cards that hold their value well in case we do. For example, if in 15 years, we don’t quite have a semester of college covered for my girls, we can sell a card to assist. I am buying hoping to never sell but need that as an option just in case.


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Good question. I should have put this in my original post. Check out my response to BobC.


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Then I would follow my advice in post #3, and regardless of whether you have a big card budget or not, still always try to buy the best condition graded card you can afford. If you can't afford a card for a certain player/set in a 7-8 condition/grade, maybe just a 3 condition/grade, buy one in the 3 condition/grade, and don't just settle for a 2 (or lesser) graded condition one of that exact same card that you could possibly have gotten cheaper. Again, nicest graded condition of only the best/greatest players possible, from the most popular/collected sets. Consider it similar to buying a blue chip company stock versus buying a more volatile, speculative, or fairly new, more unproven company stock.

And if the card(s) you do end up buying following such a plan also happen to satisfy that collecting itch, and make you happy as well, then that is a super win-win!

And for the sake of transparency and honesty, being more of a set collector, I do not myself religiously follow and employ this exact same methodology of always only buying the best card, of the best players, from the best sets, when it comes to cards I acquire and collect.

Thank you


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IMHO this is a bad idea. Invest your $ elsewhere. When all the older collectors die the market will be in decline. There are many middle aged guys with money to throw around right now. Look up population reports of most desirable cards made after WWII and you will see none/few are truly rare. Most of the rare ones are on the fringes of the market and carry little value comparably. The market is currently overrun with guys wanting to be better than the next. That rarely ends well unless you are the seller. Notice how people applaud the ebay authenticity guarantee system when it stops buyers from returns. Those are the types of sellers you will be buying from at your price point. They don’t want it back even if you are unhappy.

Thank you. This is helpful and getting me thinking of the other side of the coin. Based on your view that you presented, if you were going to buy/invest in cards as a blurred hobby/potential investment, where would you put your money?


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Pre WWII.

If you’re focused on liquidity and maintaining value then your best bet is usually going to be popular issues of popular players. And vintage all the way.

Probably won’t make a killing on it, especially if you’re buying in today, but the odds are better that you won’t lose your shirt.

As was mentioned earlier, if investment goals are high on your list of needs, then I would be hesitant to suggest that you invest much in cardboard. A little here and there, maybe. As a hobby, sure. But anything where you need it to perform for you financially, and I agree that cardboard may not be the best choice.