Investment Potential

[Robextend]

I don't think you can go wrong with high grade rookie cards of Koufax and Clemente.

[MVSNYC]

as others have mentioned above...ruth, cobb, gehrig, mathewson, mantle, joe d, etc.

i personally would take the $5000 and consider getting a great Ruth or Gehrig signed piece. at that price level you're looking at signed cuts, postcards or checks (with full PSA or JSA LOA). i'd put the piece away and forget about it for a few years...it will NOT go down in value, will most likely go up and give your friend a nice return.

if your friend wants something more modern, i also like Jeter now, you can get a great game-used bat of his for under $2000...in 3-5 years (as he eclipses 3500 hits) i see that same bat (PSA graded 8 or higher) AT LEAST doubling in price. just my opinion.

[drc]

A quality game used baseball bat could be a fair investment, in part as that hobby is growing. You could get a real nice Hall of Famer bat or bats for $5,000. Gameuseduniverse.com is a good collector's site for game used, with many knowledgeable collectors and dealers. Plus, the Mears Auctions often have a good variety of stuff.

One thing is to make sure your initial purchase price is good. A rising market value can be killed by originally paying too much. And, on the other hand, you could still turn a profit on a stable or falling market value if you originally purchased at a bargain. Getting something at a bargain price is always a good thing for the pocket book, whether you're reselling tomorrow or investing for five years.

If you're buying a Willie Mays game used bat, obviously there aren't going to be any half off coupons or Target blue light specials, but be conscious of wanting to pay a fair going price. I won't predict future values, but if you purchase a quality genuine Willie Mays bat, there will still be good demand for such an item in five years.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by drc

One thing is to make sure your initial purchase price is good. A rising market value can be killed by originally paying too much. And, on the other hand, you could still turn a profit on a stable or falling market value if you originally purchased at a bargain.

This is what I was thinking as I read the answers. This statement can not be overstated .

[packs]

I don't think 3-5 years is long enough to make any kind of substantial profit. If you think about it, most of these cards have had to wait nearly 100 years to acrue the value they have. Your friend will have to be more patient.

[Matt]

Originally Posted by packs

I don't think 3-5 years is long enough to make any kind of substantial profit. If you think about it, most of these cards have had to wait nearly 100 years to acrue the value they have. Your friend will have to be more patient.

I think plenty of 100 year old cards have gone up quite a bit in the last 5 years; had one invested wisely 5 years ago they would have done quite well.

[uffda51]

All good advice. By all means, don't invest in 1981 Donruss.

I would stick with dead guys. There is nothing new to be learned about Mantle, Ruth or Cobb that could cause their prices to plummet. Current players? Who can say?