You can actually learn a lot from Dave Ramsey, even if you apply it to sports cards and sports memorabilia instead of traditional personal finance.
One idea I like is the 24-hour rule. If you are about to make a larger purchase or investment, you do not buy immediately. You sleep on it, come back the next day, and then decide whether it still makes sense.
That sounds simple, but in this hobby it matters a lot. People sometimes act as if trading cards, hobby boxes, or sealed products are small purchases. But that is not always true anymore. Topps prices have moved up significantly. If you look at some of the bigger and more exciting boxes, retail prices can already be several thousand dollars. The “MVP” Ohtani/Judge product, for example, moved into a range where you are no longer talking about pocket money. The Wembanyama box was around $8,000.
That is a serious amount of money. For many people, that is not a casual hobby purchase. That can be three or four monthly salaries. So before buying, the question should not only be: “Can I hit something big?” The better question is: “Can I actually afford this, and does it fit into my plan?”
A Box Can Feel Like an Investment, But It Can Behave Like Gambling
This is where collectors need to be honest with themselves. A sealed box can look like an investment. It has a brand, a player chase, limited supply, hype, and resale potential. But once you open it, the situation changes completely.
Then it becomes closer to a lottery ticket.
The hits are not guaranteed in the way many people emotionally expect them to be. Yes, some products guarantee autographs or certain card types, but that does not mean you are guaranteed to get your money back. You can spend $8,000 on a box and end up with cards that may realistically sell for $6,000, $4,000, or even less.
That difference is the problem. If you spend $8,000 and the market value of your pulls is only $4,000, you did not just “miss a little.” You created a very real delta. And that delta has to be part of the calculation before you buy, not after.
The Market Does Not Owe You Your Purchase Price
Another thing many collectors forget: buyers do not care what you paid. The market does not owe you your entry price. If you bought high, that is your problem, not the buyer’s problem.
People on the market usually want the best item for the lowest possible price. That is normal. Buyers are price-sensitive, especially once the numbers get bigger. The higher the price of a card or box, the smaller the buyer pool becomes.
That matters a lot. It is easy to talk about million-dollar card sales. Those headlines are everywhere. But most of the hobby happens somewhere between $1 and $1,000,000, and the higher you move, the harder it becomes to find the next buyer.
If you buy a card for $20,000, you first need to find someone willing to pay $20,001 just to move beyond your purchase price. And that does not even include fees, shipping, insurance, taxes, auction commissions, or the time it takes to sell.
That is why liquidity matters. A card can be valuable on paper and still difficult to sell quickly.
The 24-Hour Rule Works Especially Well in This Hobby
The 24-hour rule is useful because hype is dangerous.
A product drops. People post hits. Someone pulls a massive card. X, YouTube, Reddit, Facebook, and Whatnot all start moving at the same time. Suddenly it feels like you have to buy now or miss forever.
That is exactly when mistakes happen.
Sleeping on a purchase gives you time to ask better questions. Is this really a good buy, or am I just reacting to hype? Do I have enough cash to take the risk? What else is in my pipeline? Do I already have grading fees coming up? Do I need money for other inventory? Am I buying because I see value, or because I am afraid someone else will hit the card I want?
That one night can save a lot of money.
The Problem With Topps Drops
The difficult part is that Topps does not always give collectors much time to think.
A product is announced, the drop goes live, and suddenly the window to buy can be very short. If the product is limited, hyped, or tied to major names like Ohtani, Judge, Wembanyama, or other chase players, people feel pressure immediately.
That pressure changes the decision. In theory, you should sleep on a major purchase. In reality, some Topps products may be gone before you have that chance. The same applies to special drops handled through systems like EQL, where buyers may have to enter a selection process or lottery-style allocation.
You are not calmly walking into a shop and comparing options. You are reacting to a release window, scarcity, hype, and the fear of missing out. That is exactly where the danger begins.
When time is limited, decisions become less rational. You start thinking about the hit you might pull, not the money you might lose. You start thinking about being selected, not about whether the product actually fits your budget. You start treating access as value.
But access alone is not profit.
Getting into a limited drop can feel like winning already, especially if other people missed out. But the real question is still the same: what is the downside if the box does not deliver, or if resale demand is weaker than expected?
That is why I would still use the 24-hour rule mentally, even when the actual drop does not allow a full day. If you know a product may be released soon, do the thinking before the drop. Decide your maximum budget in advance. Decide whether you want to open, hold, or resell. Decide what loss you could accept.
Then, when the drop happens, you are not making the decision from zero. You are only executing a decision you already thought through.
My View
I do not think sports cards and memorabilia should always be treated like traditional investments. Some items can appreciate strongly, but the market is emotional, illiquid, and often unpredictable.
That does not mean you cannot make money. You can. But you need discipline.
Before buying an expensive box, card, autograph, or memorabilia piece, I would ask myself whether the downside is acceptable. If the product costs $8,000, what happens if the realistic resale value is only $4,000? If the card costs $20,000, how many real buyers exist at that level? If I need to sell quickly, what discount would I have to accept?
That is where Dave Ramsey’s thinking becomes useful. Do not let excitement make the decision. Sleep on it if you can. If the drop window is too short, do the thinking before the drop. Run the numbers. Look at your pipeline. Then decide whether the purchase still makes sense.