Card Collector Universe

2008 Bowman Chrome Baseball will be available starting August 13th.  This is a great product.  I’m a big fan of the Bowman cards, chock full of rookies.  Getting all chrome in a product is very cool too.  I wasn’t always a chrome fan, but I’m coming around quick. 

What you need to know:

• A hobby box is currently priced at about $70
• 2 Chrome Cards Per Pack
• 1 Autographed Chrome Prospect Card Per Hobby Box
• 110 New Bowman Chrome Prospect Cards
• 1 of 1 Superfractors
• 30 Rookies with the MLB Rookie Logo

If you’re into prospects, rookies and chrome, this is a baseball card release for you. 

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2008 Upper Deck Heroes Baseball will release in pre-sale on August 12th.  In each hobby box, you’ll find 24 packs with eight cards per pack.

What you need to know:

• A hobby box is currently priced at about $100
• 1 Heroes Autographed Card and 3 Heroes Memorabilia Cards per hobby box on average
• Signs of History Presidential cut signature cards will be found in certain boxes
• Parallel Cards Numbered to 499
• Yankee Stadium Legacy Insert and Memorabilia Cards
• Familiar Upper Deck Heroes Design

Having a card set dedicated to baseball heroes is kind of cool.  The card logo could be updated though.  All in all, a fairly cool product. 

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As mentioned in the previous post in this series, the first factor to consider when selling a card is who the player is.

It’s pretty easy to figure out that you want to be selling a Hall of Famer, rather than a player who has never hit more than .230. But what about prospects? What about players in the middle of their careers? What about players who have had a terrific first year?

The first type of player to consider, with respect to investment value, is an older, established Hall of Famer. There are a couple of reasons why you’d want to invest in such a player’s cards. Obviously, being a HOFer, this player had a terrific MLB career. The player has already established their body of work on the field of play. They are done with the on-field portion of their career, and have put up some terrific numbers. That’s it. There is not going to be an injury, a drop-off in talent, or anything else.

Being that they are an older player, a larger number of fans may be familiar with such a player. Baby-boomers and Gen X-ers alike are familiar with Johnny Bench, George Brett, Warren Spahn and Roberto Clemente, to name a few. In addition, most of these players are past their “wild” days and there should be little to no concern for character related issues to affect their card’s value. There should be no steroid indictments, no gambling accusations, and no drug-related bans.

An added bonus here is if the player spent his entire career with only one team. A Lou Gehrig, Ted Williams, Roberto Clemente or Don Mattingly (not a HOFer, but should be) might bring more value than a Tris Speaker, Nolan Ryan, Frank Robinson, or Wade Boggs. The latter player’s cards certainly should, and do, have value, however, they would have an even higher value if the player spent their career with only one team, due to the fan identification factor. (Babe Ruth, identified with the Yankees, is an anomaly here).

Also, consider whether or not the player currently holds, or previously held, any statistical records. Rickey Henderson, the all-time stolen base king? Can’t touch his best cards without dropping close to triple digits.  (Would be even higher if he played his entire career with the Yanks or A’s.)  Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Joe DiMaggio are all examples here too. [Read more →]

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