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How Much Should You Invest Annually In Sports Card?
It’s no secret that sports card investing can be incredibly lucrative.
It allows you to diversify your investments and might even result in life-changing profits if you pick the right cards.
But nothing in life comes without risk.
So it’s important to consider how much you should ideally invest in sports cards.
Since we get this question a lot from our dedicated readers…
Let’s take a look at the main factors you need to keep in mind when you’re setting an investment budget.
Factors To Consider
- Annual Salary
- Age
- Risk Appetite
- Time Horizon
- Relationship Status
Your Annual Salary
How much money you make a year is the most critical factor in determining how much you can toss at your favorite Mike Trout rookie card.
Someone who makes a million dollars a year can spend a lot more money than someone who makes $50,000.
As a rule of thumb, though, we generally suggest you invest 10% of your income into sports cards.
This will give you enough money to play around, but it’s not big enough to be considered unnecessarily risky.
So, for example:
- If you earn $1,000,000: Invest $100,000
- $500,000: $50,000
- $250,000: $25,000
- $100,000: $10,000
- $50,000: $5,000
All you need to do is multiply your annual income by 0.10.
That’s your sweet spot.
Your Age
Young investors have a lot more time to recover from bad investments. And can afford to mess up because chances are they’ll still recover.
If you’re 22 and your cards suddenly lose a ton of value, you can ride it out and wait until the market recovers.
Or if you made a bad decision and sell at a $20,000 loss, you’ve got whole decades in front of you to make it up.
But if you’re nearing 60, you can’t afford nearly as much as your younger counterpart.
The general rule of thumb is to invest more when you’re young and then dial it back slowly as you age.
Risk Appetite
This is a factor that only you can determine.
Risk appetite is how much you’re willing to take on to get your dream results.
For some, investing a lot of money in a risky card can lead to stress and sleepless nights.
Others have more tolerance and are happy to take huge risks in hopes of a huge profit.
This depends on you – and I’d suggest taking some time to think about how much risk you want to take on.
The more your risk appetite, the more you’re free to invest in sports cards.
Time Horizon
Do you have debts you’re trying to pay off, or do you foresee a major expenditure in the near future?
Then it might not be the best idea to invest a large chunk into sports cards.
Another factor you should consider is your time before turning your investment into cash.
If you urgently need to sell your sports cards, you might have to do this at a loss.
The longer you have before you need cash right away, the more chances you have of getting the highest possible price for your cards.
And trust me. It’s always worth the wait.
Relationship Status
The single man can spend much more of his/her annual salary on a high-end rookie card than the married man/woman with 3 kids, a dog, and a cat.
If you are a “family man” knock anywhere between 2% to 3% off your investment amount you can spend.
If you are a single man/woman feel free to add 2% to 3% (woot woot!)
On the other hand, if you’re married to someone who enjoys sports card investing just as much as you do…
You’re a lucky man and can definitely increase your combined investments in sports cards!
Bottom Line
Just like any other investment, investing in sports cards has risks, and you should not go blindly into buying PSA 10 cards.
The younger single individual can take a lot more risk and invest a lot more of their annual income vs a 48-year-old who has a wife, three kids, and a dog.
However, after reading this article, you should have a good idea of how much money you can invest in high-end sports cards like Mike Trout rookie cards or Derek Jeter’s rookie cards.
Now that you’ve got a clear idea of how much money you’re about to stick into sports cards…
Your next question is…
What cards should I buy?
Remember, 99% of cards are not worth your time.
You should usually look for high-end graded cards by PSA or BGS (although sometimes we break that rule with Bowman Chrome cards).
Luckily, we spend a huge chunk of our time studying the cards with the most potential so you can have an easier time investing.
I’m going to point you to three of the best investment options that should only increase dramatically over time.
We feel these cards will beat the stock market and make a great addition to your high-end sports card investing portfolio.
- Derek Jeter SP 1993 Rookie Card (BGS or PSA)
- Ty Cobb T206 Cards (Green, Red, Polar Bear, etc.)
- Mike Trout 2009 Bowman Chrome (Auto, Refractor, Xfractor)
You can also check out “Best Sports Cards To Buy Right Now (Best Baseball, Basketball, Football, Hockey Cards to Buy)” for a more extensive list of cards we are adding to our portfolio.
We also regularly write excellent reports on baseball, basketball, and football cards – so keep an eye out on this space!
If you have any questions or just want to chat with a fellow investor, feel free to email us at info@goldcardauctions.com.