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+--- Thread: 2003-04 topps chrome (/thread-1540388.html)
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2003-04 topps chrome - AlexRafco - 07-15-2013
my lcs has a box for $380, from an investment stand point is better to buy the box and hold onto it, buy the box and break it or just go on the bay and buy some LeBron rookies
RE: 2003-04 topps chrome - kenarm79 - 07-15-2013
I'd use the money on some rookies. That way you are guaranteed to get what you want. I don't see the box going for too much more than that anytime soon.
RE: 2003-04 topps chrome - rjcj2017 - 07-15-2013
You could get a nice LeBron auto for that much ... can't pull one out of that box because he was/is exclusive to Upper Deck.
(If that's who you collect)
Your best pulls would be Wade or Anthony autos, and unless they were refractors or really low numbers they probably wouldn't pay for the box.
RE: 2003-04 topps chrome - slum22 - 07-15-2013
It all depends on what you are getting the box for. If you are thinking of it as an investment. I think it's definitely more valuable as a buy and hold than as a buy and break. You are less likely to make your money back by breaking that box than if you leave it unopened and sit on it. If you break the box you would either have to pull a Lebron refractor or multiple high grade Lebron RC's to come close to getting back what you put into the box.
Part of the value of the box is the premium that is placed in its unopened state on the "unknown" factor (will I pull multiple star RC's or hit the big Auto, etc.) and the "thrill" factor to the person ripping it. Once it's ripped unless you got lucky, you are generally gonna have a hard time making back your money on the box unless you got a big hit or multiple star RC's.
That being said, if you have a chance to get a hobby box for $380 I would go for it. I actually bought two of them for $375 a piece before the playoffs and I am happily just sitting on them. The thing about unopened is that everyday there's less of them--as people keep opening the product. Compared to singles and even autos where everyday more of them come out as people open packs (or in the case of autos another year's product comes out with more of a player's autos making them less rare).
I have got into unopened boxes and packs lately because they are generally a guarantee to go up. So if there is a star RC in that product and it's considered a quality or premium product I would be confident that the product goes up. At this point Lebron would have to be in a PED scandal for the box to lose value. If he wins one or more titles the box will be worth your $380 investment (I hope so since I am already in for 2 at $375
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RE: 2003-04 topps chrome - djohn - 07-15-2013
First, make sure it's a hobby box as the retail boxes sell for much less. The hobby boxes sell for $375-$425. Now you might think, great you can buy at $380 and sell for $425 to make a quick 10% profit (which really isn't much). However how are you going to sell the box. Ebay and most other online retailers hit you with fees for selling. So you would have to sell for over $450 just to break even on the $380 sale. Now even if the boxes started going for $500 you are only at a 10% after fees profit, which again isn't that great. One thing to check when considering buying a box as an investment is to see what the big card dealers are willing to pay for a box (i.e. how much would they invest). I checked and the current rate for a hobby box is $250-$300. So if that is all they are willing to invest, and they have a HUGE client list that they sell to, then you might want to reconsider paying $380.
Now as per ripping, even if it is a hobby box it's not worth it to buy and rip it. There are only 4-5 cards that you could pull that would pay for the box, and the odds of pulling any of them are very slim. Even if you hit a Dwayne Wade Auto, you will have to get it graded and have it come back a BGS10 to even come close to breaking even. Sure you could hit a Wade Refractor auto, but you would still need a high grade to get the money back for the box. From an investment standpoint you are better off buying individual cards.
RE: 2003-04 topps chrome - AlexRafco - 07-16-2013
(07-15-2013, 11:53 PM)djohn Wrote: First, make sure it's a hobby box as the retail boxes sell for much less. The hobby boxes sell for $375-$425. Now you might think, great you can buy at $380 and sell for $425 to make a quick 10% profit (which really isn't much). However how are you going to sell the box. Ebay and most other online retailers hit you with fees for selling. So you would have to sell for over $450 just to break even on the $380 sale. Now even if the boxes started going for $500 you are only at a 10% after fees profit, which again isn't that great. One thing to check when considering buying a box as an investment is to see what the big card dealers are willing to pay for a box (i.e. how much would they invest). I checked and the current rate for a hobby box is $250-$300. So if that is all they are willing to invest, and they have a HUGE client list that they sell to, then you might want to reconsider paying $380.
