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Modern Sports Card Investing 101: Everything You Need to Know (2021) SCIU EP. #1

Sports Card Investor・42 minutes read

Jeff Wilson educates newcomers in sports card investing, emphasizing the importance of licensed cards and popular sets for investment. Various factors like scarcity, card types, and patch distinctions impact card value, with grading and sealed boxes crucial for successful sports card investing.

Insights

  • Key brands like Topps, Panini, and Upper Deck are essential for investing in sports cards, each holding licensing for specific sports leagues like MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL.
  • Grading, done by companies like PSA and BGS, is crucial for certifying card condition and authenticity, with gem mint as the highest grade, influencing card value significantly.

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Recent questions

  • What are the recommended brands for sports card investing?

    Topps for MLB, Panini for NBA and NFL, Upper Deck for NHL.

  • How can I track sports card release dates?

    Easily tracked on sites like Cardboard Connection.

  • What types of cards are essential for investing?

    Base cards, parallels, refractors, variations, inserts, serial numbered cards.

  • Where can I find detailed checklists for sports card sets?

    Online resources like Cardboard Connection or Beckett's website.

  • What are the benefits of investing in sealed sports card boxes?

    Scarcity and demand dynamics make it a profitable venture.

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Summary

00:00

Sports Card Investing: Tips for Newcomers

  • Jeff Wilson, founder of Sports Card Investor, aims to educate newcomers in sports card investing and collecting.
  • Officially licensed cards, featuring team logos, are crucial for investing, with Topps for MLB, Panini for NBA and NFL, and Upper Deck for NHL.
  • Various sets and brands are released annually, with over a hundred different sets each year, such as Prism, Optic, and Bowman.
  • Focusing on popular sets like Bowman for baseball prospects and Prism, Optic, and Select for basketball and football is recommended for investment.
  • New sets are constantly released, necessitating awareness of release dates, easily tracked on sites like Cardboard Connection.
  • Understanding card types like base cards, parallels, refractors, variations, inserts, and serial numbered cards is essential for investing.
  • Scarcity drives card value, with rare cards like short prints, photo variations, and serial numbered cards being highly sought after.
  • Hobby boxes, sold at premium prices, often contain valuable cards compared to retail boxes found in big box stores.
  • Investing in rookie cards or first prospect cards is advisable, with rookie patch autographs being highly sought after, especially in high-end sets.
  • Autographs and memorabilia, like jersey patches, can add value to cards, with distinctions between sticker autos, on card autos, game worn patches, and player worn patches affecting card value.

16:48

Maximize Value: Understanding Sports Card Boxes

  • Game worn patches are the most valuable, followed by player worn patches and patches not linked to a specific player or event.
  • The type of patch can often be identified by checking the back of the card, where the manufacturer typically discloses this information.
  • Cards originate from sealed boxes created by card manufacturers, who distribute them in sealed boxes.
  • Various types of boxes exist in the sports card hobby, including hobby boxes, retail boxes, and cases that contain multiple boxes.
  • Retail boxes are found in big box stores like Target or Walmart, offering different types such as cello packs, blaster boxes, hanger boxes, mega boxes, and gravity feeds.
  • Hobby boxes, sold through local card shops or online, are more expensive but offer guaranteed hits like rare parallels, autographs, or memorabilia cards.
  • Always purchase factory-sealed boxes to avoid tampering, ensuring the manufacturer's logo repeats on the seal for authenticity.
  • Avoid buying individual packs due to pack searching and weighing issues; focus on sealed boxes for a better experience.
  • Utilize online resources like Cardboard Connection or Beckett's website to access checklists detailing all cards in a set before purchasing a box.
  • While buying and opening boxes for fun is enjoyable, investing in sealed boxes and reselling them later can be a more profitable venture due to scarcity and demand dynamics.

32:06

Comparing Sports Card Values and Grading Techniques

  • Apply a multiplier to a rare Joe Burrow card to estimate the value of a rare Justin Herbert card.
  • Use the same technique to compare card values across players, parallels, and grades.
  • Sports Card Investor's Market Movers product breaks down ratios between grades, players, and variations.
  • Online card breaking involves companies selling box pieces, opening them live on platforms like YouTube or Instagram, creating an interactive experience for viewers.
  • While online card breaking is entertaining, it's not a sound investment strategy, akin to a slot machine pull.
  • Grading is crucial for sports card investors, certifying a card's condition and authenticity.
  • Graders assess corners, edges, centering, and surface to assign a grade, with gem mint being the highest.
  • Popular grading companies include PSA, BGS, SGC, CSG, and HGA, each with unique grading scales and specialties.
  • Graded cards are favored by investors for their certified condition and authenticity, simplifying the buying process.
  • Understanding grading nuances, population counts, and the value of different grades is essential for making informed investment decisions in sports card collecting.

47:51

"Sports Card Investing and Collecting Apps"

  • Sports card investing and collecting discussed
  • Recommended apps: Sports Card Investor app and Market Movers app
  • Encouragement to subscribe and hit the bell icon for notifications on upcoming episodes
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