Every now and again we make moves within our collection that we ultimately come to regret. For me it’s the selling of both Mike Trout Autograph cards I had in my possession.
It started in 2013 or so when I managed to pull a Trout auto from 2012 Panini Signature series. It was a damn good pull, but the fact that the signature was on t-shirt material bothered me. I held it for a few years but ultimately sold it around 2014 when I got the opportunity to purchase a BGS 9 2009 Bowman Chrome Draft auto of Trout.
So I moved into THE Trout autograph to own, only in 2017 the market for him became so hot — and I needed money — so I decided to sell my Chrome auto for almost 10 times what I paid into it.
Since then I’d been pining for a Trout auto, and over the summer I acquired via COMC a 2013 Panini America’s Pastime Superstar Scripts dual auto of he and Stephen Strasburg. That card featured a bold signature and was serial numbered to 10. I jokingly posted it for triple what I paid … and someone bought it. It was a handsome profit for me, but again I was without his signature.
Alas last week I was on eBay an ai located an listing for a rarer version of the aforementioned Trout-Strasburg dual auto … this one was limited to three.
I added it to my watch list and a few hours later for one of those solicitations to purchase the card with a discount. I snapped it up.
Saturday morning the mail came early, and with the stack of typical mail was a padded envelope carrying the Trout-Strasburg serial numbered 1/3.
While this card does not carry logos — because Panini didn’t and still doesn’t have an MLB license — it’s still a glorious example. First off, this product was expensive and one of my favorites. Secondly, it’s an early on-card auto; a Topps card of this caliber might fetch a multiple of what I landed this for. And lastly, Strasburg and Trout are really the two bookends of the 2010s do this hobby.
Strasburg’s inclusion in 2010 Products really propelled Bowman to the front of everyone consciousness on a level we hadn’t seen. It’s always been popular but that year The mania around the flame thrower was really something else. And of course Trout became the face of the modern baseball hobby. In short, it’s an absolutely piece of modern cardboard icons.
So my intention is to not let this one go now that it’s in my hands and in my collection.
I was sitting in my car the other day when I received a text message from a relative who wanted to put me in touch with someone who needed some direction in this hobby.
I’m always down to help of course so I offered my assistance. And within seconds I was linked up to a 30-something who like many others collected during their youth and for one reason or another left the hobby but now find themselves coming back.
He’s into football and basketball and loves Panini products, which of course is no surprise given products for those two sports are produced by that company.
During the course of our conversation this person told me he was interested in more information about the current state of the hobby, and told me just a night prior he had already made his first purchase.
“I’m into the autographed stuff,” he said as he sent me a picture of his buy – two boxes of Panini “One on One” basketball from his LCS. The allure of a big-ticket auto of course came with a whopping price tag of $1,700 for the pair.
I cringed. I had a feeling it didn’t go well. What did he get for his money? Four cards highlighted by a Jarrett Culver rookie patch auto and a signed Mike Conley relic card.
What a brutal break. I joked that his return was about $17 in cards, which of course isn’t completely accurate but it’s not too far from.
I told him I wouldn’t blame him if he just walked away from the hobby after that kick to the groin, but alas here we were talking about the hobby and he was as interested as ever.
I schooled him up on some basics and got permission to share this story as it seemed like a good cautionary tale for new comers or folks returning to the hobby. It’s a lesson that spending big money will not always get you a big return, or even cards that you’re pleased with.
Not everything is going to yield a card worthy of TMZ reporting. Please seek information before spending money, especially if it’s going to be a significant purchase like those two boxes. Yes, the market on those specifically is hot, but the contents as you can see can be frigid.
Here are five quick tips for people returning to the hobby:
-Identify WHY you’re coming into this hobby. Do you like cards, the gambling aspect, or just want to revisit some old feelings? None of these are wrong. Just identify your purpose and then figure out how to chase success.
-Compare prices online versus your Local Card Shop (LCS) to make sure you’re at least in the right ball park if you decide to buy something today. Cost at the LCS will almost always be more since there is overhead and of course the convenience factor, among other things.
-Seek information: Who is actually in the product? Wondering why there are no Michael Jordan cards in Panini? A quick internet search will tell you about his Upper Deck exclusive.
-Pace yourself. This hobby can be exciting, but it also has addictive qualities, especially if you’re info opening packs and boxes. There’s a constant chase of the euphoria felt when opening a package of promise. Once you get a taste of it there’s often an urge to again meet or exceed the feeling. This feeling probably will never go away.
-Find a trustworthy ally who can help when you have questions, and preferably someone who is not trying to make money off your decisions. Card shop employees can be great sources of information, but remember their job is to sell product in the store and I’m sure some of them work on commission so realize there could be an ulterior motive.
