After a crush of interested buyers crashed its web servers last week, scuttling the launch of 2019-20 Contenders Draft Picks basketball, Panini planned to try again Wednesday morning.
The First Off the Line edition were set to arrive a week ahead of the standard issue boxes. Contenders will include rookie cards of Zion Williamson, Ja Morant and the rest of the NBA’s latest draft class, all still pictured in their college uniforms. Each box holds six autographs, on average.
The product was set for release at 10 AM Central time on Panini’s website with buyers limited to one box.
However, the website again appeared to be having trouble handling the load. While some collectors said they received an order confirmation several minutes after managing to place an order, others who got in saw the product only to again see it disappear from their cart and listed as “sold out.” Others weren’t able to access the online store at all.
During the National, we grabbed a quick photo of a box of 1961-62 Fleer basketball being shopped at one dealer’s table.
That deal was apparently made because the box has been authenticated and is now for sale on eBay (the seller listed it as “Topps” by mistake).
The ’61-62 Fleer set includes rookie cards of Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson and Jerry West, among others. A few full and partial boxes have surfaced over the years.
Ten years ago, we introduced you to Tim Carroll, the artist who takes junk era sports cards, cuts them up and pastes them to a canvas, creating classic cards from the past. His work is still eye-popping and demand is great enough that he’s been able to make a living as a full-time “card artist” for several years now.
He’s the subject of a new feature on Uni-Watch and chatted with the Hall of Very Good podcasters. You can listen to the clip below.
Be on the lookout for a couple of stolen vintage jerseys, swiped from a shop in Seattle according to the local collectors club there. Click inside to see close-up images of what was taken.
Here’s a nice feature from the Japan Times on a U.S. collector’s passion for Japanese baseball—and Japanese baseball cards.
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