Prospecting vs. Rookie Autos

[Nikobaseball]

I'm considering quitting the whole prospecting game. I love this hobby way too much to actually get out of it, so I'm considering selling all my prospect stuff, and just switching to RC auto's, which would be more solid investments, with little room to go down. Would include stuff like Pujols SPX, Cabrera TTT, along those lines. Prospecting is loads of fun, but considering I'm 16 and my income is pretty much non-existent right now, I stand to lose big-time on prospects, meanwhile the RC's would be a much safer investment, and would still give me lots of good stuff to chase. Just wanted to get some thoughts on this, for people who do both or just invest in the RC autos.

Zach

 

[righteousmike]

Go for it, I wish I could afford to start up a collection like that haha

 

[Nikobaseball]

Go for it, I wish I could afford to start up a collection like that haha

It's not like I have so much $$ to invest, but I could get a couple grand from selling most of my prospect stuff, and that could get me some nice additions, still thinking it over though.

Zach

 

[MOFNY]

I've thought about purging all my non Hudson/Griffey/Oswalt stuff as well. I don't think I'm very good at it, plus I'm kind of sick of tracking a bunch of different people.

 

[uniquebaseballcards]

Yeah it becomes just too much work.

 

[darocker80]

RC autos are a lot safer. I mean david wright chromes were 120 and markakis chromes were in the 30-40s before the season... ::facepalm::

 

[Codasco07]

In my opinion with guys like Wright, Crawford, etc there's not much money to be made. Those guys face huge expectations that aren't really attainable. I too moved along the continuum from heavy prospecting to rc autos, but now I'm just buying whatever I want to collect (mostly Pujols) and picking up prospects/other cards I can flip quickly. If that doesn't deter you too much, PM me if you're interested in some nice rc autos (Sizemore, Crawford TT 9.5, etc).

 

[uniquebaseballcards]

With higher risk SHOULD come higher reward otherwise there would be no incentive to do it. Betting on any single minor league guy always carries major risk, the whole game is trying to convince others that there is no risk a.k.a "a sure thing".

In my opinion with guys like Wright, Crawford, etc there's not much money to be made. Those guys face huge expectations that aren't really attainable. I too moved along the continuum from heavy prospecting to rc autos, but now I'm just buying whatever I want to collect (mostly Pujols) and picking up prospects/other cards I can flip quickly. If that doesn't deter you too much, PM me if you're interested in some nice rc autos (Sizemore, Crawford TT 9.5, etc).

 

[martincp]

Zach,

If you are looking for a change in collecting focus why not consider vintage cards? I partially switched to collecting the t206 two years ago and its the best collecting decision I ever made. The art work and history involved is incredible and you feel like you are learning all the time.

martin

 

[Topnotchsy]

I've moved my most of my money into RC Auto's of established guys. I was tired of trying to catch a 30 second window, more interested in MLB than MiLB, and found that the market made a little more sense (the fact that a players RC Auto goes down after he makes the Bigs in 95% of the cases always worried me as I wonder if the whole minor league market could contract significantly at some point.) I also love the potential of a RC Auto of a big name (imagine Griffey, Mantle etc. had RC Auto's.)

I've found that while some love to simplify things, there is a lot of analysis about trends, baseball and the hobby that offer opportunities to increase profits (I often make posts on this topic, so if you go through my old posts you may find some posts to your benefit.)

 

[JEA2880]

The perfect collection to me is what HOF Autos has in his sig. Getting the 90's non-auto RC's aigned, slabbed and authenticated and making my own set of auto RC's is my style. Unfortunately, I don't have the income to get it done at this point, but at some point I'd love to get cards like the 89 UD Griffey, 93 SP Jeter, 94 SP Arod, 95 Bowman's Best Vladi, etc. signed and slabbed. I've started with some TTM's of some of the older guys' RC's (Vida Blue) and missed other guys I wanted before they passed (Monte Irvin), and really hope to seal the deal on a couple other great signers as well (Duke, Feller) but their stuff is too pricey for me right now.

Total run-on and more or less unrelated to the OP, but good luck, I like your idea as it's always more or less been my style too!

 

[Nikobaseball]

Zach,

If you are looking for a change in collecting focus why not consider vintage cards? I partially switched to collecting the t206 two years ago and its the best collecting decision I ever made. The art work and history involved is incredible and you feel like you are learning all the time.

martin

Only one reason, and that's that I'm 16 without a job. When I'm older, I plan on completing a set, or several sets of vintage, it's just entirely unrealistic as of now.

Thanks for all the advice from everyone else, I'm still thinking it over.

