1 Warren Buffett Lesson to Follow When Investing in Sports Cards
“The trick in investing is just to sit there and watch pitch after pitch go by and wait for the one right in your sweet spot.”
For sports card investing, I’m always going to think about that Warren Buffett quote before I buy anything.
That’s because there are just so many tempting pitches that are always out there if you want to swing.
Lots you don’t need.
Cases you shouldn’t be buying.
Bidding wars you should walk away from.
But as I think about Buffett’s words of wisdom, it makes it a lot easier to wait for my pitch.
Narrow Your Focus
I’ve only been buying and selling sports cards for a few months now, but I started off with a plan.
I wanted to focus my investments around Kyler Murray, so I started with his #302 rookie cards. I stuck with it for the first month, but staying on the same path can get boring.
I started buying random Murray patch cards. Then that led to me buying a Dennis Rodman card after watching The Last Dance. Then old binders filled with cards in a Goodwill auction that may be worthless.
All over the place.
I had to narrow my focus again and think about the best pitches to hit.
For me, that meant sticking to PSA 10 #302 Murray rookie cards. I think he’s a long-term play, so I’m building my position now. I see a few other players as short-term options; players who are being underrated for various reasons.
For the short-term plays, those are the players who I believe will have better Fantasy Football seasons than most people are anticipating in this upcoming season. With more attention because of their performances, the card prices will go up.
It doesn’t make sense right now to own graded versions of those cards, so I decided to either buy autographed cards under a certain price or lots of rookie cards that aren’t rated.
Those can easily be flipped and I’m keeping the total amount of money I’m spending on those cards in particular low so that, in case it doesn’t work out, I’m okay if I never make a profit.
Waiting for the Right Pitch
There are still auctions that I want to jump in, and I may take a flier here and there if the price is too good to pass up.
Sometimes if opportunity knocks, even if you weren’t expecting it, you have to answer the door. But now that I have a renewed focus and more structure around my sports card investments, it’s a lot easier to sit back and wait for my pitch.
JD — All the Murrays
