Category: TVR What’s Up Next

Written By: William Morales

 

If someone were to ask you “What’s up?”, your answer better be “Sports cards are up!” because they are BOOMING. Those baseball cards you begged your mom to buy you at the dollar store when you were seven years old might actually be enough to cover you for life. Let’s hope you can find that binder and blow the dust off them before it’s too late.

 

Since the start of the pandemic, trading cards have hit on all-time high in value and continue to grow each day. Gary Vaynerchuk, the entrepreneur and motivational speaker, predicted this entirely when in 2019 he said: “I’ve been talking about how sports cards are coming back in culture. I really believe that in certain categories, they’re going to explode in value in the next few years and could make a great alternative investment.” (Garyvaynerchuk.com)

 

In a very similar fashion to the stock market, sports cards (and Pokémon cards) have structured a market of their own, where cards are traded in a supply-and-demand system. Based on the stature and rarity of a specific card, it could sell for a nickel or two, or it could possibly sell for literal millions. Many aspects come into account when selling and opening cards: popularity, potential, manufacturing, and grading. Cards are being bought and sold to either collectors who love these players and want to complete sets, or to traders, who buy cards and are seeing it increase in value for years to come.

 

Two different types of cards are the most common to sell for big profits: Superstars and promising rookies. The first is more understandable to the public eye. Players like Lebron James, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, and others, will go for more money based on the rarity of the specific card. Base cards come in unlimited quantities, while numbered cards, varying from 1/500, 1/100, or even 1/1 (meaning how many cards were made), go for more depending on how many were released. The other attention-grabbing cards are the youngsters that are shaping into the next big superstars. In the NBA, freshmen and sophomores like Ja Morant, Lamelo Ball, and Zion Williamson are going for hundreds even with unlimited quality. If you are looking to purchase one of these with a signature or limited quantity, be prepared because you will most likely see 3 zeroes at the end of that number.

Many sellers are comparing the sports card market to the day-trading stock market due to the volatility of these cards. To put this into perspective, last week the most expensive card transfer of all-time happened. In one year’s, time, from March 2020 to March 2021, this card increased in value by nearly 100%. The card that broke the record sold for a whopping $2.25 million dollars. The unanimous G.O.A.T. of football and now the G.O.A.T. of sports cards, Tom Brady, was the card that was sold. The card sold in March, at the very beginning of the pandemic, sold for $1.32 million due to its 1/100 rarity, a 9/10 grading, the autograph, and the fact that it’s Tom Brady and it was from his rookie year. The identical card, although a different serial number, sold this march for double the value due to the longevity the card has been around and because of Tom Brady’s seventh ring. But this jump in price was amplified due to the volatile leap in trading card value.

 

Now, I will repeat myself. If you ever had sports cards as a kid, go find them and check to see if there is any value there. The Tom Brady card was printed in 2000, so it’s very possible it’s stashed away in some box in the attic. Even Pokémon cards have jumped in value; fan favorite first edition Charizard’s, printed in 1999, are selling for near $50,000 currently. The value is high right now but could hit rock bottom at any second. Take advantage of these times, when sports memorabilia is the heat of the market.

 

If you’re looking to start your sports cards journey check out the following links to buy and sell sports cards:

 

https://www.comc.com/

 

https://forums.collectors.com/categories/buy-sell-trade-sports

 

https://www.collectorscorner.com/

 

Written by: William Morales

 

Ingenuity. The ability to create something new and inspire the world. It is the key to clinching yourself a spot in the upcoming future. In the past five years, thousands of new words have entered our everyday vocabulary that we’ve never heard before: cryptocurrency, zoom, artificial intelligence, to name a few. But now, with COVID still terrorizing the world, a new technological advancement joins the mix: Non-Fungible Tokens or NFTs.

NFTs are the future and will continue to breed a new way to make money and see the world. NFTs are a type of cryptocurrency that is unique and cannot be exchanged, only bought or sold. One of the real attention-grabbers is that this is not restricted only to the wealthiest or most talented, anyone can participate. However, the difference to the average person is that they aren’t used for purchases, they are the purchase. NFTs include digital art, shoes, trading cards and more; In simple words, they are online exclusive collectibles that will generate value over time.

The allure of selling an NFT is that literally anyone could create the piece. The current record-holder price for an NFT is $69 MILLION. The piece is known as The First 5000 Days and was created by Mike Winkelmann. Winkelmann began posting his images online once a day and eventually gained over 2 million Instagram followers. After researching NFTs he came up with an idea: “A collage of all the “everyday”‘ images he had produced over the years and called it: Everydays: The First 5000 Days.” (BBC.com) This scene above, which includes each of the  5000 digital creations, is simply an encrypted JPEG, all intangible. Art has become one of the most popular sales in this new cryptocurrency and everybody from casuals to experts are hopping on board.