 

[Nikobaseball]

I've moved my most of my money into RC Auto's of established guys. I was tired of trying to catch a 30 second window, more interested in MLB than MiLB, and found that the market made a little more sense (the fact that a players RC Auto goes down after he makes the Bigs in 95% of the cases always worried me as I wonder if the whole minor league market could contract significantly at some point.) I also love the potential of a RC Auto of a big name (imagine Griffey, Mantle etc. had RC Auto's.)

I've found that while some love to simplify things, there is a lot of analysis about trends, baseball and the hobby that offer opportunities to increase profits (I often make posts on this topic, so if you go through my old posts you may find some posts to your benefit.)

Your bucket is a great example of the direction I'd be looking to take. I'd like to have a few Pujols SPX Auto's more than I'd like a few Posey Gold sterling Auto's(which I have). I'm relatively new to prospecting anyway, and I pretty much only focus on the big guys since I do very little research on my own. I just think it would make the most sense for me to switch to the RC Auto's of the established players.

Zach

 

[darocker80]

I have a job, but i need money for college/food/gas etc.

If i had the funds i'd be investing in a mix of young stars/prospects

 

[Topnotchsy]

Your bucket is a great example of the direction I'd be looking to take. I'd like to have a few Pujols SPX Auto's more than I'd like a few Posey Gold sterling Auto's(which I have). I'm relatively new to prospecting anyway, and I pretty much only focus on the big guys since I do very little research on my own. I just think it would make the most sense for me to switch to the RC Auto's of the established players.

Zach

I think that for someone getting into investing who is not extremely dedicated to the minor leagues, it is a great option. The profits can be significant, and the players are easier to follow.

 

[miguelcabrera]

miggy tt rc auto


bought two for 460 in offseason combined


now they are going for 460 per, thats 100 percent profit on a big money card

i say, go for it

 

[Nikobaseball]

Your bucket is a great example of the direction I'd be looking to take. I'd like to have a few Pujols SPX Auto's more than I'd like a few Posey Gold sterling Auto's(which I have). I'm relatively new to prospecting anyway, and I pretty much only focus on the big guys since I do very little research on my own. I just think it would make the most sense for me to switch to the RC Auto's of the established players.

Zach

I think that for someone getting into investing who is not extremely dedicated to the minor leagues, it is a great option. The profits can be significant, and the players are easier to follow.

It wouldn't even be for profiting, at least not for now. It would be more for long-term investments, as it would be sweet to have RC auto's of the game's BEST in the future. I think profits would be the one thing that would make it NOT worth it, as there's little room for growth, unless players get MVP or something along those lines.
Zach

 

[miguelcabrera]

Your bucket is a great example of the direction I'd be looking to take. I'd like to have a few Pujols SPX Auto's more than I'd like a few Posey Gold sterling Auto's(which I have). I'm relatively new to prospecting anyway, and I pretty much only focus on the big guys since I do very little research on my own. I just think it would make the most sense for me to switch to the RC Auto's of the established players.

Zach

I think that for someone getting into investing who is not extremely dedicated to the minor leagues, it is a great option. The profits can be significant, and the players are easier to follow.

It wouldn't even be for profiting, at least not for now. It would be more for long-term investments, as it would be sweet to have RC auto's of the game's BEST in the future. I think profits would be the one thing that would make it NOT worth it, as there's little room for growth, unless players get MVP or something along those lines.
Zach

there is profit to be made

 

[Nikobaseball]

miggy tt rc auto


bought two for 460 in offseason combined


now they are going for 460 per, thats 100 percent profit on a big money card

i say, go for it

You also bought them raw, are you even sure they're not trimmed? I'd grade em if I were you. That's one card I'd gladly pay the price you did, but it would need to be graded.
Zach

 

[Topnotchsy]

Your bucket is a great example of the direction I'd be looking to take. I'd like to have a few Pujols SPX Auto's more than I'd like a few Posey Gold sterling Auto's(which I have). I'm relatively new to prospecting anyway, and I pretty much only focus on the big guys since I do very little research on my own. I just think it would make the most sense for me to switch to the RC Auto's of the established players.

Zach

I think that for someone getting into investing who is not extremely dedicated to the minor leagues, it is a great option. The profits can be significant, and the players are easier to follow.

It wouldn't even be for profiting, at least not for now. It would be more for long-term investments, as it would be sweet to have RC auto's of the game's BEST in the future. I think profits would be the one thing that would make it NOT worth it, as there's little room for growth, unless players get MVP or something along those lines.
Zach

I disagree vehemently.

A couple of recent examples:

I bought 25 Billingsley BC Auto's for $20-$21 apiece. They were getting $40 dlvd last week.
I picked up a Pujols SPX BGS 8.5 (Auto 9) in the offseason for under $300. It's likely a $500 card now.

The potential is definitely there.