Unless you had incredible skills as an artist, learning how to make your own baseball cards used to be an experience that was either futile or left you admitting that making them was a job better left to the pros. Fortunately for those who are left brained, it's a lot easier these days. Graphic design programs like Photoshop are making all kinds of things possible even if … [Read more...]
T206 Eddie Plank a Worthy Challenger to Wagner
Is a six-figure baseball card 'underrated'? If that card is the T206 Eddie Plank, it just might be. While the Honus Wagner card from vintage collecting's most popular set gets most of the attention inside and outside the hobby, the Plank card flies under the radar to those who haven't really studied it. Small headlines are generated when one comes to auction, but there are … [Read more...]
2012 Topps Baseball Sticker Collection Preview
by Chris Harris It was the cult baseball card hit of 2011. A product without needless parallels, worthless game used cards, dumb gimmicks, or an outrageous price tag. It was a true “retro” set, if not in design or structure, but in concept; a product that seems like it was ripped from a time machine set to 1985. Yes, it was intended for kids, but wound up being sold to an … [Read more...]
REA Tallies Auction Data
Robert Edward Auctions holds but one sale per year, which allows for some time to digest the results of the hobby's largest single auction. The company's post-auction press release contains mountains of sales data and reaction: The strength of the high-end baseball card and memorabilia market amazed collectors at Robert Edward’s record-setting May 7 auction. An … [Read more...]
Missing Those Baseball Card Cartoons
Some were funny. Some were dumb. Some made it seem like the players were just like us. The little cartoons on the backs of baseball cards were a staple for nearly 30 years. Who drew them? How did they know all of this stuff? As kids, we wondered. Before the internet, cards were one of the best ways to learn about the players we read about in magazines and newspapers … [Read more...]
2010-11 Donruss Basketball Review
They may be owned by a European based outfit these days, but most North American collectors still have fuzzy feelings for the name Donruss. Panini isn't dumb. They're holding onto the brand that established itself in 1981 and they trot it out again for the new 2010-11 Donruss Basketball issue. Open one pack and its obvious the design was a shout out to perhaps the … [Read more...]
Removing Sharpie Signatures from Glossy Surfaces
Sometimes the ink smudges. Sometimes you decide you'd rather have it signed by someone else. Sometimes the autograph is so bad you just want to start over. But what do you do when a Sharpie autograph is already splashed all over your photo, baseball card or other glossy item? It may not be hopeless. The Prismacolor Colorless Two Tip Blender Pen (available on eBay) is a … [Read more...]
T206 Wagner For Sale on eBay
They usually sell in major sports memorabilia auctions. T206 Honus Wagner cards are often the centerpiece of those catalog sales, but if you're an eBay member...and have a few hundred grand sitting around...you can avoid the wait and buy one on eBay. Thornwood, New York dealer B & E Collectibles is offering a PSA 1 (poor-fair) grade Wagner with a Buy it Now price of … [Read more...]
Strasburg Driving Shop Sales…Everywhere
The most rare cards issued so far have been sold, but even run-of-the-mill Stephen Strasburg rookie cards are selling like hotcakes as baseball moves toward the All-Star break. More are being issued, thanks to Topps' exclusive deal and collectors' appetites for new product. While dealers hope the hype isn't just that, they do see the interest spreading into the hobby as … [Read more...]
Strasburg’s Topps Million Redemption Cards Averaging $345
Topps capitalized on Stephen Strasburg mania by getting a photo of his first big league pitch and putting it on a baseball card, available during the rookie's winning performance against the Pirates June 8. Now, those cards are popping up on eBay. Collectors who unlocked their Series One or Two "Topps Million Card Giveaway" code on winning game cards had a shot at winning … [Read more...]