Sports Cards Mania
- Thread starter brandonchristensen
- Start date
Sick.
Here's the list of the Auto parallels according to Cardboard Connection (see additional comment below). You might have more work ahead of you. lol
Aqua Refractor Parallel: #’d to 150
Blue Prism Refractor Parallel: #’d to 99 HOBBY ONLY
Platinum Toile Cream/Blue Refractor Parallel: #’d to 99
Orange Refractor Parallel: #’d to 25 HOBBY ONLY
Black Refractor Parallel: #’d to 10
Red Refractor Parallel: #’d to 5
Platinum Toile Cream/Red Refractor Parallel: #’d to 5
SuperFractor Parallel: #’d 1-of-1
That said, I know for a fact there are Green Refractor autos #'ed to 75, because I pulled a Jim Palmer out of a blaster box. So add this:
Green Refractor Parallel: #’d to 75 (BLASTER ONLY???)
Edit: Both 99's, the 75, and the 25 are all on Ebay as I type this.
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Series 2 is out today. The "hype" on it is probably the Japanese pitcher rookies (Imanaga and Yamamoto), the Jackson Holliday "Billy Ripken FF" shortprints/variations, and the handful of hyped prospect short prints. And the Fanatics gimmicks/autos (there is an impossible to hit Wemby/Stroud dual auto, a Travis Scott auto, etc.).
I think I'm going to sit out S2, the only interesting Sox rookie in there is Wilyer Abreu in terms of base cards/parallels, I assume the odds of pulling anything good will be huge again. Sox auto checklist is solid but a lot of the same folks. I'll be interested in seeing what surprises there are though as more people open the product.
I think I'm going to sit out S2, the only interesting Sox rookie in there is Wilyer Abreu in terms of base cards/parallels, I assume the odds of pulling anything good will be huge again. Sox auto checklist is solid but a lot of the same folks. I'll be interested in seeing what surprises there are though as more people open the product.
A few decent RCs to chase, but after this Casas spree I’ll definitely be sitting out lol
We due for a break here? I'd love to get in one with my boys. If not a SoSH one, can someone direct me to a good/fun one? I guess good being decent price and fun being someone who has a solid stream we can sit and watch.
There seems to be a SoSH breaker jinx. Both guys who were doing it disappeared into the Bermuda Triangle in strikingly similar fashion.
Any of the big breakers on ebay are fine. Guys with 500+ positive feedback (off the top of my head, Cajun, Top Tier, Nikodemis). I basically buy the Red Sox spot for 1/2 case or full case breaks of all the major Topps releases: Flagship 1, 2, & US, Heritage (&Heritage HN), Chrome, Chrome Platinum Anniversary, Archives, Stadium Club, Stadium Club Chrome. I get complete team sets, some inserts, some autos, and generally pay much less than I would for a single box.
If you're down for random team breaks, you might pay more or less depending on what's in the set. Generally, "pick your team" goes for a bit of a premium for the Sox, and I'm fine with that because I'm guaranteed to get an envelope/box of Red Sox cards I actually want to own.
Edit: meant to do that as a single post. My bad.
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Thanks for that info. Had no idea that was how you bought into these kind of things 
Random question on print runs/release. A product like 2023-24 UD Hockey Series 2. Is everything that's ever been printed already out there in the wild? From a manufacturing perspective, do they just print it, ship it, and they're done. Or does stuff trickle out later? I know the product was release a while ago, I'm just curious if any is held back to be released later, or if they have multiple hobby/retail print runs? I guess this applies to more than just that set and the industry in general. The kids like chasing the Bedard RC but walmart megas at 65 resale are a bit rough on the wallet.
Random question on print runs/release. A product like 2023-24 UD Hockey Series 2. Is everything that's ever been printed already out there in the wild? From a manufacturing perspective, do they just print it, ship it, and they're done. Or does stuff trickle out later? I know the product was release a while ago, I'm just curious if any is held back to be released later, or if they have multiple hobby/retail print runs? I guess this applies to more than just that set and the industry in general. The kids like chasing the Bedard RC but walmart megas at 65 resale are a bit rough on the wallet.
Theoretically, yes, 1 print run nowadays is one print run. Back in the 80s/90s, they would keep printing the stuff based on demand and there would be 6, 7, 8 printings of a set. It's harder to do that now with all the numbered cards, etc. because how would you do a second printing and people still get hits.Thanks for that info. Had no idea that was how you bought into these kind of things
Random question on print runs/release. A product like 2023-24 UD Hockey Series 2. Is everything that's ever been printed already out there in the wild? From a manufacturing perspective, do they just print it, ship it, and they're done. Or does stuff trickle out later? I know the product was release a while ago, I'm just curious if any is held back to be released later, or if they have multiple hobby/retail print runs? I guess this applies to more than just that set and the industry in general. The kids like chasing the Bedard RC but walmart megas at 65 resale are a bit rough on the wallet.
