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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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:
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
Davis Mills Certified RPA /249: Bought $32, Comp: $60
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
What will I be buying next week? Come back next week for the next update.
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