$36,000 for Lebron Topps chrome ? Bro sheesh

[RedMike]

Originally Posted by auctionjmm

The couple of thousand that the government gave away per person wasn't the reason that people were spending 5 or 6 figures on cards. There is a big difference between getting an extra $1,200 in your bank account and acquiring a 30k card. Government money may have propped up the low end base market but the guys trading the big cards (whether they lost money or not) were most likely the ones who already had the money to do it.

Govt hand out free money.. lol. Dude, the govt was helping it's citizens out during a pandemic. Maybe you are the lucky citizen that didn't need it, but can't we stop thinking about our damn selves for just a second and think maybe a neighbor, a friend, a mom a son or a daughter may have needed that money. Or do we just want to go ahead and assume everyone used it to buy sport cards.

[tjforce]

Originally Posted by al3xmac10

the purchase was made February 2021;

so that we can have more visual references, can you share some pics of the best cards you were able to acquire since Feb 2021 for a total of $36,000 or less?

I got this late summer for slightly less that he paid for his LeBron:




This for ~25% less than he paid:




And all of these combined for about the same price as the Giannis above:










But like I said, smart buyers aren't buying what everyone else is. These are just the cards I can show off. There's stuff that I'm still buying that I won't discuss until I am done buying them.



One more thing to put it in perspective:



The Pop count on the LeBron PSA 10 was 2162. The total PRINT RUN of everything I showed above in all 3 purchases is 512.

[al3xmac10]

Originally Posted by tjforce

I got this late summer for slightly less that he paid for his LeBron:




This for ~25% less than he paid:




And all of these combined for about the same price as the Giannis above:










But like I said, smart buyers aren't buying what everyone else is. These are just the cards I can show off. There's stuff that I'm still buying that I won't discuss until I am done buying them.



One more thing to put it in perspective:



The Pop count on the LeBron PSA 10 was 2162. The total PRINT RUN of everything I showed above in all 3 purchases is 512.

Very, very nice!
All of those Garland, Shohei & UFC for $9k?
Incredible!

[rawkstar2k]

What's the consensus about very low pop base? I'm talking about a 2% gem rate with more than 5k graded of a superstar player (not a prospect, but a current top 15 player all time). Just curious what opinions are on these very low pop base cards where the pop count will not increase substantially.

[mjohnatgt]

Originally Posted by al3xmac10

Very, very nice!
All of those Garland, Shohei & UFC for $9k?

$36K less 25% is $27K.

[boxbuster7]

Originally Posted by rawkstar2k

What's the consensus about very low pop base? I'm talking about a 2% gem rate with more than 5k graded of a superstar player (not a prospect, but a current top 15 player all time). Just curious what opinions are on these very low pop base cards where the pop count will not increase substantially.

nobody actually cares about pop report. It is just a gimmick to pump the prices on psa 10s

[al3xmac10]

Originally Posted by mjohnatgt

$36K less 25% is $27K.

ooops, you're right...
I thought "25% of what he paid"...

[tjforce]

Originally Posted by al3xmac10

ooops, you're right...
I thought "25% of what he paid"...

Haha... not that good. But yes. Around $27-28k

And the Jones cost as much as anything in that lot. His Topps Rookie Ruby parallel #'d 1/8.

[Onepocketj]

Originally Posted by boxbuster7

nobody actually cares about pop report. It is just a gimmick to pump the prices on psa 10s

Of course they do. Some cards are tough to gem. Look at the price for a Ricky Henderson rookie 9 vs 10.

[KhalDrogo]

Originally Posted by boxbuster7

nobody actually cares about pop report. It is just a gimmick to pump the prices on psa 10s

Plenty of us do. Plenty of us compete on the Registry. It’s great.

[imbluestreak23]

Originally Posted by rawkstar2k

What's the consensus about very low pop base? I'm talking about a 2% gem rate with more than 5k graded of a superstar player (not a prospect, but a current top 15 player all time). Just curious what opinions are on these very low pop base cards where the pop count will not increase substantially.

