Flipping graded Michael Jordan & Kobe Bryant cards on eBay
 

[youtube]Zsa9JyB2Olw[/youtube]

Hi all,

I want to share this new video I made as I think some of you may find it entertaining or informative. Many months ago I read a comment on Blowout wishing for a video formatted this way with a host detailing what they paid and what they sold cards for. That comment was one of the many reasons I made a video like this. Anyways, enjoy :)

I'd give you a fire emoji, but mine's been NFT'd and currently up for sale at Sotheby's.

:popcorn:

LOL, I can't even. As someone who went to art school and studied digital media art, I wish anyone who thinks their PNG NFT is the art of the future the best of luck -_- *facepalm*

I appreciate the honesty. I like the illustrations with the shopping cart and credit card. I like the music too. Hope you didn't pay for all those cards with credit. You did well in general. It would be nice to know when you bought and sold those cards too.

By the way, regarding the word 'aesthetic', I looked it up on dictionary.com
It is listed as both an adjective and a noun, which is unusual. I like your explanation though. I teach E.S.L.

[QUOTE=OriginalRapsfan;17084204]I appreciate the honesty. I like the illustrations with the shopping cart and credit card. I like the music too. Hope you didn't pay for all those cards with credit. You did well in general. It would be nice to know when you bought and sold those cards too.

By the way, regarding the word 'aesthetic', I looked it up on dictionary.com
It is listed as both an adjective and a noun, which is unusual. I like your explanation though. I teach E.S.L.[/QUOTE]

Hey, thanks! I have all the eBay item numbers of the purchases and sales recorded; and I might add those to the description of the video or create a supplemental site with details. In general these were all purchased around the Holidays in November & December 2020 and sold in December & January.

And good to know! I need to check my dictionary if I want to get technical :p

What I’m getting at with that is that I have noticed a new colloquial use of the word aesthetic that users of the word seem to think implies a specific aesthetic, when to me it needs more descriptive language to indicate a specific look. The look tends to be neon colors, especially pink with silhouettes.

I did some E.S.L. teaching myself for a year in South Korea. Are you in Canada?

Nice video, good effort, and hey, you made money. I'll be that guy, but too bad you didn't hang on to those Kobe's for just a bit longer. Finest PSA 10 were hitting 6k a few weeks ago. So tough to predict these things!

[QUOTE=pejc300;17085023]Nice video, good effort, and hey, you made money. I'll be that guy, but too bad you didn't hang on to those Kobe's for just a bit longer. Finest PSA 10 were hitting 6k a few weeks ago. So tough to predict these things![/QUOTE]

Not at all (you’re not that guy), I definitely could have made a LOT more by holding just a little longer, only a matter of weeks. At the point in time when I was selling these, though, I was just going for quick flips to do a high volume of sales with a moderate profit margin. I did the same with a Bowman’s Best PSA 10 Kobe that didn’t make it into this video (flipped for about a 10% profit, but now it goes for 4x what I sold it for). I learned that PSA 10s have the most room to grow in value the fastest.

It was good to get all these cards in hand though, to be able to compare and find out what I love and where I see value long term. At first Topps Finest was the iconic Kobe rookie to me that I saw as having the most value long term based on my memories from childhood of collecting his rookies. But as time went on and I looked at that card more, it began to appear lackluster and dull to me. So, it isn’t one of my favorite cards and I am OK with having moved on.

I’m confident in how I used the money earned from the sales, but that’s for another video ;)

A couple of questions?

If your intent was to flip? Why sell any for loss?

Did you consider cracking and submitting the SGC and BGS slabbed cards to get in a PSA holder? Right or wrong, we all know that money is being left on the table because PSA items sell for a premium.

[QUOTE=Springerj23;17085151]A couple of questions?

If your intent was to flip? Why sell any for loss?

