Back in the 80s, kids entertained themselves by card collecting, having no real expectation of gaining anything. Yet, era changes, and generations of kids have now grown as middle-aged investors with money to spend. Thus, sports cards are making a tremendous comeback. Except for this time, as investment and not just for entertainment. The same goes with comics.
More than being used for entertainment purposes, sports cards, and comic books are also a great investment.
When it comes to collecting cards, comics, or any collectibles, there is a rule you need to consider. This rule includes speculating, betting, and investing in the unknown, unpopular collectibles. The logical reason behind this is simple. If you invest in already well-known collectibles, you will need a larger amount of capital to start. And there’s a big chance that you’ll only get a small margin in your earnings because of the competition in the market.
However, if you go for unknown yet latent collectibles, there’s a higher potential that your capital would double or even triple. Investing early on unrecognized collectibles will give you a leading edge. And would provide a larger room for the possible highest return you could make because the price hasn’t been inflated yet.
Sports Cards Investments vs Marvel Comic Investments
A collectible or trading card is a small-sized card made from paperboard or thick paper. This card basically holds an image of a particular person, place, item, and brief description. A sports card is a type of trading card.
On the other hand, Marvel Comics is a famous primary imprint and brand name of the formerly known Marvel Publishing, Inc., which is a publisher of American comic books. Marvel was acquired by Disney last 2009, and almost all the characters they release build a huge name in the industry.
Now, which investment is better? An investment in sports cards? Or in Marvel Comics?
Predictability
As for Marvel Comics, you could examine Disney or Marvel to know the direction they are heading. You could study the movie and series that they have lined up for release, and you can see how they work hard to maximize the marketing for these characters to be released. And because you can recognize these characters that Marvel will be putting their money into, you could ride on those characters and invest in them first.
On the other hand, sports cards can somehow be unpredictable. There is no particular trend on sports cards. Supposed there’s an excellent one that you could consider as an “ace”, there is still a possibility that another team would tear down that ace and cause injury.
There could be a rookie in the NBA, FIBA, MLB, and such that you think can make his own name, but there is no guarantee that they could sustain that value because there’s no way of predicting what would happen to the player in the future. They could be injured, retire, or just pop out like a bubble.
In Comics, you could buy D-grade characters even before their release to maximize their value, but you can’t really do that in the sports card. Comparing the two in terms of predictability, Marvel Comics has the advantage because you have the opportunity to know the market’s direction. Thus, it gives you a chance to assess possibilities and risks.
Usability
Besides looking at Marvel Comics as investments, you could go back to its essential purpose- entertainment. The excellent visual nature of comics allows you to experience various themes that you can’t have in a single piece of a card. On top of that, Marvel Comics could be used as an additional aesthetically cool display in your office, room, or collectibles.
You can also display sports cards as other people do. However, you would be having a hard time doing that because of its tiny size.
Value
Now, this is what you are waiting for.
Although both sports cards and Marvel comics could go up in value, some factors need consideration in choosing which of the two would benefit you more.
Sports cards might seem worthless to you, but for fans, they are everything. In fact, Honus Wagner’s 1909-11 Baseball Card, which is considered the holy grail among all sports cards, was sold for about $2.8 million. Considering the sports player’s age, rarity, and history, investing in a sports card could probably make you money. But without those three elements, it will be better to put your money sitting in the stock market.
If the sports card has Honus Wagner, comics have Action Comics #1 on its side. Action Comics #1, the most expensive comic in history, was sold for $3.2 Million. This comic features the debut of the most iconic superhero of all time, Superman. As we all know, Marvel has their own Superman on its side and a lot more superheroes on its side. Perhaps, these superheroes would save your investment too!
Key Takeaways
Both Marvel comics and sports cards are a good investment. The two possess their own advantages and disadvantages and choosing between them depends solely on your preference. Are you a comic nerd? Or a sports fanatic? This question is the first thing you could consider despite the factors mentioned above.
If you are thinking about how you could sell, here’s the thing.
The difficulty that accompanied tracking down the perfect buyer at the perfect cost is a relic of days gone by now. In the present, you can find lots of auctions and sellers that take place all over the year so you can comfortably find a buyer.
If you need to sell your comics or sports card urgently, several platforms will allow you to sell your cards to a bigger market. You can try putting it up on eBay or any eCommerce website and just wait for a buyer to approach you.