I’ll never forget the look of joy on my son’s face Sunday night when I presented him with a bag of unopened current product that we had been unable to find on store shelves.
2019-20 Panini America NBA Chronicles and 2020 Topps Chrome baseball have been two of the hottest sellers in recent weeks as they are some of the most recent retail releases. We’ve seen numerous photos on Twitter showing groups of people standing around the card aisles in retail stores just waiting to pounce on the shelves once items become available. The result has been the near impossible task of finding items “in the wild” and having to resort to the secondary market where items are priced out of some folks’ budgets.
For me as the father of a 9-year-old who collects it has left really two options: 1) Use this as a lesson in appreciating what we have and what we’re able to find. 2) Know to what degree we are willing to chase a product and how much we are willing to spend to get it.
To date we have found none of the aforementioned cards in the wild. Shelves here in the Bay Area have been relatively void of “new” product since at least February. We’ve found some Topps Series 2 fatpacks, and even a few Select baseball blasters on shelves, but certainly no basketball, which has been hot all season, but more so since Zion made his debut and the seemingly new interest that has entered our hobby.
It’s been frustrating, and in some cases maddening, but I really can’t blame folks when the profits are there to be had, especially on Chronicles. The blasters at one point were bought to about $20 and resold for seven times as much. If I saw a full shelf I’d clear the damn thing too.
On Friday night, I received a text message from a friend of mine who happened to find some of the aforementioned products near his home about an hour and a half away. I congratulated him and told him that if he ever found a stash of stuff, I’d be more than happy to pay above MSRP for a blaster or two of the products so that I could open with my son. It was a low key ask of a great friend, Rod, but told him I understood if that wasn’t an option as I would never expect anyone to turn away massive profits in a case like this.
My friend had some great luck. He and another friend split the findings of one of their local WalMarts and out of his haul he opened the cards — he’s a collector NOT a flipper — and pulled a Zion Williamson autograph from Chronicles. It’s like a $2,000 card.
The next day I was at work and received another message from Rod, he was telling me he was coming to town that day and he had a bit of a surprise — he had found a few more products at another store along the way and wanted to get them to me as I had asked.
I repeated my line about not wanting to be greedy, just wanted a few things to open with my son. At this point in my collecting career the experience I share with my son is worth more than anything I could get out of these packs. My friend showed up with a bag of unopened product and he agreed to sell me a blaster of Chronicles, a hanger of Chronicles, two fat packs of Chronicles, a Blaster of Topps Chrome baseball and a Value Pack of Topps Chrome baseball. There were three conditions: I pay him MSRP only; accept a second Topps Chrome blaster as a gift for my son; and if we pulled a $10,000 card we agree to kick him something. That last part was said as a joke, but if we did I totally would.
The boxes and packs sat at my place until Sunday evening when I got my kids back from their mother. I placed the bag on the table and pulled one item out at a time and explained how these came into my possession. The last item I removed from the bag was a Topps Chrome blaster which I told him was his as a gift from Rod.
Rod is retired. He and I became friends at work about eight years ago when he found out we shared a common hobby — sports memorabilia, specifically cards. He has told me about his father who used to sell 1986-87 Fleer basketball cards — yeah, the Jordan rookie year — from his ice cream truck and how he has found amazing items at thrift stores and flea markets, which is also a method I love doing during healthier times. He has two adult children, including a son who likes sports but never really expressed an interest in cards. Rod has said how happy he is to see my son interested in my hobby, his hobby, and loves the idea of growing it through the kids. And so this blaster was for my boy, free of charge.
The look on my son’s face when I showed him everything, and told him about the gifted blaster was priceless. He’s sort of a shy kid, just like I was and still am even at age 40, but he graciously accepted the terms of the break. He knows how hard this stuff is to find.
So we divvied up the products as follows: Each got one Topps Chrome blaster, each got two packs from the Chrome Value pack; each got a Chronicles fatpack and then I let my son chose the Chronicles blaster that contained 40 cards or the hanger that had 30. He chose the blaster, which I was more than happy with since I always let him keep whatever he pulls and the packaging method offered more excitement and 10 more cards that he’d appreciate more than I.
We opened our Chronicles fatpacks first and each took turns reading names. I got Lebron, Giannis and Steph, as well as a Zion Threads design rookie card. My son pulled the same stars except Giannis, as well as a Zion in Prestige design. We were off to a good start.
