We’re entering into the dog days of collecting- the preseason hype has faded in baseball, football is in full offseason mode, and basketball will be on summer vacation next month. Although things are slowing down, this is the ideal time to swoop up on some opportunistic deals. That card that you have been wanting for quite some time may not be readily available on eBay or the forums, but if you keep a keen eye on those avenues, you may get that PC card for a steal. During off-peak periods, there will undoubtedly be collectors looking to unload cards that typically sell for substantially more during peak periods, such as preseason baseball or postseason football. It may take some time before you realize a substantial gain on your purchase, but off-peak periods are filled with golden opportunities to help you trade up in the future for other cards you might want in-season. Although you would pay a premium for that in-season purchase, in real dollars you would be giving up less because you had the foresight to buy/trade low during off-peak times! Think of it as another form of the foreign exchange market- you’re hoping that the currency your getting at a low rate will be more powerful in the future to gain more of a future currency of your desire.
3-UP
Here are three candidates you may want to look into investing now before their values really get out of hand:
Matt Kemp
I know what you’re thinking- didn’t Kemp realize his peak already this season? Possibly, but with Kemp on the DL, his cards have already started to decrease. Kemp’s peak values barely had time to snowball until his untimely hamstring injury. Assuming he returns to at least close to optimal health, Kemp should continue on his torrid pace prior to his injury. His team has much to play for and with Andre Ethier bouncing back this year, Kemp has the protection he needs to see pitches he can hit. Expect Kemp to be motivated to lead his team to the division title and garner that MVP trophy that he felt he deserved last year.
Matthew Stafford
There are plenty of steals to be had during the doldrums of the football offseason but the signs are there for Stafford to make an even greater leap this upcoming season. Finding his top rookie autos, such as National Treasures, SP Authentic and Exquisite, are not easy to come by, but the few that have sold recently have held in value compared to playoff time. If values are strong now, there’s no telling what levels they will achieve once the hype starts forming again during training camp.
Kevin Love
Let’s face it- Love is a monster on the hardwood. Every time he plays, he is an automatic double-double, and not of the cheap variety either. Love’s SPA and Exquisite saw a huge increase in value this past season and if not for a freak concussion that shelved him for much of the latter part of the season, would have spiked more. Minnesota was a surprise contender for a playoff spot up until Ricky Rubio and Love got hurt, so promising days are ahead for the franchise. This will only help to contribute to Love’s values.
3-Down coming soon…
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Watch out for fake patches on the Staffords, there is a guy that bought up like 80 of them when he was hurt and started putting 3 and four color patches in every single one. If I am a buyer, im not buying anything over a 2 color.
Yes, there are tons of fakes out there.
Gellman. How do you know this guy who faked SPA patches? I’ve heard of the fake exquisites, but not the SPAs.
Hey Jon
Those fake SPA’s have been well documented. Adam will probably post the site.
Interesting article. Have to disagree strongly with 2 of the 3 as I think that Kemp is a very high risk, pretty low upside buy right now, and Love’s stuff has dropped significantly for a guy who fills the stat sheet, but may not be the type to really be a hobby star. I like Stafford though…
Thanks Chris. I will have to look into that. Again, I’ve heard of Exquisites being faked, but haven’t noticed so many SPAs faked or maybe its just cause I was unaware of them. I will be more alert if one comes my way in a trade.
RE: Topnotchsy
Not exactly sure if I totally agree with your reasoning for both Kemp and Love. I can understand Kemp certainly has risk since his cards are pretty high right now and his recent injury. However, to think Brett Lawire and Eric Hosmer were above his current levels at the beginning of the season, I see those guys having “very high risk” than say Kemp who is much more established in the majors, in his prime, flirted with a triple crown & mvp, has 40/40 potential, plays in a big market and is a legitimate 5 tool player.
I can see that you say Love’s stuff has dropped off, but I can’t see how you say “significantly”. We are into the basketball offseason (for most teams) so of course we can conclude prices have drop since he’s not in the news, but I think the article speaks that it might be a good time to buy him before the next season starts up. I don’t think the article is saying you can make money off him by selling him next week or next month. Looking at the graph while you might say Love has dropped off the overall trend is upwards since before the season even started. Also, before Rubio’s injury the Timberwolves were one of the most talked about teams. As long as Rubio can recover along with a good draft they can be right in the thick of the playoff race next year. While Kevin Love is not the typical hobby star he has amazed everyone with incredible power forward stats and continues to defy the odds. The trends on ebay sales show actual proof that people are believing in him as he put together back to back SOLID seasons.
Jonathan,
Thanks for the response. Looking back I mistyped, I had meant to say that Love jumped significantly and since he does not fit the profile of a traditional star, I’d be afraid to invest. The Exquisite’s are getting $600 or so at moment and IMO if he comes out next season like he did this season they could go to $700, but any decline and they could easily drop to $400.
On Kemp IMO it’s the same issue. He’d have to maintain an extremely high level of play to see any increases, and odds are the prices don’t go up more than $20-$30 even if he continues his torrid pace, and any falling off from that pace (including due to injury) and the price could easily drop far more than those amounts. And IMO it’s not fair to compare to Lawrie or Hosmer whose cards were SP’d and are at a very different stage of their careers and they hype machine works differently. Just my opinion of course.