Now as per ripping, even if it is a hobby box it's not worth it to buy and rip it. There are only 4-5 cards that you could pull that would pay for the box, and the odds of pulling any of them are very slim. Even if you hit a Dwayne Wade Auto, you will have to get it graded and have it come back a BGS10 to even come close to breaking even. Sure you could hit a Wade Refractor auto, but you would still need a high grade to get the money back for the box. From an investment standpoint you are better off buying individual cards.
+1 , well said. which brings me to my next question, hypothetically lets say in 2025, if you would have to just take an educated guess, what would you think the box would be worth?
RE: 2003-04 topps chrome - kenarm79 - 07-16-2013
(07-16-2013, 08:49 AM)AlexRafco Wrote: +1 , well said. which brings me to my next question, hypothetically lets say in 2025, if you would have to just take an educated guess, what would you think the box would be worth?
2025 is a little to far out to really get a good gage on sports cards. The reason I say this is because collecting is real fickle. Plus players personal and professional lives can take a down turn drastically. It was just a couple years ago people were getting rid of Kobe's autos for almost nothing.
You also have to take into consideration inflation, lol. $700 in 2025 might not be the same as $400 today. So for investment purposes I wouldn't pick it up. If you can get some UD products I'd consider picking up those products and saving them. You have a better chance of getting all of the top players autos from that rookie class.
If you just want a price on it, I'd say around $600-800 for the box in 2025. It still would be better to pickup individual cards today because the same players that you hope to get in the box will be in your hand. Besides its easier to move individual cards than boxes.
RE: 2003-04 topps chrome - kstjst - 07-16-2013
my LCS owner actually says that if you want to invest in boxes, invest in "magic" cards. not sports, but still a collectible. they never go down and if you catch it early enough on the right release, you could almost double your money as soon as they stop shipping the new product. but i'm more of a gambler who loves to boast about huge pulls...so i've never listened to sound advice. :p
(07-16-2013, 08:49 AM)AlexRafco Wrote: which brings me to my next question, hypothetically lets say in 2025, if you would have to just take an educated guess, what would you think the box would be worth?
RE: 2003-04 topps chrome - kenarm79 - 07-16-2013
(07-16-2013, 12:47 PM)kstjst Wrote: my LCS owner actually says that if you want to invest in boxes, invest in "magic" cards. not sports, but still a collectible. they never go down and if you catch it early enough on the right release, you could almost double your money as soon as they stop shipping the new product. but i'm more of a gambler who loves to boast about huge pulls...so i've never listened to sound advice. :p
+1
A LCS owner told me years ago something similar.
RE: 2003-04 topps chrome - djohn - 07-16-2013
(07-16-2013, 08:49 AM)AlexRafco Wrote: +1 , well said. which brings me to my next question, hypothetically lets say in 2025, if you would have to just take an educated guess, what would you think the box would be worth?If your plan is to hold the box until 2025, which would be another 12 years then there are plenty of MUCH better investments to make over that time. For instance, let's just consider that the box goes up 5% in value year over year (at least on average over the next 12 years), then the box would be worth $682 in 2012 compared to the $380 you paid now. Now at first glance that seems like a pretty nice ROI (return on investment), since you made a total of 56% return however that was over 12 years. The problem is that boxes will never go up in value at the same rate as the singles inside them. Even if Lebron's Topps Chrome card doubled in value the box might only go up 20%.
Someone else pointed out that investing in unopened boxes is a good idea as product is always getting opened. While that is certainly true, there are plenty of instances where unopened boxes have gone down in value. I don't anticipate 2003-04 products to drop in value, but if you really want a high ROI for unopened boxes then consider some newer boxes from 2007-08 (Durant RC), 2008-09 (Rose and Love RCs), 2009-10 (Griffin, Harden, Curry RCs), or 2012-13 (double rookie class). Just make sure when investing in boxes that there aren't many redemptions, as almost any product with a high rate of redemptions will drop in value once the redemptions expire.