Although art may be one of the most popular components, other industries are making a name for themselves. Sports card trading has become a hot commodity in the last year, but it has also spread to the world of NFTs. NBA Top Shot is an online company that sells digital collectibles of some of the greatest NBA moments of all time. 15-second clips on a PDF file that come in limited quantities could be the difference between a full or empty bank account. The attraction to this site is the luck involved: each different priced “pack” comes with different odds of pulling more notable moments. Recently, “A Lebron James Highlight sold for $200,000” (CNBC) after being pulled out of an online pack that cost $1,499. But who knows, in 20 years that Lebron James highlight might be worth $20 MILLION instead of two hundred thousand.

You are probably curious about why this is considered a cryptocurrency. These products are usually bought with Ethereum, more commonly known as Ether. This currency isn’t tradable and can only be exchanged dollar for dollar. Currently, it’s the second most popular cryptocurrency behind Bitcoin. It gives people the ability to dabble in NFTs which is the main reason why it is the second most popular.

 

People are doubting the effects of NFTs because companies such as Gucci, (a world-wide known brand) has decided to sell their shoes as online NFTs for prices between $10-$15. Although this might appeal to certain markets, it is lowering the standards of the currency and making people doubt the idea of NFTs.

 

The truth about NFTs is the uncertainty aspect of it. There is a high possibility that they can become the future, or they may turn out to be a complete bust, however, it’s an intriguing idea that started out extremely strong and is finally gaining loads of momentum. NFTs are becoming a more popular buy in current times and will continue to find new ways to impress.

 

Written by William Morales 

Location: New Jersey

 

During the last year, COVID-19 has put a damper on millions of lives in one form or another. Some people’s heads dropped, some people had trouble motivating themselves, some people set their standards too low. However, we have a group of young people who have defied all odds. They took the negative and made a wonderfully creative and very necessary positive: Bubbl

 

With thousands of small companies in dire need of a boost, Bubbl showed up with one purpose in mind, to make a difference, one small business at a time. They are bringing in customers and appreciation to small businesses when all hope was lost. Now, I’m sure you are thinking: What is Bubbl? Who is Bubbl, and why should I care about Bubbl? All of these questions were answered in an interview with one of the Bubbl founders, Shrey Pri.

“Don’t let the Bubbl pop”, says Pri, “Letting the Bubbl pop is the same as giving up hope, and here, we don’t let that happen.” When the Coronavirus first took the world by storm, Shrey lifted his head up, instead of hanging it down. He, with six others took the opportunity to make a difference and began to help the average person by designing an app/company called Bubbl. This single, small red app with a “b” in the middle would allow users to socially distance themselves at qualifying businesses. It would monitor the number of people, and the current    Covid-19 status in certain places. A great idea that eventually snowballed into something even greater: a company that will bring sales to these small businesses. Day-by-day Bubbl is changing the world of e-Commerce and making it more small business friendly.

 

The Bubbl evolved into something bigger than even the founders could have imagined and the name of the game was e-Commerce. Bubbl is somewhat similar to the likes of Amazon but instead of bringing products to consumers from larger suppliers, Bubbl allows them to purchase products from small businesses in the surrounding area. instead of purchasing Dunkin’ coffee beans from Amazon, why not purchase them from the corner store coffee shop down the street? 

“When we finally caught some traction, we decided to bring some creativity to the table,” says Pri. He and his team of seven decided to start promoting small businesses by creating small videos for them. These beautifully, sculpted cinematic pieces have taken both Tiktok and Instagram by storm, and have gained a huge following for Bubbl. Small businesses from New Jersey, all the way to California, are inquiring about having their own videos made. Upon joining the video call, Pri actually mentions, “I actually have to be up at 8:00 AM tomorrow. Bubbl is traveling to Los Angeles in the morning.” This collaborative group is making a name for themselves with their jaw-dropping cinematic work, as the bigger e-Commerce side continues to grow behind the scenes. 

 

And still, after all of this, we have yet to reach the most inspirational detail about the team. Shrey Pri and the rest of the Bubbl team are college students. This is reminiscent of the Facebook team. Such an amazing idea, yet they still attend classes each week. Such a prolific idea, yet they enjoyed the beautiful weather today literally having a football catch, instead of sitting in an office. So early in development, yet so developed, and still the gears keep spinning. These students have created an idea that’s already gaining interest nationwide, all during the pandemic, yet they are also working on their degrees. 

 

With the attention this is grabbing, Bubbl’s team is very proud of their work. As you read this, the team is literally in Los Angeles gaining the attention of even more small businesses. On both Tiktok and Instagram @joinbubbl is grabbing more and more views each day.  Bubbl has truly defied the odds. While the rest of the world is playing chess in 3D, they are playing chess in 4D. They are seeing the future before it happens. 

“DON’T LET THE BUBBL POP.”