Nonsense Newsletter No 103: Strategy, Shows and LCS's, Cards in a Band-Aid box and More!
In this week’s revolutionary edition of the Nonsense Newsletter, John Dudley talks about strategy, I, on the other hand, get all nostalgic and sentimental about LCSs and card shows. Plus, we’ve got another brilliant edition of the Quick Hits coming your way. So, bundle up, settle in, and enjoy this week’s edition of the Nonsense Newsletter.
Rethinking Strategy
By John Dudley
The World Series is just barely over (congrats Rangers), but I’ve already shifted to planning and buying for next season. Perhaps now more than any time in the last five years, it is critical to have a plan or strategy in building your collection. On the bright side, it is a buyer’s market and you can get some serious bang for your bucks, on the other hand, if you use the prevailing strategies from just two years ago, you’d quickly go broke as you grade base rookie cards for $15 and flip them for $10. What once worked is now a recipe for disaster.
That means it is time to take a look at my strategies and see which ones still work and which ones need to be tossed out of a window. As always, this is just a thought exercise and not actual financial advice. It’s also worth noting that these are the strategies I use to get a collection I like and not one set to maximize value. With that out of the way, let’s check a few of my normal strategies out and see if I can update my thinking for the 2024 baseball season.
Strategy One: Buy less wax/buy more singles. This is one that is getting stronger in my own habits. I’ve made sort of a hobby resolution to only buy wax that I am sure I’ll enjoy. It doesn’t mean that these products will be profitable, but it means I’ll have fun ripping them and not feel like I got mugged afterwards as is sadly becoming the norm for many products.
Give the LCS a Shot
By John McTaggart
In my years, I’ve had a lot of cards pass through my paws.
Some real head-turners, others just plain forgettable, but regardless of the value or significance in the hobby, each one played a part in my journey in one way or another.
And the older I get, and the longer I’m in the hobby seriously, the more I have come to appreciate the journey.
I think back to the early days when my brother and I pooled together money to buy a lone box of 1986 Donruss baseball. Or the days when we scrambled to find 1990 Upper Deck hockey or 1989 Upper Deck baseball, searching for Federov or Griffey.
Looking back, I literally remember conversations at shows, specific deals made, and cards that we were so proud to place carefully into the homemade showcase in the early days.
I remember the moment we got our first ’86 Fleer Jordan and Barkley (my favorite player). I remember the first Gretzky rookie, and the SP Jeter rookies that came and went show after show.
And I made friends back then in the hobby that are still important people in my life to this day.
Quick Hits
Grading News- Grading numbers are in for October and they are strong across the board. CGC’s numbers are perplexing with a massive jump in TCG cards graded paired with a precipitous drop in sports cards graded. I still think something is going on with their data and now the issue has hit the TCG branch. It makes more sense for CGC to be having a data issue with their long-broken database than for them to have a random 50,000 card increase and then drop in the sports card numbers.
Vintage- Now I have officially heard it all in this hobby. A collection of 39 ultra-rare 1921 Herpolsheimer baseball cards, which, of course, includes one of the rarest Babe Ruth cards known to exist, was found in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 2019 — in an old Band-Aid tin. These cards are set to head to auction next week at Love of the Game. For more on this crazy find, click here.
Hobby News- Bob Ross cards from Topps have started to hit the market. The Happy Little Boxes have been shipped, but the Collector’s Boxes with the guaranteed autographs have not. Topps does seem to have been generous with the autos as they are popping up in the Happy Little Boxes at a reasonable rate. This should be a great set for player collectors for a while. With this release getting good buzz and solid secondary prices, expect some more odd releases from Topps in the future.
Pop Culture News- Rittenhouse is releasing an NCIS expansion set. Each pack has 9!!! autographs and guarantees fan favorites Pauley Perrette and Rocky Carroll in every single pack. With packs selling for just over $200, this seems like an intriguing offering for fans of the popular long-running series.
The Sports Card Nonsense newsletters reflect the opinions of only the authors and contributors. They are for informational purposes only and are not a recommendation for purchases or of an investment strategy or to buy or sell any assets.