Sports Cards Hobby Thread

[HarleyQuinn]

Not cards, but while doing the scans for my registry, I found some b&w 5x7 signed publicity stills of Saints from years past. Same signing as the Henderson above. Might get BAS to slab those down the road. Other than Coach Haslett, none of them would really ring a bell outside the gulf region. Boo Williams, Ashley Ambrose, Charles Grant, and Fred McAffee. I'd have to pay the "oversized" fee so definitely a "one at a time" situation. Also have a cloth mini flag same dimensions that Coach Haslett signed.

Baby Shoes:

Stunned eBay win tonight. Not that it is a major card but I won a PSA 10 Giannis 2018 Optic base card for $9.50 with $4 shipping. Even after shipping and tax, it was still cheaper than what it costs to get a 2018 card graded at the lowest service level currently.

Boo Williams was a great tight end and I always loved that first name. Also wow on the Giannis, especially a PSA 10 for basically 'raw' price of some other cards.

 

[Baby Shoes]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1335296356223684608

 

[HarleyQuinn]

I like Gary Vee when I watch him in interviews and he seems sincere in trying to convey that he's a collector not necessarily an "INVESTOR" (ala SportsCardInvestor Geoff, PSACollector, etc.) but part of me looks at him as... flaunting his wealth in a way? It's easy for a guy with Gary's wealth to buy up all this stuff and say he's merely 'collecting' it and then see the prices skyrocket and remark that the sports card market is getting ready for another massive boost. Then he turns around and buys more products, etc. because he has financial resources.

I see him talking about how he can't reveal cards because they'll skyrocket/price out the Average Joe and it sucks, etc. but it all feels like: He was a key figurehead in opening the lamp and now he can't put the genie back in the lamp. It's not his fault his followers are trying to spout knowledge after being back in the hobby since March like they've been in it for 20+ years but... he had a hand in it too.

It's somewhat doubly annoying going through BlowoutCards or following guys like ThoseBackPages, BaseballCardCollectorInvestorDealer, BenchClear, VintageCardCurator and see them have half the followers as GV or SportsCardInvestor (who's so shady as fuck IMO. Just reminds me of a corporate exec only in it for the profit bolting if it all crashes down).

Even this thread was started over 7 years ago(!) and the few of us still posting about the hobby were literally making the early posts then too.

 

[Baby Shoes]

I actually knew nothing of Gary Vee until I was on some card sites this summer and people were cursing his name for some of the issues on the market currently. I know he had shown off PILES of PSA 10s of the Prizm Devin Booker Rookie and a Topps Durant rookie, which spiked both of those. The strange this is he is the one that got the white border Durant going crazy and that one I feel was way more common and attainable. It was guaranteed if you bought the couple dollar rookie set that was packaged and sold like a Team Set, whereas the black border may have more production numbers but you would’ve had to find it amongst the whole multi-hundred card series.

I did notice a lot of the same folks are active now. My activity goes up and down. I think the pandemic did play a big part in the resurgence with people home, looking for stuff to do. Coupling that with the stretch with no sports when things went up, the release of The Last Dance and some hyped new players, it seemed like a lot of alignment in the stars.

In my adult life I’m always up and down with collecting, right now being an up. I had picked up a couple things casually over the last few years but there is so much more I wish I had the foresight to get but I always passed or did little with getting pricy cards because I never thought the market would be like this again. So no way I’d pay $60 for a Jayson Tatum autograph when he’s still so new to the league. I’d break my finger hitting the purchase button so hard if I came across one at that price now.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

I actually knew nothing of Gary Vee until I was on some card sites this summer and people were cursing his name for some of the issues on the market currently. I know he had shown off PILES of PSA 10s of the Prizm Devin Booker Rookie and a Topps Durant rookie, which spiked both of those. The strange this is he is the one that got the white border Durant going crazy and that one I feel was way more common and attainable. It was guaranteed if you bought the couple dollar rookie set that was packaged and sold like a Team Set, whereas the black border may have more production numbers but you would’ve had to find it amongst the whole multi-hundred card series.

I did notice a lot of the same folks are active now. My activity goes up and down. I think the pandemic did play a big part in the resurgence with people home, looking for stuff to do. Coupling that with the stretch with no sports when things went up, the release of The Last Dance and some hyped new players, it seemed like a lot of alignment in the stars.

