Sports Cards Hobby Thread

[HarleyQuinn]

It’s obviously not sports. But I got nowhere else to share this. Decided I’m going to start collecting Game of Thrones cards. Autographs specifically.

Cracked a Game of Thrones Inflexions case and pulled this motherfucker of a Lena Headey inscription auto. Looks like it’s $300+ and limited to just 100-200 of these out there according to the Rittenhouse archives page.

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Awesome pulls, @Youth N Asia, and I really like seeing these autographs from actors, others. I've been intrigued by the boxes of stuff like Star Wars, Aliens, etc. since they serve a bit of a niche but offer some legitimately cool items that can't really be had elsewhere outside of an in-person autograph session. I should look into the Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly card sets they had from the late 90s/early 2000s too.

 

[Youth N Asia]

I wanted to get into the Buffy autos forever ago. But that was before I had any kind of disposable income, now i feel like it’s too late. Especially because boxes probably aren’t out there like they used to be.

@HarleyQuinn I also like seeing what some of these autos look like. I’m not likely to get one myself from these people outside of a comic con. Always amazed looking at the cards on eBay and seeing an actor that’s like number 200 on the call sheet and they have the laziest signature. He’s one of my favorites but I don’t think I could ever pay for a Bruce Campbell auto. It’s just the worst.

I needed something new. Getting bored with Funko and NECA stuff. I found my box of cards I had laying around that have been forgotten about for years. I’ll post some of those later out for something to do. Those are sports related at least

 

[Youth N Asia]

This is what I found in my card box I haven’t seen in a while. Nothing major at all. Just sports cards I held on to. Mostly from teenage years. Except for eh 86 Topps NFL rookies that I weirdly found at goodwill and a few strays.

Was collecting Detroit Pistons autos for a while. Then just kinda stopped.

Was buying a bunch of ufc autograph cards when I could get them cheap on eBay. Half of me thinks about getting rid of them. Then the other half pops on eBay and sees what else is out there.

(the Terry Bradshaw is in stupid bad condition. I gag a guy a buck or two for it)

 

[HarleyQuinn]

The '86 Fleers are going nuts in particular now NBA wise.

 

[SFH]

Ordered a Brees Press Pass rookie and a Brees/LT/Flutie 01 (rookie for Brees/LT) in GMA slabs. From the photos they look pretty centered, clean edges and corners so I'm going to see about busting and wiping them down with my microfiber and resubbing through BGS for my registry.

Also, somehow an 11 card lot of 1959 Stooges cards, including a Moe Howard, flew under the radar and with tax/shipping I only had to pay $101. Moe on his own in even low grade condition knocks on $200. Seller is in Arkansas so assuming the package hits the mail Tuesday, I should have it before the weekend. My Larry is @ BGS right now and I'm still waiting on my Curly to deliver from COMC.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Curious about what you paid for the GMAs (and what their grades were). I just picked up a Harley Quinn BTAS 1993 Topps Card for $20 off Ebay, about the going sales price, but I'll probably send it in to get graded later + it's Harley in her classic outfit.

 

[SFH]

GMA 8 for $7.99 and GMA 7 for $6.99 both shipped at $3.99 combined. No back scans available.

I do see some things on the 7 that probably won't help on a crossover. I'll know more once I have it in hand. The 8 has some minor chipping on the bottom left edge but I've got BGS 8.5s and 9s that have that.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Just did a very swank little order for Youtube's The Card Dojo aka Shawn (similar to my card care package to Andy aka The Fantasy Football Card Quest). A ton of Kansas City Chiefs/New York Giants Jersey cards and several 2020 Panini Mosaic Cards as Card Dojo's admitted to not finding any Mosaic anywhere for his channel so I thought I'd help him out a little bit

Here's a spoiler list because it's a long one, in order of year. Did 32 cards that ended up being cheaper than getting him several Hanger/Blaster Boxes in total, where by the cards are so much cooler and will mean more to him personally PC wise. The total was about $177 but just 2 Mosaic Blaster Boxes from Blowout Cards would be $128 alone with 64 cards total.

