HOW ARE YOU DOING: SELLING WISE?

[KandKCards]

The common thread I'm seeing from a lot of these posts is that a lot of people aren't very diverse in what they buy/sell. I am still doing pretty well (not great, but I would say very well given the environment) and I think it's because I have very eclectic stuff for the most part, "something for everyone" so to speak. That's the best way to survive a market downturn, IMO.

 

[XdanX]

I totally got out of prospect stuff. I sold it all to get star autos and hof stuff for my store. Granted I took a hit on the prospect stuff I have been doing well on ebay with star and hof items. Since I have alot more over my head right now I know if I buy a Jeter auto for 70 I know I can always get that back for it.(ebay that is). Last week I had stuff end and I was happy with all but 1 item so i cant complain.

 

[Jays_Cards]

I totally got out of prospect stuff. I sold it all to get star autos and hof stuff for my store. Granted I took a hit on the prospect stuff I have been doing well on ebay with star and hof items. Since I have alot more over my head right now I know if I buy a Jeter auto for 70 I know I can always get that back for it.(ebay that is). Last week I had stuff end and I was happy with all but 1 item so i cant complain.

You didnt move all of your prospect stuff, did you? Im sure you still have the Bruce Red.

 

[jumbojohnny]

I find that the bulk stuff that I buy at tag sales, flea markets, and live auctions are the things that I make most money off of. I picked up nine Michael Jordan 1990's inserts for $10...Sold each for $15-20 on Ebay. Same thing with a Ripken lot that I picked up a week ago.

Its always about what and when. Prospecting takes time for a player to get hot, or get the call up. Even if that prospect does well, selling sooner is better than later.

The common thread I'm seeing from a lot of these posts is that a lot of people aren't very diverse in what they buy/sell. I am still doing pretty well (not great, but I would say very well given the environment) and I think it's because I have very eclectic stuff for the most part, "something for everyone" so to speak. That's the best way to survive a market downturn, IMO.

 

[XdanX]

I totally got out of prospect stuff. I sold it all to get star autos and hof stuff for my store. Granted I took a hit on the prospect stuff I have been doing well on ebay with star and hof items. Since I have alot more over my head right now I know if I buy a Jeter auto for 70 I know I can always get that back for it.(ebay that is). Last week I had stuff end and I was happy with all but 1 item so i cant complain.

You didnt move all of your prospect stuff, did you? Im sure you still have the Bruce Red.

thats a good point but i dont consider him a porspect. i tried to move it and though hes done for the year the offers i was getting was just a joke. if you want it still lmk i have a price in mind.

 

[f2tornado]

I've been doing well with 90's inserts and rarer new stuff. My graded stuff has been very hit or miss. I used to make $5 to $10 a slab on Griffey stuff but now most sales are not worth the time. I sold a bunch of PC stuff recently and that is where I took the biggest hit. PC cards will pretty much be limited to cheap stuff from here on out.

 

[All The Hype]

I've been doing a lot of buying lately.


Most of the guys that I have cards of who are playing well in the minors aren't seeing the increases that they usually would. Although I feel that the economy is on the way back to normal (there are signs of this everywhere), I feel that this is still the main cause for this lack of action on the card market.

When players make it big in the majors, their card prices see major increases still (i.e., Gordon Beckham lately has rocketed up since starting his ML career 0 for 13 or whatever), and these have made up the majority of the players that I have sold this summer (guys like Gerardo Parra and Wilkin Ramirez a few months back, a little bit of Porcello here and there, some Ryan Perry stuff, Gordon Beckham for example).


Other than that, I'm happy to continue buying for great prices and holding until the time when the economy has recovered enough to allow card prices to see the typical increases that they should when a player is performing well.

 

[Topnotchsy]

I think that would require more of a change of perspective by the general market, something I do not believe has happened. (I haven't heard anything to indicate such, and I think a change like that would mean higher prices for the RC Auto's of established guys, and that doesn't seem to have happened.

