Sports Cards Hobby Thread

[SFH]

Former CFL and Saints DB Delvin Breaux is going to be at the opening of my town's new card shop. Hope I'm able to exchange a few words with him, his story touched my heart.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Here's a link to the 2021 Topps S1 Hobby Box Odds (24 Packs) via the Pack itself. You're basically guaranteed 6 1986 Topps Baseball Inserts, 2 Rainbow Foils, 2 70 Years of Topps Baseball Inserts, and 1 HR Derby Challenge Code Card.

So even with my 2 Hobby Boxes, I should be expecting: 12 1986 Topps Baseball Inserts, 4 Rainbow Foils, 4 70 Years of Topps Baseball Inserts, 2 HR Derby Challenge Code Cards, 1 Gold (Serial #d), 1 Topps Through the Years Insert, 1 Topps Double Headers, and 1 Topps Platinum Players Die-Cut Insert

Base SP: 1:3 Boxes
Advanced Stats Variation = 1:10 Boxes
Base SSP: 1:98 Boxes
Base SSSP: 1:3674 Boxes

 

[snuffbox]

I've been having some of the same problems. Well, not with grading submissions bt that's only because I've never done that; I'm sure I'd have all kinds of things go wrong if I did/when I do. But I'm still on pause for opening boxes for al the same reasons previously mentioned. I just can't spend that kind of money on a crapshoot (a fun one, though) when I get a known commodity like a 50s Mantle for the same money. And I'm seeing ebay watch items sell before I can pull the trigger every day. I agree that the stimulus and unemployment benefits are playing a part in this. I still think that those are important and necessary things but it is having an effect on the card hobby.

At least the Mongo McMichael jersey is still available.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

I've been having some of the same problems. Well, not with grading submissions bt that's only because I've never done that; I'm sure I'd have all kinds of things go wrong if I did/when I do. But I'm still on pause for opening boxes for al the same reasons previously mentioned. I just can't spend that kind of money on a crapshoot (a fun one, though) when I get a known commodity like a 50s Mantle for the same money. And I'm seeing ebay watch items sell before I can pull the trigger every day. I agree that the stimulus and unemployment benefits are playing a part in this. I still think that those are important and necessary things but it is having an effect on the card hobby.

At least the Mongo McMichael jersey is still available.

Yeah. A lot of it is being a collector (and liking the Rookie Class more than most people seem to) so I'm willing to completely accept that I'm definitely losing $$ on this long-term probably short of 2-3 Rookies becoming HOFers or my getting like a Mike Trout 1/1 Auto or some shit, lol.

I'd still rather lose $$ on a product like 2021 Topps Series 1 than say 2020 Donruss Optic Football which is going for $683 and gives you just 80 Cards (6 of which are Rated Rookies). For an $850 Hobby Box at Steel City Collectibles you're getting 1 Autograph, 14 Rookies, 6 Rated Rookies, 10 Parallels, and 4 Inserts :\

 

[Baby Shoes]

COMC had a short print autograph card of Bayley that I don’t currently have listed today for $34. I was waffling because I ordered this in December but the seller was in Germany and it hasn’t arrived yet, which I’m starting to get antsy there. The signature may be one of the sloppiest ones by her I’ve seen. I just went to look again and they have changed the price to $119. Insane that happened so I’m no longer watching.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

My order from Southpaw Cards came in via Beckett. The Frank Robinson HOF /15 and the DiMaggio/Mantle/Williams 'Classic Combos' /1999 are awesome cards to have in my collection. The latter is legitimately one of the coolest cards I own just for the players together on a single card even if it's "only" out of 1999 and Vintage is far more valuable long term.

I'll take that /1999 DiMaggio/Mantle/Teddy Ballgame over 99% of the Rookie Cards being picked up of modern-day players in today's game. Perfect example of a great zag whilst others are zigging IMO.

Pic coming of my order + those 2 cards when my Camera Battery fully charges.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

The cards in order from left to right: Dave Kingman 21/65, Andre Dawson 255/299 (thick), Dave Winfield 024/250 (thick), Frank Robinson 07/15, Frank Robinson 80/99, Billy Williams 130/550, Jose Canseco 0465/1999, Joe Mauer 11/66, DiMaggio/Mantle/Williams 0833/1999, Gil Hodges 0676/1955, and Mel Ott 86/99 (thick).

 

[Baby Shoes]

Very nice pickup. I have a soft spot for Andre Dawson as I remember him staying on as an Old Man on the Red Sox and then being an even Older Man on the Marlins - which I still want to get myself that aqua Mitchell & Ness Dawson Marlins jersey

 

[Baby Shoes]

@HarleyQuinn I feel we both need to add this to our collections ASAP

 

[snuffbox]

Can the sudden record-breaking explosion of sports trading cards go even higher?