I think they are safe. Maybe not constant up arrows, but not falling off a cliff

[mintacular]

The problem with Geoff in large part was timing. He came in 2018 or 2019 just as the market was perculating and he noticed early success and fell in love with his own "genius". He never had any real perspective on how this hobby works, price valuation, psa populations, etc. As rich of a businessman as he is you can't buy that experience/knowledge of cards and yet he became the spokesperson for the hobby based solely on his media presence.

[YayNJ]

Originally Posted by al3xmac10

Very, very nice!
All of those Garland, Shohei & UFC for $9k?
Incredible!

It wasn't that long ago people were almost giving away Garland, and you could pick up lots of Shohei on eBay for <$20 and people were calling him a flop.

Smart money went on the Cav's in 19/20 while everyone was creaming themselves over Zion/Ja and later in the season, Herro.

[imbluestreak23]

I think I picked up my Ohtani Orange Batting AU either Feb or Mar of 2021 for $7,526.35. It's a BGS 9.5/9 now. No PSA 10/10 but the PSA 10/10 is at $130k at the premier auction so I'm pretty happy about that.

[tjforce]

Originally Posted by YayNJ

It wasn't that long ago people were almost giving away Garland, and you could pick up lots of Shohei on eBay for <$20 and people were calling him a flop.

Smart money went on the Cav's in 19/20 while everyone was creaming themselves over Zion/Ja and later in the season, Herro.

It was Kevin Porter Jr. and Poku for me.

When I saw a raw Poku Prizm Gold go for more than what I had a chance to buy the PSA 10 Prizm Gold Garland for, I knew it was time to pull the trigger.

[boxbuster7]

Originally Posted by Onepocketj

Of course they do. Some cards are tough to gem. Look at the price for a Ricky Henderson rookie 9 vs 10.

That is one example. And I was talking more modern, as with vintage I actually think grading has some merit.

There have been numerous examples that show how subjective PSAs grading actually is. The market irrationally commands a huge premium on 10s when the truth is on any given day a strong 9 could be a 10, and a 10 could be a 9. Anybody who believes otherwise has been brainwashed or is just naive.

[DontBeSoy]

Originally Posted by tjforce

I got this late summer for slightly less that he paid for his LeBron:




This for ~25% less than he paid:




And all of these combined for about the same price as the Giannis above:










But like I said, smart buyers aren't buying what everyone else is. These are just the cards I can show off. There's stuff that I'm still buying that I won't discuss until I am done buying them.



One more thing to put it in perspective:



The Pop count on the LeBron PSA 10 was 2162. The total PRINT RUN of everything I showed above in all 3 purchases is 512.

Thanks for sharing. We need more posts like this on BO and in the hobby.

I had a sneaky suspicion you were buying up Garland!

[tjforce]

Originally Posted by DontBeSoy

Thanks for sharing. We need more posts like this on BO and in the hobby.

I had a sneaky suspicion you were buying up Garland!

Spent last spring and summer getting key cards. Passed up on a few as well that I wish I wouldn't have, but I got the most important.

It seemed like everyone was focused on Kevin Porter Jr. and Michael Porter Jr. and the masses weren't noticing that DG was having a Sophomore season with vastly improved stats and metrics in almost every category. I watched a lot of Cavs games as well. Passing on Jalen Suggs for Evan Mobley was the final confirmation that the Cavs were going to focus on Garland as the motor of the offense.

It wasn't rocket science but it's the kind of work and interest it takes to make good investment decisions in sports cards. Much better than just listening to someone who's been in the game for less than 3 years who is trying to sell you an idea.

[pejc300]

Tough to watch. Love his enthusiasm. Bright eyed and bushy tailed. Hope he's doing alright. He started out with cards worth a few hundred and immediately jumped to $36,000. Huge L. Keep your head up Mike.