I'm still convinced Upper Deck is still printing 1989 baseball. There are WAY too many sealed cases of this stuff on the open market at this point. I think they do a print run and find a way to distribute it out of the back door.
I have this complex plan of going to work for WoTC (Hasbro?) and working my way into their old storage containers and finding some card stock and an old printer from the early 90s and running off a few sets of power 9...
We drove past Upper Deck HQ yesterday. Not WoTC, but maybe we can get you in there and work on getting over?
https://funko.com/pop-boston-celtics-2024-nba-champions-5-pack/87260.html?cjdata=MXxOfDB8WXww&cjevent=b345653e2d2811ef820e02e30a82b82a&utm_source=cj&utm_medium=aff&utm_content=6176779
Figured some here would be interested in this.
Figured some here would be interested in this.
The Casas auto run is so good. I love it. Sets like 2023 Platinum make me wonder why we have so many meh or bad baseball card sets - they can clearly be done right up and down the chain at a reasonable price.
After watching some Series 2 opened, I feel pretty confident it's a better overall product than S1. Gimmicks aside, it's a lower print run and a better hit rate and a similarly good checklist. I did end up doing two Red Sox case breaks - got skunked in one but got a Devers auto in the other and some color, so not too bad. With that said, if S2 is our best 2024 product to date (it's between that, Bowman, and Bowman Sapphire for me) it's not been a great year for those cards.
Topps Chrome was put up for pre-sale with a checklist and pricing and if you want to see where Fanatics is bringing cards in the upcoming years - look closely. Hobby Box prices are up about 1.5x from pre-sale last year - the checklist is bigger so it's more difficult to hit good names, odds for parallels are higher, and the autograph list has a ton of hot garbage autos. This is going to be a hard avoid for me even in breaks - I'll likely buy some singles. I believe Tier One is coming as one of our earlier mid to high end releases, never a product I liked.
I will say I've been having a lot of fun with high end WWE Cards recently - especially the higher end stuff. That segment is growing and while Panini is in their death throes right now, and the same Panini issues exist (redemptions you'll likely never see, high cost to return, etc.) - I really love how they do high end WWE. Immaculate came out this week and there are a slew of well designed, high quality, big name cards that are coming out of these boxes - following Impeccable which I thought was a lot more good than bad as well. It's overpriced but to me the floor of these boxes is still a lot higher than similar boxes in other sports today (cost wise). It's the one thing I'm not thrilled Fanatics is going to be taking over as I don't think Topps really gets how to do the higher end stuff well and Panini's design elements are just cleaner.
After watching some Series 2 opened, I feel pretty confident it's a better overall product than S1. Gimmicks aside, it's a lower print run and a better hit rate and a similarly good checklist. I did end up doing two Red Sox case breaks - got skunked in one but got a Devers auto in the other and some color, so not too bad. With that said, if S2 is our best 2024 product to date (it's between that, Bowman, and Bowman Sapphire for me) it's not been a great year for those cards.
Topps Chrome was put up for pre-sale with a checklist and pricing and if you want to see where Fanatics is bringing cards in the upcoming years - look closely. Hobby Box prices are up about 1.5x from pre-sale last year - the checklist is bigger so it's more difficult to hit good names, odds for parallels are higher, and the autograph list has a ton of hot garbage autos. This is going to be a hard avoid for me even in breaks - I'll likely buy some singles. I believe Tier One is coming as one of our earlier mid to high end releases, never a product I liked.
I will say I've been having a lot of fun with high end WWE Cards recently - especially the higher end stuff. That segment is growing and while Panini is in their death throes right now, and the same Panini issues exist (redemptions you'll likely never see, high cost to return, etc.) - I really love how they do high end WWE. Immaculate came out this week and there are a slew of well designed, high quality, big name cards that are coming out of these boxes - following Impeccable which I thought was a lot more good than bad as well. It's overpriced but to me the floor of these boxes is still a lot higher than similar boxes in other sports today (cost wise). It's the one thing I'm not thrilled Fanatics is going to be taking over as I don't think Topps really gets how to do the higher end stuff well and Panini's design elements are just cleaner.
I did a full case hobby break, and not only got (basically) skunked, I didn't realize the breaker was only shipping rookies, autos, and inserts. Fuck me. I have since done another half case of Jumbo, and had another shitty break, but I'm assuming I'll at least end up with the base team set. Very annoying.
