Why do people invest in Sport Cards? | Part 1

We recently sat down with Dingyu Yang from K3Y Asset, our lead advisor and one of the world’s most respected collectors in the high-end sports card market. With a deep background in mathematics and decades of experience in the hobby, Dingyu has helped guide over $200M in transactions and advised some of the most significant collectors and investors globally. In this exclusive interview, he shares his personal approach to valuation, authentication, and investment strategy in what is becoming one of the most compelling alternative asset classes today.

1. Can you briefly tell us about your background and experience in the sports card market?

I’m a mathematician trained at Cambridge (UK), NYU, and the Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton, where Einstein and Oppenheimer worked), with a lifelong passion for sports and collecting. I began in the late '90s and started collecting from the secondary market in 2009. Widely regarded as the top Kobe collector, I completed the iconic 1997-98 Essential Credentials sets (biggest set completed commented by the owner of PSA) and predicted major hobby growth areas years ahead.

In 2022, I pivoted to managing my collection as asset manager and proved the concept by privately selling $3.72M worth of cards (12 cards in 3 deals) in one month in 2024 before the Splint collaboration. I introduced many key hobby concepts like pairing, coffin vs. commodity cards, and non-consensus dual anchoring—frameworks that underpin and shape how today’s high-end market is understood.

2. What are some of the most significant deals or collections you’ve advised on?

I regularly mentor and advise collectors, including many of the world-class top investors in the sports card world. Over the years, I’ve helped guide more than $200M in total transactions.

• Since 2012, I’ve mentored the collector who sold the most valuable modern sports card (Steph Curry Rookie Logoman Auto 1of1 for $5.9M) and influenced his recent collecting strategy.
• I advised a $2M purchase of two cards by one of China’s top collectors, now worth over $8M.
• I guided the biggest card acquisition by a giant who co-owns a $4.3B hobby entity.
• I recently advised the seller of the most expensive LeBron James card ever sold ($5.2M) on investment strategy.
• For the top Michael Jordan collector, I helped authenticate and protect the best Jordan 1990s 1/1 card (now valued at $4.5M) on three separate occasions to prevent fraud.
• I’ve sold major cards to a top vintage collector (who owned the most complete T206 set and sold a $5M Mickey Mantle card) and introduced him to modern high-end card collecting.
• I’ve served on advisory boards for multiple hobby entities and companies, providing analysis and suggestions that were later adopted.
• My private and public sales have helped influence major collectors and shaped broader market trends and tastes.

3. How do you stay current with trends, pricing, and authentication in the card market?

I specialize in the high-end sports card market, which functions at the level of an asset class. I closely follow both public auctions and private sales, and I'm often either consulted for a blessing before major deals or informed right after, so I stay very up-to-date on key transactions.

Thanks to my math background and strong network, I’m skilled at spotting trends and market sentiment through social media, card shows, and major events around hobby. I also act as an authenticator and perform thorough due diligence on acquisitions, often knowing the full history (provenance) of many of the hobby’s most important items.

Investment & Valuation

4. What key factors do you evaluate when determining the investment potential of a sports card?

I have deep knowledge of hobby history, collector and investor sentiment, and the significance of various card releases, including population counts across all releases and the first appearance of key concepts and attributes. Through ongoing interaction and social media, I organically gather data that helps me understand the real, addressable market, who the serious buyers are for key cards. This insight allows me to identify "coffin cards" (highly important cards that collectors and investors are willing to go all in to buy and hold long-term) and to assess true market demand and long-term value potential.

5. How do you assess long-term versus short-term value drivers in the market?

Long-term value in cards is driven by strong fundamentals, such as scarcity, historical significance, and quality of design/art. It also depends on deep hobby knowledge and careful curation of the most important cards. With a solid framework and comparable benchmarks, the rest of the market tends to align naturally.

In the short to mid term, certain external factors or events can act as catalysts, creating opportunities to build an investment thesis or capitalize on market inefficiencies. For instance, newly released cards typically have more available supply, are often held by first-time owners who may be easier to buy from, and feature players who are less established, offering opportunities to make calculated bets and exit around key career milestones. Upcoming events and broader trends, such as the World Cup coming to the US, blockchain cards gaining public-chain permanence, how GameStop deploys its raised capital, Tom Brady opening more card shops with his impact, high-profile owners and media figures entering the hobby, can all serve as value triggers that shift demand and perception.

6. Can you walk us through how you value a card?

There are many ways to estimate a card’s value by using comparable sales and structured analysis—the more reference points, the more robust/accurate the valuation. Recently, I acquired the highest-selling Shohei Ohtani card to date for $1.07M. It’s his first Dodgers logoman auto and features the best logo patch from his historic 50-home-run/50-stolen-base game. The moment captured in this card design propels both Ohtani and MLB’s popularity to stratosphere, and it’s rare to see a card made to commemorate such a moment within the same season. I believe no Topps/Fanatics card over the next decade will surpass it, and Topps itself listed it among the top 4 cards of 2024.

Here’s how I valued it:

• Ohtani’s 50/50 ball sold for $4.4M. Babe Ruth’s best jersey sold for far more than his best-used balls.
• This logoman is from Ohtani’s pants, closely tied to the stolen base side of 50/50 record.
• Kobe Bryant’s first logoman auto (without variations) sold for $1.58M.
• Ohtani earns $100M/year in sponsorship alone, so spending 1% of that figure for a 20-year career gives a reasonable footing.
• Ohtani's top rookie cards /5 already go for $1M, and I’ve validated that pricing through comparisons to similar versions like /25 and /50. There are 2 variations of these /5, and I already know where to acquire two of them as an alternative.

Based on these, I saw $1M as a justified floor and $1.58M as a cap within comfort zone, with a theoretical upside matching or surpassing $4.4M sale of the 50/50 ball. I ultimately secured it near my projected floor, making it a strategic acquisition based on strong fundamentals and comps.

Authenticity & Rarity

7. How do you verify authenticity and assess grading beyond just relying on BGS/PSA labels?

Each card has unique details that can help spot fakes quickly. In many cases, I can identify a fake in seconds. When deeper analysis is needed, I collect high-resolution images from multiple sources to closely examine features like the foil serial stamp. I also know the ownership history (provenance) of many major cards, which helps verify authenticity. On several occasions, I’ve detected trimming or counterfeit cards that even grading companies missed, helping protect collectors from costly mistakes.

8. What differentiates a truly rare or iconic card from others that might appear similar at first glance?

Truly iconic and historical card sets feature rare key cards from important eras, often introducing new concepts or categories that shaped the hobby, with standout design/art and other meaningful attributes. These cards are consistently lauded by serious true collectors from day 1. If you can clearly identify and articulate several objectively widely recognized attributes, it’s usually a sign the card is genuinely special. With enough experience, research, discussion, and hands-on curation, it becomes easier to separate true long-term gems, what I call “coffin cards”, from hype, gimmick or pretenders.

Stay tuned for next week’s Part 2 of our interview with Dingyu, where we go deeper into the macro trends shaping the sports card market, how elite investors navigate player selection, and why high-end cards are emerging as a powerful alternative asset class in today’s investment landscape.