Under The Radar Basketball Cards (investment)

[hauntedcomputer]

To me future "investment" (an iffy word to use in connection with a hobby) will depend on which way newer ultramodern collectors go after getting burned badly on overpriced, overproduced slabs.

Will they go a tier down into 90s inserts, or into the 80s? I would guess Star cards really have good potential in that scenario, but with far too many speculative factors involved (Will PSA ever grade them? Will they ever get mainstream attention? Will AI grading ever be able to accurately detect fake Jordans?). Compared to the 80s stickers, the pops of Star cards are relatively stable and known and rare. Most importantly, those are what I call "gap year" cards that cover some of the greatest. 87 set further hurt by lack of rookies that drive set values and collector appeal.

Or will modern collectors recognize the tremendously rare-in-comparison cards of 48, 57 and 61, players they may know little about? Or will they see 70s basketball as undervalued like I do, but I think their value growth has been pushed forward too much over the past couple of years and basically most cards will be waiting for the next generational boom in 20-30 years.

Probably some of each, but my guess is most will leave the hobby like they did in the 90s crash. So my strategy is to only buy what I like and only spend what I can afford to lose completely. If the market vanishes, I still have what I like and don't have to guess.

Good luck!