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Investing In Sports Cards: Card Quest 19

In this Cardquest, I bought two football cards while eyeing the offseason. They’re both great cards, but the timing on the part of their seller was less than ideal. Either way, they were both listed poorly enough to provide me with an opportunity to bet some profit. So join us for another thrilling episode of Investing In Sports Cards with Jesse.

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 19 Of Investing In Sports Cards With Jesse Purchases

Unfortunately, I haven’t been buying as much as I should lately. In fact, this article covers three weeks and some speculative investments I’ve made over that time.

Either way, there are many lessons to be learned despite my inconsistency. Let’s dig into the two purchases I’ve made for a total of just over $100.

Purchase One: Ryan Tannehill Exquisite Auto /99

I lucked out on this card. I’ll be the first to admit it. But sometimes, a little luck saves a lousy decision.

I went against one of my rules of sports card investing: don’t invest during the playoffs.

Usually, it’s a bad idea. Playoffs in most sports last about a month, and the window of opportunity to flip cards is much shorter than that for most teams.

That said, I found a Ryan Tannehill Exquisite RC auto that I bought for $75 ten days before the Titans’ heartbreaking loss to the Bengals in the second round of the playoffs (shoutout to Tannehill for throwing three picks in that game).

The only reason I bought it was that it was listed as “sports cards,” and I knew that, even worse case (which is what happened), I could still profit off it.

That said, here’s where my luck came in: I got the card in the day before the Titans game and razzed it in a sports card group for $200 – 10 spots at $20/each. It seemed like the safest way to hedge my bets if the Titans suffered a catastrophic loss.

Thank goodness I did.

In the end, It was a $125 profit in just about a week, so I’ll take it.

With some quick thinking, Jesse made a profit off this card despite the Titans early exit.

Purchase Two: Davis Mills Certified RPA /249

Controversial opinion: Davis Mills was the most impressive rookie quarterback in 2021.

Sure, some of this boils down to results versus expectations. Still, the truth is Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, and Trey Lance were all underwhelmed. Meanwhile, Mac Jones was only solid. Meanwhile, Davis Mills looked good for the Texans despite not being one of the top-5 first-round quarterbacks.

I’m not sold that Mills is the future. However, he convinced Texas that they have more pressing issues in the draft than a nabbing quarterback.

And, best of all, several eBay sellers think his name is “David Mills.”

That’s why I picked up this card for less than it was worth. This misspelled name allowed me to buy it for $32, and the most recent sale was for $60.

I’ll hold it for next year and hope Mills continues to shine.

Is Davis Mills the Texans QB of the future? If you think so, look for his RPAs on eBay.

Investing In Sports Cards With Jesse: New Sales

Remember when I was incredibly bullish on Nickeil Alexander-Walker? Yeah, me too, sadly.

NAW looks great on paper: a great size, frame, athleticism, and position to succeed. Turns out, however, he can’t score efficiently at an NBA level. Thankfully, I found the one person in the world who’s still excited by NAW’s potential and unloaded two of my NAW cards for some eye-widening profits.

The NAW Optic Red Choice /88 rookie I’d bought for $29 sold for $90, and the Mosaic Fusion Red Auto that I bought for $49 sold for $100. I bought both of these misspelled, but still, the profits surprised me at this point – not that I’m complaining!

At least someone still believes in Nickeil Alexander-Walker!

Looking Ahead

The NFL season is over, and prices will start dropping for everybody but players involved in trade talks. So those are the players we will be targeting in the near future.

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

 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

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

 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

Marvin Bagley III cards are fairly cheap nowadays. Look at the prices on eBay.

Davis Mills Certified RPA /249: Bought $32, Comp: $60

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

 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

Nickeil Alexander-Walker Mosaic Auto Fusion Red: Bought, $47, Sold $100.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker Optic Red Choice /88: Bought $29, Comp $90

Tannehill Exquisite RPA /99: Bought $83. Sold $200

Investing In Sports Cards With Jesse: The Totals

Spent: $1,995

Held (Comps): $1,987

Sold: $2,092

Value: $4,080

Profit: $2,084

Net: 204% increase.

What will I be buying next week? Come back next week for the next update.

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.
When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

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Important: When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.