One year-old StarStock, a trading card marketplace, is getting a big influx of cash courtesy of a group of investors that includes a couple of NBA players. The company announced Monday that it had raised $1.3 million in seed funding “to fuel the company’s growth plans.” Participants in the round include NBA all-star Kevin Durant and long-time veteran guard Matthew … [Read more...]
Selling Your Sets, Part II: Picking the Right Auction Outlet
This is the second of a two-part series on getting the most money out of your better baseball and other sports card sets if you decide to sell. Part I covered putting a plan together and showcasing some of the best cards in your set. In part two, Mark Arzoumanian offers some insight on how to pick the right place to help you with the sale. If you’ve identified … [Read more...]
How to Sell Your Trading Card Sets Part I: Have a Plan
I’m a glass half full guy. But lately I’ve been thinking about death. My own. It’s hard not to when every day the news is dominated by Covid-19 stories. Sad and disconcerting. But if I were to die from this virus next month, one thing I know for certain: An auction house of my own choosing will auction off my baseball card collection. My two younger brothers, neither of whom … [Read more...]
Major Sports Card Buyers Stuck at Home During COVID Crisis
Gas is cheap. There are plenty of seats on airplanes. They have plenty of time—and money—at their disposal. It may sound like a perfect scenario, but this spring has been a lonely time for those who are used to buying collections of sports cards. The Coronavirus has put a damper on deals. “It’s just nearly impossible to go out of the area to buy collections,” … [Read more...]
Sports Card Buying Trips Yield Inventory
"Buying trips" have been a way of life for some dealers as far back as the 1970s and 80s where shoeboxes full of sports cards were carried into conference rooms at hotels across North America. Dealers built their show inventory by advertising their presence in local newspapers and on radio. Closets and attics emptied, dealers forked over a few bucks and … [Read more...]
What’s Hot: Big Deals and Hot Cardboard
I'm sitting here at Casa De Fruitman just chilling out after sadly watching the Nuggets lose to the Jazz on the road. While winter may keep us all inside a little more, that means there is often some closet-cleaning going on and more proof that card shops aren’t just about new products. It was an interesting day at the shop as I shipped off my first pallet of cards … [Read more...]
Collectable Raises Over $500,000 for New Sports Collectible Marketplace
Collectable, a Boston-based technology company that brings together historical and real-time pricing data from sports memorabilia auctions, has acquired seed funding to launch a new peer-to-peer marketplace. Seed-round investors include Evan Mathis, a former Super Bowl champion NFL player and avid collector, Jason Epstein, co-founder of CastleRock REO, and Larry Richmond, … [Read more...]
8 Collecting Tips To Help You Avoid Being Ripped Off
Other than losing a collection of cards or having a prized collection stolen, it may be a collector's worst nightmare. Each year, collectors are duped over and over by purchasing fake or altered cards. With improved printing capabilities and other technologies, it is easier than ever to create authentic-looking forged and altered vintage cards. While no 100% foolproof … [Read more...]
Creative Ways to Sell Modern Era Cards
A few months ago, I went to a painting class for a friend's birthday. There were about 20 of us lined up with paint and a canvas. The mission: To paint the perfect tree. I'm creative enough of a guy and have all the tools everyone else does, so I figured I'd bang out the greatest painting in all the land. I was wrong. I ended up painting my … [Read more...]
Buying Sports Cards on Amazon: Finding What You Need
You might think of them as a place to buy books, music or maybe a gift for your Aunt Jane but some collectors have discovered that buying sports cards on Amazon (and other sports memorabilia) is a viable option with some benefits. Some of the biggest sports card dealers in North America have their inventory on the website, but so do thousands of other sports memorabilia … [Read more...]