Next we opened the Chrome baseball. My son’s gifted blaster and two packs from the Value Pack collectively included a sweet Decade of Dominance die-cut refractor design Ted Williams insert, some second-tier rookies including Dunstin May, Nico Hoerner, AND Trent Grisham. His other inserts and parallels included a Christian Yelich base ref, Keston Hiura Future Stars and Shohei Ohtani and Pete Alonso 1985 inserts, and a Sepia Refractor of Albert Pujols.
My pink pack from the Value Pack contained two A’s rookies, and the blaster wasn’t nearly as satisfying, except for a 1985 Luis Robert, which of course is a great-looking card.
While the Chromes were fun, we both knew Chronicles has been the real unicorn product. As mentioned above, he chose the blaster, thereby leaving me with the hanger box. I opened the hanger first and netted two of the lesser Ja Morant rookies, a green parallel of Luka Doncic, and a great-looking Airborne autograph of Josh Okogie.
My son ended the session with a blaster that definitely lived up to the Main Event billing as he pulled a Luka pink parallel and four Ja Morant rookies from the box, including two from the same pack. The highlight of course is that flashy silver prizm parallel of the Flux branded card … copes of this have sold recently between $125 and $250 and reportedly are super tough to pull.
“This is the first basketball I’ve owned since February!” My son exclaimed.
So the boy did it again. With his somewhat limited opportunities, he pulled from a pack another great card for his PC, and we have my friend Rod to thank for this experience.
We’re coming up on about a year since my son has decided to follow in my footsteps and join the hobby.
On Thursday night before heading out the door to do some trick or treating, he sorted some more of his cards, including a blaster of 2019 Panini Chronicles he recently purchased. As he removed the cards from the packaging, I noticed he had a small stash of blaster boxes I’d grown immune to seeing.
I asked if the boxes were empty and he confirmed that they were. I then made a comment that he must really like them since he still had three boxes in the house. That’s when he made his proclamation:
“It’s probably my favorite brand this year,” he said proudly.
These three empty blaster boxes probably represent half of how many he has opened for HIS collection — some of them paid for by him, the others subsidized by me.
But it made me happy to hear him have such an opinion, and it wasn’t like he chose it because it’s the newest product on the shelf, or because he pulled an autograph from the packs.
I asked a follow up question: WHY do you like this brand?
His response is great:
“Because you don’t know which designs you’re going to get, or even how many. I like the variety. it’s not just base cards and autographs.”
Absolutely love his response. The cards don’t have logos and that will hurt long term value, but this hobby is about so much more than money. It’s about fun and personal enjoyment of a product which are contributing factors to perceived value.
With this product, every time he opens a blaster he’s getting 2-6 cards of top rookies, multiple parallels, and often a serial numbered card. And because of the configuration, the checklist is ripe with rookies of the game’s top stars.
I’ve watched my son actively pass on blasters with guaranteed hits in favor of Chronicles solely because he gets a bunch of enjoyment from the product. I personally enjoy the product a lot as well, mainly because of the variety and its a teaser as to what could be if Panini had a full license.
A few weeks ago I scored big time when I stopped at 7-Eleven and located a ton of retail NBA Prizm prices at 99 cents a pack and nailed a Trae Young silver, Trae Young auto and a Luka Doncic Pink Pulsar, which has since been sent off to BGS. (See post here.)
Today, I went back to the 7–Eleven to pick up a case of water and much fo my surprise and delight, they found more Prizm in the back room. You know I had to buy it all. I again left the Hoops behind.
Well, I had my kids and my nephew with me, so I decided to turn this as an opportunity for a family #PrizmRipParty
I couldn’t pass on these at 99 cents a pack when that’s like a third or even a quarter of what these would cost online or even at the card shop.
We all took turns opening packs, one at a tome. I’m a collector, my son is new to collecting, my daughter (the oldest of these three kids) has been opening packs and and off with me for years and my nephew? Hello, he STILL has not opened the half box of 2018 Topps Big League I gave him for Christmas hoping that he and my son would start trading cards. Nonetheless, I included in this family break. I really didn’t care what I pulled from these proverbial lottery ticket packs, this break was all about the kids and their reactions.
And as it turned out, my nephew actually did really well. In terms of notables, he pulled a Malcom Brogdon auto pretty early (I believe it was his first hit ever) and ended up hitting a Luka Doncic Base Prizm Rookie.
My daughter participated for about half of the break and didn’t pull anything of real note other than this Trae Young insert silver.
My son was acting the whole time like a jaded collecting veteran, I really think he was expecting us to pull another Pink Pulsar Luka. His big hits were a green Derrick Favors (numbered 15/25 — his jersey number) and a Panini Points Card which actually has now become a priceless peace of Cardboard Icon’s collecting history. (See below)
As for me, I’ll hang my hat on a green Prizm Trae Young Rookie parallel, a Joel Embiid Pink Pulsar /42, and a Purvis Short autograph, which promoted a second classic reaction.
