Deciding What to Buy

Selecting good players is very important to being a successful prospector, but another major factor is the set. For baseball, it is pretty straight forward: Bowman Chrome. BC dominates baseball prospecting, and the variation (base, refractor, xfractor, etc.) depends on your budget. But the only thing that varies among the parallels is your profit. For the most part, the cheaper card will produce the cheaper ROI, so when confronted with this decision, it is smart to either buy 1-2 high end cards or many low end cards. Nonetheless, stick to rookie year Bowman Chrome cards when investing in baseball.

Basketball is very different in terms of selecting a set. There are several different sets out there which can be profitable, but the most important thing is to buy from the player's rookie year. No matter what sport, player, or set, the rookie year cards will always be the ones to spike in value. Selecting a set in basketball primarily depends on your budget. For high end investors, exquisite is usually the way to go. These cards are top dollar and usually give the greatest ROI, but when buying, it is important to try to get a good patch (3 colors) with an autograph that does not run off the card. Ultimate and SPX are the next two best sets to buy from. Ultimate usually outsells SPX, but in some cases, a player's SPX cards sell for more than his Ultimate and will have the greater ROI. It is important before buying to see which one sells for more, because whichever of the two is worth more will be the better buy. Lastly are the true rookie cards (topps chrome, bowman chrome, etc.) and SP Authentic. These are the lower end cards, and usually return the least unless purchased in large lots. But sometimes this option is the way to go for the better players such as Chris Paul where high end cards like Exquisite are out of reach for most collectors.

The most important thing to remember is that the set makes a huge difference in the return on investment. Generally, the more expensive card will generate the larger profit, but when a player spikes, all of his rookie cards will increase in value.