Hello,
I posted a thread a few days ago saying that I'm new to the collecting game. I want to thank those of you have responded as it was a great help.
I just have another kind of generic question that I"d like a few people to elaborate on.
As a new collector looking for valuable cards that I could potentially sell one day and ones for my own PC... Where should I start buying?
Should I buy just singles, packs, or boxes?
I'm looking to spend maybe $20-$50 a week or two on new cards.
With the lockout this year I know that new cards are delayed till the end of this month, so what should I be buying?
I just don't want to waste my money on packs that I shouldn't bother with.
Please help!
anyone?
Singles. For value you are safe with MJ, Kobe, Lebron, HOFers and star rookies. For PC, well, whatever you like team or player wise. Whatever you like most about the NBA is what a PC usually ends up being obviously. Welcome and good luck!
Ya my advice is if you go pack\box route at all to only do hobby. Thats one regret I have of my earlier busting days...I'd walk into wally world or target and walk out with bags full of blasters and be stuck with a lot of junk.
Best advice ever ... find a product you really like, and save up for a case ... usually 12 boxes, depending on the product!
Not only is it an insane amount of cards/hits and a ton of fun busting all those packs/boxes, you almost always end up with something special.
Especially if you go with Panini these days, as Durant, Griffin and Kobe are all exclusive signers.
(And no, I don't work for Panini. And yes, I realize there would be a lot of redemptions. I, for one, have never had a redemption issue with them.)
Also, you always have trade bait/stuff to sell as the season goes along.
Plus, it would give you something to look forward to every year. Or, charge it on a credit card and pay it off month by month until the next year's comes out.
If I had it all to do over again, that is exactly what I would do. Good luck ... RJ
In the end, it's all up to you man! The best way to get cards/teams/brands you want is undoubtedly to buy singles and/or lots. Some of us on the board, and we know who we are, just LOVE to bust wax despite the fact that we are unlikely to make our money back unless we hit a big pull or two. The mystery aspect is fun!
You sound like you like busting the wax as well but are conflicted because you seem to realize you won't hit your favorite cards that way. I'd suggest putting the bulk of your funds towards the singles you want, and then occasionally splurging on some wax to bust. Worst case scenario there is you get mostly the cards you want and can hopefully trade your box hits for other cards you want!
Welcome back to the hobby, and good luck!
Thanks for the responses guys.
What is the difference between buying packs at wal-mart or target, and buying the hobby packs?
Where do you guys shop for your cards? Regardless of buying packs, boxes, or singles. I've been primarily using Ebay so far because I can't find anywhere around me that sells cards. I live in Minnesota near Mall of America and Field of Dreams is there but all they have is the SP Authentic's right now. That and a few singles but nothing I really like.
Suggestions?
(02-02-2012, 08:59 PM)buckunteer Wrote: [ -> ]In the end, it's all up to you man! The best way to get cards/teams/brands you want is undoubtedly to buy singles and/or lots. Some of us on the board, and we know who we are, just LOVE to bust wax despite the fact that we are unlikely to make our money back unless we hit a big pull or two. The mystery aspect is fun!
You sound like you like busting the wax as well but are conflicted because you seem to realize you won't hit your favorite cards that way. I'd suggest putting the bulk of your funds towards the singles you want, and then occasionally splurging on some wax to bust. Worst case scenario there is you get mostly the cards you want and can hopefully trade your box hits for other cards you want!
Welcome back to the hobby, and good luck!
+1 I usually trade on here for some good singles for my PC and have bought some from these guys (Thanks All) I have bought a few singles online then I bust boxes because I am one of those that love to bust wax then love to trade em away. Good luck and let us know when you have something good to trade
Buying singles is the way to go if you don't want to gamble with boxes. You know exactly what you are getting & how much you are paying for that card or cards.. this would help if you are going after a set or PC players... You can also trade on Beckett for more PC cards....
I love busting boxes, but sometimes, it gets expensive or depressing, especially if you don't pull that good of a card or the dollar value of that "hit" card is less than what the box costs. This is more for the high end products. I hate when I spend $200-250 & pull a $150-200 kobe auto.. I am a huge Lakers fan & love Kobe, but his autos have flooded the market...
