You may have experienced "sticker shock" if you just recently checked Basketball prices for the first time in a couple of months. Just about everything NBA has doubled in price since the end of April. And, prices for most years' NBA products have gone up 300% since the end of March 2020. Have NBA box prices peaked? Are we about to see a downward price correction? No. I seriously doubt it. I believe it is not too late to invest in 2019-20 box products and make respectable money over the next twelve months
Every day, Sports Cards Plus sees new customers walk into our shop, looking for information on the HOT sports card market and asking for advice on what they should buy. We have had people coming in, looking for products for long term investing. Although I doubt box products will go up another 300% in the next four months, there is logical reason to believe many NBA products will continue their rise in value over the next twelve months.
The demand for NBA products continues to exceed product availability. Single card prices for talented rookies and proven super stars continues to go up faster than ever. This rise in single card prices results in demand for more unopen boxes, which then results in higher box prices. Although the higher box prices do price most people out of the market, there is always someone looking to buy product, no matter the price.
Current 2013-14 National Treasures NBA Basketball box prices currently retail for $10,000 per box, 2013-14 Flawless NBA boxes are also $10,000 each. 2017 National Treasures NFL boxes are also retailing at $10,000 per box. So where will it end? I don't believe it will end until the last box is busted open.
So, where is the smart money. The highest potential for growth with limited risk (there is always risk)? Since 2018-19 Basketball has had over a year for prices to reflect demand and potential for growth, below is a cost comparison of 2018-19 NBA products with the same 2019-20 NBA products. (For further examination, we also compared 2017-18 products to 2019-20). By assuming the current Zion Williamson and Ja Morant demand will continue to be comparable to Luka Doncic and Trae Young, we expect growth for 2019-20 NBA products to approach that of like 2018-19 NBA products.
The percentage behind the 2018-19 product prices reflect the percent difference to 2019-20. The higher the percentage, the higher the potential growth in the next 12 months. The prices in green reflect products with the highest potential growth (40% or more annual growth). The prices in "blue" reflect a potential 30% to 39% annual growth, while those in yellow indicate a likely growth of 20% or more.
Prices below are as of July 19, 2020 as listed by several respected big internet retailers.
............................19/20..........18/19...........17/18
Hoops Hobby.................$350........$400 (114%)........$250 (71%)
Absolute.........................$500........$500 (100%)........$325 (65%)
Prizm Hobby.................$1800.......$2500 (139%)......$1600 (89%)
Prizm Retail...................$475........$1000 (211%)......$525 (111%)
Prizm Cello....................$900........$1500 (167%)
Prizm Choice.................$700........$1300 (186%)
Contenders Hobby........$600.........$800 (133%)........$500 (83%)
Revolution Hobby..........$325........$400 (123%)........$225 (69%)
Donruss Optic Hobby....$630.......$1100 (175%).......$700 (111%)
Donruss Optic Retail.....$350........$590 (169%)........$300 (86%)
Don Optic Fast Break....$500........$700 (140%)........$300 (60%)
Don Optic Cello..............$650........$800 (123%)........$600 (92%)
Select Hobby.................$1100......$1500 (136%)........$900 (82%)
Court Kings....................$325........$400 (123%)
Crown Royale.................$375........$400 (107%)........$250 (67%)
Noir.................................$1210......$1700 (141%).......$900 (74%)
National Treasures........$4050......$6000 (148%)......$3200 (79%)
Obsidian..........................$530........$700 (132%)
Chronicles.......................................$700
Opulence.........................................$2700..................$1500
Encased...........................................$700....................$450
Contenders Optic............................$700
Immaculate.....................................$2000...................$1300
Flawless NBA.................................$5000...................$3600
Flawless College............................$2100...................$1800
