In 2001 I spent about $600 on Ichiro rookie cards...do you think I will ever see a profit or break even?

Question

I spent it on the Donruss rated rookie card. A limited edition of 2001. I spent about $80. per card. I also purchased the Upside Down Fleer card for $100.

It seems that I just have to hold on to the cards or else sell them for 1/4 price. Any ideas on how to get more for them?

Answer 1

Baseball cards are like stock. You have buy low and sell high and you also need to know when to dump your stock. Unfortunately, right now his buzz is at a steady level. Your best bet is to hope he stays around long enough for 3,000 hits, but with him turning 34 this year, he would have to play until he is in his early 40's. It's a long shot but he is a hit machine. IF he can do that, the buzz may be high enough for you to sell for a profit. Perhaps if he gets in the Hall, that will generate some buzz, but I don't see everyone running out for Tony Gwynn or Cal Ripken cards right now.

Answer 2

You make a good case for Fred Lynn, but since the Japanese leagues are not considered major leagues Ichiro Suzuki was a legitimate major league rookie in 2001. Notice that this question was not significant when Kazuhiro Sasaki won the Rookie of the Year award in 2000. (And I observe you are only considering position players. Many pitchers, like Sasaki, have won the award. Maybe it was Fernando Valenzuela or Dwight Gooden who had the best rookie season ever in MLB. I won't open up yet another can of worms by discussing pre-1947 rookies.) Ichiro also won the batting title in 2001 and led the AL in stolen bases with 56, so had a better rookie season than Lynn. Which takes nothing away from Fred Lynn, a player whom I always liked. Would you put an asterisk next to the name of the very first Rookie of the Year, Jackie Robinson? A former Olympic athlete, he played two years for Kansas City of the ***** American League, which may well have been better than the majors, plus a year for the Montreal Royals (the Dodgers' AAA team), before joining the Brooklyn Dodgers. He, too, was primed for the leap. And the asterisk was removed from Roger Maris long before McGwire and Sosa were doing their thing. Besides, everyone knows Ford Frick put it there out of jealousy over Maris breaking Ruth's single-season home run record. Had Mickey Mantle done it that year under the same conditions (he almost did, but was injured late in the season), i.e. in more than 154 games, there would have been no asterisk. So I have to go with Ichiro Suzuki, and no asterisk. [116 wins and Ichiro's achievements are not important because the Mariners didn't win the pennant? That's like saying Ernie Banks doesn't belong in the Hall of Fame because he played his entire career for the pennant-less Cubs. And there was only one round of playoffs when Fred Lynn was a rookie.]

Answer 3

Sell them to Japanese collectors. If you fly to Japan and sell to Japanese folks who don't know the true value of those cards stateside, you'll get more per card (have fun forkin up the plane fare, tho- great country to visit tho!) .
Ichiro is a God over there now for having led the national team (minus Godzilla Matsui and Kaz Matsui) to the WBC title. People wil pay up for those cards.

Answer 4

No the trading card companies killed their industry. Any type of cards are worth as much as the paper they are printed on now. The only cards that will have value are 1960s and below.

Answer 5

You probably overpaid. If you're not in need of the money the best bet is to just hold onto them. Over time they may gain more value.

Answer 6

Well that all depends on if and when you sell them what somebody is willing to pay for them. There is plenty of collectors out there.

Answer 7

probably not i've got four of his rookie cards when they came out and they still aren't worth much.

Answer 8

Depends, if he makes the Hall of Fame, your golden.

Answer 9

Unless you find the right person I would say you will never see that kind of money. Sorry

Answer 10

no way...iciro is a great player, but japanese players are never gonna be held to the same standard as american players