[Nomad]

Originally Posted by tjforce

Spent last spring and summer getting key cards. Passed up on a few as well that I wish I wouldn't have, but I got the most important.

That's a strategy I followed with Nesmith. Almost switched to Bane during summer league and (short term at least) wish I had. But cracking into the Celtics rotation is not easy and my guy is making the most of his minutes and the touches he gets.

The one thing I like, like Bane, is that Nee has the physicality to establish a presence that will eventually get him more touches and poster opportunities. And the Celtics have a better chance of making it deep in the playoffs than Grizz, so the upside potential is there. This is the fun that comes with picking rookies a year or two before they emerge.

It does keep you on the edge of the seat watching games, while not being as detrimental to the short term mental health as sports betting.

Can't find anyone of sneaky value in the current class yet... Cunningham is at the Ball, Edwards, Haliburton, Wiseman level, which means can't afford key cards already.

[tjforce]

Originally Posted by Nomad

That's a strategy I followed with Nesmith. Almost switched to Bane during summer league and (short term at least) wish I had. But cracking into the Celtics rotation is not easy and my guy is making the most of his minutes and the touches he gets.

The one thing I like, like Bane, is that Nee has the physicality to establish a presence that will eventually get him more touches and poster opportunities. And the Celtics have a better chance of making it deep in the playoffs than Grizz, so the upside potential is there. This is the fun that comes with picking rookies a year or two before they emerge.

It does keep you on the edge of the seat watching games, while not being as detrimental to the short term mental health as sports betting.

Can't find anyone of sneaky value in the current class yet... Cunningham is at the Ball, Edwards, Haliburton, Wiseman level, which means can't afford key cards already.

Not much good stuff out of the guy yet anyways.

I've already gotten my investment in this year's class locked down. I'll show it off here sooner or later.

[boxbuster7]

The "get rich quick" thing is done with cards. That money was made buying cards up till early 2020.

The market has matured. Not to say there isn't money to made, but it is way less lucrative at the low end level right now. Can't speak to high end.

[Nomad]

Originally Posted by tjforce

Not much good stuff out of the guy yet anyways.

I've already gotten my investment in this year's class locked down. I'll show it off here sooner or later.

Fair enough. You have to watch carefully, because the Celtics are old school in breaking in rookies. Ime came up under Popovich and they don't let rookies play period, sophomores just a little. But the fact that he's still on a team being streamlined for contention and playing significant minutes is encouraging. And seems to have the defensive system down now, not getting called out for missing assignments. I was looking at the lame Rising Stars dunk contest and going where's Nee.

[Grizzkid12]

Originally Posted by boxbuster7

The "get rich quick" thing is done with cards. That money was made buying cards up till early 2020.

The market has matured. Not to say there isn't money to made, but it is way less lucrative at the low end level right now. Can't speak to high end.

Very true

I've met so many people who think or thought they are/were "in the industry" because they were buying cards pre run up and flipping/grading and making bank. Take a deep dive talking to most of them and you can see most really don't know much about the market.

They got a bunch of free money if they sold around peek, but it was a fluke-like lucky occurrence and they've likely given a solid amount of money back by now or moved on and invested in other things (crypto, etc.)

[tjforce]

Originally Posted by Nomad

Fair enough. You have to watch carefully, because the Celtics are old school in breaking in rookies. Ime came up under Popovich and they don't let rookies play period, sophomores just a little. But the fact that he's still on a team being streamlined for contention and playing significant minutes is encouraging. And seems to have the defensive system down now, not getting called out for missing assignments. I was looking at the lame Rising Stars dunk contest and going where's Nee.

To clarify, I was talking about this year's product with Cade and the rest of the class. Not many good brands worth investing in.

First card I might be interested in when it comes out is an Evan Mobley Next Day.

Not necessarily as an investment, but because I really like these cards.