General Forum

I was thinking of buying some Wander Franco cards off of eBay as potential investments. 

Does anyone have advice on what types of cards to target for investments that would be under the $25 range? Will non-autos every be worth anything? Are certain foils typically more attractive to buyers long-term?

Thanks in advance!

My opinion, he hasn't debuted so does not have an officially recognized RC.  Sure, non-autos can be valuable good example is Mike Trout, Acuña, Soto but the pre-rookies most likely won't be worth anywhere near as much as an official RC card.  The exception will be extremely low print cards, so if you know of and can find those sets, you could hit something.  Serial number cards and parrallels can also command a premium.

Of course, as you say, this is invesment so there is no telling what will be worth anything. 

1st Bowman Base/Auto are the best cards rn for an "investment". However, I don't think they're under $25 because they're highly demand and Wander is a hyped prospect

Thanks for the insight. 

I ended up buying a 2019 Bowman Chrome 30th Edition Wander Franco RC Rookie PSA 10 GEM MINT on eBay for just under $60. It was the cheapest auto I could find, and since most non-autos are going for $30 - $40 right now, this felt like a reasonable risk. 

Hopefully he lives up to the hype and I can get a reasonable ROI on this later. If not, I guess it will be a $60 lesson learned. 

Link to the card if anyone is curious: https://www.ebay.com/itm/2019-Bowman-Chrome-30th-Edition-Wander-Franco-RC-Rookie-PSA-10-GEM-MINT-/373247996445?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&nma=true&si=6xFIuNhqxWM8BI5zYSOSAwbupes%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc

Just a heads up, there are three different guys named Wander Franco who are "Active"

Had to use quotes there, since this year is quite hard to determine activity for guys not playing in MLB, since a lot of leagues are not playing this year. Obviously the one you are talking about is the one in the Tampa Bay system, just make sure you don't end up buying cards for the wrong one.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=franco002wan

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=franco000wan

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=franco001wan

In my experience Topps products seem to hold there value better than the Pannini stuff. I've been surprised how much the Topps base cards of the hot rookies have been going for lately. In my semi educated opinion we're in the middle of a bubble right now so I'd be hesitant to invest to much money in long term "investment" cards. That being said if he hits big next year you might be able to cash in and feed you cardboard addiction

Pretty sure that card has a facsimile not real auto, correct?

You are correct on that - that is not a signed card.

Well dang. At least its the right Wander Franco, right?

That was a quick $60 lesson learned. 

Looking on the bright side, there were 5 or so active bidders. I think I'll at least be able to break even on this card if Franco doesn't completely bomb.