Is collecting sports cards a good investment? (2024)

FAQs

Is collecting sports cards a good investment? ›

Collecting sports cards can be a great investment for card enthusiasts. Not only does it provide a fun hobby, it can also be an excellent way to make a profit. While the value of individual cards depends on the rarity and condition, some rare cards can be worth thousands of dollars.

Grading and selling: Grading companies like PSA and Beckett can assign a grade to your #sportscards based on their condition, with higher grades typically commanding higher prices. If you have a collection of cards in good condition, getting them graded and then selling them could be a profitable strategy.

Sports card collecting has been a favorite hobby for many Americans for decades.

Baseball cards, like comic books and other collectibles, are valued for what they are and for the condition they are in. The valuations above, for example, are of “near mint” condition cards, which means a minimum of wear and tear. Values go down as the conditions move down to excellent, very good and good.

In every sport, some players define a generation for fans of the game. These iconic sports cards might be out of your reach, but learning about them improves your game knowledge. And the more you learn what makes a player special, the better you will spot future valuable sports cards in your collection.

The hobby is far from dead. In fact, there's not much doubt the card market is a much bigger arena than it was just 3-4 years ago, but it's safe to say that things aren't quite as robust overall as they were at this time last year.

While the sports trading card industry had seen growth in recent years, the pandemic put the hobby into overdrive. Cards across sports have been selling for record prices, including a $12.6 million sale for a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle rookie card, the highest price ever paid for a trading card.

Trading cards specifically are a type of tangible alternative asset, meaning an asset with physical form that holds value due to its intrinsic physical qualities.

Card collecting is also driven by nostalgia and sentimentality. Many collectors started collecting cards as children, and the hobby was a way to connect with their past.

They do not hold their value. To keep it short and sweet, it's fair to say that Panini is flooding the market with way too many new products and overprinted quantities of all of them because a) they don't have any long-term skin in the game and b) people were buying as much as they could print, at least for a while.

What is the most profitable trading card? ›

While Honus Wagner's card is generally seen as the holy grail for baseball card fans, it's Mantle's rookie that takes the top spot. On August 28 of 2022, a Mickey Mantle 1952 Topps Card sold for $12.6 million to an anonymous buyer.

Sports card trading market statistics:

ESPN reports that over 950 million sport trading cards have been produced and counting. In 1993, there were over 4 million baseball card collectors, and now there are only around 900,000.

You should just leave them in the pack unless you are genuinely curious as to what's in them. If you're interested in offering/selling them to a collector whether you open the packs or not, you should handle them with care and put them in card sleeves for preservation.

This is why selling and buying sports cards is challenging but also fun. For example, the best time to sell NFL football cards is during the months of September through January the next year. Then, best time to sell your MLB cards would be starting with April and up to October.

To find the value of sports cards, there is no better source than eBay. eBay will show you exactly what a particular card in a variety of conditions has recently sold for.

Michael Jordan is a basketball legend, and many collectors agree his rookie cards from his time in the NBA will likely increase in value, so they are popular with investors. The same is not true with his baseball cards.

Supply has long since caught up with demand. Pallets of unopened cases and shoeboxes of childhood collections are common. If you're looking to sell your late-80s and early-90s cards, you're not alone. The cards are worthless because nobody's buying.

Will sports cards rebound? ›

More importantly, the hobby is healthier than ever and includes a large core of collectors with a genuine passion. The value of cards will rebound from a decline. That means, just like in the stock market, you have an opportunity to buy low and sell high.

Collectibles are considered alternative investments by the IRS and include things like art, stamps, coins, cards, comics, rare items, antiques, and so on. If collectibles are sold at a gain, you will be subject to a long-term capital gains tax rate of up to 28%, if disposed of after more than one year of ownership.

In addition, sports card investing is considered more stable and less risky than stock market investing. While the stock market is known for its volatility and unpredictability, the value of sports cards is often based on the player's performance and popularity, which tends to be more consistent over time.

Generally, Tom Brady rookie cards has good resale value, which means it's a potential investment when you own one and sell it after some time. Like other assets, Tom Brady rookie cards can grow its value over time, and you can use it by owning one and selling once its value increases.

For cards that don't have a high value, listing them on eBay or another online marketplace is usually the quickest and most efficient option. However, if you have more valuable cards, it's best to sell them through a trusted dealer or auction house that specializes in the trading of sports cards.

Welcome to the hobby of collecting playing cards!

But there's also an increasing number of people discovering this rewarding hobby for the first time, and just starting out with collecting. So there are tons of decks to choose from, and it's easy to buy them.

When asked to name a card, over half of the people chose one of four cards: the Ace of Spades (25%), or the Queen (14%), Ace (6%), or King (6%) of Hearts. If you're like most people, you may have chosen one of these cards when asked at the beginning of this article.

The more low-numbered a card is, the more it is worth. This, in particular, is true in relation to the other cards of the set. For example, a /99 Prizm of LeBron will be worth more than a /199 Prizm of LeBron. The catch is that there are times when different brands have different values despite the numbering.

Playing cards are excellent for both young and old, and you will find that they are appropriate whether hanging out with friends or family. You could be having the worst day ever, but a deck of cards and some friends is all you will need to lighten up your day.