This way, he gets a shit ton of Jersey Cards & Serial #'d cards on top of that. A ton of different brands and gets several of his favorite players from Mosaic without having to spend $60+ on a box for 32 Cards where he may not even pull a Kansas City Chief. I threw in JuJu and Jared Goff because it's a running gag on his YT breaks that they are always showing up uninvited.

Spoiler

Ike Hilliard 2001 SP Authentic Stat Jerseys /787
Ike Hilliard 2001 Upper Deck Vintage Threads
Phil Simms 2001 Upper Deck Pros & Prospects Game Jersey
Tiki Barber/Kerry Collins/Ron Dayne 2001 Pacific Impressions Triple Threads Jersey
Derrick Blaylock/Trent Green/Tony Richardson 2002 Crown Royale Triple Threads Jersey /776
Priest Holmes 2002 Titanium Post Season Jersey /435
Dante Hall 2004 Fleer Inscribed Names of the Game Jersey Gold /150
Dante Hall 2004 SPx Swatch Supremacy
Amani Toomer 2005 Donruss Gridiron Gear Jerseys /150
Amani Toomer 2006 Leaf Certified Materials Mirror Blue Materials /50
David Tyree 2007 Select Scorecard /100
Eddie Kennison 2007 Leaf Certified Materials of the Game Team Logo /25
Larry Johnson 2007 Upper Deck Trilogy Sunday Best Jersey Patch /79
Tony Gonzalez 2007 Topps TX Exclusive Winning Ticket Jersey /199
Michael Strahan/Jeremy Shockey 2008 SPx Winning Combos Jersey
Hakeem Nicks 2009 Donruss Gridiron Gear Performers Materials & Ball Combo /100
Alex Smith/Dwayne Bowe/Jamaal Charles 2014 Prestige Big Three Jersey /99
Anthony Fasano/De'Anthony Thomas/Derrick Johnson/Eric Berry 2014 Score Quad Jerseys
Eli Manning 2016 Panini Spectra Catalyst Jersey /49
JuJu Smith-Schuster 2017 Donruss Optic Rookie Phenom Jersey
Morten Andersen 2017 Select Signature Memorabilia Prizm Auto Jersey /99 [Auto & Jersey]
Tyreek Hill 2017 Certified Mirror Red /99 x3
Travis Kelce 2018 Timeless Tributes Gold /99
Jared Goff 2019 Certified Fabric of the Game Jersey /299
Mecole Hardman Jr 2019 Select Rookie Swatches Prizm White /75
Clyde Edwards-Helaire 2020 Panini Mosaic Introductions
Patrick Mahomes II 2020 Panini Mosaic MVP x2
Tiki Barber 2020 Panini Mosaic Mosaic Blue /99
Tyrann Mathieu 2020 Panini Mosaic Silver

 

[SFH]

We need more of you in the hobby and less of the people stalking the Excel reps at Target.

Guy I know found out about me slipping cards to my coworker for his kid and my childhood friend's children is saying he has a bunch to send their way. I'm really excited to see what he's sending them because just on what I know of him he only collects serial numbered auto memorabilia cards and generally rookies only (he's got that oil field money going on). If so I'm going to have to make sure the adults understand to make sure the kids take care of these in particular.


Stooges seller messaged to see if I wanted signature confirmation. I did the math and I'll probably be sleeping the day they arrive if shipped tomorrow, so declined. Then a second email advising they forgot it was a mail holiday and will mail package tomorrow and also send tracking. So, looking promising that I won't get hosed.

 

[Youth N Asia]

Season 6 box break was a bust for autos. But the Hodor relic helps a little bit.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Neat pulls, YNA! Really like that Charles-Chapman signature

Guy I know found out about me slipping cards to my coworker for his kid and my childhood friend's children is saying he has a bunch to send their way. I'm really excited to see what he's sending them because just on what I know of him he only collects serial numbered auto memorabilia cards and generally rookies only (he's got that oil field money going on). If so I'm going to have to make sure the adults understand to make sure the kids take care of these in particular.