But that just PART of the story. Remember the Panin Points listed above?
I explained to the kids what the appoints program is and how instead of an actual autograph in a our, the company put this Points Card inside so that we could go choose a hit from the Web site. Their reaction?
“Points are poop!”
I had to break out the phone to record the second wave of chanting, but I had NOTHING to do with their reaction. They were very disgusted with the idea of points, so much so that when we were opening the last of the boxes I explained there should be one more autograph and they collectively said “Or more Points!” Then the chant continued again. And because of their reaction, ’tis card shall remain in my collection forever. Seriously.
Another giant take away from this break was my daughter’s reaction to my Purvis Short autograph.
Daughter: “Wait, does that mean the player actually held that card?!”
Me: “Well, no. This is a sticker autograph. They signed the sticker, and it was put on the card.”
Daughter: “That’s just dumb!”
Again, I did not prompt this response. I As a seasoned collector know why the sticker autographs exist, and can understand to some degree why the points could be appealing. But, it should not go unnoticed how innocent people who do not know the intricacies of the hobby react to things. As a friend of mine said: “Thats some great market research!”
So, overall how was this break? In a vacuum it was kind of rough. But you also have to realize this was probably the remainder of the case of blasters and retail packs from my break a few weeks ago, and THOSE packs yielded some great cards.
It sounds silly to call this a priceless experience, but in many ways it was. Now if only I can get my nephew to open the damn cards I bought him.
And lastly, don’t go hunting at all your 7-Elevens for these cards, almost every store will have. I idea what you’re talking about. Most don’t sell cards.
cardboardicons.com 
Cautionary tale of jumping back into the hobby – a quick “L” for a returning hobbyist
Posted in Commentary with tags addiction, basketball cards, cautionary tale, gambling, hobby, Panini America on December 11, 2020 by Cardboard IconsI was sitting in my car the other day when I received a text message from a relative who wanted to put me in touch with someone who needed some direction in this hobby.
I’m always down to help of course so I offered my assistance. And within seconds I was linked up to a 30-something who like many others collected during their youth and for one reason or another left the hobby but now find themselves coming back.
He’s into football and basketball and loves Panini products, which of course is no surprise given products for those two sports are produced by that company.
During the course of our conversation this person told me he was interested in more information about the current state of the hobby, and told me just a night prior he had already made his first purchase.
“I’m into the autographed stuff,” he said as he sent me a picture of his buy – two boxes of Panini “One on One” basketball from his LCS. The allure of a big-ticket auto of course came with a whopping price tag of $1,700 for the pair.
I cringed. I had a feeling it didn’t go well. What did he get for his money? Four cards highlighted by a Jarrett Culver rookie patch auto and a signed Mike Conley relic card.
What a brutal break. I joked that his return was about $17 in cards, which of course isn’t completely accurate but it’s not too far from.
I told him I wouldn’t blame him if he just walked away from the hobby after that kick to the groin, but alas here we were talking about the hobby and he was as interested as ever.
I schooled him up on some basics and got permission to share this story as it seemed like a good cautionary tale for new comers or folks returning to the hobby. It’s a lesson that spending big money will not always get you a big return, or even cards that you’re pleased with.
Not everything is going to yield a card worthy of TMZ reporting. Please seek information before spending money, especially if it’s going to be a significant purchase like those two boxes. Yes, the market on those specifically is hot, but the contents as you can see can be frigid.
Here are five quick tips for people returning to the hobby:
-Identify WHY you’re coming into this hobby. Do you like cards, the gambling aspect, or just want to revisit some old feelings? None of these are wrong. Just identify your purpose and then figure out how to chase success.
-Compare prices online versus your Local Card Shop (LCS) to make sure you’re at least in the right ball park if you decide to buy something today. Cost at the LCS will almost always be more since there is overhead and of course the convenience factor, among other things.
-Seek information: Who is actually in the product? Wondering why there are no Michael Jordan cards in Panini? A quick internet search will tell you about his Upper Deck exclusive.
-Pace yourself. This hobby can be exciting, but it also has addictive qualities, especially if you’re info opening packs and boxes. There’s a constant chase of the euphoria felt when opening a package of promise. Once you get a taste of it there’s often an urge to again meet or exceed the feeling. This feeling probably will never go away.
-Find a trustworthy ally who can help when you have questions, and preferably someone who is not trying to make money off your decisions. Card shop employees can be great sources of information, but remember their job is to sell product in the store and I’m sure some of them work on commission so realize there could be an ulterior motive.
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