There's no good reason in my view for a breaker on a case break to not ship at least a team set on break like this. I know some won't ship base but at least do a team set which I think is the bare minimum unless the purchase explicitly doesn't want base.
Yeah. Total bullshit. It never even crossed my mind to read the fine print looking for something like that. I've seen that for paper Bowman, but what the fuck.
In the $0.50 bin at my LCS today... yeah, I'll take this one. A touch off center and slightly rough edges, but I'm thinking Near Mint 7?
Just stunning. The deep blue just jumps off the card. For fifty cents.
Just stunning. The deep blue just jumps off the card. For fifty cents.
As someone who is very much thinking a lot of things have jumped the shark, the Kevin Hart cards hit my funny bone immensely. That one in particular is amazing
Apparently they are numbered to 53 to match his height, which I do find extremely funny.
Tony, some breakers sell their spots directly on their site. If you buy spots via Ebay, it's usually an auction, and all the work that entails.Thanks for that info. Had no idea that was how you bought into these kind of things
Random question on print runs/release. A product like 2023-24 UD Hockey Series 2. Is everything that's ever been printed already out there in the wild? From a manufacturing perspective, do they just print it, ship it, and they're done. Or does stuff trickle out later? I know the product was release a while ago, I'm just curious if any is held back to be released later, or if they have multiple hobby/retail print runs? I guess this applies to more than just that set and the industry in general. The kids like chasing the Bedard RC but walmart megas at 65 resale are a bit rough on the wallet.
My two favorites that I broke with for years are Firehandcards (Chad, the owner, is the son of former Twins pitcher, Pete Redfern, who sadly had his career ended when he was paralyzed in 1983 in a diving accident, and Chad pitched in the minors) and Laytonsportscards (one of the biggest in the business). The downside of Firehand is the break happens when the break fills, so there is no set time, although the breaks are posted in the morning and generally fill up that night. The other downside is that he's on the West Coast, so sometimes, the breaks can go off pretty late, but everything streams live on Youtube, and then every video (separated individually by break) immediately downloads into his youtube channel, so you can watch them after, fast forward through, etc. This is the site:
https://firehandcards.com/
Just be careful, some breaks are just a single box, random teams (for Flawless, it's like $190/spot). some are numbers box breaks (you get the cards that have a corresponding number to yours after a random draw), then you have the breaks where you can buy a specific team, etc.
Layton is much more rigid. You buy into a breaks in advance, sometimes days and days in advance and there is a set time they happen, and you can watch live on youtube, but everything gets sold, so unless you like random team breaks (which I do, a lot), you have less chance of grabbing a team you want).
Anyway, you have my number, feel free to call me any time if you have any questions.
I agree that it is likely a 6. It's certainly much nicer than my copy. I've only recently begun backfilling my 50's sets, and haven't been very picky about condition (for now).
Not to disagree, merely curios for my own education... are you thinking the edges are too rough for a 7, or maybe a color registration issue? I think has 70/30 centering, but some might see only 80/20, I suppose.
I think it probably a 4. Grading on vintage is harsh, there looks to be surface issues and that looks pretty badly off center (or it’s been trimmed unevenly, there’s something on the top towards the right).
I think Petagine and Bergs said what I'd say. Centering, corners, and edges are all less than ideal.
There is a PSA7 on Ebay - 1958 Topps 260 Frank Malzone PSA 7 | eBay
Better L/R Centering, slightly worse T/B Centering, less edgewear, similar centering. I'm bad at this stuff so I could be wrong but it does feel like a 5-6 to me, which is still pretty darn good for a 1957 card. Only one way to find out though.
There is a PSA7 on Ebay - 1958 Topps 260 Frank Malzone PSA 7 | eBay
Better L/R Centering, slightly worse T/B Centering, less edgewear, similar centering. I'm bad at this stuff so I could be wrong but it does feel like a 5-6 to me, which is still pretty darn good for a 1957 card. Only one way to find out though.
As mentioned in this thread back in December, grading standards (at PSA, at least) seem to have tightened significantly. The right image is what appeared on psacard.com in January 2023, while the left image is what appears now. I wonder if the business reason for such a tightening of standards is related to the proliferation of modern cards being submitted for grading - meaning, if every pack-fresh 2024 card qualifies as a 9 or 10, that essentially makes grading in general less relevant? But with such a dominant position in the hobby, maybe PSA figures they can adjust their standards without any risk of losing credibility?
This is also very true. I think most higher end old school collectors will be assessing older labels more critically (or newer labels less so)- which just adds to the likelihood of a lower return. My tin foil hat theory is that it's SGC who sets the trends in vintage in many cases, and SGC is a tougher grader, so PSA felt it was both easy to become more stringent and also lets them pump up some of their older high grades for positive attention (how many times have I seen that PSA10 Mantle or the "Finest Copy in Existence" everywhere).