My joy comes from the reaction of the people I send these cards to and the knowledge I'm helping them build a great personal collection. As a guy who doesn't really PC much outside of Boston players, I get how cool it is to have a card of a specific player that may mean jack squat to Person Y but means a lot to Person A. Like for you, getting a Joe Horn card or Deuce McAllister card may mean way more than me getting it whereas if I got a David Givens card or Kevin Faulk card I'd dig those a lot more than you would.

Several reasons I did this shipment to Card Dojo is that he's a box ripper but it's mostly been retail stuff of Donruss, etc. As somebody who's ripped a lot of boxes, I know the odds of getting great cards for your PC is really, really slim coupled with the fact he's lamented not being able to find Mosaic anywhere with even the stuff on DACW/Blowout being outrageously priced.

If he were to rip boxes of every product of the cards I'm sending... he'd maybe get like 2 or 3 of the 32 cards? A Mosaic HB averages $5.10 per card (150 Cards at $765). This order is more varied, more scarce, cost a fraction of that HB price at $177, and still averaged about $5.53 per card. And I still ended up with 5 Mosaic cards (of players he specifically would want) for $35.40.

 

[SFH]

I love that you mentioned Joe Horn. I actually just put my in person auto from him in a card saver and have it in my BAS to be graded row. He was the biggest star in this mid 00s signing they did at the mall, free, and his line was the longest of all the players. When it was my turn, I asked for a picture, and not only did he agree, he put his arm around me and hugged me like we've been friends forever. Then not only did he sign my card, he signed my jersey AND signed a 3rd thing for a friend of mine who had to work that day. Line stretched at least 10 stores down the corridor and he gave me all the time in the world it seemed like. I now have a 3 ring binder with 10 ultra pro pages of his cards that'll maybe one day wind up slabbed. Such a great guy. I know his recent dealings have not been shining him in a positive light, but I'll never forget the positivity he gave me in 2003 or 2004, whenever it was.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Was curious at looking at some random MLB rookie cards... This also shows the disparity from one grade to another (mostly) under the same company as well. Used PSA as comparison for George Brett but mostly tried to target SGC given @snuffbox and his possible focus on grading Vintage with them.

Frank Robinson 1957 Topps #35 SGC 7.5 = $750. SGC 6.5 = $600 (2 Bids). SGC 5.5 = $260. SGC 5 = $225. SGC 5 = $172.50 (19 Bids). SGC 3 = $104.50 (27 Bids).
Willie McCovey 1960 Topps #316 SGC 7 = $361.56 (22 Bids). SGC 5 = $135. SGC 4 = $82.51 (4 Bids). SGC 3 = $40
Mike Schmidt 1973 Topps #615 SGC 8 = $536 (13 Bids). SGC 8 = $406 (18 Bids). SGC 7 = $260 (20 Bids). SGC 4 = $100.01 (25 Bids). SGC 3 = $76 (30 Bids)
George Brett 1975 Topps #228 PSA 8 = $385.00 (32 Bids). SGC 6 = $89 (30 Bids). SGC 4 = $59. PSA 4 = $56 (9 Bids)
Eddie Murray 1978 Topps #36 SGC 9.5 = $5,700. SGC 8 = $119.99. SGC 6.5 = $36. SGC 6 = $35. SGC 5 = $20. SGC = $15.

1950s cards are pretty rare/hard to grade as expected. Take the following with the loosest grain of salt (I suspect the majority of 'high' grades are Probstein/PWCC trim jobs tbh) but starting with the 1956 Topps Baseball set you see a lot more cards getting PSA 8s than in the previous half of the decade's card sets.

 

[snuffbox]

I agree, it's good to be careful about high grade vintage, especially Mantle, etc. I don't now if we'll ever know how bad the trimming/altering scandal was (still is?) but I have a hunch it's way too widespread.

I'm open to PSA, SGC, and Beckett. I do prefer SGC because they seem to be the toughest grader and have the best case, imo. If reselling were my biggest concern, I'd focus on PSA because there still seems to be a premium there.