Is this the next GameStop?

thehill.com

The recent craziness has even caught the attention of The Hill.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Can the sudden record-breaking explosion of sports trading cards go even higher?

Is this the next GameStop?

thehill.com

The recent craziness has even caught the attention of The Hill.

On the Hot Stove episode this morning on MLB Network, one of the announcers had the classic 9 card binders full of 1980s Oakland Athletic players front and back showing it off to the camera, reminiscing briefly about players featured, etc. Dave Parker, McGwire, Canseco, Rickey were a few names I recognized quickly.

My 2 Hobby Boxes are stuck in Philadelphia (Ice Storms/Icy Weather there apparently) so my shipment's probably delayed until tomorrow or even Sunday. Boooo

 

[Baby Shoes]

@HarleyQuinn if it makes you feel better, the 2021 baseball I ordered directly from Topps has not even been packaged yet, so I’m guessing I’m probably about a week out since it needs to come across the country.

 

[snuffbox]

I hope you guys pull some great stuff from your boxes whenever they arrive!

 

[HarleyQuinn]

I hope you guys pull some great stuff from your boxes whenever they arrive!

Mine's scheduled to arrive Monday morning (so much for the Next Day Air payment... sigh) but I'm working the NA Shift so I'm debating whether to just hold off and open it on Tuesday instead.

 

[Baby Shoes]

I had been being good. Then I won the Sasha/ Bayley dual autograph from the Finest set today. Spent a lot but still managed to get it for about $40 less than the lowest I had seen it go when I jumped in at the last minute.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Broke my two boxes. Definitely enjoyed it and got some very cool hits especially for a PC collection (all the Mookie Betts, lol). You definitely get a ton of RCs so you won't be hurting on getting "big names." Lucked out on a few of the 'Chrome Silver Borders' and really love the 1986 Inserts along with the 70 Years of Topps throwback card designs. Both would be awesome 'Singles' chasers IMO. Snagged a ton of big names in both 'Inserts' series. The 2nd Box I just featured the names I had not hit in the 1st one. The TTY Insert is pretty lame (IMO) unless you want a miniaturized version of that literal card.

Hobby Box #1
RCs: Albert Abreu x2, Tarik Skubal x2, Luis Patino x2, Cristian Pache, Nate Pearson, Leody Taveras, Tyler Stephenson, Eddy Alvarez, Casey Mize, Sixto Sanchez, Kris Bubic, Beau Burrows, Ian Anderson, Edward Olivares, Cristian Javier, Spencer Howard, Codi Heuer, Andres Giminez, Ryan Castellani, Nick Heath, Triston McKenzie, Nick Madrigal, James Kaprielian, Kodi Whitley, Jesus Sanchez, Blake Taylor, Daniel Johnson, Daulton Varsho, Santiago Espinal, Isaac Paredes, Bobby Dalbec, Jo Adell, Dane Dunning, Mitch White, Deivi Garcia, David Peterson, Anderson Tejada, Keibert Ruiz, Monte Harrison, Joey Bart, Dylan Carlson, Brandon Bielak
Topps Gold (1:27): Aaron Judge #120/2021
Topps Black (1:175): Dylan Carlson #49/70 [RC]
Topps Chrome Silver Border: Nick Madrigal [RC], Mookie Betts [World Series], Gio Urshela
Topps Through The Years (1:25): Cody Bellinger (2018 Topps Gypsy Queen Pull-Up Sock Autograph Relic Card), Bryce Harper (2020 Topps Sterling Swings Autographed Relic Card)
Rookie Cup: Tony Gonsolin x2, Alec Bohm [RC], Luis Robert, Ryan Mountcastle [RC], Kyle Lewis
Future Stars: Bo Bichette, Jesus Luzardo, Aristides Aquino, Jose Urquidy, Brusdar Graterol, Gavin Lux, Trent Grisham, Nico Hoerner, Justin Dunn, Brendan McKay
League Leaders: Trevor Bauer, DJ LeMahieu, Shane Bieber x3, Yu Darvish, Marcell Ozuna, Jose Abreu, Luke Voigt, Juan Soto, Jacob DeGrom
1986 Insert (1:4): Pete Alonso, Paul Goldschmidt, Justin Verlander, Buster Posey, Jesus Luzardo, Mike Piazza
1986 Topps Autographs (1:371): Tyler Stephenson [RC On Card]
70 Years of Topps (1:11): Miguel Cabrera (1981 Design), Robin Yount (1972 Design), Francisco Lindor (1976 Design)
World Series: Corey Seager, Walker Buehler, Mookie Betts, Clayton Kershaw
Topps Double Headers (1:30): Roberto Clemente
Home Run Challenge Code Card (1:24): Giancarlo Stanton