Should I collect Topps or Panini? ›

Panini has the licenses for most major national tournaments as well as pretty much every relevant country outside of Germany – yet for the most part Topps is the premier brand in soccer. That is more because of how badly Panini uses their licenses and their inability to identify young players before Topps does.

Sold for $1.1M. Holding the distinction of the most valuable unsigned modern era trading card, the one-of-one Giannis Antetokounmpo Panini Prizm #290 Black Mosaic also has the honor of the second Antetokounmpo card to top $1 million.

The current record price is the US$12.6 million paid for a 1952 Mickey Mantle baseball card (Topps; #311) on August 28, 2022, breaking all previous records.

Greeting Card Ideas for Birthdays

Birthday cards make up the most popular greeting cards, with more than 7 billion sold every year. Don't hesitate to have the birthday cake and eat it with print on demand too.

1965 Topps #122 Joe Namath ($264,000)

He's famously known for guaranteeing a win in Super Bowl III, and Namath delivered on the promise as he led his underdog Jets to their first and only Lombardi Trophy. Following his retirement, Namath was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985.

Baseball Cards From 90s With The Most Values. The most valuable baseball cards from the 90s are Derek Jeter SP #279 and Alex Rodriguez SP #15. The Frank Thomas No Name version is another with the most value.

Normally, the older a baseball card is the more likely it will have higher value. There are many exceptions to this rule, too many to list, but in general this is true. For example, common 1909 T206 cards are worth something while many common cards printed in the 1980's are not.

One of the mistakes that card collectors make when they retire is that they throw away their old cards. Instead of doing this, you and other collectors can benefit if you decide to sell baseball cards rather than throw them away.

Are Topps cards worth anything? ›

Topps cards are highly sought-after due to their rarity, iconic imagery, and collectability, with the most expensive being the 1952 Mickey Mantle card, which sold for $2.88 million in 2018. Collecting baseball cards isn't just a hobby, but also a popular form of alternative investing.

61% of Americans are self-proclaimed collectors, with coins (collected by 17%), toys or dolls (12%), trading cards (12%) and jewelry (12%) the most-collected items. Younger generations are more likely to be collectors than older ones. 83% of collectors believe their collection will be worth something one day.

Card values tanked and many collectors now refer to that part of the hobby as the "junk era." So, it might be shocking to find that some baseball cards from the 1980s can be worth five and six figures... You see, not every card fell victim to overproduction.

Are sports cards a good investment? Sports cards can be a good investment, but the majority of your investments should be in traditional vehicles like the stock market.

In most cases, a sealed box will exceed the value of the cards inside, but sometimes will contain a card that will blow the value of the sealed box out of the water. Thus, there is tremendous risk in opening boxes of cards as you just never know.

While Honus Wagner's card is generally seen as the holy grail for baseball card fans, it's Mantle's rookie that takes the top spot. On August 28 of 2022, a Mickey Mantle 1952 Topps Card sold for $12.6 million to an anonymous buyer.

The current record price is the US$12.6 million paid for a 1952 Mickey Mantle baseball card (Topps; #311) on August 28, 2022, breaking all previous records.

Flipping cards means that you're buying them to turn around and sell them. If you flip something successfully, you come out ahead. Depending on the amount of your initial investment and the time it takes you to make the sale, even a small profit can be considered successful. It's not like there's much labor involved.

The T206 Honus Wagner was produced in 1909 by the American Tobacco Company. The card features Honus Wagner, a shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates and one of the greatest players in baseball history. The card's value comes from its rarity, as it is estimated that only around 60 to 200 copies were ever produced.

How much is a Michael Jordan rookie card worth? ›

It's a cornerstone of any Michael Jordan collection, and can sell for tens of thousands of dollars. In the current market, and at grade 9, this rookie card ranges from $10,000 to $20,000. 1986-87 Fleer #57 Michael Jordan graded CSG 1.

A 1935 National Chicle #34 Bronko Nagurski sold for a whopping $350,000 in January 2011. The card features a portrait of Nagurski in his Bears uniform running straight toward the viewer, with a blue and yellow background. It's one of the rarest and most expensive football cards in existence.

1. 1948 George Mikan. The 1948 Bowman George Mikan rookie card is one of the rarest and most valuable basketball cards of all time.

Best of the Best: Prizm

A favorite in the hearts and collections of many, Prizm can be thought of as the best of the Panini card brands. Thus, it's also typically the most valuable, and yes highly sought after.

Many people these days are seeing the potential value in sports cards as an alternative investment. So, can you make money buying and selling sports cards? The short answer is yes you can, but it's important to be aware of a few things. In this article we take a look at how you can make money with sports cards.

During periods of high inflation, sports cards have either held their value or offered an annual growth rate as high as 95%. Over the last 5 years, sports cards have increased in value by 218%, outperforming nearly every other asset aside from cryptocurrency.

Of all the boxes you'll find on a retail shelf, basketball cards are your best bet of being profitable. In particular, the three leading opti-chrome brands have the best resell price: Prizm, Optic, and Select. If you're a flipper, this might hurt to read. Of those brands, the only one worth the time to flip is Prizm.