But, while I do sell online & (if they ever happen again) at shows, my primary focus is collecting. And I go with the "buy the card/not the grade" strategy. For example, PSA 1s due to pinholes that have an eye appeal much higher, like a 5 or 6, like my T206 Matty, '41 Playball Mel Ott and '55 Topps Jackie Robinson. Or lower grades, 1-3s that also have beautiful eye appeal.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

But, while I do sell online & (if they ever happen again) at shows, my primary focus is collecting. And I go with the "buy the card/not the grade" strategy. For example, PSA 1s due to pinholes that have an eye appeal much higher, like a 5 or 6, like my T206 Matty, '41 Playball Mel Ott and '55 Topps Jackie Robinson. Or lower grades, 1-3s that also have beautiful eye appeal.

Yeah. I'll take a well-centered card that has slight white corners/surface issues over a sharp card with great surface but poor centering even if the latter is 2-3 "grades" higher than the former.

 

[snuffbox]

I was talking to a local card shop owner recently. I gave my opinion that the bubble for current product will eventually burst, possibly sooner than later, and vintage will remain steady if not continue to go up. He had the opposite opinion; current fans and collectors don't now who Mickey Mantle was and will keep buying who they know: Zion, etc. It didn't seem like a debate would go anywhere so we agreed to disagree. And then I bought his only graded vintage card ("can't keep them in stock," he ironically said), a PSA 8 1964 Philly Johnny Unitas.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Yeah. I came across this fantastic centered looking John Elway PSA 6 (which could be trimmed if you take note of that upper right corner) that's around $60 while a horrible off-centered BGS 8 sold for $64. I think there's an argument to be made that people may not know who Johnny Unitas/Mantle/Yaz are but my parents in their 50s/60s grew up as kids in the 60s and 70s. I grew up in the 80s/90s and relate more to those players but sports are about history and legendary players will always be legendary players generation after generation. I didn't need to see Jim Brown on my TV to watch highlights and know his impact on the NFL.

Also parents pass on their players to their kids and grandkids. I'll be letting my niece/nephews know about Barry Sanders, Steve Young, Troy Aikman, Deion, Montana, Rice, Nolan Ryan, Clemens, Bonds, Gretzky, Bourque, Cam Neely, etc. so that they know of them even if they don't see them play live on their TVs.

Now, not all 'vintage' names will carry over but I do think that the 70s and 80s players will start seeing rises now too as they are our generation's "vintage" players being 30+ years old now.

 

[snuffbox]

Long dead artists' paintings keep breaking record prices. Tobacco cards sell well a century after the depicted player took their last at-bat. I think the same will hold trues for Mantles, Aarons, Koufaxes, and Gibsons.

And there is something fishy about that Elway. It doesn't look like a 6; sharp and centered like at least an 8. Makes me wonder if PSA undergraded it in a weird attempt to cover its ass instead of labeling it "altered."

Personally, I'd rather buy an "authentic/altered" label with great eye appeal than a high grade that's been altered but not listed as such.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Long dead artists' paintings keep breaking record prices. Tobacco cards sell well a century after the depicted player took their last at-bat. I think the same will hold trues for Mantles, Aarons, Koufaxes, and Gibsons.

Yeah, that PSA card just seems weird and shifty.

There are also so many legendary names in sports, especially baseball. While some names may not be as big, there's always going to be a market for the fans of sports history attached to those players. There's a reason that museums are still big attractions world wide. All you have to do is say the words Cooperstown and Canton and people instantly know what you're probably referring to.

We're already seeing that same legendary status with Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Ken Griffey Jr, Barry Bonds, and even Mike Trout. Even in the NHL, you have Mario Lemieux up there with Gretzky, Howe, and Orr while Patrick Roy & Marty Brodeur are getting there as Goalies. In the NFL you have past legends and now you have "recent" names like Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Barry Sanders, Emmitt Smith, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, and possibly Aaron Rodgers & Russell Wilson joining them.

