| Sports Illustrated Blog #98 – The Next Big Thing Welcome to my Sports Illustrated/TIME magazine blog – Your collector’s guide to the latest hobby updates and insight into what’s trending now. Congratulations to all SI believers. Your hobby has come of age. Currently, there are 220,000, yes 220,000, individual Sports Illustrated auctions currently on ebay alone. With the hobby developments of the past year, my customers have experienced a serious upgrade in the value of their investments/collections. But, at the same time, your well-kept secret is out. Graded SI’s are the darling of the graded mag hobby but that could be bad news if you’re still looking to jump in. Everybody loves the concept, esthetics, and investment potential of SI. Following Ebay, Heritage and other graded auctions, record sales are being recorded every month. Good for those who have, not so good for those who have not. But when one door closes, another opens and that is what this blog is all about. Approximately five years ago, I was a voice in the wilderness, crying out to the collectability of Sports Illustrated. In the beginning there were few believers but interest has steadily grown. Now we have raw mags routinely selling above $500 each and the scarcity of vintage newsstand is no longer a secret. The word is out. As SI grows in popularity, I hear and read many collectors/investors are totally committed to SI, which leaves a whole spectrum of other opportunities open for those not so narrowly focused. Let’s talk SPORT (and there are others), for example. Do you like first covers? Compared to SI, SPORT magazine has the first Mantle, Mays, Musial, Aaron, Clemente, Williams, DiMaggio, Maris, Chamberlain, Unitas, and on and on and on. These vintage covers are just as iconic as SI. Here’s a few must haves for the post war collector – 46 DiMaggio, 48 Robinson, 47 Williams, 48 Musial, 53 Mantle, 55 Mays, 56 Mantle, 51 Berra, 53 Cousy, and there are plenty more. This is an opinion blog so here goes. I love Sports Illustrated. SI has been a great investment for me but….. with all its success, it’s getting expensive. If you are like me, shelling out $500 for a raw mag can be a bit draining and is more risk than I would like to take on. For me, it’s time to head in a different direction. And that direction is SPORT magazine and my prediction is this – SPORT magazine WILL follow the SI lead. As SI grows (and it will continue to grow and become less affordable to the average collector), other pubs will fill the void. Who wouldn’t want to own the first issue of DiMaggio in the highest grade? And the list goes on. In my next few blogs, I will explain why SPORT is, not only a good investment, but a great investment. Do you think kids would have used the 52 Topps Mantle in between their spokes had they known the future? They couldn’t make an informed decision. Readers – my opinion is your information. Just like I was “ALL IN” for SI, I am “ALL IN” for SPORT. SPORT has my strongest endorsement. I know there will be deniers. I know change is tough. But if you followed my advice about SI, I’m pretty sure you are happy. There is so much to like about SPORT, for example, instead of paying $500 for a raw mag, you can pay $10 or $20, which makes the cash flow and the risk much less. OK – I’m done endorsing. Next I will be explaining and illustrating the why behind the endorsement. I hope you are enjoying the reads on the history of SI, SPORT, and TIME magazines as well as an insight into relevant magazine collecting. Great collecting to you and best fortunes with Sports Illustrated/SPORT magazines. For a complete review of previous blogs, please visit www.sportsillustrated98.com |
