Figuring Out Your “Right” Way to Collect

When I first got back into the hobby in 2020, there was one thing I had more questions about than anything else:

How should I spend my money in the hobby?

And honestly, it took me several months to figure out how to balance:

• What are all the ways I can spend my money?

• Which ones are worth it?

• What actually brings me the most enjoyment?

• Can I make some money with this, too?

So today, I’ll dive into a few different ways people enjoy the hobby, and I’ll share what works for me after spending thousands and thousands of dollars on stuff that doesn’t bring me as much joy

And a quick caveat: I don’t look down on any way to collect. I only look down on people who try to say their way is best. My might not be the best, but sharing might help give you some clarity.

Pure PC Collectors

These are the people who collect only for “love of the game.” They often have a player, team, college, or other category to collect. I’ve seen people collect cards with hilarious pictures, players with interesting names, and even criminals. Whatever floats your boat!

These people (in my experience) tend to look down on the flipper mentality and think breakers and the like are ruining the hobby. I bought my son his first box of football cards, and he pulled a $30 card. We sold it, because he doesn’t care about sports (he’s 6) and wanted the money to buy on toys. I shared the story in this newsletter, and I got a few comments from people disappointed in me for letting my son sell a card.

Anyway, I know there are plenty of you reading this who only buy and never sell cards. Definitely a viable (and the most traditional) way to enjoy the hobby!

Thrill of the Chase Collectors

This is the most addictive segment of collecting, and it’s often where new collectors start.

When I first came back in, I didn’t really know how to collect. That might sound weird, but all I knew as a kid was buying packs of cards at a local hobby shop.

So, I just started buying boxes (mostly retail) and started joining breaks.

And man, I can tell you, it’s so much fun. There’s a thrill that I love.

However, after doing this for a while, I realized that I had spent $2k in a few months’ time with very little to show for it. And trust me, that $2k wasn’t extra money I had lying around. It got a bit out of control.

So, I’ll admit this portion of the hobby is fun, but for me, it’s all about moderation. Ripping boxes is a lot of fun, but I avoid breaks like the plague. It’s like when I’m on a diet and my wife wants pizza for dinner—no way am I saying no.

Flippers

These are the people who are in it for the money. There are plenty of ways to flip cards, such as:

• Buying and selling single cards

• Holding onto boxes until they increase in value

• Grading cards and selling

• Cracking open slabs and regrading

• Opening boxes and reselling the singles (hard to do and requires tons of work, but I’ve seen people make this work)

The flipping that I primarily do is buying individual cards and reselling them (ideally) a few months later. Online marketplaces, such as eBay, make it very easy to find inventory and then resell later on the platform.

Some people like to focus on live selling on sites like Whatnot, or they set up at card shows. There are plenty of ways to do sell, but I personally focus on eBay.

(If you’re interested in learning how flip for profit, you can pick up a copy of my book on Amazon.)

Hybrid Model

Let’s spend some time here, because this is where I landed—and most collectors land, too.

For me, the most fun in the hobby is doing a little bit of everything (minus breaking, which isn’t for me).

I flip cards because I like the grind and I like making money! I primarily buy & sell on eBay. I also love having a variety of nice cards in my collection, even if it’s only for a few months until I flip them.

Then, I use some of the profit there to fund my PC. I primarily collect:

• #’d autos from the Top 75 NBA players list.

• Cool Lakers cards. I especially like cards with Laker history or multiple players, like the ‘08 Topps with LeBron guarding Kobe or the LeBron Prizm where he’s doing the Kobe tribute dunk.

This is going to sound like a “duh” moment, but I’ve really fallen in love with spending money on a specific card rather than buying a box and crossing my fingers for a home run!

Rather than spend $200 on a hobby box, I can add a few cards to my PC that go in my display case. What are the odds that the $200 box results in cards that fit my PC? Practically zero. And what are the odds I make my money back on that box? I’d say 10%. Ripping and breaking is so fun in the moment, but I often regret it afterwards.

I’ve bought too many boxes or joined breaks where I spent good money to get a few cards I throw in a box and don’t think about again.

However, I still love ripping boxes. For me, the best situation is getting a box on my birthday or Christmas, and then the occasional box to rip with my kids (that I pay for with flipping profit).

That way, it doesn’t feel like I spent money on the box. If I get skunked, it doesn’t sting as much. Especially since my kids love all the non-keeper cards that I give them!

How Do You Collect?

For most, you’ll probably go through a calibration period in figuring out how you want to enjoy the hobby. If not, I’m extremely jealous!

Anyway, I’d love to hear how you enjoy the hobby!

Buy/Sell Targets

This doesn’t constitute investment advice, more just a window into my overall strategy as well as for entertainment purposes. All pricing and screenshots are taken from Card Ladder—the only pricing & inventory tool I use.

✔️ Cade Cunningham 🏀 - He’s up a good amount over the past year since he proved he’s a legitimate star. However, I think the hobby is still sleeping on just how good he is. He’s averaging 28 points and 10 assists on the team with the best record in the east! Yet, his PSA 10 Prizms ($50 - $60) are still cheaper than Amen Thompson and Devin Booker. On a team winning this much, he’ll get his shine, and prices will continue to head upwards.

❌ Amen Thompson 🏀 - Speaking of Amen Thompson, it seems predictions of him rising to superstar status were premature. He’s not playing poorly, but 18 points, 7 rebs, and 5 assists so far means he’s probably not hitting stardom this year. Here’s how I’d play it—I’d sell now to capitalize on the crazy hype (see the chart below for his PSA 10 Prizm prices) but then keep an eye for the hobby to get tired of waiting for the leap. If you’re sold on him being a star (I’m 50/50), I’m predicting you’ll find opportunities to buy back in.

❌ Will Smith ⚾ - He’s an outstanding player who’s not quite at an MVP level, so I’d sell now after the heights and heroics of the World Series. I sold an auto of his just a few months back for $60…I’ve seen the same card sell for $100+ recently. It’s a good time to let go.

❌ Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ⚾ - He’s a very good player who almost won the MVP 5 seasons ago. He’s probably better than Will Smith, but it’s the same thing: capitalize on a great postseason run where his pricing increased considerably. Odds are, he’ll never be that close to a title again (and probably won’t play that well again on the way).

Quick Hits

News From Around the Hobby

+ Most Graded Vintage - We know about Wemby, Luka, Ohtani, Zion, Ja and others with crazy numbers of graded cards, but what about vintage? I never would’ve guessed that a Rickey Henderson rookie would have more than 66k of them graded—more than double second place on this list!

+ Bo Knows His Best Cards - If you’re a fan of Bo, you’ll want to see his top-5 coolest cards. Did you know he has a card co-signed with Jim Brown? Or another insert found in a cereal box with Gretzky and Jordan on it, too?

+ 1/1 Inscription - “Sell this back to me for $10 and I’ll give Sixers tix.” That’s literally what Jared McCain wrote on a 1/1 auto 😂

The Best (and Worst) Ways to Protect Trading Cards

A ton of collectors are sifting through their collections for the first time in 20 years, desperately wishing they knew how to protect sports cards better!

I know I wish I had—out of my 6k cards, I only sent in 12 for grading. I have a Kobe rookie (pictured below) that would honestly grade as a PSA 2 or 3 because it’s so beat up…[Keep Reading]

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The content in this newsletter is for entertainment purposes only and is not intended to be actual financial or investment advice.