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Investing In Sports Cards: Card Quest 18

This week, I bought my most expensive card yet while selling several loose cards to finish selling through a couple of different lots I’d bought. You’ll learn all about the strategy in this week’s Card Quest.

Investing In Sports Cards With Jesse: The Rules Of The Game

But before we get there, as always, here are the rules. Every week, I’ll be spending about $100 on cards and telling you what I purchased, why I bought them, what strategies I used, and how you can apply them to your collecting.

We’re tracking progress, too. Every week I’ll share:

  • My total amount spent
  • My total amount sold (once I start selling some)
  • Total value (the comp price of my cards + total amount sold).

From there, we’ll be able to calculate my gains.

I challenge you to take on this initiative, too. Invest more or less than me–totally up to you–but track your progress.

Together, let’s show the world the power of card investing.

YouTube video

Week 17 Of Investing In Sports Cards With Jesse Purchases

This week, I broke the rules. I went utterly AWOL and spent $150 on one card and a total for the week of $200. But, to be fair, I didn’t do an official “Cardquest” over Christmas last week, so let’s pro-rate the buying.

Here’s what I bought and the logic behind it.

Purchase One: Desmond Bane 4 Card Rookie Lot

“Hey, Babe.”

That’s what I said when I found this article. Because I love Desmond Bane so much? No, surprisingly, despite just how many of his cards I’ve been flipping on the Cardquest.

Instead, this lot was listed as “Desmond Babe.” As always, having a misspelled player name means fewer people see the listing, and I buy it for less than I should have.

A four-card rookie lot included a green/yellow Rated Rookie holo, red, cracked ice Prizm, blue velocity Optic, and Select prizm RC (retail).

I put it in my watchlist at $25, got a custom offer of $20 some 15 minutes later, and scooped it up immediately. So I paid $25 for it, and I’m conservatively comping it at $50.

Bane has been electric this season and is shooting the three better than anybody in the league. Literally. And paired with Ja, the Grizzlies have a tremendous backcourt that is a joy to watch. I’ve bought a lot of Bane this year, but he’s thankfully been a bold prediction that unfolded as I hoped (unlike the week I purchased Trey Sermon. Yikes.)

Will this investment be the Bane of Jesse’s existence?

Purchase Two: Karl-Anthony Towns RC Hoops Auto /25

Karl-Anthony Towns has had a roller coaster ride of a collecting career. He set the league on fire for his ROY season and early years, and while his stats have never really died down, the hype around him has.

A lot of it, I think, is due to the Timberwolves being perpetually irrelevant. They’re never good, they don’t win games, and they’re never a playoff threat.

Hopefully, though, that’s about to change. Anthony Edwards and the new influx of young talent have bolstered the Timberwolves’ chances, and they look like a team that could at least be a play-in threat this year. With some development around Edwards and KAT, they might be even more than that sooner rather than later.

So when I found the KAT Hoops Hot Signatures auto /25 that was listed very poorly (“Hoops Hot Sig 6 of 25 Karl A Towns Rookie – Not Graded Excellent Cond”), I knew I needed to jump on it. I picked it up for $160, and I’m going to comp it at $225, but it’s a card that I might consider grading if it comes in and looks as sharp as it does in pictures.

With a potentially bright future for Minnesota hoops for the first time in a long time, I bought this card as hold more than a flip.

As Jesse likes to say, this guy has KAT-like reflexes.

Investing In Sports Cards With Jesse: New Sales

It was another good week of sales! I sold the remaining portions of two partially-sold lots I’d bought, making it a lot easier to keep track of profits.

The first card I sold was a Jalen Ramsey RC auto /99. It sold for $45. It was part of a 4 card RC auto lot of Ramsey I’d bought for $132, and I sold them for $220.

I also sold the remaining cards from the NFL rookie lot that had once included Burrow, Herbert, Jonathan Taylor, and others. They sold for $35 on Facebook, bringing the lot total to $105 sold after buying it for just $38 (listed as “sports cards lot”).

Finally, I also sold a Desmond Bane Rookie Roll Call auto I bought for $17.50. It sold for $50, making it a significant, quick flip.

Looking Ahead

A couple of noteworthy things are on the horizon.

For one, the NFL playoffs are upon us. So all the cards I’ve been buying for the playoffs will be listed in the next week. I hope they prove fruitful!

