What's the better investment? base/ref/blue/gold/donruss

[des1984]

I've been collecting for a couple of years back from the 80's. I got into collecting prospects as it seemed interesting and a fun way of making money.

My question comes in because I'm not sure I'm fully maximizing profits. I know things can vary from prospect to prospect but is there a rule of thumb in terms of ROI. I've heard many who swear buy base autos but that seems like a hard way to make your money as it takes numerous listings when a player hits to maximize profit. I would say higher parallels would be easier but lately it looks like higher parallel's go for more than what multiplier's I've used in the past.

On the other edge of the sword, i've heard from quite a few on this board that donruss are the way to go as they say for far less than chrome and if a player hits, those items are usually grabbed because it's a lower price point.

So what are your thoughts? What do you think is best? What are your reasons?

 

[smapdi]

I think if someone was to do a true and accurate study and base results on percentage ROI, all things being equal, it'd all be just about even. But all things are not equal at the moment. Elites often come out priced low, because there's still a stigma with the 'unlicensed' and these guys are often still pretty obscure. However, that stigma is slowly but surely wearing off. There is a moment here where more people seem willing to buy them, and they realize that Elite autos are often a year or more older than BC autos. For this moment, I think you'd get the best ROI from base Elites. The middle-tier Elite die-cuts seem a little more wishy-washy. Numbered to 50 or 100 with a nondescript die-cutting is fine, but base Elites are more stable and predictable. For your basic little-hyped but projectable 1st or 2nd round pick, they often start at $5-10 and will pop to $30-40. BCs of better known prospects that already have something of a pro track record start at $10-20 and pop to $40-60. When someone really hits, BC can peak higher, but that's not a given and the peaks are usually fairly short-lived. I think the ratio for Elites will decrease as the brand becomes more accepted and people realize that Matt Moore et al had autographs a year or more before BC. But for now, that's where I'd put my money for the medium-longish term holds.

Of course, the top end is a lot splashier for BC. Nothing makes people say 'wow' like a four-figure sale of an Orange or Red ref, but the buy-in is usually that much higher as well. I'd rather sell 25 cards at $40 each that I paid $8 for than 1 $1000 card I paid $400 for, and I think that is the more typical pattern for Elites.

 

[des1984]

smapdi....thanks for the reply!

I thought this would of brought more interest but I guess not.

 

[CollectorsCorner]

First rule of prospecting- Don't talk about prospecting

 

[Wes]

Base chrome. It's much easier for a $20 card to become a $40 card than it is for a $300 gold refractor to become worth $600, simply because the pool of people who can afford $600 is much smaller than the pool who can afford $40.

 

[csmtampa]

I like base chromes. I don't personally stock up on a ton of them, but it seems like the best - low risk, high reward.