In my adult life I’m always up and down with collecting, right now being an up. I had picked up a couple things casually over the last few years but there is so much more I wish I had the foresight to get but I always passed or did little with getting pricy cards because I never thought the market would be like this again. So no way I’d pay $60 for a Jayson Tatum autograph when he’s still so new to the league. I’d break my finger hitting the purchase button so hard if I came across one at that price now.

I've been a lot happier since transitioning over to singles back in July and have gotten literally dozens of cards I never would've gotten ripping Hobby Boxes while paying probably 3-4x what I've paid thus far. Luckily I never cared much for autos so the price rises didn't impact what I collect too much but I have noticed raw prices for cards I got at $3 or $4 rising up to $8 or $10+ now compared to 2-3 months ago when I got them off Beckett.

You can definitely still get steals/deals, such as your Ebay pickups or some of @SFH's grabs but there's a bit more zagging and digging involved. It also helps that a lot of what's been boosted: Prizms/Shiny, Autos, Rookies, etc. were never really my focuses or likes as a collector so it's made that aspect easier.

 

[Baby Shoes]

Absolutely. I did get some cards around 2018 that were higher than I had spent and now I’m more comfortable getting some pricier items but that may just be where I am with my finances at this point. I used to pick up basically any autograph that could be had for $2 but now I am focusing on getting ones for a little more I want or see value in.

I’ve been super careful during COVID so I’m anxious when I start going out again to go check out some cards stores and my buddy and I already discussed attending a card show when things get better.

For now, I use eBay and should look at Beckett as you’ve highlighted. I occasionally go skim at Sportlots which was fantastic finding obscure singles at great prices in my autographing days but I haven’t made a purchase in recent times.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Absolutely. I did get some cards around 2018 that were higher than I had spent and now I’m more comfortable getting some pricier items but that may just be where I am with my finances at this point. I used to pick up basically any autograph that could be had for $2 but now I am focusing on getting ones for a little more I want or see value in.

I’ve been super careful during COVID so I’m anxious when I start going out again to go check out some cards stores and my buddy and I already discussed attending a card show when things get better.

For now, I use eBay and should look at Beckett as you’ve highlighted. I occasionally go skim at Sportlots which was fantastic finding obscure singles at great prices in my autographing days but I haven’t made a purchase in recent times.

I prefer Beckett over Ebay mainly for the following reasons (even though Beckett's clunky/not GUI friendly)

#1: It's all card shops, just done online. I like "supporting" them even if it may cost $25-$50 to get the free shipping at times. They'll refund if they sold out of a card in your purchase but I don't have to worry about paying and them just not sending the card or any real shadiness that can come from Ebay. One of them, The Dugout, actually sent me a promo code 20% off discount on my next $30 minimum purchase with them as thanks. Sometimes you'll get a handwritten thanks that's a nice personal touch.
#2: Raw cards, which are cheaper and less artificially price raised by a human's subjective grade. It also balances out in case a BGS/PSA plummet due to a public Federal scandal or whatever. Granted you could just crack the cases after but still... I like having the option of having raw cards that I could send in to be graded at a later date rather than trying to chase that specific card after it's been graded at a much, much higher price point.
#3: You can get some great steals if you know what you're looking for or want. Rather than picking up 3 PSA 10s for $70 + $12 shipping or whatever, you can get more quantity bang for your buck + free shipping. Once you get used to the market site, it's very easy to search for 'Tobias Harris Autograph' or 2017-18 Panini Prizms serial #'d /99 and get that list then sort by price. Like you can get a 2019 Panini Prizm Fast Break Dan Majerle Autograph for $6.00 and a 2018 Select Auto & Patch #'d /160 Dan Majerle for $9.90. For the latter, on Ebay there's a Purple /65 for $14.99 (or Best Offer) + $4.50 Shipping by comparison whereas on Beckett you can get the /160 for Free Shipping by spending $25 with that card shop. So you could pick up like 6+ cards at $3 per average and meet that $25 threshold instead. More cards, same Auto Patch cheaper, and free shipping.

