What a great time to be a prospector

Now that the new bowman came out and everyone is busting this stuff they all want to unload the cards an make the most they can but the supply is out dueling the demand so many good players cards can be had for very cheap auto's an chromes

You think their cheap now, just wait a few more weeks til they settle

t3dudek said:

Now that the new bowman came out and everyone is busting this stuff they all want to unload the cards an make the most they can but the supply is out dueling the demand so many good players cards can be had for very cheap auto's an chromes

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I think I just bought some Darnells from you. You have pretty reasonable prices, thanks.

sdsportsfan1214 said:

You think their cheap now, just wait a few more weeks til they settle

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Exactly. Some of these cards are getting stupid prices. I had a bunch of snipes up on a few guys and decided to cancel them. I couldn't justify $20 for a gold refractor of a guy who is blocked at his position and is not even mentioned by BA or other prospect publication. Further, people must be forgetting about older Chrome stuff which has allowed me to get some better deals lately. I'd rather have a McCutchen 2008 Gold Refractor for $8 and a Lester 2009 Red Refractor for $17 then a $20 plus card of some schmuck in Hi-A... but thats just ME, and opinions are like azzholes, everyone's got one.

To me, this is probably the worst time to be a prospector. More and more people are paying attention to the minors and there is significantly more competition for low-level prospects. People are also opening up their "buy list" causing even the non-prospects pricing to jump.

10 years ago, you could be stocking up on the "next big thing" and then make a killing when they hit the majors AND you were paying pennies to the dollar.

Basically, to me, I think most prospects now are over-priced out of the gate whereas the opposite used to be true.

200lbhockeyplayer said:

To me, this is probably the worst time to be a prospector. More and more people are paying attention to the minors and there is significantly more competition for low-level prospects. People are also opening up their "buy list" causing even the non-prospects pricing to jump.

10 years ago, you could be stocking up on the "next big thing" and then make a killing when they hit the majors AND you were paying pennies to the dollar.

Basically, to me, I think most prospects now are over-priced out of the gate whereas the opposite used to be true.

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I agree.

Didnt cases of bowman products used to be like $500 a case? i remember buying cases of 05 Bowman Chrome for like $650 each instead of buying 05 BDP at $500 - $550.

Yea, I dunno if it's prospecting anymore when everyone has the same info and everyone is loading up on the same players. Now it's just a race to dump all your stuff before the window closes after the prospect gets called up where you don't get stuck with a pile of last weeks flavor of the week. I've really shifted into investing into 2-3rd year players cards who's cards have bottomed out.

I think its much better than it has been in the last few years. I have been doing much better so far this season than I ever thought I would.
Some of the price increases we have seen this year have been fantastic. Im also happy I did more investing in MLB players who were potential breakout guys. That has worked out well too. Overall Ive sold $4000 in the last 2 months.
What has really surprised me is the big price increases bowman chrome rc lot have gotten lately. I cant believe Brennan Boesch chrome lots of 10 are close to $100. I sold 25 chrome for $35 2 weeks ago and was ecstatic, now Im a little bummed.
It does appear that there is more competition for prospects but the high price points have increased as well. When Heyward craze was in full force, a board member asked if Stanton chrome refractors could hit $200 on a call up. The wide majority didnt think it was possible. Well they are almost $200 now.
It seems everyday there is another batch of prospects to unload to make money on and its great.
Although it would have been nice to keep buying Wilmer Flores, Mike Montgomery and Mike Trout at their offseason prices.

AKA Coastal said:

Yea, I dunno if it's prospecting anymore when everyone has the same info and everyone is loading up on the same players. Now it's just a race to dump all your stuff before the window closes after the prospect gets called up where you don't get stuck with a pile of last weeks flavor of the week. I've really shifted into investing into 2-3rd year players cards who's cards have bottomed out.

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The other side of that coin is that some guys surprise you and just keep going up higher and higher. I did really well on Brennan Boesch stuff...something like a 230% ROI on the stuff I had, but looking at where those cards have gone now, I want to cry because I could have sold for twice as much. Profit is profit and it's hard not to be happy with that, but MORE profit is MORE profit, and that's what everyone who prospects is after.


I agree though, I've been prospecting for about three years now so I never really was a part of it before the time of everyone knowing about every guy. But I get the idea from the prospectors who have been doing this for awhile that even the top prospects were virtually unknown to the world, making them extremely cheap buys.

It seems to me that prospecting has gone from 'buy the TOP prospects because no one knows about them and prices are low' to 'buy into a lesser prospect who is unknown and hope he performs well enough to get some attention.

Is now a good time to sell pre-2010 prospects given all the attention on the 2010s?

With all the attention on the 2010s, it would seem to be a good time to buy older issues. I wonder if this is true every year.

I think I just bought some Darnells from you. You have pretty reasonable prices, thanks.

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Nope that wasnt me.. i am actually looking to pick up some darnell's all i have right now is his EE auto /89

Is now a good time to sell pre-2010 prospects given all the attention on the 2010s?

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Did you not read the post about how we were laughing at the ppl who only get 18 dollars for a gold or 22 for a red chrome. If you have a good prospect you need to go wit hthe market when to sell an hold. I wouldnt be doing to much selling right now on my prospects i have unless they will bring back a high ROI.

uniquebaseballcards said:

With all the attention on the 2010s, it would seem to be a good time to buy older issues. I wonder if this is true every year.

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it is

t3dudek said:

Now that the new bowman came out and everyone is busting this stuff they all want to unload the cards an make the most they can but the supply is out dueling the demand so many good players cards can be had for very cheap auto's an chromes

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I can't agree more!

Unfortunately, I'm getting the short end of that right now. I had what I thought was a real nice hobby case, but based on my auctions with an hour left (shameless plug for my sig), I'll have trouble cracking the cost of the case, and that INCLUDES the Rizzo Orange Refractor Auto.

Granted, I didn't sell ANY base chromes outside of Strasburg and Harper, and have 20 prospect parallels that I am holding for another 4 cases I'm opening, but I am very surprised at how low some things are going for.

Very good time to buy singles on Ebay

matchpenalty said:

Very good time to buy singles on Ebay

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Everything I buy I have remorse on.....these can't hold at these prices. Stras has tanked hard and isn't even close to the floor.

Can't believe people are saying it's a great time to buy. In a few weeks/months, most of this 2010 stuff will be selling for a fraction of what it is now. I don't think I've ever bought a prospect within the first month of release, and I've always gotten it cheaper.
Definitely a decent time to buy non-2010 guys not named Stanton, though.

A GOOD TIME TO BUY THE NON HYPED GUYS. On some of the low end guys, when almost all colors are hitting Ebay. In couple months some of those rare versions will be hoarded away.

Its a great time to buy. I was bidding on some of the guys Im buying and couldnt believe how many gold and orange refractors were listed. Just completley saturating the market and driving prices down.

Wonder how many people are getting close to some rainbows