Central Coast Sports Cards is hoping to become both a reliable seller and advisor for the sports card and memorabilia industry. By this I mean that we will offer unbiased opinions on cards/players that will go up, cards/players that will go down, and other things of this nature. In this newsletter I will be including a few examples. These examples are the Topps Series One rookie cards of Yordan Alvarez, Bo Bichette, Gavin Lux, and Aristedes Aquino. We at Central Coast Sports Cards recommend buying up as many as you can of these guys because of their low-risk, high-reward potential. At less than $5 each these cards have the potential to reach over to $1,000 based on performance. Take the Mike Trout 2011 Topps Rookie for example, which is now $1,000 less than 10 years later. Similar cards from recent years include the Juan Soto 2018 Topps Rookie Card (~$150), the Christian Yelich 2013 Topps Rookie Card (~$200), and the Ronald Acuna 2018 Topps Rookie Card (~$200). We have chosen Alvarez, Bichette, Lux and Aquino because of their proven abilities at the end of last season in the bigs, but there are other players with RC’s in Topps Series One who have the potential to see a big spike in value. 

Central Coast Sports Cards would like to not only offer advice but also give you a platform to buy the cards we talk about having potential. Whether it be directly from us, or another collector using us as a third party selling platform, we would just like to make the cards we talk about available for purchase. We will do this by creating a marketplace embedded in our website allowing those who follow our social medias and see our tips, to then go and purchase the cards they believe in. 

Central Coast Sports Cards has created a new twitter account! We have now moved onto Twitter where we will be posting quick updates in the market, and cards for sale! Make sure to follow us there to be kept in the loop as our market continues to shift as more and more investors influenced by Gary Vaynerchuk pour money into the hobby.

The sports card industry is one that typically revolves mainly around greed and profit, however there are a small percent of collectors that still enjoy the “hobby” aspect of it. One of the best examples of this is a huge collector and someone who I’ve had the opportunity to become friends with online through the sports card world and in person at conventions, Jimmy Mahan. He has a collection of both old and new cards and other memorabilia items and can be found on Instagram @KentuckyBasketballCards.

Jimmy is known by many for his generosity and it was made known to even more after Forbes posted their article about his extreme act of kindness. He happened to be lucky enough to get a dual autograph, black parallel (1/1, in other words the only in existence) of RJ Barrett and Zion Williamson (two of the best rookies in this years class), from a box he opened for himself. After realizing how much the card he had gotten could be worth, he decided that the thing he wanted to do was auction it and donate the money. He had the card submitted to be graded based on condition and it received a 9.5 on a 1-10 scale. He then posted the card for auction on eBay and it sold for over $15,000 which he donated to the Crossnore School, a foster care organization that means a lot to him.

The article about this can be viewed at https://www.forbes.com/sites/chrissheridan/2019/11/15/trading-card-collector-bought-autographed-zion-rj-card-sold-it-and-donated-to-charity/#7c166360b9ed

For my first blog post, I figured I would talk about the basics in this industry. There are many important things to know when it comes to looking to purchase cards and other memorabilia. For starters, in order to ensure you are getting what you pay for it is important to know the reputable brands in the industry. For sports cards, the Topps company and Panini America company are both well-known manufacturers which produce cards that have potential to hold and gain value overtime. Other companies such as Leaf and Upper Deck create authentic cards, but due to licensing rights their cards do not hold much value over time. When it comes to memorabilia, there are two main companies other than the NBA, MLB, and other professional sports leagues that can authenticate autographed or game used items. The two companies Beckett and PSA are very well known as reliable authenticators, meaning that if you purchase something that has been certified by them, you know you are getting what you paid for. It is important to know this because a lot of forgeries will be sold with a COA (Certificate of Authenticity) that is nothing more than a piece of paper that has been printed by the owner themselves.

Another important thing to know is how to correctly value your items. In prior times, the way of pricing used to be by using Beckett’s Card Almanac, which provided a price guide for almost every card released in the year. However, as the hobby has evolved to an internet-dominated industry, it has become easier than ever to value your cards or items. Many people will search on eBay and price an item they own or are looking to buy by seeing what other sellers are attempting to sell their items for. This is the incorrect way because people can ask whatever price they want for their item, but it doesn’t mean someone will pay that much. The trick to get around this is by using eBays filters and selecting “Sold Listings” so that you can easily see what prices the cards and items have actually sold for. This is a trick that many new collectors and buyers are unaware of.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

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Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.