 

[Baby Shoes]

Fun mail day today, had more come in than I realized. All prices include shipping

2020 Prizm Prospects Autograph Orange Refractor (/199) - TRES TINKLE - $7
2019-20 Panini Prizm Dominance Green Refractor Jayson Tatum - $4.99
2020 Panini Phoenix Fire Burst Refractor Cam Newton - $2
2019-20 Panini Prizm Base/Silver base/2003-04 Topps Chrome Paul Pierce lot of 3 - $4.74
2014-15 Panini Gold Standard /79 Paul Pierce- $3.50
2016-17 Hoops Artist Proof /25 Paul Pierce - $7.75
2020 WWE Topps Chro,e X-Fractor Bayley - $3.25

Also got a couple more assorted Bayleys and I had gotten some deals on some low population PSA 10s.

2019 Panini Mosaic Green Pascal Siakam - $24 (Population 2)
2019 Panini Contenders Game Ticket Green Foil Chris Paul - $20 (Population 1)
2019 Optic Express Lane Chris Paul - $20 (Population 1)
2019 Panini Mosaic Pink Camo Oscar Robertson - $20 (Population 1)

 

[SFH]

What's great about the Beckett Marketplace is that a lot of the cards are cross posted with eBay. So, say Burbank, will have a card on eBay for $1, but due to Beckett being more seller friendly, they'll have it for a fraction of the cost. Ebay's search terms and emails are more user friendly, but if I recognize the seller's name as a Beckett dealer, I pop over to marketplace and save some money.

Biggest drawback for me is Beckett listings are spotty when it comes to pictures and you have to hope the adjectives are accurate.

 

[Baby Shoes]

What's great about the Beckett Marketplace is that a lot of the cards are cross posted with eBay. So, say Burbank, will have a card on eBay for $1, but due to Beckett being more seller friendly, they'll have it for a fraction of the cost. Ebay's search terms and emails are more user friendly, but if I recognize the seller's name as a Beckett dealer, I pop over to marketplace and save some money.

Biggest drawback for me is Beckett listings are spotty when it comes to pictures and you have to hope the adjectives are accurate.

That’s a great example. I have a lot of Burbank stuff on my eBay watch list so I probably should look through Beckett before I try next.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

That’s a great example. I have a lot of Burbank stuff on my eBay watch list so I probably should look through Beckett before I try next.

I tend to use Burbank and Three Sports Cards the most but I'll use any dealer shop on there. The lack of pics are the only "bad" thing really but if they have another pic of that set with a different player, it gives you an idea of what you're looking at (or you can use tcdb.com for pics). One of the underrated/coolest things is that they sometimes list 'Beckett' information underneath a card when you open it up which is great for Inserts and Parallels like

"Michael Jordan selected the league's best dunkers for this 20-card insert set. The cards are randomly inserted in first series 12-card hobby packs at a rate of one in 30." for a 1993-94 Charles Barkley Upper Deck Flight Team Insert being offered at $10 from Mac's Collectibles.

"Inserted one per 13-card pack and two per 26-card jumbo pack, this 423-card set parallels the regular 1993-94 Hoops issue. The only differences are the Fifth Anniversary embossed gold-foil seal, gold-foil stripes highlighting the player's name on the front and UV coating." for a 1993-94 Charles Barkley Hoops Fifth Anniversary Parallel being offered for $0.50 from Burbank Sports Cards

 

[HarleyQuinn]

The first part of my Artifacts Hockey order arrived courtesy of Three Star Sports Cards! I'll post pics when the other part arrives I've picked up between 350-400 cards via Beckett since July and averaged only around $4 per card.

I've probably saved myself literally hundreds of dollars whilst building up a vastly superior collection than I'd likely get otherwise.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Just having some random knowledge dropping with 1990s NBA Hoops Inserts... I always love seeing the 'odds' of Inserts (noting they are much tougher to pull than most "base" Rookie Cards meaning lower print runs, etc.) since collectors kind of tend to take them for granted a bit within the Hobby especially in the scarcity factor.

