The start of a new beginning for the Buy/Sell/Hold series! Although we were already able to break through our $1,000 profit barrier after 13 weeks of transactions, I'm even hungrier to reach $2,000 profit come the end of Grand Final week. If this is your first time tuning in, feel free to go back to the very beginning of the journey with 'Buy/Sell/Hold Week 1' and catch yourself up to speed.
But if you've been tuning in weekly, you know the drill. Constantly buying and selling cards, all the while deploying our cash balance in places which work best for the series. Now with less than half the time available to us to formulate our second lot $1000 profit, A LOT will have to go right and time has never been more precious. How do we plan to attack our next challenge? There's plenty to discuss, so let's dive into the last 7 days of dealings and find out how we're progressing.
STRATEGY.
To put it simply, the last 7 days have been a 'buyers paradise'! It seems like there's deals in every corner of the market, which we were lucky to find ourselves in the right positions to capitalize upon. I think the forced break in the AFL season found many collectors 'sitting on their hands', allowing many the chance to reset and re-evaluate their collections. It felt like there was a new sales thread with every refresh, all of which were competitively priced. The sales volume in the lead up to 'AFL GEM Football' was nothing short of disappointing, so I'm glad the market is slowly repaying us for staying the course and remaining focused. As I touch on later in the article, now is probably the time to cast your eye over to this season's finals series, as strong finals performances generally correlate to increased trading card prices. So buying the cards of those players who are likely to impact in the postseason is where I'll likely be focusing my attention. Our cash balance is back over the $1,000 mark, which will be important moving into future weeks and eventually when a Series 2 release lands on our doorsteps. In terms of cards in our inventory, we only currently possess 2 of our first 35 bought cards, meaning that we aren't sitting on "stagnant money". Everything is now poised for a 'mad dash' 4 week period where we can hopefully tick off another important milestone for the series.
'BUY'S'
Will Day Franchise Futures Signature 22/70, Supremacy 2021 - $200
The first pickup for the new week is one of my favourites for the ENTIRE series. Before the beginning of this season, I was very skeptical of Will Day's future prospects given the fact he struggled to string meaningful games together. And when I heard that he was training as an inside midfielder, my worries were triggered further. So much so, I privately sold up a majority of my Will Day inventory to move onto the next best thing. But hasn't he proved me wrong! Now probably heading into Hawthorns 'B n F' count as a one of the leading favourites, it makes me want to hit the reverse button on some preseason transactions. But thanks to this pickup, hopefully I can rewrite some previous wrongs and actually realise a profit from a Will Day investment. His 'GEM' Diamond Signature was one of the big ticket items from the newest premium release, so hopefully some of that hype can trickle down to his Supremacy Future Franchise Signature.
Hugh McCluggage Franchise Future Signature 31/70, Supremacy 2021 - $70
We haven't picked up any Supremacy Franchise Futures Signatures in the first 13 weeks of the series, and in the space of 7 days we've bought two! As mentioned above, I recently wrote an article about 'The Players You Should Be BUYING Before Finals!' and while I opted to mention Zac Bailey as a player to watch at Brisbane this finals series, you could've just as easily mounted a case for Hugh McCluggage. Despite having a quieter season compared to his lofty standards, I think McCluggage is primed to have a breakout finals campaign, and this Supremacy Franchise Future Signature is one of the key cards in his arsenal. To be honest though, finals or no finals I most likely would've still bought this card. The price was just too good! Brisbane play hosts to Port Adelaide this weekend, so here's to hoping they can secure a home Preliminary final and that the Lions can create some buzz surrounding the outcome of their season.
Zak Butters Brownlow Predictor 100/260, Footy Stars 2023 - $80
This season's Brownlow race has had so many 'twists and turns', which in the final stages of the season has opened the door for a late-charge from Zak Butters. Do I think he ultimately wins the award? No, but as we've done with all of our predictor purchases thus far, it's about identifying the value and passing it onto the next person. At a 'buy price' of $80, there was always going to be plenty of room to work in, especially given that another version of the card was at auction with a current bid HIGHER than our sale price. But as the days get fewer before the Monday of Grand Final week, I'd be shocked if another predictor opportunity arises that outweighs the risk of the purchase. As you will see in our selling section, this card has already been moved on and wraps up what has been a fruitful season of predictor speculating. Thank god!
Jack Ginnivan GEM Base 49/90, AFL GEM Football 2023 - $51.50
Trying to stay relevant with my purchases, as I mentioned in last week's article I've been tracking the price trajectories of the highly popular GEM Base inserts. And for the most part, they are holding their values better than most other insert types. I decided to follow the prices of the Collingwood Base set, and found that not too many of them are available under the $100 mark. So when this card popped up for $55 ($51.50 with a coupon), I knew that the seller just based the price off how the rest of the Base cards had settled. Which is fair enough, but Collingwood being one of the biggest collector bases in the hobby, there's been plenty of movement on these cards at the $80-100 price range. Hopefully these trends remain true, and this card only spends a short visit in our inventory.
Clayton Oliver Rookie Card 228/240, Certified 2016 - $44
I've currently got an article in the works which tries to elaborate on the best time to buy a particular player's rookie cards. And without spoiling the contents of said article, Clayton Oliver currently fits my framework as a good buying opportunity as we head into the dying stages of the AFL season. In the space of a year Oliver went from Brownlow favourite to completely forgotten due to a massive 10 week layoff with a lingering hamstring complaint. Even though he's back performing in a team which has worthy premiership credentials, Clarry cards are definitely sitting in a price slump in comparison to previous years. Whilst it's easy to have a short memory, you can't forget how dominant Oliver has been across his 7 year career. I really like how the Demons are shaping up this finals series, and I can't see a world where they achieve further success, and Oliver doesn't play a central role in those efforts. Big watch and see!
'SELL'S'
Zak Butters Brownlow Predictor 100/260, Footy Stars 2023 - $260 : $141.12 Profit, 176% ROI
Melbourne Gold Premiership Predictor 96/260, Footy Stars 2023 - $180 : $47.16 Profit, 45% ROI
Melbourne Gold Coleman Predictor 119/260, Footy Stars 2023 - $16 : $0.79 Profit, 8% ROI
Trent Cotchin Certified Patch 004/165, Certified 2016 - $135 : $33.37 Profit, 42% ROI
Chad Wingard Sapphire 60/70, 'AFL GEM Football' 2023 - $75 : $39.65 Profit, 180% ROI
Cameron Zurhaar Marquee 35/70, Footy Stars 2021 - $99.99 : $9.20 Profit, 12% ROI
'WEEKLY TOTALS!'
In my opinion, I think this week was the most crucial thus far in the series. Not only were we able to profit well and make a decent dent towards $2,000 profit, but we were able to bring our available cash balance back into surplus, which will be vital in chasing down the remaining $650 from our target. Fingers crossed we are able to replicate the past 7 days moving into this week, and continue to push this series in a positive direction. Thanks again for making it this far, and hopefully you are enjoying the latest chapter of 'Buy/Sell/Hold In Action' experience. See you all next week!