Hey gang,
I recent read this question in a group I'm in and thought it would be worth exploring a bit: Can someone explain why certain base rookie cards are worth so much more than other base rookie cards? Is it the brand/series? Timing of release? - Thanks Thank you Coltrane, great question! So here is the simple answer to all of that ... YES! ... LOL. Timing - Timing plays a part, as the first card to come out is usually hot as there is nothing else to buy and people are starving for the latest infusion of their sport. Then as more premium product is released, the hot card switches. In the case of baseball, Bowman Chrome is the pinnacle of the rookie cards. Thusly, the premium placed on their cards is probably the greatest, all things being equal. Brand - I think I have also inadvertently covered brand. Bowman owns the baseball world. There has recently been a shift in the basketball and football world due to contracts and such, so I feel ill equipped to speak on that; and hey, we are a baseball site, so a Bowman world it shall stay! Hahahaha Print Run - Another thing that ever throws a wrinkle in the mix, is when you have a special or new release (think 2011 Topps Update packs in Target) they dropped a low print Mike Trout rookie card that is highly sought after, with a red variant that has since become ridiculously expensive. That is just the law of supply and demand. The fewer there are, the more people will want them, and the more they are willing to pay to get them. Talent - Finally there is the player projection. The higher they are rated by the scouts, the more likely they are to make it to the Bigs. If they are in the majors, then they have a shot at becoming great. So, if they are in the top half of the Top 100 Prospect list, then they are likely to carry a premium price, as their perceived value (potential in the league) is greater. So timing is an initial factor but fades, brand is paramount and generally cedes to a Topps product (mainly Bowman Chrome), talent level of the player in question and finally the print run of the cards all come together to create the final value. Hope that helps Coltrane!
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There is much that shrouded in mystery when it comes to the checklist for a Bowman product pre-release, with Bowman usually not even releasing the info until a week before the product comes out. There are reasons for this I am sure. Whether it is contacts not being finished, not specifying which series or product it will come out in, or maybe even on occasion the cards not being returned on time. (All of those are speculative examples for the lack of info in advance)
However in our modern era of social media, we have pics that sometimes give us a glimpse into the future. Here is what what I could glean from social media outlets (instagram, forums and a rock solid guy on twitter: @jaypers413 - highly recommend, if you like breaking Bowman news, most of the credit goes to this guy) are the names of some of the autos that we can expect in Bowman and Bowman chrome this year in alphabetical order: Jake Amaya James Beard Vidal Brujan Joey Cantillo Lency Delgado Jhon Diaz Jasson Dominguez Ezequiel Duran Jerar Encarnacion Oscar Gonzalez Brandon Howlett Sam Huff Bayron Lora Luis Patino Everson Pereira Erik Rivera Anthony Volpe (shared card, not sure if he'll have his own) Bobby Witt Jr I love seeing questions on various sites and then researching the answer and posting. Gives me knowledge and helps people out. I saw this post in one of my baseball card forums and decided to post on it. Thank you Mr Doan for your inspiration!
In 1954 Topps and Bowman were battling to be the king of the baseball card world and very astutely, Bowman signed Mickey Mantle to an exclusive contract for 2 years, thus there could be no licensed Mantle card produced for those two years. That however is not the end of the story... Also in 1954, a new sports magazine started up and was trying to get off the ground. Maybe you have heard of a little publication called Sports Illustrated? Well in their second issue, Topps gave them the rights to publish a few images of their cards. Since it was not an official baseball card, but rather and image on a normal sheet of paper (not cardboard stock), It did not violate any contracts. They were smart enough to not make it color like the set, nor did it include Topps name, logo or the Yankees logo. In 1956, Bowman was losing profitability due to legal fees it was facing from Topps, as well as increased production costs. They decided to sell to Topps that year, thus giving Topps license to Mickey Mantle again, and the rest is history. Here is the card that was denied the world in 1954. This hobby holds such a special place in my heart. I have loved collecting for as long as I can remember. There is nothing like the feeling of going into your local grocery store and finding the pack you are looking for sitting right there on the shelf. Or heading into your local baseball card shop and finding the card you had been looking for, for what seemed an eternity.... Times they may have changed a bit with the advent of the internet, eBay and the like; but there is still nothing like nabbing that perfect card or the memories you can create with your loved ones.
Being that this is my first post, I'd like to share my most special memory. The one that had me hooked for life: It was probably, 1981 or 82, and I went to visit my grandmother (the most special person in the entire world). I was seven or eight years old and we would go and run our normal errands: going to get the car washed, to Thrifty drug store for essentials (and don't forget the ice cream, like I said essentials... LOL), then on to Yellow Front. For those of you that don't know, think small version of Target and Walmart. But that is where we would depart from the norm this time; as I looked to the right, I saw what would become my sacred place.... Shoebox Cards and Stuff! Before I could even form the words, my eyes pleaded my case; and my grandma said, "would you like to go see that store?" The joy on my face must have been overwhelmingly immediately visible, because she smiled, chuckled and said, "OK, lets go!" This was the first baseball card store I had ever been into and it was wall to wall. Jerseys on the hung up, bats in the cases, balls signed by the greats Mantle, Mays, DiMaggio, etc. I was in LOVE. There were cards on top of cards in the cases, a six foot tall case with unopened wax boxes from what seemed like every year. I was in sheer ecstasy. I looked at everything (probably 2-3 times), and then my grandma asked me if I wanted anything. I remember standing in front of the wax boxes inside the tall statue of glass and just pointing at the first thing that was eye level... 1966 Topps wax packs I could hardly contain myself when the lady handed me the pack. We got out to the car, and I asked if I could open it. As soon as I had permission, I tore into that pack with feverish excitement. A couple cards in, staring up at me was Sandy Koufax. A hero found, a fan earned and a life long collector and hobbyist was born. Thanks Shoebox even though you are no longer there you started something that will never be finished, Sandy for igniting the love for the hobby and to my grandma for being the greatest person in the world and my true hero! |
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