Scared About a SPORTS CARD Collapse? Learn How To Protect Your Investments During a Recession

There’s no doubt that times are changing in our economy. With the amount of new money that was printed in the last year or so, estimates around 25% of our total circulation, a stock and housing market that is arguably overpriced, and inflation already kicking in with the potential of hyperinflation. These can be some scary times. Are we due for a recession of some sort?

If a stock market correction or hyperinflation is in our future, what can we do now to protect our sports card investments and potentially even profit from them. More importantly, how can we stay sane and healthy mentally during that time so our sports card collection stays a blessing and not a curse.

I am not one of those guys that thinks the sports card hobby is going to crash should our economy go into a recession. Are there going to be price fluctuations, of course, every market has them. If you look at the numbers over the past year, most cards have gone way up. Will some people make money and others lose money? Absolutely. However, the interest is there. It seems like every month a new record is being set for an all-time high sales price.
Just because the economy goes into a downturn, doesn’t mean there are any less people interested in owning a Kobe Bryant 1996 Topps rookie card. The amount of people that can afford it might be less, but the interest will always be there. New collectors are coming into the hobby every day ready to learn and have fun. The hobby is here to stay.

But should our economy take a down turn in the future, what can we do today to help protect ourselves personally and our sports card collection? That’s what today’s video is all about. You’ll walk away with 5 things you can do today to help make that a reality for yourself.

#5 This is the obvious one, but collect what you like.

Should the pricing of each of your cards go to $0, not saying that will ever happen, but if they do, you will enjoy having them in your collection regardless of the value of the cards. Nothing worse than having something in your collection of a player or card you are no longer interested in and knowing you wasted a $100 or a $1,000 on it. Plus, if you have to turn the card into a coaster, at least you will enjoy looking at it.

#4 Set aside money for grading.

If you are like me, you probably have some outstanding submissions at PSA or another card grading company that you will have to pay for at some point in the near future. Figure out what that total dollar amount is and set that money aside. Getting a surprise grading bill, while exciting because you get to see your grades, can throw some people off if they haven’t budgeted for it. You will feel way better knowing that you have set aside that money so when the bill does shows up, you are ready to pay it.

#3 Use your cards to pay off debt.

If you have watched any of my videos, I have talked about this topic a few times. I am not a huge fan of having personal debt outside of a home and owning sports cards as investments. It’s just my personal way of doing things, I way less tolerance for owing people money. I hate it. I like to be in control of my finances I don’t want anyone holding anything over my head.

Consider using some of your sports cards to pay off any personal debt you have. Imagine going into an economic downturn and having all of those debts paid off. How much better would you feel on a day-to-day basis knowing that you have cash on hand to handle anything a recession throws at you? Pretty darn good. Having mental clarity and low stress during a time of high stress for others is a powerful position to be in. We all make better decisions when we are less stressed.

Should you lose your job or hours get cut back at work, having a nice emergency fund and all your debts paid off will make that transition so much smoother for you mentally.

Also, owing our cards outright, puts us in a better financial situation and allows us the ability to hold them during a downturn and not have to panic and sell them to pay our mortgage, rent, or personal debt. It’s like a roller coaster, only those who jump off mid ride get hurt. If we can withstand the initial storm because of our strong personal financial position, we can prosper with our sports cards long term due to the ability to hold them during an economic downturn and reap the benefits during an economic revival.

#2 Consolidate your collection.

I think it is safe to say that most modern cards with a high pop count will probably not hold their value long term. At the very least they will be very volatile.

Consider selling part of your collection and moving into cards with a low population or numbered cards can greatly protect your investment. Getting into certain cards with a high level of interest and few available is a solid way to limit the financial downside of your sports cards in a recession. The scarcer, the better. Of course, this all depends on your current financial situation. Doesn’t even have to be consolidating into a rookie card. I still think there will be value in 2nd or 3rd year cards that are numbered or low pop. For example, Patrick Mahomes 2nd and 3rd year numbered cards have been very good to me. But it just can’t be any player, has to be one of the G.O.A.Ts or current superstar.

With the market in a current downturn, many of these cards are currently at their lowest price in months. Selling off a few higher population cards to move into a low pop or a numbered card you otherwise couldn’t afford is a smart way to profit from this downturn.

#1 Make sure your inventory is up to date.

Creating a list of what sports cards you own and the current values of them will allow you to make better decisions regarding #2 and #3. For example, if you owe $1,000 in grading fees and are currently strapped for cash, having an accurate inventory count and knowing which of your cards is worth at least $1,000 can give you a visual picture of what cards to potentially sell to pay for that upcoming bill.

Also, seeing that a card has maybe 5x, 10x or 20x since you bought, may help you in deciding to keep the card or sell it to move into a scarcer card.
Sports Card Investor’s software program Market Movers has the ability for you to enter in your card inventory and track your collection values. It also has the ability to set pricing alerts, so if you are willing to sell a card once it gets to a certain price, you can set up notifications once a card that you own has been sold for that price by someone else. Also, helps with buying should a card dip to a certain price point you are looking for. I love using their software to pull card data and charts. Helps making these videos much easier.
I do have a 20% off discount code off any of their memberships using code POWERS20.  Again, only purchase if you plan on using it and it fits into your budget.

Uncertain times can make people make poor decisions. When people are scared is usually because they are afraid they are going to lose something they have or not get something they want. My goal of this video was to help bring some clarity to the sports card hobby during a potential economic downturn. The more informed we are about our collection and the better financial situation we are in, will make dealing with any recession much less challenging. Failing to plan is planning to fail. hope some of you choose to take action to put yourself in a position where your sports cards are a blessing, not a curse. They are super fun, I have had a blast over the last few years collecting and selling them. Let’s keep it that way for the entire hobby.