“Either Topps does not understand the value of its own cards, or the company is assuming that collectors are stupid. Because what’s happened is that Topps is creating risk in the marketplace, which (unless collectors are, in fact, stupid) will ultimately impact the initial value of every Bowman Chrome RC auto issued in its spring Bowman releases until the day that Topps … [Read more...] about Analysis: Topps’ Moves With Bryant Autographs Create Questions
Jeff Hwang
The Upside of the Modern Baseball Card
“As awareness of scarcity grows, both museums and private collectors face a ‘last chance’ situation every time a major work comes up for sale. Fearing they may never have another opportunity to add a certain artist or period to their collection, they purchase without consideration of past prices.” -- Don Thompson, The $12 Million Stuffed Shark: The Curious Economics of … [Read more...] about The Upside of the Modern Baseball Card
Hwang: Scarcity, Grade Dictate Card Values; Not Age
There’s a common misconception that vintage baseball cards are valuable because they are old. But this is not the case. The reality is that the most valuable of the vintage baseball cards – such as a PSA 10 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle or the PSA 8 Gretzky T206 Honus Wagner, for example – are valuable not because they are old, but because they are desirable and because high-grade … [Read more...] about Hwang: Scarcity, Grade Dictate Card Values; Not Age
Book Excerpt: Grade Scarcity and Box Value
Editor’s Note: What follows is a second (edited) excerpt from Jeff’s book, The Modern Baseball Card Investor. The first excerpt, The Four Basic Types of Ungraded Strategies, can be found here. As of January 2014, unopened boxes of 1987 Donruss could be had for $20 to $30 per box, with multi-box lots and 20-box cases running for as little as under $20 per box. Each box … [Read more...] about Book Excerpt: Grade Scarcity and Box Value
Ramblings: Fresh Take on Baseball Card Investing
There are so many of us who were involved in the hobby peak times that sometimes even we forget about the many books that were produced. One of the truly under-appreciated parts of that time was just how many different ways "card investment" clubs, books, articles and printed newsletters that emerged in the late 1980s and early 1990’s. Recently, I was reading a thread on the … [Read more...] about Ramblings: Fresh Take on Baseball Card Investing