I say this as someone who really doesn't understand grading beyond authentication and maybe for really high end stuff - especially modern. Like, I genuinely don't think 99% of collectors could tell the difference between like... 8 and 10 sitting on their shelf on modern cards. I have 9.5s with print lines and 8.5s that look perfect and damage doesn't really both me on the fringes.
For modern stuff, especially non-sensitive condition cards, PSA 9 is treated as equal to raw cards in value, which is a wild proposition. I would only really ever recommend grading vintage to verify authenticity or modern if it's a card that carries a high premium re-sale and you think you're getting a 10.
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I agree, and that Mantle looks amazing to me. A number attached to it doesn’t mean much to me. Personally like collecting vintage cards that are in well loved condition. Can understand getting any high value one’s authenticated but beyond that, the card is what it is (to me).
Anyone else get a box of 2024 Bowman Chrome Sapphire Prospect via Topps Montgomery Club?
My son and I each bought a box at $300... kept one and sold the other on eBay for $650 after fees. The box we kept was pretty underwhelming. The auto was Giants infield prospect Walker Martin. Appears to be going on eBay for about $30, so here's hoping he turns into an Hall of Famer, ideally after getting traded to the Red Sox for Bobby Dalbec.
PS. Box was underwhelming, but there was a (non-auto) first card of Kyle Teel, which is good for the soul.
My son and I each bought a box at $300... kept one and sold the other on eBay for $650 after fees. The box we kept was pretty underwhelming. The auto was Giants infield prospect Walker Martin. Appears to be going on eBay for about $30, so here's hoping he turns into an Hall of Famer, ideally after getting traded to the Red Sox for Bobby Dalbec.
PS. Box was underwhelming, but there was a (non-auto) first card of Kyle Teel, which is good for the soul.
I had to try one Red Sox break with it, and got a few base cards including a Teel. Sapphire was so much more fun when it was a cheap product, Topps got wise to the demand and jacked up the price. Given the small number of cards and vets in the set it's pretty much reliant on Bowman 1st Color, the top prospects, and autos. The autos are gorgeous though - and that a box guarantees one gives it a huge ceiling. I ended up taking Seattle in the only other break I did of this and got an Aiden Smith green auto /99 and it's one of the best looking cards I own...and it's a $70 card lol.
It falls squarely in the "good product that is now priced to require a huge hit to be worth it" side of the Topps equation. Pretty cards, and the sapphire variants are slowly becoming very popular longer term in the collecting community, but the price now aligns. In other universes a 32 card box with one guaranteed auto and 3-4 numbered cards is probably $150-$200 and this product makes more sense there.
I just received a 1980 Topps Rickey Henderson that is feeling like it may be a fake. The print is blurry (especially the name at the top of the card, but the whole front) and the card stock feels just a little thin.
Came to me in a TCDB trade — the original card sent by my trading partner was lost in the mail, but he got me this replacement via eBay. (I realize that sounds fishy, but the TCDB community is reliable, and the guy has perfect marks as a trading partner)
Is faking a thing? Are there counterfeits of 1980 cards? Do I alert eBay (not sure how to track down the seller)
Came to me in a TCDB trade — the original card sent by my trading partner was lost in the mail, but he got me this replacement via eBay. (I realize that sounds fishy, but the TCDB community is reliable, and the guy has perfect marks as a trading partner)
Is faking a thing? Are there counterfeits of 1980 cards? Do I alert eBay (not sure how to track down the seller)
Yeah, given how nearly impossible it is to Gem Mint 10 a Rickey RC and that it's one of the more iconic cards of the era, I'd be wary of fakes. It's a big enough card there at Etsy versions of it
Rickey Henderson 1980 Baseball novelty Rookie Card Oakland A's FREE SHIPPING - Etsy
It's a tough scenario as you're not the buyer of the card on eBay - I might start with the seller and ask for the listing as you're questioning the veracity of the card based on what you said, see if he can produce that and compare the cards to start with.
Rickey Henderson 1980 Baseball novelty Rookie Card Oakland A's FREE SHIPPING - Etsy
It's a tough scenario as you're not the buyer of the card on eBay - I might start with the seller and ask for the listing as you're questioning the veracity of the card based on what you said, see if he can produce that and compare the cards to start with.
It's a great and iconic card.The centering issues make high grades on it very rare. PSA has graded 36k of them and there are just 26 PSA 10 grades. You can get a nice looking PSA 5 for between $60-$75 on Ebay. Given the number of fakes, I wouldn't spend much at all if it isn't authenticated.