"Only the obsessive compulsive or the insecure egotistical feel the need to collect things."
After almost 19 years of collecting, I have decided that it is time I stop dawdling and actually put some focus on my collection. I will most likely restart my collection from scratch. In doing so, to keep things simple, it will be a player collection. I will be concentrating mostly on Jordan Shipley - the Bengals 3rd round pick in 2010. He's a Wes Welker type of receiver - quick moves and good hands. A very good slot go-to guy for 3rd downs and clutch situations. He's a Bengal, so yeah, WHO DEY! I may add other players later on as time and financial resources dictate. I don't need every card - just the nice-looking ones that would be within the focus of my new collection - a collection that is nice to look at and doesn't cost me an arm, a leg, my left nut and first-born.
I started collecting in December 1991 and have learned many things about this hobby the hard way. Not everything that glitters (or refracts) is gold. I just have to make sure I don't go overboard. Depending on financial stature, obtaining the most expensive card(s) would not be a smart move.
I made this page mainly to keep track of my new collection.
A couple of years from now I hope to start collecting Marcus Lattimore (RB, South Carolina Gamecocks). He's a BEAST - and he's still only a freshman.
I started collecting in December 1991 and have learned many things about this hobby the hard way. Not everything that glitters (or refracts) is gold. I just have to make sure I don't go overboard. Depending on financial stature, obtaining the most expensive card(s) would not be a smart move.
I made this page mainly to keep track of my new collection.
A couple of years from now I hope to start collecting Marcus Lattimore (RB, South Carolina Gamecocks). He's a BEAST - and he's still only a freshman.
Sportscards As An Investment - My Personal Philosophy
"Bulls make money. Bears make money. Pigs get slaughtered."
As an investment, sports cards are bullshit. I first started this way, believing sportscards were a goldmine and that all I had to do was to buy them cheap, sit on them for about 5 years at most as they mature, and then collect at a delusional percentage growth of at least 300%. Yeah, I admit I was a sucker back then. I learned. Now you got all these new suckers, some of who are absolute assholes because they are so righteous in thinking that baseball cards equal the stock market. Well, if that's the case, then how come when my stock is selling at $2, I can go to my broker and sell my stock EXACTLY for $2. But if a baseball card was going for $2, then 1) you have to find a buyer for that card and 2) since it's a buyer's market, no one wants to pay retail and may even think such "small potatoes" is not even worth their time and effort, then you either lower the price or you are stuck with it.
So... Just who exactly is the broker in this hobby that you can go up to and sell your 50-cent commons for exactly 50 cents a piece?
It's just a piece of cardboard. They are not gold or any type of precious metal or commodity. Just cardboard. Get over it. Done? Good. Now we can talk.
It's a hobby, just a simple distraction from the everyday hum-drum routine of life. It shouldn't cost you an arm and a leg. If it does, then you have a problem, just as a gambler has a problem. If you are in it for the money, then you are NOT a collector. Your best shot is keeping that new product moving in and out of your hands as fast as possible. Don't be pig and get greedy, because if you get too greedy you will get slaughtered. You buy when everyone is dumping, you sell when everyone is demanding. Simple as that. And just like a successful druglord, don't fall in love with your own inventory. If you can get cash for it, you sell it. No ifs, ands, or buts.
Owning is the card is what is supposed to get you high. Owning is what it's all about, not the money you think you can get straight up just because some price guide tells you its that much. Try buying a Happy Meal with a Sam Bradford rookie card. Or even a bag of chips with several commons.
"The mother of all evil is speculation."
If you want a so-called "investment", then I recommend rookie cards of backup QBs. These are the true diamonds-in-the-rough. You can get them cheap because everyone else usually concentrated on the following positions:
1. Starting quarterback
2. Starting running back
3. Starting wide receiver
Even the defense gets more attention than the backup QBs. But that's okay. That's what you want, because when the star goes down, all eyes will be on the understudy. And if the understudy does well, you can see a dramatic increase in demand almost overnight. The product I recommend for this kind of investment is Exquisite. The RCs that come out of this product tend to have the highest demand rate for any player hitting the spotlight. Those RCs in the shadows tend to be more expensive than other RCs, but it has a bigger rate of gain. If no RC exists in this set for the backup QB you are looking for, then I suggest Upper Deck SP.
As an investment, sports cards are bullshit. I first started this way, believing sportscards were a goldmine and that all I had to do was to buy them cheap, sit on them for about 5 years at most as they mature, and then collect at a delusional percentage growth of at least 300%. Yeah, I admit I was a sucker back then. I learned. Now you got all these new suckers, some of who are absolute assholes because they are so righteous in thinking that baseball cards equal the stock market. Well, if that's the case, then how come when my stock is selling at $2, I can go to my broker and sell my stock EXACTLY for $2. But if a baseball card was going for $2, then 1) you have to find a buyer for that card and 2) since it's a buyer's market, no one wants to pay retail and may even think such "small potatoes" is not even worth their time and effort, then you either lower the price or you are stuck with it.
So... Just who exactly is the broker in this hobby that you can go up to and sell your 50-cent commons for exactly 50 cents a piece?
It's just a piece of cardboard. They are not gold or any type of precious metal or commodity. Just cardboard. Get over it. Done? Good. Now we can talk.
It's a hobby, just a simple distraction from the everyday hum-drum routine of life. It shouldn't cost you an arm and a leg. If it does, then you have a problem, just as a gambler has a problem. If you are in it for the money, then you are NOT a collector. Your best shot is keeping that new product moving in and out of your hands as fast as possible. Don't be pig and get greedy, because if you get too greedy you will get slaughtered. You buy when everyone is dumping, you sell when everyone is demanding. Simple as that. And just like a successful druglord, don't fall in love with your own inventory. If you can get cash for it, you sell it. No ifs, ands, or buts.
Owning is the card is what is supposed to get you high. Owning is what it's all about, not the money you think you can get straight up just because some price guide tells you its that much. Try buying a Happy Meal with a Sam Bradford rookie card. Or even a bag of chips with several commons.
"The mother of all evil is speculation."
If you want a so-called "investment", then I recommend rookie cards of backup QBs. These are the true diamonds-in-the-rough. You can get them cheap because everyone else usually concentrated on the following positions:
1. Starting quarterback
2. Starting running back
3. Starting wide receiver
Even the defense gets more attention than the backup QBs. But that's okay. That's what you want, because when the star goes down, all eyes will be on the understudy. And if the understudy does well, you can see a dramatic increase in demand almost overnight. The product I recommend for this kind of investment is Exquisite. The RCs that come out of this product tend to have the highest demand rate for any player hitting the spotlight. Those RCs in the shadows tend to be more expensive than other RCs, but it has a bigger rate of gain. If no RC exists in this set for the backup QB you are looking for, then I suggest Upper Deck SP.
Self-annointed "Supercollectors"
In a sense, the Supercollector is a god. No god has to announce themselves as gods. Only a poser would do such a thing. A god can cause awe without effort and such a collection would cause that effect. Otherwise, "self-annointed gods" are just false idols craving for worship from others to rid themselves of a self-induced inferiority complex. You can't call yourself a millionaire with just $50 bucks to your name. You are fucking moron if you think otherwise. Same goes for supercollecting.
You can't collect EVERYTHING, so please get over yourself and be happy with what you have.
You can't collect EVERYTHING, so please get over yourself and be happy with what you have.
Just ask yourself.....
How many times did you buy something only to find out later that you could really do without it?