Let’s start it this way. If you wanna be a collector and not really make money in this hobby, there are no rules. You could pay whatever you want for whatever card you like. But if you really wanna make money in this hobby, you’ve got to adapt yourself to an investor’s mindset.
Also, somewhere you need to learn the difference between the two as well.
If you are a collector only, you’re going to be emotional. You like a card for whatever reason; you’ll buy it. But if you wanna be an investor and start your collection on a budget, you have to use logic over emotion.
Now, I understand the majority of us are a combination of both. We all have cards that we care about a lot and don’t wanna sell at any cost unless we get a crazy deal. But, you see, money is important as you are still looking for that crazy deal, right?
Now, if you’re not familiar with how a lot of collectors go from collecting dollar cards ➡ to collecting cards worth thousands of dollars, you’re at the right place to learn that.
And at the end, we’ll also discuss the “Magic Formula” that collectors use to start their collection from just $100 to building a Zeal-worthy collection.
Take the example of Ryan who went from just 6 cards at the start of the year to having 100 cards after an year following this simple magic formula and the thing is, he spent less money than all the other years in his card collecting journey. Check out his story.
So, let us start with the basic rules you have to follow to start collecting your cards on a budget.
Key Takeaways:
1. Don’t go over budget.
2. If you’re trying to get specific singles of a sport, say basketball cards, you’re supposed to get them around the month of the offseason of that sport, in this case, between August and September.
3. Don’t buy cards and expect your card prices to go up. Hold for an appropriate time and sell if needed.
4. Buy cards that you like and not what others like. This goes with buying whatever you like but being mindful about what you’re getting.
5. Don’t spend too much on getting your cards graded as we are working on a budget if you’re not 100% sure of getting a 10.
6. Hobby boxes are not close to worth it. If you break even, consider it a win! Instead, buy singles and win the race.
7. Make a list of your desired cards that you can afford realistically and stick to acquiring those for the time being.
8. Try not to get scammed and thus avoid counterfeit cards in your collection. You can find authentic sports card selling accounts on Instagram or through Reddit, but a lot of sham ones as well.
9. Lastly, read at the end of the article, “How to start card collecting with $100 only?” to understand how to start collecting cards with a minimal budget.
Table of Contents
Rule No. 1: “Spread Your Legs According to the Coverlet”
No, really. I have seen a number of people going out of their budget just to get that one card, just that one. Can you relate?
It’s really simple to understand. If you are trying to collect too many cards at very high prices, it’s not gonna be fun anymore. The fun is when you are on a budget and you can get only two or three cards every month. So, you’ll have to think twice before getting something, and it better be something good.
As a wise man once said,
There is so much money in the hobby that is completely avoidable.
Rule No. 2: Don’t Be Afraid to Sell Your Cards
It is where you really have to think from an investor’s point of view. Here, you have to think of this hobby as trading. You just have to learn to trade one to get the other and move forward.
Remember, selling your card is not bad.
Selling your card in the incorrect window of time is bad. Confusing, right?
Let me explain: simply sell your card when you’re getting appropriate profit according to
- how much you spent. And,
- how long did you hold that card for? As simple!
I mean, you don’t want to hold a $20 card that is going to rise in value after 2 years.
Rule No. 3: Don’t End up Buying Random Breaks if you’re targeting specific cards.
Don’t try your luck on the entire boxes, especially if you’re just starting out. Trying to pull something that’s gonna make you a millionaire overnight, it’s not gonna happen.
The odds are very much against you.
Moreover, Some users are already expressing concerns of card ripping becoming a addiction. Do you think, you fall into the same category?
Baseball card collecting/ripping is actually more addicting than gambling
byu/Miserable_Air_4292 inbaseballcards
Say, if you are trying to get a specific card of a specific player of a specific team. It is a 1/60,000th shot that you are targeting, considering some fair assumptions of 20 variations/player, 100 players/team and, of course, 30 teams in total if in basketball.
Buy into breaks just for fun and maybe hit something and have a good time.
Just buy singles when you’re looking for specific guys. Really, the return on investment in hobby boxes is terrible. Breaking is a losing formula. Consider yourself lucky if you can recover the money from a hobby box or a break.
Rule No. 4: Don’t Grade Cards if you can’t live with an 8 or 9.
Don’t spend so much more on getting your cards graded if you’re not sure of getting a 10. There are many times when I’ve sent cards and got’em back with the grades that I did not expect. In fact, most of them have been this way.
Did you know?
A lot of raw cards in their hype sell for more than the same cards with, say, a grade 9. This is because people often want to collect them to get them graded by themselves. This is called the Raw to Graded game.
For instance, you buy a raw card, say, 2020-21 Anthony Edwards Panini Prizm Base RC for as cheap as $20. The cheapest option to grade your card with PSA is $18.99. You send your card for grading and end up getting a PSA 10.
You can now sell this card for around $100, which is the market average price right now in the month of December, 2024.
But, if you end up getting a PSA 9, the card’s price will fall down to $35 on average (again, right now), which is less than the price of getting the raw card and grading it combined.
So, the questions that you need to ask yourself before getting your cards graded are,
“If this is not a 10, am I still gonna be happy with it?”
