| Sports Illustrated Blog # 156 on Our Way to 200 – Pricing – A Look Back Six Years Welcome to my Sports Illustrated/TIME magazine blog – Your collector’s guide to the latest hobby updates and insight into what’s trending now. Many of my previous blogs have included some type of encouragement that my readers should invest in “Graded Magazines”. Sometimes the hotness of the day was a specific athlete, sometimes a different publication, but in my opinion, always an emerging investment opportunity. From the beginning, I have practiced what I preach – I have faithfully followed my own advice. I have been purchasing raw and graded mags, all publications, based on condition, consistently, without fear, for 15 years. “You’ll never work a day in your life if you like what you’re doing.” That’s me. I was doing a client search recently, when I came across a quote I made to a fellow customer in 2020. Please see the numbers below. I want to draw your attention specifically to the Mantle numbers for two reasons. The Return on Investment over these six years on the Mantle numbers is approximately 1000% or ten times the original investment. Investing in the top of the market often appreciates faster than the more conservative approach. 1 1984 Jordan Bulls 9.4 One Higher – 9.6 sold at Heritage for $7800 No $4,995 2 1953 Mantle TIME 6.0 One Higher at 6.5 – tough mag First Major Pub Yes $1,995 3 2002 James 9.4 Yes $495 4 1974 Carew 9.2 None Higher Yes $995 5 1958 Unitas 6.5 None Higher – Earliest Cover on a major Pub Yes $495 6 1956 Mantle All-Star Game 8.0 CGC 8.5 Highest – 2nd Mantle SI Cover No $495 7 1953 Spahn SPORT 7.0 None Higher Yes $295 8 1962 Clemente BASEBALL 6.5 None Higher – Earliest Cover on a major Pub Yes $795 9 1957 Mantle SPORT 6.0 None Higher Great Esthetics No $495 10 1953 Mantle SPORT 6.5 None Higher First SPORT cover Yes $995 11 1965 Mantle 8.5 Two Higher at CGC 9.0 No $995 12 1956 Mantle 7.5 First SI Cover Coup de Gras of covers Yes $1,495 12 1956 Mantle 8.5 First SI Cover Coup de Gras of covers Yes $2,495 13 1957 Mantle BASEBALL 8.0 None Higher FC Yes $495 14 1951 Berra SPORT 8.5 None Higher FC very early Berra Yes $795 15 1960 Nicklaus 7.0 None Higher One of the Toughest Covers Yes $995 I get asked all the time – which athlete should I start with, invest in, concentrate on, collect…… Here is my answer – in lieu of any other information, go with the market leader to the extent you can afford – Mantle, Jordan, Ali, James, Gretzky, and others before they emerge, if possible. This is only one set of numbers but to me, it substantiates a lot of what I’ve been saying for these many years. If you have confidence in your own ability in this type of investing, graded sports magazines represent a real opportunity. No one has a crystal ball that reads the future but, Graded Magazines have always made sense to me because #1 – I liked them, #2 – everyone I sold to liked them, #3 – my readership continued to grow, #4 – questions and comments I received were 100% positive. And it continues to be that way. That’s enough for me. Best of luck in all your collection endeavors. My Ebay handle is “sportsillustrated9.8” and sportsillustrated98.com on the internet, not to be confused with other similar tags. If you’re interested in one or more of my ebay auctions and you would like to purchase, email me at wylliejohn@yahoo.com to save on taxes, and shipping. Thanks for your loyal following. My readers always receive “first among equals” pricing/service. Many thanks for your continued support and patronage. On the web – Sportsillustrated98.com |
