Have you MADE money with baseball cards overall?

[matfanofold]

Overall, absolutely.

I grew up collecting in the very early 1980's when cards were exploding in value and closet finds of vintage were still common. Back then you could not lose, not to mention all the bags and boxes of vintage being handed over for nothing. But talking recent (modern times)? Lol, no...

 

[RogerMarisCollector61]

How would anyone make money? With ebay and paypal selling fees so high there is no point of buying cheap to resell most of the time. Occasionally you get lucky and stumble upon something but I don't understand how anyone could consistently make money off of the hobby.

 

[rehmus]

I once sold a Clay Buchholz Superfractor for $25,000 so I'm up a few bucks.

 

[Tom Oates]

There is no way I would ever break even at this point in my life... Bought way too much Krap during the 80's ans 90's haha

 

[All The Hype]

How would anyone make money? With ebay and paypal selling fees so high there is no point of buying cheap to resell most of the time. Occasionally you get lucky and stumble upon something but I don't understand how anyone could consistently make money off of the hobby.

Because card values are so subjective and so volatile, there are always peaks and valleys in each card's price. This gap creates a profit margin for every card, yielding ROI that can sometimes exceed 5000%. If you do your homework and buy/sell at the right time, you can take advantage of these profit margins over and over. With time, you start to see patterns in prospects and prices, and by applying your knowledge of these pattens to new players, you can essentially predict the market, to an extent. It's very similar to the stock market, except you're buying "stock" of baseball players rather than businesses.

 

[RogerMarisCollector61]

Because card values are so subjective and so volatile, there are always peaks and valleys in each card's price. This gap creates a profit margin for every card, yielding ROI that can sometimes exceed 5000%. If you do your homework and buy/sell at the right time, you can take advantage of these profit margins over and over. With time, you start to see patterns in prospects and prices, and by applying your knowledge of these pattens to new players, you can essentially predict the market, to an extent. It's very similar to the stock market, except you're buying "stock" of baseball players rather than businesses.

I understand that(Though I would never be able to do it). However, I think people who do that sort of thing are most likely in the hobby for money. Although I saw in the other thread that people said they "prospect" to earn money towards PC, so I'm sure there are exceptions. If you can do all that, the more power to you.

 

[jbmm161]

I once sold a Clay Buchholz Superfractor for $25,000 so I'm up a few bucks.

Dang who ever paid that probably has jumped off a bridge for being such a bonehead.

 

[shayscards79]

How would anyone make money? With ebay and paypal selling fees so high there is no point of buying cheap to resell most of the time. Occasionally you get lucky and stumble upon something but I don't understand how anyone could consistently make money off of the hobby.

But you are assuming that you would only sell on eBay... Selling at shows that you only have to pay $50 or $60 a table is great way around that.

 

[RogerMarisCollector61]

But you are assuming that you would only sell on eBay... Selling at shows that you only have to pay $50 or $60 a table is great way around that.

Good point. Obviously there are exceptions to what I said. I just think that for the most part, unless you put a serious investment into the selling process, you aren't going to make too much money. Maybe I'm wrong and naive, but I think most people are in the hobby because they love collecting. People who use cards as a means to earning $$ aren't the people I thought the OP was referring to. Again, I'm probably wrong

 

[shayscards79]

Good point. Obviously there are exceptions to what I said. I just think that for the most part, unless you put a serious investment into the selling process, you aren't going to make too much money. Maybe I'm wrong and naive, but I think most people are in the hobby because they love collecting. People who use cards as a means to earning $$ aren't the people I thought the OP was referring to. Again, I'm probably wrong

You gotta figure a lot of it is what you are selling. I know a guy that travels the country trying to buy huge lots and entire collections from people to piece out later and make money on it right away. It's a lot easier to make money at the local shows if you are doing that. Prospects can be tough at the small shows unless they are super hyped already. It can be hit or miss, because you don't run into too many people that stay on top of prospects at the small shows... in which case, you kind of have to resort to eBay. Which you are correct that the fees cut into profit, but that's why you have have to buy early on these guys and take some risks if you are going to come out ahead.

 

[Jimmy Graham]

no but i love the hobby so idc

 

[smapdi]

Except for that 12-month period a decade ago when I was grinding for money for a house down-payment (where I did pretty well), I'm so far in the red it's not even a question. I do wonder how much I could get back if I sold everything, though.

 

[thefatguy]

Singles yes. I buy low and if I can flip, even if its for the PC, I will.

Wax, forget it.

 

[uniquebaseballcards]

Because card values are so subjective and so volatile, there are always peaks and valleys in each card's price. This gap creates a profit margin for every card, yielding ROI that can sometimes exceed 5000%. If you do your homework and buy/sell at the right time, you can take advantage of these profit margins over and over. With time, you start to see patterns in prospects and prices, and by applying your knowledge of these pattens to new players, you can essentially predict the market, to an extent. It's very similar to the stock market, except you're buying "stock" of baseball players rather than businesses.