This is an important month for sports card shops and online retailers who sell boxes of cards. The release of the first baseball card product of the 
season can set the tone for the rest of the year and it’s the one time when there is a lot of attention on one product.
Several 
mainstream media outlets reported on Derek Jeter’s farewell card, the First Pitch inserts and other elements. Shop owners we heard from reported good sales of hobby and jumbo boxes and reaction from collectors to what Topps put inside them has been generally positive.
“2015 Topps has been a great success at our five shops this year,” reported Brian Jadzak of The Baseball Card King in suburban Chicago Thursday. “Much better than previous years with some stores selling out within hours. Restocks are arriving today so no one has to go without product. I saw some posts of people complaining about the $70 price tag, this is not a $70 per box product. We were at $59.99 in store or $54.99 online. I believe the dramatic change in design of the card is to attribute to the success as they are much easier on the eyes. We offered a Jumbo case break and it too sold out in minutes, we ended up doing a second and could have easily done a third break. Overall I believe customers were happy with this one.”
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Friday marks Babe Ruth’s 120th birthday and there’s no slowdown in the demand for his cardboard.
A PSA 5 1916 Sporting News Babe Ruth rookie card was sold on eBay Wednesday night. The final price was $80,900.
It’s fairly rare for such a high value card to be sold on eBay. Pre War Card Collector Auctions, a consignment dealer, sold the Ruth card as well as several other high-end vintage items including a 1937 OPC Joe DiMaggio graded PSA 8 which sold for $13,310.
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Collectors Universe, the parent company of PSA and PSA/DNA reported its second quarter earnings for fiscal 2015. CU told shareholders of a 7% increase in revenue for trading card and autograph services. Overall CU, including its coin division (PCGS), had record revenue of $14.1 million, up from $13.5 million in the second quarter of 2014.
CEO Robert Duester says the results reflect “continued growth from our efforts internationally, as well as strong customer acceptance of our high value services and targeted marketing programs.”
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MeiGray and NBA Auctions sold jerseys from the league’s Christmas Day games Thursday night. A jersey worn by LeBron James in the second half against the Miami Heat sold for $15,575. James scored 30 points in the rematch with his former team. Teammate Kyrie Irving’s jersey sold for $6,120.
A jersey worn by Steph Curry in a Christmas defeat by the Los Angeles Clippers sold for $14,260, reflecting his rising status among collectors of such memorabilia. A John Wall game-worn Wizards jersey from the holiday game, brought $8,719.
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Super Bowl hero Malcolm Butler, a little-known Division II star who signed as a free agent with the New England Patriots, has an autograph deal.
Butler has signed with Fanatics Authentic and the online retailer is offering pre-orders for photos of Butler making the game-saving interception of Russell Wilson, inscribed, for $69.95.
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