Hobby Box #2
Rookie Cards: Evan White, Humberto Mejia, Luis Garcia, Nick Neidert, Chadwick Tromp
Base Short Print (1:79): Christian Yelich
Topps Through The Years (1:25): David Ortiz (2018 Topps Five Star Patch Autograph Jumbo Patch Card)
Topps Gold (1:27): John Means #1969/2021
Topps Chrome Silver Border: Francisco Mejia, Alec Bohm [Cup RC]
1986 Insert (1:4): Don Mattingly, Mark McGwire, Ichiro, Blake Snell, Albert Pujols, Mookie Betts
1986 Relics (1:94): Brandon Lowe
70 Years of Topps (1:11): Frank Thomas (2016 Design), Stephen Strasburg (2005 Design), Luis Robert (1991 Design)
Stars In Service (1:30): Mookie Betts
Platinum Players Die Cut (1:30): Ernie Banks
Home Run Challenge Code Card (1:24): Gleyber Torres

The Silver Packs (Topps Chrome)
1986 Inserts: Don Mattingly, Ozzie Smith, Andres Giminez [RC], Casey Mize [RC], Sonny Gray, Luis Robert, Evan White [RC], and Ichiro

 

[Baby Shoes]

Sounds like pretty good results. I still haven’t even seen a shipping notice from Topps so not sure when I’ll be able to share.

I thought these were one autograph per box but didn’t notice one in your second one. Is it really one auto or relic and you beat the odds in box one?

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Sounds like pretty good results. I still haven’t even seen a shipping notice from Topps so not sure when I’ll be able to share.

I thought these were one autograph per box but didn’t notice one in your second one. Is it really one auto or relic and you beat the odds in box one?

Just 1 Auto or 1 Relic from what I noticed. I seemed to get very lucky with my 1st HB in some of the serial # pulls though.

Between the 2 Boxes
- 19 Future Stars
- 88 Rookie Cards (incl Silver)

 

[Baby Shoes]

Yeah, it seemed like some good results. I feel like Carlson is a pretty good one to get the black rarity of. That feels like one of the rookies I’ve heard of already. If I pull a card like that from a pack, it typically ends up being a player who doesn’t get to play.

Also, knowing the Stars in Service are 1:30, I should probably but the single of that Pedro from the other day. Price I saw wasn’t bad, especially given they are practically one per box.

 

[Baby Shoes]

One of my good friends just messaged me a picture that he got a bonus at work so he treated himself to a box of 2020-21 Hoops. I don’t want to ask him how much or drill in that I don’t see those holding long term value as he just does it for fun and at times has given me all of his Red Sox pulls from recent boxes. I did tell him if he gets a LaMelo, maybe he should consider selling while high to recoup costs for the box. Hope he does well so I will share if he shares anything noteworthy.

 

[Baby Shoes]

So my friend just sent me a couple pictures of the highlights from his Hoops box. One of the two guaranteed autographs he pulled was Tyrese
Halliburton so he managed to get one of the most sought after cards in the product. Looked it up out of curiosity and looks like lowest Buy It Now on eBay is $300 for that card.

 

[SFH]

Blowout was talking about the 90 Leaf Frank Thomas being potentially the next baseball rookie to "blow up." Of course they're talking PSA 10s and I'm a BGS guy. Out of curiosity I did check ebay sold on BGS 9.5 examples and saw some pretty nice numbers but nothing mind blowing. I have a BGS 9.5 that I self submitted after buying it in a San Antonio card shop 2013.

 

[Baby Shoes]

I had to do a quick search because I couldn’t picture 1990 Leaf in my head. I always think of either the silver border 1992 set that I had gotten multiple boxes of from a Toy Liquidators circa 1995 or the 1993 set which I always loved for the card backs with famous landmarks of the area the team was located. I actually actively went out and bought the 1993 Griffey to add to my submission when I did the Trout/ Griffey grading special last fall.

 

[SFH]

That's mine. The day I get desperate enough to sell it, I think the only thing that works against it is that it's quad 9.5 and no 10 subgrades. That said, Brees and Frank are the last 2 to go next time shit hits the fan in my personal life. I had to sell a bunch of BGS 10 Brees stuff in 2013 and ahhh drives me up a wall thinking about it.

ALTHOUGH with the current boom and numbers, it would be a good time to try and liquidate.

