Tips for making it in the card/memorabilia business

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

i started buying to resell this summer and the key is honesty. dont just lowball people trying to get good deals to resell because you will make people hate you fast. how i do it is i make a thread explaning that i buy to resell why i do it and then i state how much profit margin i leave for myself and that i use ebay as a price guide. i also encourage people to verify my prices to make sure im not lying to them. always be honest it will save quite a bit of time.

i also found that having a decent amount to spend makes it easier. i usually leave myself a 25-30 percent profit margin and people are far more willing to sell me 300 dollars worth of stuff at 75 percent of sale value then they would be if i had say 20 bucks to spend. ive been doing this since around may/june so if you have any other questions please feel free to ask.
 
I also buy and resell. I don't normally collect unless it's a set that can be sold pretty large afterward or a specific player that can be hot. For instance I'm purchasing Blake Griffin auto lettermans now in hopes that he wins the Rookie of the Year, that way his stuff goes up in value.
 
looking to make money i dont see it. ebay fees are crazy. people wanting top dollar for there stuff. and trying to flip it for 20.00 you will come up short. autos unless w/ PSA DNA coa people dont want and they cant be 100% sure if they are real. to risky. go with something else. go to estae sales and goodwills look for old stuff to flip that cost u a dollar. friend bought 3 kids books @ a goodwill for 3.00 and flipped them on ebay for 105.00. he took a gamble and it paid off. cards arte harder. its a dinosaure about to be extinct. good luck if u decide to go on w/ it. but all the boards im on people selling selling selling. not buying. and ebay will nickle and dime ya
 
looking to make money i dont see it. ebay fees are crazy. people wanting top dollar for there stuff. and trying to flip it for 20.00 you will come up short. autos unless w/ PSA DNA coa people dont want and they cant be 100% sure if they are real. to risky. go with something else. go to estae sales and goodwills look for old stuff to flip that cost u a dollar. friend bought 3 kids books @ a goodwill for 3.00 and flipped them on ebay for 105.00. he took a gamble and it paid off. cards arte harder. its a dinosaure about to be extinct. good luck if u decide to go on w/ it. but all the boards im on people selling selling selling. not buying. and ebay will nickle and dime ya

there is money to be made in cards. you just have to take your time and find a process that works for you. i dont make a killing mainly because i dont have the money to put into it to make a killing but i make money and i like it better then a job because its doing something i enjoy there is money to be made.
 
there is money to be made in cards. you just have to take your time and find a process that works for you. i dont make a killing mainly because i dont have the money to put into it to make a killing but i make money and i like it better then a job because its doing something i enjoy there is money to be made.

Thats your job???

Thats what I want to do :)
 
Thats your job???

Thats what I want to do :)

i wouldnt feel right calling it my job lol. i dont make much. im in college and dont have a job because its small town with almost no open jobs for college students. cards are what i do to get by. it puts 100 or maybe alittle more in my bank account each month which isnt much but its enough to get by in a small town where everything is within a mile. so i would feel wrong calling it my job but i would like to grow it into a job someday.
 
Thats kinda the same as me right now...:)

haha yea i feel you on that. right now it strings me along allright. in the summer it was a little extra money on the side which was nice. but you need money to get it going. i only spend a few hundered at a time and it does take time to move stuff. expecially if you have a small selection it takes more time because you have to find someone that wants that item so it does take time. id like to be able to take a few thousand and go buy because the more money spent the more it will bring back. spending 400 might bring me back 100 profit where as spending 2000 would bring me back 500 profit. and i would have a bigger selection so stuff would move more.
 
The two best tips I can offer are to sell the cards for more than you paid for them and start out by being rich anyway so the first part doesn't matter.
 
Anybody have any tips on making it in the card/memorabilia business? Dont really have that much money right now, but just looking for some tips to get started.

Thanks :)

Rule one: Decide right now if you want to be a collector or a dealer.

ANYTHING has to be for sale if the money is there. Cut the personal ties with cards, they are a commodity, nothing more, nothing less. If the cards go up in price later, they go up, if they go down, they go down. Sell for a profit now if you have the chance, don't hold on to cards because of what MIGHT happen tomorrow. Too many people hold on to the cards that would bring in the most money.
 
Rule one: Decide right now if you want to be a collector or a dealer.

ANYTHING has to be for sale if the money is there. Cut the personal ties with cards, they are a commodity, nothing more, nothing less. If the cards go up in price later, they go up, if they go down, they go down. Sell for a profit now if you have the chance, don't hold on to cards because of what MIGHT happen tomorrow. Too many people hold on to the cards that would bring in the most money.

Agree...Thats why I hate Hype
 
Top