I'll gladly let people chase the 12 Rookie QBs over the next 2-3 NFL Drafts thinking they are getting the next 'legend' only to get Matt Ryan or Matt Stafford or even Andrew Luck. I'll gladly take even the modern day low serial #'d cards of legitimate legends instead. I picked up /25 and /35 Jersey cards of Albert Pujols and Chipper Jones respectively because those are names that will be known for decades in the future over your few years wonders like Joc Pederson or Manny Machado.

Those cards may not be "rookie" or "vintage" but you're telling me that Aaron Judge (who'll be 29 years old next year with just 119 HR to his name) is gonna finish his career on the same level as Albert Pujols? Pujols in that 5 year same 24-28 age stretch had 205 HR and had 319 in his career before he turned 29.

 

[SFH]

The 2 GMA Brees rookies I shared pictures of above arrived today. In hand I can see the flaws that netted the grades of 7 and 8. I can also see why they didn't pop in the photo. Very subtle curling in the 4 front corners on the 7. The solo card of just Brees is a fair 8.

I'm not even going to waste my money converting them to BGS cases. I put them in a few buy/sell groups to see if anyone wants them. Plus I got some other things popped up today I'm going to not drag into this thread.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

The 2 GMA Brees rookies I shared pictures of above arrived today. In hand I can see the flaws that netted the grades of 7 and 8. I can also see why they didn't pop in the photo. Very subtle curling in the 4 front corners on the 7. The solo card of just Brees is a fair 8.

I'm not even going to waste my money converting them to BGS cases. I put them in a few buy/sell groups to see if anyone wants them. Plus I got some other things popped up today I'm going to not drag into this thread.

Yeah. As I said, GMA is pretty accurate in its grading. Usually, they are about a 0.5/1 point higher than PSA/BGS but a few of the cards below looked like they may've deserved the higher GMA grade. The Andrew Benitendi in the 2nd BGS vs. GMA video got a 6 from Beckett twice IIRC and a 10 from GMA (making me think Beckett was seeing something that GMA wasn't dinging it for?). One thing I have noticed in watching the videos is that GMA seems to grade corner wear/surfaces a lot harder whereas PSA is far more lenient on centering and BGS is more lenient on corners. It's worth noting that GMA also specifically says that if there's a surface issue but it doesn't detract aesthetically from the card, it won't ding the card too harshly which may explain some of the +0.5 grades.

 

[SFH]

Very interesting. I think that's a good showing between the two videos, the differences were minute and the one could just be an aberration. It's the human eye at the end of the day.

That interview the SGC president did early 2020 he said some interesting things, one of which was (not verbatim) "For us that'd be an SGC 9" clearly indicating they may weigh aspects differently. So, it's good to hear it from a company rep's mouth and know that when we say it as collectors, we know what we're talking about.

I was also impressed with the GMA case. For being "below" PSA/SGC/BGS according to the blowout and beckett site users, the case is as sturdy as any other I've held.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Always surprises me a bit when you can get some HOF Autographs rather cheap compared to what RPAs or even other legends go for... One could easily build a pretty great HOF Autograph set IMO depending on the set/cards.

Joe Dumars 2014-15 NT /25 Autograph for $18
Bernard King 2014-15 Panini Noir /49 Gold Ink Auto for $20
Gary Payton 2015-16 Donruss Elite /25 Red SP Auto for $20
Nate Archibald 2017-18 NT /10 Gold Autograph for $30
Alex English 2018-19 Panini Contenders /199 Auto for $10
Total = $98 for 5 NBA Hall of Famers. 2 Cards at 25 or less, another at 10 or less.

Tom Glavine 2019 Topps Tribute Auto /25 for $32
Johnny Bench 2008 UD Premiere Auto /15 for $65
Carlton Fisk 2018 Panini Immaculate Auto /5 for $39.30
Fergie Jenkins 2004 Panini HOF Auto for $14
Harry Heilmann 2015 Panini NT Used Bat /99 for $20
Total = $170.30 for 5 HOFers. 4 Autos including 3 at /25 or less + NT Bat Card

 

[HarleyQuinn]

I'm bored and spurred on by @snuffbox and his Vintage talk I looked at PSA's Pop Report... wow this rabbit hole.