 

[Baby Shoes]

That was the text conversation I ended up having with my buddy who bought the Hoops box. He was showing me a James Wiseman insert he pulled that is selling for around $125 right now. I told him he should keep the cards meaningful to him (he’s a Knicks fan so keep his Quickley rookie) but the Wiseman probably is the highest it will get right now until the fancier NBA product comes out (Optic, Prizm). He was saying he was considering attempting to sell a lot of them and I said while I’ve never tried selling cards before, I feel like the Wiseman, if he gets a $125 now, he can probably pick the same card up when the market calms down for less than $15 even if Wiseman becomes a solid player if he really wants it at that point.

 

[SFH]

Sound advice. The fees on Facebook marketplace are still reasonable as it is a newer selling platform but I think as it takes off more and more it'll get to ebay levels.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

That was the text conversation I ended up having with my buddy who bought the Hoops box. He was showing me a James Wiseman insert he pulled that is selling for around $125 right now. I told him he should keep the cards meaningful to him (he’s a Knicks fan so keep his Quickley rookie) but the Wiseman probably is the highest it will get right now until the fancier NBA product comes out (Optic, Prizm). He was saying he was considering attempting to sell a lot of them and I said while I’ve never tried selling cards before, I feel like the Wiseman, if he gets a $125 now, he can probably pick the same card up when the market calms down for less than $15 even if Wiseman becomes a solid player if he really wants it at that point.

All of this. Even the LaMelo Ball base RC has plummeted to $60 BIN now. Now's the best time if he wants to sell. Hoops is typically a "lower" tier product, it's been out for a while, and once Prizm, etc. comes out the card prices'll drop like a rock. If you can sell off the players you're not interested in to accumulate funds to collect the guys you want, it's a no-brainer. He may even sell enough to get some extra cash he can put elsewhere (e.g. paying off a loan, a month's worth of electric/water bills, etc.)

I'm glad I broke the 2 Topps 2021 HB even though I paid almost $300 total. I ended up with a little over 90 Rookies (including a ton of duplicates), almost 20 'Future Stars', and a few of the Rookie Cup RCs. Several rookies alone are already going for $2+ at Beckett with several at $6-$8. The '86 Inserts and 70 Years of Topps Designs are really cool in person and can be had at $1 a piece on Beckett so that's a potential avenue to grab some names ala Ken Griffey Jr, David Ortiz, etc. Obviously, for the "value" and all that, it's easier to chase the singles you want but considering you can get almost 50 RCs in a product, it's not a bad product.

@SFH Didn't the 1990 Frank Thomas Leaf explode earlier in the year too alongside the Frank Thomas Topps RC? EDIT: Recent sales are showing it getting around $565 per PSA 10. Autos are getting around $1,100 - $1,300.

 

[snuffbox]

I still want to get a No Name Frank Thomas at some point.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Here's a quick very rough Hobby Box Count 'Print Run' breakdown of 2019-2021 Topps Series 1 (based on the 'Clear' variations #'d /10 with 100 Card Set). Interesting to see the dramatic drop in 2020 Series 1, released in February, and compare that to the dramatic uptick in 2021 after the Hobby goes insane. Worth also highlighting that the SSP Variations were 1:1272 2020 Hobby Packs for comparison's sake.

2019 Topps Series 1: Hobby Boxes = 24 Packs, 14 Cards per Pack (336 Cards). Base Clear Set = 100 Cards #'d /10 (Hobby Only) = 1,000. Odds = 1:1,223 Packs (1:51 HB, 1:4 Cases): 4,000 Cases = 48,000 Hobby Boxes = 1,152,000 Packs = 16,128,000 Cards.
2020 Topps Series 1: Hobby Boxes = 24 Packs, 14 Cards per Pack (336 Cards). Base Clear Set = 100 Cards #'d /10 (Hobby Only) = 1,000. Odds = 1:437 Packs (1:18 HB, 1:2 Cases): 2,000 Cases = 24,000 Hobby Boxes = 576,000 Packs = 8,064,000 Cards.
2021 Topps Series 1: Hobby Boxes = 24 Packs, 14 Cards per Pack (336 Cards). Base Clear Set = 100 Cards #'d /10 (Hobby Only) = 1,000. Odds = 1:1,938 Packs (1:81 HB, 1:7 Cases). 7,000 Cases = 84,000 Hobby Boxes = 2,016,000 Packs = 28,224,000 Cards.

 

[Baby Shoes]

Wow, I heard the print run went higher to try to meet demand but didn’t realize it went THAT much higher. Which also makes it seem crazy I haven’t really seen blasters pop up on online retailers yet.

I‘m a week out from my order and still nothing in regards to a shipping notice, so I wait. But I did order that Pedro single for $1.08 shipped yesterday, which I thought was great after seeing the pack odds on those.