Six-Month Purchase Review (Part 2 of 2)
For sports card collectors, it can be healthy to look back from time to time, and the start of a new year is a perfect opportunity. In this, the second of two posts, I will continue using my eBay purchase history to assess my sports card purchases over the last six months. My goals are to give readers insights into my personal buying patterns and to determine if there is anything I would do differently if I were making these purchases today.
One of the best young players in the NBA, Tatum is having an All-Star level start to the 2021-22 season. His averages of 25.6 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game make him one of the most well-rounded forwards in basketball. His team, the Boston Celtics, has battled injuries and poor play throughout the first half and currently holds the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The basketball card market has been hammered over the last several months, but the Tatum Hoops card I purchased has held steady. I believe in Tatum long-term and will look to pick up some more of his rookies, if prices dip in the second half of the year.
Messi, Neymar and Ronaldo are three of the all-time greats playing soccer today. Lionel Messi has won seven Golden Ball trophies, awarded annually to the game’s best player. Before signing with French power Paris Saint-Germain this season, Messi spent 17 seasons with Barcelona and won 10 La Liga titles with the club. Internationally, Messi is Argentina’s all-time leading scorer, with 80 goals in 158 appearances.
Like Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo has dominated the international and domestic soccer scene since the early part of this century. Ronaldo has played for some of the most famous clubs on the planet, including Manchester United (7 seasons), Real Madrid (9 seasons) and Juventus (4 seasons). In his time with these teams, he has won seven league titles and the UEFA Champions League five times. Winner of the Golden Ball on five occasions, Ronaldo has scored over 800 goals in his career, including an international record 115 for his country Portugal.
Neymar debuted at 17 years of age for the legendary Brazilian club Santos. Since then he has enjoyed a distinguished domestic career at superpowers Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain. All told, Neymar’s club teams have won seven league cups and one UEFA Champions League title. On the international side, Neymar has been instrumental in a Brazilian gold medal at the 2016 Olympic Games and a 2013 Confederations Cup championship. Neymar ranks second on Brazil’s all-time leading scorers list with 70. This places him just seven goals behind the fabled Pelé, who ranks first.
My motivation to buy these cards was the 2022 World Cup, which will be played in Qatar in November. While Portugal will need to survive a qualifying match in March to make it to Qatar, Argentina and Brazil are among the favorites to win the entire tournament. Even though these cards are down overall from the price I paid for them, I am happy that I acquired them before the World Cup hype machine ramps up.
Like the thought process for Messi, Ronaldo and Neymar, the purchases of Camavinga (France), Pedri (Spain), Antony (Brazil) and Gravenberch (Netherlands) were made with an eye toward the coming World Cup. While they are younger players and therefore more speculative, each has each shown promise playing for Champions League level clubs and should see action for squads predicted to make strong showings in Qatar.
Even though Acuna Jr. is coming off a knee injury, I was thrilled to pick up this card in PSA 9 condition for less than $50. Along with Juan Soto and Fernando Tatis Jr., Acuna Jr. is one of the brightest young stars in Major League Baseball. In addition, his team, the Atlanta Braves, is coming off a World Series win, and with a solid young core of players should be a title contender for the next five seasons. As mentioned in previous blog posts, this card appeals to me because it appears to have a lower production run than some of Acuna’s 2018 rookie cards.
How about you? What purchases have you made over the last six months? Do you periodically assess items you have bought in the past? I would love to hear from you! Please leave your comments in the section below.
Dan is married, has a daughter and son, and spends most of his days engaged in financial compliance activities for an insurance company. He has been known to overuse caffeine and has been collecting and trading sports memorabilia since 1985.