10 Tips to Invest in Baseball Cards
10 Tips to Invest in Baseball Cards
Collecting baseball cards was once only just a hobby that they did just for fun. However, slowly but surely the baseball card market has started to grow into a destination for investment as is revealed in discussions on the same over at runrex.com. However, while the high-end vintage baseball card market has amazingly outperformed the S&P 500 in the last decade or so, investing in baseball cards requires a certain level of savvy if you are to do well according to the subject matter experts over at guttulus.com. This article will look to help those looking to invest in baseball cards by highlighting 10 tips worth considering.
- Invest in graded cards
As is explained over at mtglion.com, you can either invest in “raw” cards, which are cards that haven’t been submitted for grading, or you can buy cards that are graded. The smart thing to do is to go for graded cards which will have been graded for quality and will, therefore, come with more value as compared to “raw” cards.
- Invest in PSA graded cards
Speaking of graded cards, there are various grading companies responsible for this and they include PSA, Beckett Grading Services (BGS), and SGC. They are ranked in that order, with the gurus over at runrex.com recommending that you invest in PSA graded baseball cards as these are generally the most respected and higher valued of them all. The highest-rated PSA graded cards are labeled “PSA 10” and should be what you are aiming for when looking to invest in baseball cards.
- Invest in elite cards
Also, if you can you should invest in elite baseball cards as these are very highly valued and will be an excellent investment. As is covered over at guttulus.com, the issue is usually that these cards are housed in personal collections rather than the sales block which means that the opportunity to bid on them is very rare. But when you do get the chance to buy them, you shouldn’t pass it up as these cards you can be sure will continue going up in value for years to come.
- Invest in sports pioneers
Another tip worth mentioning when it comes to investing in baseball cards is making sure you invest in iconic baseball pioneers like Jackie Robinson, Roberto Clemente, and many others as discussed over at mtglion.com, who represent the greatest upside in the long-term. While records are meant to be broken, one thing that will remain unchanged is that pioneers will always remain as the first to do something, and you can expect their legend to grow even more as years go by.
- Be cautious when investing in post-1970s cards
The subject matter experts over at runrex.com also point out that investors, particularly those new to the game, should be cautious when investing in post-1970s cards. This is because the market is saturated with these cards which means that they are in high supply, reducing their demand, and with it their value. Be very careful when investing in cards from that era that looks to be brand new as chances are such cards have been preserved for resale purposes which means that there are probably many of them out there.
- Don’t ignore minor league cards
It is also worth investing in minor league cards, which feature prospects. While there is an element of risk with this strategy, as covered over at guttulus.com, as you don’t know which prospects will make it big into the MLB, if you can correctly predict who is going to be a superstar and get in on the action early, then you will have in your hands a card that will be highly valuable once they do.
- Invest in Topps rookie cards
As is explained over at mtglion.com, these are the first Major League cards for players. These cards have got the potential to sky-rocket in value once the player becomes a star as then people will be looking to buy their very first card. If you believe that a certain player will become a star, then investing in their Topps rookie baseball card is likely to prove to be a very smart investment for you.
- Consider the supply of the card
The number of cards in circulation can affect the value significantly according to discussions on the same over at runrex.com. If you have invested in PSA graded baseball cards, then you can head over to PSA’s website and check out card population reports to know just how many of that card are in circulation. Remember, the principle of supply and demand is at the center of card collection, which means that the scarcer a card is, the more valuable it is.
- Invest in uniform patch cards
Uniform patch cards, as outlined over at guttulus.com, are the cards that come out with a patch of a player’s uniform on it. Such cards are very rare as only a limited number are printed, which makes them very valuable. Cards with game-used uniform patches are usually more valuable than those with event-used uniform patches, which is why they are reserved for premium products.
- Invest in autographed cards
Autographed cards, as the name suggests and as explained over at mtglion.com, come with the player’s autograph on them. Given that the card printing company has to get the player to autograph the cards, and that they have to pay the player, these are cards are printed less than regular cards which means that they are more valuable and are worth investing in.
These are just some of the tips to consider when looking to invest in baseball cards, with more on this and other related topics to be found over at the highly-rated runrex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com.
