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What It's About
A resourceful high school junior earns $10,000 within a few months of launching his baseball memorabilia reselling hustle.
Business Model
Skills Required
Complexity
Profit Potential
Words of Wisdom
Tim advises deep research for anyone interested in playing in the memorabilia big leagues. Get to know the players while they are in the minors, and make sure they play for a big-market team, like the Yankees or the Red Sox. He suggests buying only in small numbers of goods for prospects at first, and lower risks by investing in a variety of players, rather than putting big dough behind one big bat.
Fun Fact
During World War II, the U.S. military designed a grenade to be the size and weight of a baseball, since "any young American man should be able to properly throw it." Also, every single MLB baseball is rubbed in Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud, a unique "very fine" mud only found in a secret location near Palmyra, New Jersey.
Notes from Chris
Episode 212
A lifelong baseball fan and current high-school student, Tim Haren had been gathering autographs for more than 10 years, always keeping the balls and other items he obtained for his personal collection. But a couple of years ago, he realized that what was an expensive hobby could turn into a side business. He started going to nearby Camden Yards (the stadium where the Baltimore Orioles play all their major-league home games) as often as possible to build up his collection. Baltimoregraphs, his memorabilia side hustle, came from this new hobby. He buys major-league issue balls in bulk for around $12 each, gets them signed at games, and then sells them and other baseball items on his eBay page and on Instagram. Because he has a sharp eye for player potentials, besides getting balls signed himself, he buys the signed balls of top prospects on the cheap from other less savvy collectors, and later rakes in the cash when the players make good in the majors. Tim regards what he does as akin to a player’s stock market. In essence, he’s betting on a player’s potential, and many of those potentials’ “share prices” have gone over the fences. In his first few months of business, he’s made $20,000 in sales, and after subtracting his product costs for goods and shipping, he’s made $10,000 in profit. MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:- Baltimoregraphs: Have an affinity for the USA's most beloved past-time? Check out some of Tim's wares on his Ebay & Instagram pages!
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