High-End Sports Card Experiment

I'm not really sure what the goal of your experiment is? Are you trying to prove that: A) It's worth the money to buy and then resell the products* or B) It's NOT worth it to buy and resell the products?

*-I hate that. When I make shots at people for not being true collectors, it's at those people who are in it only for the money. Obviously you are in a diffrent position because you are in the buisness and there's a diffrence, your goal is to make money for your buisness and therefore it's ok. But they people who go on about their great pulls or whatever other crap they say, only to post a link to their auction on Ebay...There is little more that annoys me. Doesn't matter if it's cards, diecast, etc.

That's why I quit posting on Beckett.

I've done more then one box of Ultimate Collection and I did the first year of Exquisite. That's all I could afford, and honestly, I was dissapointed.

Not because I didn't pull anything "worth" anything, but because I paid roughly $100 per card. (for Exquisite) It was Buyer's Remorse, I could have done better things with that money.

To prove a point, I was offered $400 for my Larry Bird auto/jersey #100/100 from Fleer. That's what Beckett tells you it's worth. I turned the offer down flat.

I collect cards because I enjoy collecting cards, not because I'm out to make a quick buck. Even though I'm pretty much done with NBA cards, I collected faithfully for 10 years and amassed the largest known private collection in the state of New York. (I have nearly 72,000 diffrent cards and more then 30,000 duplicates) and I spent countless thousands on my hobby. Unfortunatly I don't have the financial means to continue that hobby so I am pretty much done, I may get a box of Bazooka or Chrome from time to time.

The whole face of the card collecting hobby has changed in the last decade, and NOT for the better. When I started collection NBA cards in April 1996 the greatest feeling came from pulling something cool, like a rare insert or a Michael Jordan card (In April 96 I was 11 years old) and now I feel dissapointed if I don't get something signed numbered or autographed. I realized when I was dissapointed with what card collecting was all about for me (completing sets) I decided it was time to stop.

I pin this largely on Beckett and the various internet card sources, namely eBay.

The large focus for too many people now is about how much money they can make, not the joy and feeling of happyness you get when you get something cool and having a nice collection.

Now, some time later, I do regret all the money I've spent on NBA cards. I've spent probably 30 to 40 THOUSAND on them in the period between 96-06. And I realize if I hadn't done that, who knows what could that money have been spent on now.

But you know what? I'm not selling them. I have considered it, but I can't do it. I spent too much time and effort on it to have them gone, now. And yes, too much money.

Sorry for the rant, but there's very little that sets me off like this, and I think all my ranting emails to Beckett mean nothing, I gotta take it out on somebody (I've been printed in Beckett 7 times, both NBA and NASCAR versions)

I do collect and resale my cards. I also trade around with other collectors. The card collecting industry is completely different from the Diecast industry. I buy packs and get the jerseys and autos and then I will trade them off or resale them to get the cards that I want for the teams I collect. So as far as making money from buying packs and pulling the good cards, yes I do it but I do put the money back into my Private Collection for cards that I want. I don't see anything wrong with this. True collectors buy, sell, and trade around. Thats the fun in Card Collecting.Diecast collecting over the years have went down hill due to the lack of interest on Action now MA's lack of interest in there product. At least in the card industry you can get the cards that everybody wants and you never know what your going to get when you open that pack of cards. You can get a card worth thousands or a card thats only worth a dollar. Thats the joy in pack busting. When you purchase a Diecast you never get your money back out of it when you get ready to resale it to get something else you want. It's all in investment and in my personal opinion Card investment is the only thing right now you can make any money in. I have plenty of diecast here that I have been trying to get rid of for over a year now. Seems like I'm not the only one that has lost interest in the Diecast world. I have noticed alot people switching from Diecast Collecting to Card Collecting for a better investment. I know have switched for my long term investment. Unless something drastically changes I will only buy the diecast of my driver from now on just to have a few personal items. I will not invest thousands in something that I will never get a return on anymore. At least with the cards I have in my own Private Collection I could sell if times get hard and make a little cash if I needed it. You never know when your going to hit hard times and I'm just looking out for me and my family in the future with an investment that will give me a return in the future.

I definately understand Billy's point of view. Just like everything in life, the sports card industry has changed. Some would say for the better, some would say for the worse. Many folks like to blame the "greedy" card companies for producing so many products at such high retail prices. Others like to blame eBay or Beckett for "ruining" the value of cards. In reality everything is only worth what someone else is willing to pay for it. eBay is an auction site. Most items sell well below normal retail in an auction. The Beckett is only a guide. It is designed to reflect reports from around the country as to what prices cards are bringing on the secondary market. The simple fact is that if consumers didn't buy those high-end products the card manufacturers wouldn't produce them. I've never carried these type of products at my shop. I only order them if someone requests them (and they rarely do). I concentrate on offering my customers products that contain good value. For example, this year I have sold a ton of Leaf Rookies & Stars Football at $5 per pack. The boxes have 4 game-used or autos on average as well as nice rookie cards and inserts. I feel products like this are better suited for my customer base. There will always be collector's looking to cash in a big pull. That is why people search retail packs at every store in the country. Actually some of those folks are members of this very site. DP and Geebi are two of the very few collectors that buy packs, sell the cards they don't want, and buy cards of their favorite teams for their own personal collections. That is a true collector in my book. I also know of many "collectors" that buy packs only hoping to hit a big pull to resell it. I don't call them collectors, I call them vultures. I don't really like dealing with those folks but unfortunately they are here to stay as long as the industry is around. As for my experiment, my goal is to share my experience of openeing these Ultimate Collection, with everyone here on the Lounge. If anyone is thinking about buying any high-end stuff maybe this will help them make up their minds before they spend a considerable amount of money. I don't know how many Loungers buy that stuff. Hell, everyone may have two cases of Exqusite sitting in the closet as I type this. I just thought it would be cool since I have never busted any packs of that magnitude to give an inside look at what you really get and what you really get out of it if you decide to sell.