I’m building a master 2010 Bowman set and am in need of the following cards. Whose got ’em?
USA Chrome: 21, 22
USA-18 Chrome: 14, 17
2010 Bowman Gold: 3, 35, 54, 77, 106, 136, 158, 182, 191
Topps 100 Prospects: 4, 6, 35, 48, 91
Bowman Throwbacks: 13, 62, 82, 83
I have a TON of extra 2010 Bowman to help finish your sets (prospects, chrome prospects, golds etc.) and some 2010 Topps Allen & Ginter. Have other stuff, but need to know what you need in return.
It’s a total coincidence, but take one look at Kendry Morales 2010 Bowman card and tell me that it does not remind you of what actually happened to him earlier this season. Ouch.
You’ll notice a few negative things:
1) No Chrome autos.
2) No Strasburg autos.
3) A pretty weak auto prospect checklist, albeit the list is “Subject To Change.”
But the retail version DOES:
1) Have purple Chrome refractors that are serial numbered to 999
2) The odds for USA Chrome (hunt for Harper) are 1:4, identical to the hobby version.
3) Both of these guys (Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper) are still present:
The base Chrome cards of these two guys might be enough to drive this retail product even without the autographs.
I’m not going to tell you how to spend your money. But if you’re hunting for a 2010 Bowman Stephen Strasburg autograph card, you’re probably best off just buying the single on eBay.
Now doubt there has been much written and said about the hottest card in the hobby — the 2010 Bowman Stephen Strasburg insert autograph. To date, the basic autograph will run you somewhere in the neighborhood of $400 with the serial numbered parallel cards going for more depending on scarcity.
The reason this card and product pique my interest today is I went to my local shop — first time I’d been there in about two weeks — and packs of this stuff are still flying off the shelf. Did I mention they cost almost twice as much as they did when they arrived in stores earlier this month?
The primary draw, of course, is the Strasburg autograph. In recent days we’ve seen national write-ups on the rarest Strasburg card — the 2010 Bowman Chrome Superfractor. That card isn’t even signed, but it is the ONLY one and at the moment is fetching about $17,000 — or the price of several modest vehicles.
The attention of that card, coupled with the draw of the Strasburg autographs, continues to fuel this product. Regular packs are more than $5, and boxes are about $120. Jumbo boxes — the favorite for many because they contain three autographs as opposed to the single autograph that is in the regular box — run more than $215.
There is no shortage of “good” cards in this product. You’ve got a Jason Heyward “rookie” chrome autograph card, several decent chrome autographs, and of course the first chrome card (not autographed) of phenom Bryce Harper. Trust me, I know this is a good product. Probably the best basic Bowman product in a decade.
But it still boggles my mind that a basic product is still flying off shelves at such inflated prices. I understand the desire for the other cards in the set. The Strasburg Chrome pictured above was high on my want list, but it can be had for about $20. The Heyward Chrome autograph runs about $70, but it is probably worth mentioning it is his third Chrome card and second such autograph. The Harper runs between $15 and $20 and likely will decrease by the end of the year, assuming Topps includes him as the primary draw in its Bowman Draft set. And every other “good” autograph can be had for $30 or less.
I’ve been in this hobby long enough to know that basic logic has no place in this hobby. And that’s not an insult to anyone. I’ve had my fair share of questionable moves as well.
But with the prices on the hobby version of this product continuing to escalate, I just don’t see how anyone other than distributors and card shops are winning here. Don’t mistake that to mean that no one is doing well with this — I’m sure some case busters are doing just fine, and some boxes have revealed some awesome pulls.
But if the basic Strasburg is the object of your desire, then you might want to stop for a second and do your math. The basic Strasburg autograph is seeded at a rate of almost 1 in 7 cases. Not boxes. Cases.
If you’re in the market for the Strasburg (or any of the other cards) and have a desire to buy just a box (either regular or jumbo) to take a chance, I can understand that. But if you’re buying multiple boxes from an already opened case hoping to pull one of the Strasburg autographs, it may be more economical for you just to buy the single. The card will cost you about the same price of three basic boxes.
Finding out you’re going to have a baby boy! Just found out this morning the gender of our second child, who is due in early October, just in time to see the 2010 Major League Baseball World Series. My daughter just turned 16 months this week and one of her first words was “bays-bah.” Hoping my son’s is the same.
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