Example: Let's say you have a 1996 Hobby Box and there's 24 Packs with 8 Cards each. That's 192 Cards. Now you have an Insert Set of the '96 Rookie Class at 12 Cards with a 1:18 Pack Odds (1 per Hobby Box) roughly. If you want a Kobe Bryant, you already are at 1:144 Cards (1 Insert, 18 Packs). Then you have 1:12 Cards (Insert Set odds of pulling Kobe specifically). So your overall odds to get that specific Kobe Bryant are now at 1:1728 Cards since it's a 12 Card Set x 18 Pack Odds. That breaks down to a 1:9 Hobby Box rate (1728 Cards / 192 per Hobby Box), roughly making it a 'Case Hit' Insert.

Today's NBA Sports Card History Lesson
1996-97 Hoops Grant Hill's All-Rookies Insert: 11 Card Set. 1:360 Packs (Series 2 Exclusive). Stated Print Run of 996.
1997-98 Hoops HOOPerstars Insert: 10 Card Die-Cut Set. 1:288 Packs (Series 1 Packs Exclusive).
1997-98 Hoops Rookie Headliners Insert: 10 Card Set. 1:48 Packs (Series 1 Packs Exclusive). Focuses on '96-'97 Rookie Class (Kobe, AI, etc.)
1997-98 Hoops Top of the World Insert: 15 Card Set. 1:48 Packs (Series 2 Packs Exclusive). Focuses on '97-'98 Rookie Class
1997-98 Hoops Frequent Flyer Club Insert: 20 Card Set. 1:36 Packs (Series 1 Hobby Box Exclusive).
1997-98 Hoops Dish N Swish Insert: 10 Card Set. 1:18 Packs (Series 1 Retail Packs Exclusive).
1998-99 Hoops Freshman Flashbacks Insert: 10 Card Set. Print Run of 1,000.
1998-99 Hoops Rejectors Insert: 10 Card Set. Printed Run of 2,500.

I've also seen that not all "products" are the same from Series 1 to Series 2 in terms of either packs or cards per pack.
- 1996-97 Hoops Series 1 = 24 Packs, 9 Cards per Pack. 216 Cards. Headliners Insert are 1:72 Pack Odds but 1:3 Hobby Boxes
- 1996-97 Hoops Series 2 = 36 Packs, 6 Cards per Pack. 216 Cards. The Grant Hill's All-Rookies Insert? 1:10 Hobby Box hit(!) Autographics are 1:72 Pack Odds but 1:2 Hobby Boxes

 

[Baby Shoes]

I remember back in the day some of the inserts or “subsets” being of greater value, exactly because of odds like you outlined. While Shaq rookies were expensive early in his career during that boom, more expensive than any of his base rookies was the Stadium Club Beam Team, which was such an iconic card in my childhood. I really wish I sought one out in the 2000s when the prices were probably down because I‘m sure those are high again.

I think the swing to base stuff happened more in recent years solely with a lot of people trying to identify one brand as the “definitive”. The funny thing is people are making that Topps Chrome for Kobe and Lebron when those were more premium cards than the definitive in their true era.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

eBay Introduces More Affordable Shipping Solution for Selling Trading Cards $20 and Under

eBay, one of the world's largest online marketplaces, is introducing a low cost way for sellers to securely ship trading cards. Beginning January 2021, the new shipping service, eBay standard envelope, allows sellers in the U.S. to print labels and ship trading cards priced $20 and under and up...

finance.yahoo.com

"Beginning January 2021, the new shipping service, eBay standard envelope, allows sellers in the U.S. to print labels and ship trading cards priced $20 and under and up to 3 oz., in an envelope with tracking included, for less than $1. Compared to just five years ago, trading cards sales have risen almost 300 percent on eBay. In 2020 alone, eBay has sold over 45 million trading cards."

 

[Baby Shoes]

Ha, I was going to share that same article

 

[HarleyQuinn]

I remember back in the day some of the inserts or “subsets” being of greater value, exactly because of odds like you outlined. While Shaq rookies were expensive early in his career during that boom, more expensive than any of his base rookies was the Stadium Club Beam Team, which was such an iconic card in my childhood. I really wish I sought one out in the 2000s when the prices were probably down because I‘m sure those are high again.

I think the swing to base stuff happened more in recent years solely with a lot of people trying to identify one brand as the “definitive”. The funny thing is people are making that Topps Chrome for Kobe and Lebron when those were more premium cards than the definitive in their true era.

