# Alternative or Fringe Investment Ideas **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 1, 2017, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-or-fringe-investment-ideas/785611 "2017-05-01T00:39:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mrdeals](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea666f/32.png) [@Mrdeals](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrdeals)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2017, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-or-fringe-investment-ideas/785611/1 "2017-05-01T00:39:35Z")
Recently i stumbled upon a Youtuber who, as far as i could tell, bought and sold Magic The Gathering cards for a living, but not only that, he INVESTED in Magic cards. The investment ran like this: —A new set comes out —He buys 100-500 sets —Lets the set go out of print —Waits 5 years —Then starts selling at a profit He claims in one video, MTG cards run an average of 7% appreciation per year. Another “fringe” investment idea i heard was, what i can only describe as “lobster growing” —A live lobster is bought wholesale on the lower end of the spectrum (1lb or less) —Lobster is kept in proper living arrangements for as long as wanted —Lobster is harvested The interesting thing about the lobsters, from my brief Googling, is that they grow 40% per year! Not only that, but once they get to larger sizes, the price per pound increases by 20-30%! Obviously there is certain expenses that go with raising a lobster, but a pretty cool idea. What are some alternative investment ideas you guys have run across? ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2017, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-or-fringe-investment-ideas/785611/2 "2017-05-01T01:37:57Z")
Well… that’s not a great rate of appreciation for something you intend to flip at retail. Ebay + paypal fees are around 12-13% of the sale cost and if you sell more than $20,000 per year Paypal sends the IRS a tax notice so there goes a good chunk as well. Making (say) 20% to 30% net over purchase on average on small transactions is barely worth the effort plus you have to account for the carrying cost if he used credit to buy them. Not a great “investment” IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2017, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-or-fringe-investment-ideas/785611/3 "2017-05-01T01:42:56Z")
No, not remotely a good idea. I suppose it is possible to arbitrage Magic cards for profit, but like any collectible it represents paper wealth that can evaporate quickly in response to market conditions. Should MtG go out of fashion at some point - and it inevitably will - the cards will be worthless, or at a minimum worth little. As for the lobster thing? Right. Good luck with that. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2017, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-or-fringe-investment-ideas/785611/4 "2017-05-01T01:44:03Z")
We used to have a large Japanese population in the south bay here in So Ca. Many of them could actually make a living growing special plants in a large backyard. I don’t see much of that anymore. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2017, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-or-fringe-investment-ideas/785611/5 "2017-05-01T01:50:13Z")
Lots of people will tell you that buying guns at retail is an investment. Because after the gun-grabbers finally grab the guns they’ll be worth lots. We recently had a thread on people buying “bricks” of .22 ammo at Walmart as an investment. More like “investment” in my book. ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2017, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-or-fringe-investment-ideas/785611/6 "2017-05-01T02:04:31Z")
> [@Mrdeals](#): > > He claims in one video, MTG cards run an average of 7% appreciation per year. Has the guy also tried investing in all the other CCGs that have come and gone? How much of a return does he get when he also includes the current value of Spellfire, Battletech, Star Trek, etc. CCG sets he “invested” in? Any idiot can be Warren Buffett with hindsight. And with only 7% returns, cherry picked from the rest of the failed oddball schemes, this guy ain’t even the Warren Buffett of MTG… ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2017, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-or-fringe-investment-ideas/785611/7 "2017-05-01T14:10:10Z")
> [@Mrdeals](#): > > The interesting thing about the lobsters, from my brief Googling, is that they grow 40% per year! Not only that, but once they get to larger sizes, the price per pound increases by 20-30%! Obviously there is certain expenses that go with raising a lobster, but a pretty cool idea. 😕 > [@](#): > > Lobster farming is difficult: The crustaceans grow slowly, eat a lot, and are susceptible to a very contagious disease, and their eggs are difficult to raise. > **[Science explains why lobster is so expensive](https://www.businessinsider.com/why-is-lobster-super-expensive-2015-7)** > > We do it to ourselves. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2017, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-or-fringe-investment-ideas/785611/8 "2017-05-01T14:29:40Z")
Creepy Rudy will get you every time. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2017, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-or-fringe-investment-ideas/785611/9 "2017-05-01T14:33:00Z")
A friend’s 14 year old son has done well in the shoe business. He arranges a ride to the mall when a shoe release is happening, and he buys several pairs. He then sells the shoes on eBay for a profit. This started with his small savings account and two pairs, but it has grown to the point where he has two partners in the business. The kid started this a year or so ago and has built a small empire. ---
**Author:** ![Driver8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5a626/32.png) [@Driver8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Driver8)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2017, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-or-fringe-investment-ideas/785611/10 "2017-05-01T14:57:26Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > 😕 > > [Why Is Lobster so Gosh-Darn Expensive? - Business Insider](http://www.businessinsider.com/why-is-lobster-super-expensive-2015-7) Has the OP tried farming? You can’t lose! [https://youtu.be/\_pDTiFkXgEE](https://youtu.be/_pDTiFkXgEE)