July 1, 2020

11 Tips on Trading Sports Cards in 2020 | Tea With GaryVee

Athletes who stay relevant after their career ends usually fetch higher prices
Since sports are such a huge part of American culture, sports cards are becoming an alternative form of investing
- “You have to be very careful, very educated, there’s a lot to learn” – Gary Vaynerchuk
  - The sports card market is just like other markets, it has ups and downs
If you want to get your sports cards graded, Gary recommends checking out PSA, BGS, or SGC
Gary is bullish on UFC and eSports cards
Grading cards is a skill; if you want to make things easier, buy trading cards raw and sell them raw
- “I think raw to raw is the easiest way to build up slowly” – Gary Vaynerchuk

Gary Vaynerchuk (@garyvee) is an entrepreneur, author, speaker, and internet personality.
- For a throwback, check out the Podcast Notes from his appearance on The James Altucher Show

Gary says yes and that the company is paying more attention to trading cards
- “When a certain genre gets serious, they get more detailed and they’re already evolving like the search based on the grading and things of that nature” – Gary Vaynerchuk
  - Gary expects StockX to also evolve
    - Gary transacts most of his cards on Ebay

Athletes who stay relevant after their career usually fetch higher prices
Since sports is such a huge part of American culture, sports cards are becoming an alternative form of investing
- “You have to be very careful, very educated, there’s a lot to learn” – Gary Vaynerchuk
  - The sports card market is just like other markets, it has ups and downs
If you want to get your sports cards graded, Gary recommends checking out PSA, BGS, or SGC
Soccer cards are increasingly more popular in Europe
- Basketball cards are starting to gain traction in Europe
Gary is a huge fan of Pokemon cards
- “I think Pokemon and soccer is a great play if you want to enjoy and try it out” – Gary Vaynerchuk

“I think the NBA is by far the most popular global league” – Gary Vaynerchuk
Basketball also has a ton of superheroes (e.g: LeBron James, Stephen Curry)
- “They’re just so much more famous to people” – Gary Vaynerchuk
  - Football players wear helmets, baseball players don’t have as much exposure, whereas basketball players are everywhere
Gary looks at hockey like wrestling; it has a small but passionate following
- “I feel like hockey’s got a tougher road but has a small, incredible passionate community” – Gary Vaynerchuk

There are a ton of places to sell your cards: Discord, Twitter, Instagram, Card forums, StockX, event shows
- There’s always Ebay
  - “Ebay’s a very fluid and strong market” – Gary Vaynerchuk

Gary is bullish on UFC and eSports cards
- “I think UFC and eSports card are gonna be in 20 years, very interesting to debate” – Gary Vaynerchuk

Gary believes Ronald Acuña Jr. has all-star talent
- That Francisco Lindor is underpriced
- He’s a big fan of Juan Soto
  - “Those are some of the kids that I think are really interesting” – Gary Vaynerchuk

Grading cards is a skill, if you want to make things easier, buy trading cards raw and sell them raw
- “I think raw to raw is the easiest way to build up slowly” – Gary Vaynerchuk
“You grade when you know it’s worth it for you” – Gary Vaynerchuk
If you’re just starting out, buy established players
- If you buy rookie cards you’re gambling because you don’t know if the player will get hurt or not

When starting a marketing agency, the most important thing is to get clients
Gary loves the hobby of collecting sports cards; it’s not just an investment for him
If you want to get better at trading cards, educate yourself
If you can get your hands on a “weird” card, like a Michael Jordan card before his rookie season, that could be worth a ton of money in the future