HOW TO PICK A CARD THAT IS LIKELY TO INCREASE IN VALUE

When one is interested in trying to pick autographed non-sports cards that are likely to increase in value rather quickly there are several things related to popularity that one should look for.

1. Looks for cards signed by people who also have other autographed cards from other cards lines.

Example: Claudia Black has an autograph card for The Chronicles of Riddick and for Farscape. Karl Urban also has two signed cards from Xena where he played Caesar and Cupid, a signed card from Lord of the Rings where he played Éomer and an autograph card for The Chronicles of Riddick as Vaako.

2. Looks for cards signed by people who have some special exposure.

Example: When Tanya Ballinger & Kitana Baker appeared in the Miller Light "catfight" super bowl beer commercial, the value of their Benchwarmer cards jumped many fold. Actors that appear on major magazine covers, models that appear in Playboy, or other major magazines and Hawaiian Tropic Models tend to get higher prices on their cards.

3. Looks for cards signed by people who have projects in the works that are likely to give them greater public exposure.

Example: Carrie Stroup will appear in the new “The Girl Next Door” and “Starsky and Hutch” movies. This will likely increase the value of her Benchwarmer cards when the movies are released.

4. Look for autographs that have a special distinctive element:

Example: Cards signed in an unusual color ink, things like "hugs and kisses, measurements, hearts, happy face, XOXO, etc."

5. Look for cards that are showing higher numbers of bids. Generally cards that sell on e-Bay have 5 or less bids. When you see a card getting more than 5 bids you may what to keep your eye on it. It could be a sign of increased popularity. An exception would be a card put up at a price well under its average selling price. These cards are drawing interest only because they are under priced and may not even get the average selling price despite the high number of bargain hunters bidding on it.

6. When some of a model or actors' cards start to demand higher prices, it tends to drive up the price on all their cards over a rather short period of time.

7. Any autographed card under ten dollars is likely to be a good investment since most autographed cards rise to the ten dollar level within a year or two of release.

Now if you see a card that has more than one of the factors related above, it is a good bet it will begin to rise in price.

My advice for the investor in non-sports cards is, try to obtain professionally graded cards.