dumb set idea?

[Jichael Mordan]

Hello all,

I wanted to get you guys opinion on trying to collect a set of low pop, basically undesirable vintage superhero cards. I dont want to say the set name but its graded by psa. The set has very little interest and there is no complete graded set in the world. that being said I really like the set. I estimate it will cost appx 10K to build the set and it would truly be the "best in the world" but if there is no market for it then does that even matter? Its not all about the money for me but I would hate to spend 10K and 2 years and then have something worth $1500 if that makes sense. I have gone back and forth 2-3 times on this and wanted to get you guys opinion.

[mjohnatgt]

Waste of time and money. Have fun.

[galar]

Collect what you like. That way if it ends up being worth less than what you paid for, you at least still have the enjoyment of owning it. If you are buying something for investment, I think you have already answered your own question.

[glorbgorb]

Why would you care what a bunch of random strangers on Blowout thinks about how you spend your money?

[dd316]

You say it's not about the money, but if there's no market for it it doesn't matter? If you really want to collect it, who cares if there's a market? If anything, NO market would be ideal as it should be cheaper to build.

You know what it's worth - as long as you don't spend more than that don't worry about where the market goes or what other people think.

And if it is the "best in the world", how much are bragging rights worth to you?

[glorbgorb]

Originally Posted by dd316

And if it is the "best in the world", how much are bragging rights worth to you?

Apparently a lot if he can come in and say he has $10k to blow on a set that no one cares about. Sounds like a flex, as the kids say these days.

[HiltonL]

If you're always looking at things in terms of profit and loss, then it's not a hobby, it's an investment.

Hobbies usually don't make profits - that's why the IRS disallows losses attributed to hobby activities.

Everybody has to make their own decisions on how to spend their discretionary money - it costs easily 3-5x to eat a meal in a restaurant versus cooking the same meal at home. Yet we don't criticize people for eating meals in restaurants.

[Jichael Mordan]

no flex here. just an honest question. I guess its like art really. Would you buy a piece of art that is 1 of 1 for 10K and there is better than 50% chance its "value" is less than 1/2? I guess if you loved it enough, Idk. I am now leaning towards finding something else I love that has more upside.

lol then again how could you possibly have MORE upside than 1 of 1?

This reminds me of a friend of mine who has 1 of 3 1970 Chevelle's with factory racing stripes but no radio. Super rare but value added? none.

in conclusion I have no idea what im going to do. I'd have to pay a premium to put this set together and then hope that randomly the vintage superhero card market would change in the next 20-30 years. or just pass

[CicadaMound]

Why does it have to be graded? Just do a raw set.

[jdandns]

What set?

Skybox Malibu Ultraverse?
Upper Deck Valiant Era?
Classic Continuity Deathwatch 2000?
River Group Dark Dominion?
Comic Images Shadowhwk?
Spoof Comics Batbabe?
Topps Dark Horse Comics Greatest World?
Press Pass Tribe?
River Group Defiant Warriors of Plasm?

You really can't go wrong with any of them!

[dd316]

Originally Posted by Jichael Mordan

no flex here. just an honest question. I guess its like art really. Would you buy a piece of art that is 1 of 1 for 10K and there is better than 50% chance its "value" is less than 1/2? I guess if you loved it enough, Idk. I am now leaning towards finding something else I love that has more upside.

I have purchased art featuring subject matter I don't like because I liked the art style so much. I didn't overpay for it, at least in my eyes, and I could care less what anyone else thinks.

It sounds like you like upside in terms of value more than the upside in enjoying what you're collecting. That's fine, everybody does what they want, but it seems it's not something you actually have your heart set on.

[DynaEtch]

Originally Posted by Jichael Mordan

no flex here. just an honest question. I guess its like art really. Would you buy a piece of art that is 1 of 1 for 10K and there is better than 50% chance its "value" is less than 1/2? I guess if you loved it enough, Idk. I am now leaning towards finding something else I love that has more upside.

I collect marvel error cards, and my example would fit well along these lines. Being one of the few that seems to even care/value misprints beyond trivial curiosities, I have found myself paying quite a bit above market value (which granted is not easy to guesstimate for a virtually unique error)- up to 10x more than what they would probably fetch at auction, in some cases. The seller can get away with this since it's either a 1/1 or nearly a 1/1 and hold out with a higher BIN. So I end up spending $500 for a card that could go for $50-75 tops at auction on ebay. Or $100 for a card that would go for like $15. It's because I find them interesting, and this is one part of my collection that is certainly not an investment, in fact almost the opposite, considering the small number of people who would pay more than trivial amounts for misprints. Almost like buying a new car and driving it off the lot- I am left with an item worth a fraction of what I paid for it, the moment I buy it.

