


WHY TICKET STUBS ??
WHY TICKET STUBS ??



WHY TICKET STUBS ??
Tickets are a unique investment opportunity that many have never actually considered.
What’s interesting about tickets is that they were never intended to be collectibles. At their core, tickets are purely functional. A means of entering and exiting an event. That’s it.
While most people dispose of their tickets once the event is over, others hang on for the sake of memory.
I’ve been collecting concert tickets since I was a kid – long before I knew they were a potential investment.
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Therein lies the value of ticket stubs — they are a portal back in time to a memory that brings you joy. Outside of something directly used during an event (say an athlete’s jersey, glove, or maybe a drumstick) few other items can authentically represent these moments in time the way a ticket can.
Good vintage ticket stubs can end up more like historical artifacts than niche collector’s items. Imagine you had a ticket to Brady’s first Superbowl. Or a ticket to see Hendrix at Woodstock or VAN HALEN IN 1981 . You were there. You were in the room where it happened.
It’s not just a piece of cardboard with a pretty picture. It’s proof of a memory. It’s a timestamped collectible with actual historic value.
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Significance of the event
The more global significance and recognition an event has, the more valuable a ticket stub.
Sentimentality makes an event valuable for an individual, but public recognition is a big factor in price. The more significant the moment, the better.
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A ticket for the Game 1 NBA Championship series in 1988 is listed on Beverly hills Swap Meet FOR ONLY $400.00 Obviously, a ticket for the ultimate game of a finals series is a rare and significant moment, but it’s nothing compared to events like Kobe’s final game, his 81pt outing, or even his debut.
Kobe Bryant ticket stubs are some of the most popular collectible items, particularly given his tragic passing in 2020.
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Autographs
Tickets become even more valuable when they have an autograph. A ticket for the 1923 World Series Game 6 signed by Babe Ruth sold for $72,000. Beverly Hills Swap Meet has a Huge Collection of Autographed tickets up for sale Right now.
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Special edition tickets
While tickets were initially intended to solely serve the function of getting in and out of a venue, recently ticket distributors have recognized their potential for value, and have begun to design collectibles sold in conjunction with the ticket.
For Instance this Ticket stub from the hit movie Boys In the Hood , is for sale on Beverly Hills Swap Meet
These take all sorts of different forms, and usually incur an additional fee to upgrade your ticket type. These are still authentic and unique, they still have the unique serial identifier, seat row number and are distributed solely for the event. But they also have some fancy features, like holographic or 3D artwork.
In fact ,Big Name Concert tickets are a great investment.... they are limited to the amount of shows, or the city and always are a hit with collectors. For instance this Rolling Stones ticket from 1990 St. James England tour is on sale and only $399.00
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Condition
As with every type of collectible, condition plays a major factor in the value of a ticket stub, graded through PSA. (For those not familiar, PSA is the largest third-party sports authentication service in the world.)
Items are graded on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being perfect mint condition. Naturally, tickets that maintain a rating of PSA 8-10 will be more expensive than those on the other end of the spectrum.
What makes ticket stub conditions particularly important is their typically disposable nature. Tickets are flimsy, and compared to other collectibles, they are often in terrible condition. We’ve all been there. You shove the stub into your pocket, put it in your wallet, crumple it, spill beer on it, etc. This makes good-quality stubs ultra-rare and extremely valuable.
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What are the most expensive tickets in the market?
This is a relatively rare asset class, and not a ton has been written on this topic (heck, that’s why we’re doing it!) While it’s difficult to find a definitive list of the most expensive tickets ever sold, there are plenty of notable sales.
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Many Super Bowl stubs are valuable, especially for older games. This ticket to the 1973 Super Bowl featuring the Miami Dolphins vs the Washington Redskins in which the Dolphins went undefeated that year) is back on the market for only $699.00
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In 2012, this stub for Joe DiMaggio’s 1936 debut sold for $3,383 .
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A ticket to Game 6 of the 1998 NBA finals, where Michael Jordan’s Bulls beat the Utah Jazz by a point to win the championship sold some time ago .
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Finally, this Kobe Bryant ticket from his Rookie Season ,is on BEVERLY HILLS SWAP MEET right now , along with many others of his.
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Ticket supply and distribution
What’s interesting about tickets compared to most other collectibles is that they are almost always distributed locally. Whereas trading cards, comic books, and video games are available globally, tickets are usually purchased in the proximity of the actual event.
Athletics tickets are most likely to be found in Oakland, Cavs tickets in Cleveland, and so on. This tends to make them more exclusive, as they’re physically carried to and from the event.
The other important element to consider regarding ticket stubs is that their supply is, and has always been, public. Attendance records are almost always available. This transparency makes it easier to research and understand exclusivity, because know exactly how many tickets were sold for each event.
For example, there were more Zion Williamson Prizm PSA 10 Rookie Cards printed than there were actual fans in attendance at Zion Williamson debut game in San Antonio (19,123 of these cards in supply, vs 18,365 attendees at the game).
Then, add in the fact that the vast majority of these tickets were likely thrown away, crumpled, or otherwise ruined in some way, you have a far smaller number (approximately 162 PSA 10 tickets).
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Conclusion
As it stands today, the market for ticket stubs is still quite small. The big question is, will it grow?
The roaring success of the sports trading card over the past decade is a pretty good indicator that investors and collectors are interested in these types of assets. But stubs are still mostly sitting in the trading card industry’s shadow.
It’ll be engrossing to follow the trends here. Will physical ticket stubs go the way of CDs, which were usurped by MP3s and later streaming services? Will digital QR code tickets raise the value of the physical tickets market, as people realize we ain’t making any more of them? Will NFTs create a new wave of interest in both digital NFT tickets and physical stubs? We shall see ????
In the meantime, savvy alternative investors could do worse than picking up some blue-chip stubs. They won’t stay this cheap forever.
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