“Will I be able to sell it if it comes out to be not what I expected?”
“Do I have other means to move it?”
If not, then don’t get it graded. Better off, put it in a nice sleeve and make it a part of your esteemed collection.
Rule No. 5: Buy cards that you like; Don’t buy cards that everyone else likes.
Just look at the card. If that’s the card you like, go for it.
For instance, I like Donruss Optic way more than I like Prizms. Even though prizms are usually a little more sought after, I like the look of the rated rookie card from Donruss Optic. Just go for it!
Don’t chase after cards that you’re not crazy about. Similarly, don’t chase after players you’re not very passionate about. Don’t just go after the hype. Hype is really cognitive. Instead, do the research on the players you wanna get instead of following the hype created through the herd mentality.
In this manner, you can save yourself a lot of bucks that you can later invest in a Steph Curry card, if you like one of those.
Rule No. 6: Make a focused list of cards you wanna get.
You have to have a list of the cards that you can get, realistically. If you are into multi-sport card collection, do it for each sport.
Ask yourself these questions for each card:
“Do I wanna get this card in a grade 10, or is it going to be super costly?”
“Will I be happy if I get this card in a 9 or so?”
“Do I want it just raw, or graded?”
“Do I want it for my own personal collection, just stacked away in my cupboard?”
Be realistic with the cards that you’re trying to get. For instance, I know I probably would never own a Victor Wembanyama’s Silver Rookie Prizm. It is way out of my budget. But, instead, I may get a Victor Wembanyama Silver Rookie Revolution, which I can get for under $50.
Okay, I understand; it’s no fun!
So, you can go a little over your bankroll but only when you come across a great deal for a card that is not on your realistically achievable list and you still want it. Then you can do some adjustments here and there.
Rule No. 7: Don’t try to collect everything!
Believe me, I’ve tried. It just gets too crazy. You try to collect some specific players from a set, and the next thing you know, the next set is already out. Then, all of a sudden, you try to collect some of those cards.
Just try to focus on your list. Remember, you have the rest of your life to collect. You have years and years. Just remind yourself of the time when you wanted a specific card. If you’re not able to get it, then you can still get it today, with just a click of a button.
Don’t kill yourself trying to get all the cards right now. You can wait a little bit and get those cards eventually.
Rule No. 8: Try not to get Scammed.
Try not to let yourself get into too many opportunities where you can get scammed. So, if you see something that is too good to be true, guess what? It is too good to be true.
If you do end up getting scammed, consider it a costly lesson, and now you’ll be much more cautious for the next time around.
Q) How to Start Card Collecting with $100 Only?
Step #1:
The first important thing that you can do when you are just starting out is to really dig into those dollar card boxes. These are boxes, full of cards worth a dollar each. You can generally find these at your nearest card shows or even local card shops.
Step #2:
Look for big names, rookies, autograph cards, and color refractors or parallel cards that are under a dollar or two. This way it will become a no-risk business for you. I mean, it’s a dollar anyway. What would be the worst-case scenario?
Your card won’t sell or doesn’t increase in value.
Anyways, it is still going to be better than buying and opening a $50 break anyway.
Step #3:
Once you make some money selling those cards, you can always try to increase your bankroll a little. Now, you can go for $5 card boxes. Pick your favorite out of them and try to sell them for $10 each. Follow the same while going for your $10 cards. Sell them for $20 and repeat the process.
Don’t forget to increase your investment amount by a little every time.
Step #4:
Buy sports cards in lots and look for unique arbitrage opportunities. A lot of times, it’shard for collectors to pinpoint the exact value of some cards. This is where you can bargain and push your card for those extra bucks.
Step #5:
Try to sell your cards individually, maybe on eBay or similar platforms. If you are still left with cards that you can’t sell, organize them in lots according to their unique characteristics, such as cards of a specific team, and try to sell them as an entire collection. This way you won’t be left with any unmoving cards in your collection.
Conclusion
Collectors who are willing to start their collection on a budget should realize that every collector was once a beginner. You learn through the experience and grow with it. Even then, you can take the help of the above suggestion and make your journey less bumpy.
FAQs:
1. How to start a card collection?
Card collection is a niche-specific hobby, meaning you need to first decide which sports cards you want to collect (like NBA, NFL, or MLB). Thereafter, you can start by building a list and acquiring the cards that you want in your collection.
2. Best trading cards to collect for profit?
There are no best trading cards in the market. You have to gain experience and learn how to make a profit by buying and selling specific cards. Further you can check how to buy the best trading card for yourself.
3. What is the Ideal Budget for sports card investing?
There is no ideal budget for sports card investing. But, as you grow in experience, you can increase the amount of money that you are investing in your card collection to avoid making any losses at the beginning.
4. Can you become a millionaire by collecting sports cards?
Yes, you can become a millionaire by investing in the sports card market, but not overnight. Just like any other business, investing in sports cards requires precise knowledge of the market, its movement, and other driving factors.
5. How to Collect Vintage Cards on a Budget?
Vintage cards don’t only mean those super expensive, vintage-looking cards. There are still a lot of early 80s and early 90s raw vintage cards in the market. You can use your knowledge to pick the needle from the haystack and get them graded to earn a good profit.
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