Perhaps the card market will regain a sense of sanity it used to have when card prices peaked a year or two before the player retired after a HOF career

Seriously, the bubble had to burst at some point, right?

It's been pretty awful from my perspective.

Some of the guys I've followed that I've been really surprised about:

Prince Fielder: On pace for over 40 homers and close to 150 RBI while batting over .300, and his cards have barely moved.
Desmond Jennings: Came back from an injury-plagued season last year and has hit .300+ with some power, tons of speed and a great BB:K ratio. Is now in AAA and continues to rake and his cards have seen almost no increases.
Albert Pujols: One pace for 50 homers and his 3rd MVP, and his cards have not been really hot at all. They were hotter earlier in the season, but have dropped back a bit.
Nelson Cruz: True he's not too young, but he's hitting for serious pop, and his Chrome's are under $2.
Jered Weaver: Pitching quite well and his BC Auto (which was an SP) is right around $20 if not less.

The market has caused me to be a buyer in some of these cases, as the prices are just too low. Hopefully we see some rebound going forward.

 

[uniquebaseballcards]

This assumes people who used to buy FYs have switched to RCs, but they may have chosen to start purchasing other types of cards - vintage, HOFers, '90s inserts & parallels, sets, etc., etc. instead.

There are just so many ways to spend one's cash in the hobby, popularity in each just rises and falls over time, often influenced by various hobby forces (like Beckett, gamblers, etc).

I think that would require more of a change of perspective by the general market, something I do not believe has happened. (I haven't heard anything to indicate such, and I think a change like that would mean higher prices for the RC Auto's of established guys, and that doesn't seem to have happened.

 

[rainmanesq]

I’ve been doing alright, but it’s probably b/c I sell more than prospects and I sell cards from all sports (+ even some non-sports cards). Also, I buy guys @ notoriously cheap prices, so when I sell, I almost always make a very good return. Am well diversified in prospects (+ inventory in general), so do not have to hinge my sales success on 1-2 guys making it. Have had some lucky sales on prospects who were hot @ the beginning of the season but who seem to have cooled off a bit- which is why if you’ve got a decent profit built in, sell NOW and do NOT regret it as the card(s) will almost always be cheaper down the road. Have been doing more consignments for people, so that’s brought in some cash + so far, the consigners seem to be getting more $ having me list the items for them than they would had they listed them themselves (maybe b/c I have more fb/regularly list?).

Have had some surprises w/some low end stuff (e.g., inventory I just wanted to clear out) going for more than I thought it would. Have had a few cards that went for less than I guesstimated they would, but that’s the risk of running auctions. Lots have been doing well. Have done well w/some cheapo prospects who have gotten recognition this year. The gap in price between a 9.5 and raw seems to have lessened. Not sure if that’s a short-term shift or a longer-term shift. Have put most of my higher end stuff (+ slabs) into my eBay store as slabs (even of “hot guys”) and higher end stuff seems to be slow-moving these days +/or ends low @ auctions.

I have other ids and sell more than cards (media, videogames, electronics, etc.) + surprisingly, I’ve been doing better than expected on those ids. Same goes for selling on amazon. Diversification is a grand thing + when 1 area’s slow, it’s ok b/c your income’s coming in from other areas/widgets.

As a buyer, loving it and have picked up some great deals which have in turn become some very nice flips and I’ve also been able to add to my stashes (ex., guy I sold for $100+, rebought a 9.5 for $30)

 

[darkman]

I have done okay, it maybe because I dont sell alot and when I do sell its when a player is really doing well in the majors (feliz,gordon) Missed my chance to sell my porcello and those sales were disappointing... Opened up a case of 2008 elite and basically sitting on all of it due to low sales. I have been able to sell Elite base lots for better then i expected on players like Feliz and Reddick though....

 

[XdanX]

even better due to this thread.