Don't put cards on your credit card, you'll pay too much interest. I did this when I first started collecting again. Ran up a $4K bill... luckily I was able to pay it off some what quickly, since I did not have any bills at the time, but that is a lot of money to be throwing around.... trust me, don't use your credit card, unless you can pay it off very quickly.. it helps build credit, if you are spending lots of money, but that interest will kill you in the long run... I know a couple guys that are in debt $15-20K on their credit cards.. one is a card collector of high end.
to me, if you are trying to make a profit on sports cards it has become harder. Not everybody will profit. Most average collectors actually lose money, in my opinion. Nobody wants to pay full price for cards.. they always want to pay around 50% or less of BV. I know I would lose a lot of money if I did that.
Most collectors want what is knew.. so there are a lot of people that bust a ton of boxes, just to throw the singles on ebay for a quick profit. Don't know if they actually make money or not. I would think the big time dealers are the ones making the profit, since they get boxes at a dealers price.. while average collectors like us, come out even or lose money.
MJ, KOBE, LEBRON, DURANT, ROSE are all good players to collect.. MJ & KOBE don't lose value too much... they stay pretty steady.. even the MJ RC has been the same price for over a decade or two.
Good luck in your collecting.
(02-03-2012, 12:59 AM)jpleazme805 Wrote: [ -> ]Buying singles is the way to go if you don't want to gamble with boxes. You know exactly what you are getting & how much you are paying for that card or cards.. this would help if you are going after a set or PC players... You can also trade on Beckett for more PC cards....
I love busting boxes, but sometimes, it gets expensive or depressing, especially if you don't pull that good of a card or the dollar value of that "hit" card is less than what the box costs. This is more for the high end products. I hate when I spend $200-250 & pull a $150-200 kobe auto.. I am a huge Lakers fan & love Kobe, but his autos have flooded the market...
Don't put cards on your credit card, you'll pay too much interest. I did this when I first started collecting again. Ran up a $4K bill... luckily I was able to pay it off some what quickly, since I did not have any bills at the time, but that is a lot of money to be throwing around.... trust me, don't use your credit card, unless you can pay it off very quickly.. it helps build credit, if you are spending lots of money, but that interest will kill you in the long run... I know a couple guys that are in debt $15-20K on their credit cards.. one is a card collector of high end.
to me, if you are trying to make a profit on sports cards it has become harder. Not everybody will profit. Most average collectors actually lose money, in my opinion. Nobody wants to pay full price for cards.. they always want to pay around 50% or less of BV. I know I would lose a lot of money if I did that.
Most collectors want what is knew.. so there are a lot of people that bust a ton of boxes, just to throw the singles on ebay for a quick profit. Don't know if they actually make money or not. I would think the big time dealers are the ones making the profit, since they get boxes at a dealers price.. while average collectors like us, come out even or lose money.
MJ, KOBE, LEBRON, DURANT, ROSE are all good players to collect.. MJ & KOBE don't lose value too much... they stay pretty steady.. even the MJ RC has been the same price for over a decade or two.
Good luck in your collecting.
Just wanted to clarify the portion of my post about putting a case on a credit card ... obviously you would want to pay it off before you used it again, no doubt about that.
If you take an average case that runs $1,000 to $1,500, buy just one and pay, say, $150 a month on it (or 10 percent of whatever it cost), the interest wouldn't be that big a deal because you'd be paying way over the minimum.
You're right about racking up the debt up and not paying it off, though — avoid it like the plague!
The only thing I would add is that too many people — myself included, millions of times over — buy cards here and there throughout the year, on just whatever is new ... case in point, the new collector who started this thread who said he wanted to spend $20-50 every week or two ... and then went a certain player/product/both comes out and they are really hot, that collector doesn't have any money to go after the ones he really wants.
Perfect example ... I saw a couple of really nice Cam Newton autos being pulled out of FB products on these boards the last couple of days.
I would love to go back in time, say, a year and a half or two years and get all my money back that I blew on random stuff and put it toward a really nice case of Limited, Certified, etc., to have a chance at a really nice-looking Cam auto.
That's all ... definitely didn't want to push any new collectors into serious debt! Cards are fun but they're not worth losing sleep/getting divorced over.
(02-03-2012, 02:00 AM)rjcj2017 Wrote: [ -> ]That's all ... definitely didn't want to push any new collectors into serious debt! Cards are fun but they're not worth losing sleep/getting divorced over.
Amen!