Did you consider cracking and submitting the SGC and BGS slabbed cards to get in a PSA holder? Right or wrong, we all know that money is being left on the table because PSA items sell for a premium.[/QUOTE]

Good questions! Some cards I would sell at a loss when I was sitting on something for awhile longer than I hoped without getting any interested buyers, or if something good was coming up at auction that I wanted money for I might sell to get the money to pay for it. For example I sold the Jordan Rock the House SGC 8.5 to have the money to buy the same card in a PSA 9 at auction.

And, no for the most part at the time I was selling these cards 2-4 months ago I wasn’t cracking cases; but I have since started to. Some of them like the Jordan Metal Universe BGS 9.5 I gave the eyeball test, but it didn’t pass as I didn’t see it grading PSA 10.

[QUOTE=mintheat;17085007]Hey, thanks! I have all the eBay item numbers of the purchases and sales recorded; and I might add those to the description of the video or create a supplemental site with details. In general these were all purchased around the Holidays in November & December 2020 and sold in December & January.

And good to know! I need to check my dictionary if I want to get technical :p

What I’m getting at with that is that I have noticed a new colloquial use of the word aesthetic that users of the word seem to think implies a specific aesthetic, when to me it needs more descriptive language to indicate a specific look. The look tends to be neon colors, especially pink with silhouettes.

I did some E.S.L. teaching myself for a year in South Korea. Are you in Canada?[/QUOTE]

Yes. I taught in South Korea for four years actually (and Japan for one). I wish I had your artistic ability. It can be a useful teaching tool.
I believe the etymology of the word 'aesthetic' is Greek (aesthete), if I am not mistaken. Regarding your video, I understand your frustration, but might leave the English lesson out. What bothers me about ebay listings, besides the ridiculous prices some sellers ask, is when they state PSA 9 or 10 in the title for an ungraded card, or have the word 'refractor' in the listing, when it clearly isn't.
One mistake I made in selling cards is not being patient and waiting long enough to sell my cards. I don't generally buy to flip and sell. People, myself included, might also be interested to know how much time (# of hours) it took you to buy and sell those cards.

the way they are referring to aesthetic is the vaporwave definition of it

you may have seen it in full with katana like this:
ＡＥＳＴＨＥＴＩＣ

basically theyre definition is that it uses the "coloring/look/feel" of "vaporwave art"

dont over ananlyze it too much it came from casuals who dont understand vaporwave but want to

[QUOTE=OriginalRapsfan;17086283]Yes. I taught in South Korea for four years actually (and Japan for one). I wish I had your artistic ability. It can be a useful teaching tool.
I believe the etymology of the word 'aesthetic' is Greek (aesthete), if I am not mistaken. Regarding your video, I understand your frustration, but might leave the English lesson out. What bothers me about ebay listings, besides the ridiculous prices some sellers ask, is when they state PSA 9 or 10 in the title for an ungraded card, or have the word 'refractor' in the listing, when it clearly isn't.
One mistake I made in selling cards is not being patient and waiting long enough to sell my cards. I don't generally buy to flip and sell. People, myself included, might also be interested to know how much time (# of hours) it took you to buy and sell those cards.[/QUOTE]

With the whole aside about the word aesthetic, I'm basically creating a segment in the video that is kind of an ice breaker with food for thought, or a topic to discuss that isn't a typical sports cards talking point. Hey, it got us talking!

I have become more patient with sales now. This was during a period when I was building up my risk tolerance and wasn't really open to the idea of holding long term.

As far as number of hours, that's a tough one. I basically dove in to cards head first in July 2020 and since then it's been the main thing I'm doing full time. So, I couldn't say exactly how many hours; but it was a lot of time especially including the video production aspect of it.

[QUOTE=cboog3105;17087152]the way they are referring to aesthetic is the vaporwave definition of it

you may have seen it in full with katana like this:
ＡＥＳＴＨＥＴＩＣ

basically theyre definition is that it uses the "coloring/look/feel" of "vaporwave art"

dont over ananlyze it too much it came from casuals who dont understand vaporwave but want to[/QUOTE]

Ah, yes. That makes sense. I won't worry about it; I just like to joke by getting worked up about minor trivial things :p