Also, as the off-season comes into focus and the draft class appears pretty grim on the quarterback position, I’m predicting a surge in the value of any quarterback that might be a trade topic this off-season. So to get ahead of that, I’ll be buying some of those cards for the next Cardquest.

Now, with that said, here’s where we stand:

Investing In Sports Cards With Jesse: Cards Held

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Rookie Lot: Bought $75, Comp $130

SGA Prizm Rookie: Bought $121, Comp: $185

Jesse believes in SGA. Do you? Look for his rookie cards on eBay.

Tannehill Rookie Card Lot: Bought $17; Comp $50

Nickeil Alexander-Walker lot of 96 Hoops Rookies: Bought $40, Comp for $144

NAW lot of 5 Optic Silver Wave: Bought $25, Comp for $55

NAW lot of 11 Rookies: Bought $10.81, Comp for $74

Minshew Prizm Lot: Bought $50, comp $75

20 Card Football Lot: Bought $31.77, Comp: $100

Ryan Tannehill Rookie Lot: Bought $60, Comp $90

Trey Sermon Certified RPA: Bought $41, Comp $41

Trey Sermon Certified RPA: Bought, $39, Comp $39

Nickeil Alexander-Walker Mosaic Auto Fusion Red: Bought, $47, Comp $70

Nickeil Alexander-Walker Optic Red Choice /88: Bought $29, Comp $55

Jaren Jackson Jr. Prizm Lot of 3: Bought $30, Comp $42

Tyler Herro Prizm and Purple Scope Rookie: Bought, $15.55, Comp $22

OG Anunoby Certified RC /25: Bought, $25, Comp $35

DeShaun Watson Prestige /150: Bought, $15, Comp $25

Will the DeShaun Watson Prestige /150 gain more value? Check out the prices on eBay.

DeShaun Waston Rookies and Stars Auto /75: Bought, $85, Comp $100

10x 2016 NFL Panini Rookie Set: Bought $105, Comp $200

Cam Akers RC /249: Bought $14, Comp $15

AJ Brown Gold Lazer RC: Bought $15.5, Comp $20

Derrick Henry RC Optic Patch /50: Bought $35, Comp $35

Bears Optic Rookie Lot: Bought $21, Comp $15

Bagley Silver Mosaic x3: Bought $15, Comp $20

Bagley Silver Select Silver PSA 3 x10: Bought $64, Comp $100

Investing In Sports Cards With Jesse: Cards Sold

McCaffrey Rookie /100: Bought $36, Sold $80

Heinicke Contenders Auto: Bought $37, Sold $125

Heinicke Rookies and Stars Auto /50: Bought $19, Sold $100

4 Jalen Ramsey RC autos: $220

John Wall Rated Rookie /25: Bought $14.58, Sold $100

There are a lot of rumors surrounding a John Wall trade. If you think his career will bounce back, look for his cards on eBay.

Tylan Wallace 3 Card Lot: Bought $50.80, Comp $100

Matthew Stafford Contenders Rookie /99: Bought $43.06, Sold for $100

Aaron Rodgers Bowman Rookie /200 SGC 8: Bought  $80.46, Sold $335

Nickeil Alexander-Walker  Donruss Auto /35: Bought, $51, Sold $10

Desmond Bane Absolute Auto: Bought, $23.02, Sold $10

OG Anunoby Optic RC: Bought, $6, Sold $10

NFL Rookie Lot: Bought $38, Sold $105

Tannehill Triple Threads Auto /25: Bought $83, Sold $150

Mahomes Patch /99: Bought $27, Comp $100

Desmond Bane Certified RC Auto: Bought $18, Sold $45

Investing In Sports Cards With Jesse: The Totals

Spent: $1,888

Held (Comps): $2,052

Sold: $1747

Value: $3,800

Profit: $1,911

Net: 201% increase.

What will I be buying next week? Then, come back next week for the next update.

Are you taking on this project yourself? Tweet me @realjessehaynes or @card_lines to tell us about it!

Jesse Haynes

Jesse Haynes

Jesse Haynes is the co-founder of Solaro Shades, an Amazon #1 Bestselling novelist, and a lifelong sports card collector. His nonfiction work has been featured in Forbes, Inc., MarketWatch and more. At CardLines, Jesse’s specialties are basketball and football cards, not to mention making informative video and Instagram content.
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