Yeah, those 1992-93 Beam Teams are like $2.00 or less for every player then SHAQ = $1,000 lirl. You can find some legitimately fascinating shit though like Shaq 1992-93 Upper Deck All-Star Weekend Insert that was a 40 Card Box Set exclusive to Hobby Dealers/Dealers in SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH that's now going for $1.50 to $6.00 or so. I can't imagine something like that having too high a print run and the 'story' behind that card's existence is really neat. I'd love to have a Shaq Rookie and all but I'd take a card like that over some of the other 'Inserts' out there going for 4X the prices.

 

[Baby Shoes]

Last night I won a Lebron 2014-15 Prizm card for .80. After shipping and tax it was $4.82. The seller just cancelled my order with no explanation or communication. I reported them to eBay because it just seems like they didn’t want to sell that cheap.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Last night I won a Lebron 2014-15 Prizm card for .80. After shipping and tax it was $4.82. The seller just cancelled my order with no explanation or communication. I reported them to eBay because it just seems like they didn’t want to sell that cheap.

Definitely seems like a seller who saw the early base Prizm craze and thought he'd cash in and take advantage, not realizing that shit's train has traveled past.

 

[Baby Shoes]

Definitely seems like a seller who saw the early base Prizm craze and thought he'd cash in and take advantage, not realizing that shit's train has traveled past.

Yup. I think it speaks to your recent point of being more selective of who I’m purchasing from on eBay but sometimes I’ve gotten steals from sellers with less exposure, so I can deal withe a few of these also. I found another seller with same card for $5 shipped so I may pull the trigger to have it.

Topps put out Stadium Club Chrome baseball and WWE Finest today. I was on Topps website at 8:22 PST and everything was sold out. I had grabbed the last WWE product from there around that time.

A seller already had the Bayley Blue refractor (/150) on eBay for $7.99 and $4.05 shipping so I just grabbed it. I have almost the entire rainbow in Undisputed and in Chrome so first piece on this one.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Great snag on the Bayley. I enjoyed box ripping but got pissed off thanks to the 2020 Panini Contenders boxes in (frankly) getting shit for "hits" thus that necessitated my shift towards singles and I've continued to prefer to focus on aiming for singles from 2020 products while letting others pay the $200+ per Hobby Box stuff.

 

[Baby Shoes]

yeah, I’m still a sucker for ripping certain sets. The WWE ones are so small and the daughter after autographs get so pricy that I do boxes of those. But one of my last card cool offs was after I got a box of basketball and wrestling and all the hits were lousy a few years ago and I stopped getting much of anything.

I’ve also always loved set building and have a few that I tried making master sets on. I remember as a kid working to really get the full set and subsets of Fleer 95-96 specifically. Most recently with the WWE Chrome, I think I have the full set base set, I’m at like 75% of the refractor set and almost done with the IV. The inserts have still been pricy when I’ve had a few other projects and focuses so just picking those where I can but the smaller WWE sets make that aspect of it being a hobby easier.

 

[SFH]

According to the Facebook marketplace rules I should be able to activate shipping options for my trading card listings but so far it's only letting me activate for figures, DVD sets, and some handheld electronic stuff. It's really strange.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

So my entire Artifacts order came in! Below are the pics mainly focusing on the "highlights" including a couple of sweet patches.

 

[Baby Shoes]

Blah! The Bayley Superfractor for Finest is already found before my boxes come and the person who has it has it on eBay for $600... Another cool one I saw on a card site found already is someone cracked a Bliss/Cross dual auto super. Bliss prices are crazy but I got lucky and pulled one of her autographs in a Money in the Bank box over the summer.

I had scored a Prizm Draft Basketball mega box off a Target.com restock last week and got it below retail due to discounts. That is supposed to come today. Not expecting much but hopefully fun to crack some basketball.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Blah! The Bayley Superfractor for Finest is already found before my boxes come and the person who has it has it on eBay for $600... Another cool one I saw on a card site found already is someone cracked a Bliss/Cross dual auto super. Bliss prices are crazy but I got lucky and pulled one of her autographs in a Money in the Bank box over the summer.

