The sports card and NFT markets are hot. Are you ready to sell? To buy?

Note to Coach’s Box readers: This is my weekly column for the Cincinnati Enquirer and Cincinnati.com. I included photos of some of my cards I collected over the years.

By Mike Bass
mbass@mikebasscoaching.com

I would never sell any of my sports trading cards. Until I did.

I would never sell my Sandy Koufax baseball card. Unless someone makes me an offer I cannot refuse.

What would it take to sell your cards?

Or invest in more?

* * *

It’s crazy out there. Target recently stopped selling MLB, NFL and NBA (and Pokemon) cards in stores to ensure the “safety of our guests and our team.” No reasons were given, but it came a week after a man carrying cards reportedly was attacked outside a Wisconsin Target.

Did I say crazy? A Mickey Mantle card sold for $5.2 million. So did a LeBron James card. A Luca Doncic card sold for $4.6 million, a Mike Trout card for $3.9 million, and a Tom Brady card for $2.25 million.

What’s next? Will Sunday’s giveaway of Reds baseball card sets at Great American Ball Park provide investment opportunities instead of souvenirs for children 14 and younger? Of course not. Not a chance.

Right?

If the sports card boon intrigues you, I am right there with you. The industry exploded while COVID-19 sequestered us from sports and each other. Price and demand skyrocketed, and technology spawned new options.

Running out of closet space for cardboard? How about a Nonfungible Token (NFT) digital collectible? An NBA Top Shot pack of “Moments” starts at $9. A Top Shot video clip of a James dunk sold in February for $208,000.

Are you interested in buying something?

Are you interested in selling something?

* * *  

A few years ago, I started looking into selling my cards, when the market already seemed good. I had bought most of my cards as a kid and added others over time. I used to cringe at the idea of selling for anything short of an emergency, but my wife and I were downsizing. The memories had served me well; a little extra money and less clutter would serve me better.

I thought I might enjoy the process.

I was wrong.

Going through my cards was fun. Going through my cards always was fun. Getting them graded was not. The cost shocked me, the grades disappointed me, and three disqualifications flags for possible trimming offended me. (I can’t draw a straight line, much less cut one.) Then what I earned at auction was far less than I had imagined.

My expectations got in the way.

I was not selling pristine merchandise. I did not encase cards as a kid because that’s not what we did back then. I spent time with my cards, read and reread them, and enjoyed them. They were not perfect, but the memories were. Add those to any money I received, and now I can appreciate the payoff. Now I can reframe the experience.

I learned.

* * *

I sold some of my cards, and of course, I miss those at times. Sure, I would have preferred making more money. Naturally, I wonder if I would have made more selling now.

I can’t change any of that. Why obsess about it?

What if I needed to go through that, to learn from it, or I would not be where I am now? If I try this again with my remaining cards (because the whole downsizing thing didn’t work so well) I will focus on enjoying the process.

I can’t control the outcome, but I can prepare myself – the same as if I decide to reverse course and buy cardboard or digital assets. I will know the potential payoff (the dream scenario) and I will feel comfortable with the risk.

You can, too.

If you are debating whether it is time to buy or sell, ask yourself these questions to help protect yourself:

— What is the worst that could happen? What are the odds of that happening? How would you adapt?

— What is most likely to happen? What would you do if that happened?

— What are your limits? What helps you abide by those?

— What will make this fun for you, no matter what?

I am not here to tell you to buy, sell or stand pat. Think about what process worked for you with similar decisions. If you gear it more on finding ways within your control to enjoy the journey, and less on the results, how could that ease your stress level and enhance the experience?

If I sell again, my heart still says to keep my favorite card, the Koufax I unwrapped in a wax pack when I was a child. The card and I have wrinkled together, increasing its sentimental value while lowering its market value. But what if there were an offer for it worth considering?

Nah. I can’t see it happening.

Until it does.

Remember to email Mike Bass at mbass@mikebasscoaching.com or reach out to him @SportsFanCoach1 on Twitter if you want to be included next week. His website is MikeBassCoaching.com.