2 years of Collecting & Investing
TL;DR: My strategy is simple: collect what I genuinely like, prioritize scarcity and exclusivity, move duplicates to reinvest, and always do my own research instead of following Reddit sentiment and FOMO.
Just wanted to share my thoughts.
I’ve been a fan of One Piece since I was a kid in 2001, and I’ve been investing in and collecting One Piece cards for the past two years.
My main focus is on top prize cards, language-exclusive cards, and vintage cards (1999–2005).
Number of SP/Manga cards owned: 0
Some people might look at my portfolio and think I should let go of my collection while the market is hot. Well, I do move quite a few duplicates and reinvest the proceeds back into One Piece. At the same time, I’m not in a rush to part with everything because I’m already FIRE’d.
I’ve put in around $30k in total. The rest came from reselling.
Everyone has a different way of collecting, and this is mine. While nothing is guaranteed, this approach has worked well for me so far.
What I look for (I’m sure there are better strategies out there):
- Language-exclusive cards
- Scarcity (POP reports for modern cards, condition for vintage cards)
- Cards that I genuinely like
- Buying more than one copy (keep one for my PC and move the duplicates)
I could be wrong, but one thing I’ve noticed is that many people dismiss opportunities without doing their own research and instead rely solely on comments they read on Reddit.
Take the English 1st Anniversary cards, for example. A lot of people said they’re ugly. But they’re intentionally illustrated in the Ukiyo-e style, a traditional Japanese art form that was popular from the 17th to the 19th century. Despite using a distinctly Japanese art style, they’re English exclusives. Too many people judge the artwork at a glance without understanding the inspiration behind it. Looking back, paying only two or three times MSRP at the time now seems ridiculously cheap.
Another example is vintage cards. I’ve seen a few posts about the 1999 Hyper Battle Luffy and other early cards. Many people dismiss them because they’re unrelated to the current trading card game.
Why does that matter?
They’re still One Piece trading cards. And this is a finance-focused subreddit. If you spend a few minutes researching their history, rarity, and scarcity, you’ll understand why some collectors value them so highly.
Do your own research. Don’t let Reddit comments become your entire investment thesis.
Wish you all the best.