I had scored a Prizm Draft Basketball mega box off a Target.com restock last week and got it below retail due to discounts. That is supposed to come today. Not expecting much but hopefully fun to crack some basketball.

The Dual Auto is now over $100 already over on Ebay. But the Bayley Refractor Auto is currently just $10.60 as of this post.

 

[Baby Shoes]

The Dual Auto is now over $100 already over on Ebay. But the Bayley Refractor Auto is currently just $10.60 as of this post.

I got my eyes on some stuff and have some boxes on the way.

My Prizm Basketball draft picks box was ok. I got at least one of all the major names but I don’t know how hard it is since it is only a 100 card base set and there are probably only a handful of guys with several different cards in the set.

The box I got had a Red Ice exclusive autograph in its own pack. I started ripped and saw LAM. I held my breath if it was going to be LaMelo. It was Lamar Stevens. An unstaffed guy who the Cavs signed to a two-way contract.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Some more random NBA 'Insert' Knowledge

'96-'97 Upper Deck Generation Excitement: 1 in 33 Packs. 20 Card Set. Notable Names: Jason Kidd, Grant Hill, Kevin Garnett, Penny Hardaway, Shawn Kemp
'96-'97 Upper Deck Smooth Grooves: 1 in 72 Packs. 15 Card Set. Notable Names: Dennis Rodman, Jason Kidd, Grant Hill, Shaq, Clyde Drexler, Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson, Kevin Garnett, Penny Hardaway, and Shawn Kemp
'97-'98 Skybox Premium And One: 1 in 96 Packs. 10 Card Set. Notable Names: Shawn Kemp, Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley, Dennis Rodman, Tim Duncan, Michael Jordan
'97-'98 Skybox Premium Golden Touch: 1 in 360 Packs. 15 Card Set. Notable Names: Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, Shaq, Penny Hardaway, Kevin Garnett, Dennis Rodman, Grant Hill, and Scottie Pippen
'98-'99 SP Authentic NBA 2K: 1 in 23 Packs. 20 Card Set. Notable Names: Vince Carter, Dirk Nowitzki, Paul Pierce, Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, and Grant Hill

 

[Baby Shoes]

Some pretty interesting ones there and I don’t remember any of those.

I did recently purchase a 2001-02 Topps Chrome Paul Pierce from the insert set Fast & Furious. Seems all the top guys are in that set: Pierce, Kobe, Shaq, Wizards Jordan, Antoine Walker, Iverson but no signs of Vin Diesel on any card.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Some pretty interesting ones there and I don’t remember any of those.

I did recently purchase a 2001-02 Topps Chrome Paul Pierce from the insert set Fast & Furious. Seems all the top guys are in that set: Pierce, Kobe, Shaq, Wizards Jordan, Antoine Walker, Iverson but no signs of Vin Diesel on any card.

Sweet on the Pierce! Some of these Insert Rates are really interesting. That set was pretty common, 1 in 6 packs (Pierce is like $0.50 at Beckett) but then you have in that same 2001-02 Topps Chrome: Mad Game = 1 in 13 Packs (Garnett is $1.61), Team Topps = 1 in 55 Packs (Shaq is $2.39 Duncan is $1.50). The F&F Refractor is 1 in 30 Packs (Pierce is $3.00 there). Mad Game Refractor is 1 in 65 Packs (Garnett is $9). Team Topps Refractor is 1 in 55 Packs (Shaq is $18).

Here's an example of the weird pricing compared to the 'Insert' odds in a brand's set. I also kind of went for eye appeal.
1998 UD Ionix - Paul Pierce - Kinetix - 1 in 9. $2.50
1998 Stadium Club - Paul Pierce - Never Compromise = 1 in 12. $1.20
1998 Upper Deck - Paul Pierce - Rookie Encore = 1 in 23. $4.00
1998 SP Authentic - Paul Pierce - NBA 2K = 1 in 23. $7.40
1998 SP - Paul Pierce - Top Prospects Destination Stardom = 1 in 23. $11.25
1998 Skybox Premium - Paul Pierce - Fresh Faces = 1 in 36. $2.40
1998 Topps Chrome - Paul Pierce - Instant Impact = 1 in 36. $6.00