To echo others on here...collect what you enjoy, not for the investment. If the only thought is: 'This will be the only graded set in the world, think how much that'll be!', then I'd probably shy away from it. Without knowing the set, if it's vintage and undesirable now, it's not likely they will be desired much later on either. Nonsports cards in general are a very niche thing to be looked toward as investments (much smaller than say, blue chip vintage key comics).

However I see where the OP is coming from too. Value shouldnt be the main thing with collecting, but it almost has to be considered when putting down $10k+, if you even care about money. No one wants to lose $8-9k in value (unless you value simply owning the cards in a box at home that much, or being able to say you're the only one who has X...is that worth 8k). I do think scarcity and value is relevant to collecting- without any of that, no matter how pretty or cool the card, if the card in question grew on trees (or what's almost the same, produced in levels comparable to late 80s junk wax)....the collecting just would not be as interesting.

During the pandemic boom I made the decision to hold onto my collection (marvel masterpieces- BSG sets and tier 4 sets etc), rather than cashing in. Of course prices have come down a big amount since then, and even now seem to be downward trending. This is essentially a 'cost' of being a collector. (This is basically the reverse of the OP situation, having already bought the items and deciding to sell, or lose money by holding). Should I have sold during the peak? Perhaps, but I value the collecting/enjoyment more than what would have gained selling at peak. I imagine many others in nonsports were faced with this same decision, and I dont blame them one bit for selling during that boom.

[daxwills]

You don't care if it makes financial sense because you have 10k to waste on a silly idea but you don't want it to be silly or everyone else to hate it? That sounds contradictory.

BTW may I ask how you can to that conclusion about the chevelle?

[PapaStu]

Originally Posted by daxwills

BTW may I ask how you can to that conclusion about the chevelle?

Sell sheet databases exist for a lot of the vintage 'muscle cars'. Run the VIN and you'll see the sell sheet on the car and know how it rolled off the factory line, what dealer got it and what it's window sticker looked like.

My dad and I were just having this very conversation this last weekend, as he was asking if I thought he should roll the family's classic muscle car back to it's stock AM only radio, or leave a factory correct, but not factory to the car AM/FM in the car because he's been mildly pondering selling it and wondering if it went to auction (and due to what it is, it'd best be served at an auction) if anyone would even notice/care even with someone pulling the sell sheet on it.

[prospectorgems]

If you really enjoy the set, you should go for it but go into it with patience. Try to find cheap singles or unopened product (if priced right) and slowly start to grade when there are specials. Also watch auctions for any graded cards for sale. If there is little to no interest you should be able to obtain graded copies for fairly cheap as well which.

If you go into it full force you are going to spend way more money than you really need to. Make it a project that can be slowly built for years.

[HiltonL]

Originally Posted by PapaStu

Sell sheet databases exist for a lot of the vintage 'muscle cars'. Run the VIN and you'll see the sell sheet on the car and know how it rolled off the factory line, what dealer got it and what it's window sticker looked like.

My dad and I were just having this very conversation this last weekend, as he was asking if I thought he should roll the family's classic muscle car back to it's stock AM only radio, or leave a factory correct, but not factory to the car AM/FM in the car because he's been mildly pondering selling it and wondering if it went to auction (and due to what it is, it'd best be served at an auction) if anyone would even notice/care even with someone pulling the sell sheet on it.

My two cents - try to keep the car as true to the original off-the-line stock as you can. Once it goes for sale, whether to auction or to some rando on Craigslist, the specific buying audience for that kind of car is going to be somebody who knows and/or cares about the car very deeply, so they'll have a deep knowledge of what should and what shouldn't be present.

[daxwills]

Originally Posted by HiltonL

My two cents - try to keep the car as true to the original off-the-line stock as you can. Once it goes for sale, whether to auction or to some rando on Craigslist, the specific buying audience for that kind of car is going to be somebody who knows and/or cares about the car very deeply, so they'll have a deep knowledge of what should and what shouldn't be present.

The NHTSA database is very useful. Plop in the VIN and poof, decoded vin. Big problem is the VIN usually doesn't contain all you'd want to know. Forget paint options sometimes the motor wasn't even listed. But it's still a good tool and free on their website.

[Flamethrower]

Send it dude, no ragerts!