After being inundated with orders earlier this spring after PSA suspended most services, SGC raised the base rate for trading card authentication and grading from $25 to $75 per card. Fast forward a little over five weeks and they say they’re not only caught up but have lowered the cost to $30 with a turnaround time of 20-25 business days. Cards valued at $1,500-$3,499 … [Read more...]
Editor’s Blog: The LeBron eTopps Rookie Upside Down Logo Error
Just about every rookie card of a prominent basketball player—past or present—has seen a spike in value over the last couple of years. That includes the 2003-04 eTopps LeBron James. The now defunct eTopps brand was still part of the Topps stable during his rookie season and the company produced 10,000 of the online exclusive cards. At least at this point, only one … [Read more...]
Notes: KY Shop Burglary; Topps and Trout; Giants into Box Breaks; More
There was a burglary late last week at a sports card shop in Lexington, KY. It happened at Jimmy’s Roadshow with about $25,000 worth of unopened products stolen by a single individual who was in the store for about a minute, according to owner Jimmy Mahan. View this post on … [Read more...]
Dribbles and Scribbles: Al McGuire and the Strangest Autographed Item in My Collection
In the second of an ongoing series, long-time collector Tim Gallagher takes over the Editor’s Blog to share stories from 50+ years of chasing basketball autographs. An early morning visit with legendary coach and broadcaster Al McGuire after a sports talk radio interview more than 25 years ago led to my friends and I getting the strangest signed "collectable" in all … [Read more...]
2 Five Figure Cards in 4 Days: Ohio Collector Has the Magic Touch
Not many people had a better week than Josh Leonardi. The Northern Ohio collector recently bought a box of the very pricey 2020 National Treasures football during a live seller event on the Loupe app and his high risk/high reward roll of the dice paid off. Along with a printing plate, a low-numbered Chase Young rookie, and a 1/1 Joey Bosa Nike patch, he pulled a … [Read more...]
Editor’s Blog: Babe’s Still King, and Not Everything is Super Pricey
It’s safe to say there aren’t many people still alive today who were around when he was still an active player. He hasn’t held baseball’s all-time home run record since early April of 1974. Still, someone will pay at least a few million dollars when the current auction for one of the highest graded Babe Ruth rookie cards comes to an end next month. Collectors … [Read more...]
Notes: Record Revenue for Heritage; Brady on His Rookie Cards; Shop’s New Digs, More
Heritage Auctions reported total first quarter sales of over $337 million, an increase of 16 percent over the same period last year. Revenue was driven by world record-breaking sales of sports memorabilia, U.S. and World & Ancient coins, comics and comic art. Even throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the company says sales show steady, year-over-year first quarter growth: … [Read more...]
Editor’s Blog: Topps Breaks Down Finances; Looks to Future
When Topps announced its decision to combine forces with an acquisition company on Tuesday, the company offered some interesting details on its finances and future plans. In touting the initiatives that led to its current valuation, Topps revealed it make a $92 million profit in 2020—a strange and unexpected time in which the sports card market exploded in the midst of a … [Read more...]
Notes: Brother Pulls Giannis’ Card; Talking Markets Past and Present; Flyers’ Green Jersey Auction
Wondering how CSG sends cards back to customers? Here you go... Love how @CSGCards ships slabbed cards back. pic.twitter.com/Zsyu6wUWo1 — 17th Son - EST 1803 (@17thSonSchaefer) March 25, 2021 More current and former pro athletes are taking an interest in sports cards. Earlier this week, Milwaukee Bucks forward Thanasis Antetokounmpo, the older brother … [Read more...]
Notes: SGC Catches Up, Rates Going Up; CSG’s 1st Graded Card at Auction, More
SGC says it’s tackled the backlog of submissions it was facing as collectors and dealers flooded the company with submissions last year. The company says it’s now operating under normal turnaround times. “In the blink of an eye, our 12 man team was absolutely overrun. Over just a seven-day period, our intake had increased 20x what it previously … [Read more...]