The 05-06 NBA Upper Deck Exquisistes are here, and so is your chance to make a profit with a little bit of smart bidding and elbow grease at the keyboard.  What you may have noticed is that the patches used in this years product are much nicer than the previous two years, and there are some neat new autograph cards, too - such as scripted swatches and dual patch autos.  This has lead to reduced prices for the 05-06 base cards.  Set builders can take advantage of the current low prices on base cards to build 42 CARD BASE SETS for resale.  Now - the Jordans, Lebrons, Wades, Shaqs and Iversons will cost you between $265 and $325 to obtain, but the remaining 37 cards are obtainable right now at about $175 to $200.  Later, it will not be hard to sell your 42 card base set (which cost you $440 to $525 for as much as $799.00 or $999.00, depending on the regular market fluctuation which impact the Exquisiste product.  Almost all the excitement is about the patch and auto cards.  The base set gets overlooked until the NBA season gets underway.  Take advantage now while you can. 

Here are some tips to building your 42 card base set:

1. Buy the lots some sellers offer - this offers you a chance to get a large number of base cards at once without incurring shipping fees for each card individually.

2. Buy at off peak hours.  Most auctions, including Exquisite base cards, bring lower final bids off peak hours.

3. Bite the bullet and pay for a Jordan and a Lebron rather than building a "partial set."  The partial sets don't bring the same profit you'll get from the full set because the full set buyer is not someone who wants to go out and complete a set on their own.  They want the set completed for them.

4. Watch for sellers offering more than one auction inclduing base cards to combine shipping.  Shipping is a HUGE issue when you are building a set for resale.  Don't eat up all your profit paying 42 different sellers for shipping.  Sometimes it pays to spend an extra dollar or two on a card when you can combine shipping with others you've purchased.   For example, a Ben Wallace /225 card selling for $8.50 with a shipping cost of $1.50 is FAR MORE PROFITABLE than a Ben Wallace /225 selling for $6.00 but with $5.50 shipping.  PAY ATTENTION TO SHIPPING COSTS.

5.  Lastly, protect yourself by paying extra attention to whether you are receiving the cards you pay for.  When you are set building, you are winning a LOT OF AUCTIONS and dealing with a LOT OF SELLERS.  It becomes ever more important that you keep track of your auctions and make sure you are getting what you paid for.

Some tips to selling your 42 card base set.

1.  Present your set attractively, with large photos of the BIG CARDS - Jordan, Lebron, Shaq, Kobe, Wade, Iverson . . .and with group photos of all the rest. 

2.  Stress that there are only 225 possible sets, and we all know that there simply will not be that many put together - I can assure you that my own Jordan collection will limit the number of sets which can be made, and I have a friend who collects quite a lot of the Iversons which will further limit the number of possiuble sets.  Last spring, I counted about eleven possible sets o fthe 04-05 base set between February and May - there were probably two or three times that many, but not much more.

3.  Stress the benefits of buying a set  save on 42 shipping and handling fees - a savings of up to $210.00 right there!!!

4.  Time your auction properly - when the NBA season starts or wait until the playoffs. 

5.  List so that your auction ends on a Tuesday or Wednesday night.  Interestingly enough, a lot of Exquisite collectors are at home and on-line those evenings.

       One last piece of advice - buy your cards from reputable ebayers with high positive feedback!!!

                                                                                                    Enjoy Your Hobby!!