Just to set things up... Zion Williamson has 979 Different Cards/Parallels for 2019 alone in PSA's graded database. It's clear we're in a 'new' Junk Wax Era thanks to the Ja/Zion hype early but that all these different sets had led to a different kind of Junk Wax aspect.

1985 Topps Mark McGwire USA = 46,091
1986 Fleer Michael Jordan RC = 17,953
1986 Topps Traded Barry Bonds = 46,540
1989 Fleer Ken Griffey Jr RC = 46,378
1997 Topps Chrome Tim Duncan = 6,690
2003 Topps LeBron James RC = 7,017 + Topps Chrome = 5,307
2011 Topps Update Mike Trout = 8,427 (9,578 if you include the parallels/other cards)
2019 Prizm Ja Morant Base = 17,611 (2,152 Silvers)
2019 Prizm Zion Willi Base = 22,579 (2,742 Silvers)

 

[snuffbox]

I'm still not super happy about a Mike Trout breaking the old Honus record.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Just sent payment for my 72 Card GMA order (I apparently added up the total cards wrong and mistyped it as 66 thinking each 'page' was 20 and not 22 spaces). Hopefully should be coming back by the 27th.

Also, CardDojo's care package should be getting there on Monday so I'm hoping a video goes up by Wednesday or Thursday of next week on that, which I'll link to ITT.

 

[SFH]

Haven't had a chance to sync my scanner up to my new laptop yet, but Moe arrived today

Ecstatic.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

I'm really curious how the graded base cards coming back effects sales and the card market in general, especially compared to the serial #'d cards, SPs, and scarcer product out there.

 

[SFH]

I *might* test that in the near (2021) future. I submitted a bunch of base rookies of Alvin Kamara, Michael Thomas, and other recent Saints picks and I've been sending Non-guaranteed Brees and Frank Thomas base with almost every 30 day order. Just stuff that I won't be in any hurry to get back, but when it does eventually pop will look nice in holders. There's going to be some dupes in there so I'll probably sell the extras. Going to be a while to report results, though.

You're going to have a big head start with GMA's turn arounds.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

I *might* test that in the near (2021) future. I submitted a bunch of base rookies of Alvin Kamara, Michael Thomas, and other recent Saints picks and I've been sending Non-guaranteed Brees and Frank Thomas base with almost every 30 day order. Just stuff that I won't be in any hurry to get back, but when it does eventually pop will look nice in holders. There's going to be some dupes in there so I'll probably sell the extras. Going to be a while to report results, though.

You're going to have a big head start with GMA's turn arounds.

Yeah. Unfortunately, I'm more of a long term collector but just having this stuff graded and it's almost 99% serial #'d product or Jersey card stuff. I've also been very picky about what I've sent in so it's helped that I've targeted HOFers/Legends or local Boston players to flip easier if I have to down the road compared to sending in 8 base Ja Morants or 14 base Luis Roberts and hoping they get 10s on the majority of them at a PSA.

One of the things I've also tried to do is invest cheap and guarantee an easier profit margin. If I spent $3, $4, or $5 on a card and $5 ($8-$10 total) to have it graded, it's a lot easier trying to flip it for even just $15-$20 (or more) then trying to buy a raw at $60 and send it in to be graded at $10 (so $70 total) hoping I can get a PSA 10 and sell it for $250+. The profit there is much higher but the initial investment is also higher with the assumption that the market sustains itself/keeps the discrepancy of a PSA 10 so high over a longer period of months.

Mookie Betts 2014 Topps Update #US26 GMA 10 is a perfect example. Can get it for $90 Raw, $5 to be graded so that's $95. Sold BIN for $199.99 + $4.05 shipping = $204.04 so the actual profit was +$109.04 minus whatever the Ebay fees are. And that's assuming you picked up that Mookie raw at the $90 price and not far cheaper a while ago at say $15 or $25.