Multi Player Logo Cards Can Be Dangerous

Back in 2006 and 2007 a lot of people chased the quad logo auto cards that Exquisite made famous. Four NFL logos on one card with four autos, simple as that. After being absent in 2008, they are back for 2009, and the first one is up on eBay. This particular one suffers from multi-player shock syndrome as I call it, or when higher value rookies like Freeman, are paired with players like Rhett Bomar who will most likely be gone in a few years. For this reason alone, the single logo signature cards from last year were some of the best ever created, mainly because there was no M.P.S.S. anywhere to be found.

This Stafford logo is pretty much in the same boat, as you have a top value rookie on one side, and a scrub on the other. Yes they play for the same team, and yes Williams has more potential than Bomar, but its likely that Williams will never achieve enough success to live up to being on the other side of this card. Of course, that didnt stop it from being sold at a staggering 1500 bucks.

I wonder how often MPSS will strike this year with the rest of the quad and dual logos, hopefully not often.

McCoy/Maclin Exquisite Dual Logo Is Up, Looks Different

You have all seen the previews of what the quad logo looks like out of Exquisite, but the dual logos look COMPLETELY different. I think the cards are good looking, but definitely dont compare to the awesome ones from last year. Last year's single and dual logo cards were some of my favorite ones of all time, but these arent on that level. Dont get me wrong, they are still pretty cool looking, its just tough to live up to 2008.

Im interested to see what other gems are lurking in this product, as I dont think we got the complete picture with the packout.

Matt Ryan SPA Logo 1/1 Is Back Up On Ebay

I really dont understand these cards and their sales most of the time. Its rare that someone buys the SPA logos and actually hangs onto them, as I see so many of them up for auction quite a few times. The Matt Ryan is back up with a ridiculous BIN, which makes me question a few things.

First, why would anyone sell it during the offseason? The Falcons look like they should be a good team again next year, and prices drop after the Super Bowl, so its better to wait until the winter. Not a good time to list it right now. Second, why put such a high BIN on it? Last time it sold it was under 2K I believe, and eBay should not be your personal photobucket. Lastly, this card is arguably the best pull out of 2008 SP Authentic, and it was purchased for a ton of money. Why buy if you are just going to throw it back up there?

I dont get it.

Dealing With The Pulls That Can Make Your Year

One of the biggest questions that I have seen on the boards deals with handling a big pull. Im talking about when you buy that box of Exquisite and hit a top rookie auto or a Michael Jordan. This also applies to those HUGE pulls like logomen, cut autos and 1/1s, though the chase pulls tend to be once in a lifetime unless you work for Beckett. See, I get that we all love to love the cards we pull, but 99.9% of the time you wont have a big pull of your favorite player. So, what do you do with a huge card of a player/team you don’t collect? What would you do if it was a player you collect?

I have stood by the "sell and buy something you want" philosophy for a long time. With huge cards, there are always people out there who would pay through the nose to get it, and most of the time the cards are rare enough that they have to pay or risk losing out. That puts you at a huge advantage, and can help you get more money than normally would be available. Since eBay has become very much a photobucket for people who just want to show off their huge pulls without selling, many people have chosen the "ill but a huge BIN on my card just so people know that its out there" way of auction. This rarely leads to a sale, but every once in a while a card will sell with a good offer. I do not support this way as it takes away time and money from potential sales. Time because you have to wait for that one person to come along, and money because most of the time a card's value decreases after release.

Personally, I say start it at .99 cents and run it for 5-10 days depending on the newness of the product. There is such a small chance that your card will drastically increase in value that you might as well get money while you can. Pulled a Babe Ruth cut 1/1 out of Triple Threads? Sell it, and sell it quick. Use the money to buy a signed baseball which costs about the same and is the dream of many to own. Pull the Michael Jordan Logo out Exquisite or similar? Sell it, as Jordan isnt going to get any greater. Buy some other stuff you need for your collection, or better yet, your life. Pull the 1/1 Adrian Peterson 2007 Exquisite Patch Auto? claim innocence in your magazi...just kidding. These types of cards are not worth keeping when there is thousands to be made on the open market. Even that Sanchez Exquisite that is coming soon, why hold it? There are quite a few people out there who pay you a ton to get it, and then you can buy anything you want!

In fact, if I broke a box of 2009 National Treasures and pulled the Harvin 1/1 logo, I would sell it. I love collecting Vikings cards, but having a 1/1 like that is not something I would like to have over many other cards that I would like in my collection. If I pulled a Peterson, my mind might change depending on the card. More money for more cards is always VERY tempting, and im not sure how I would handle it. If I am willing to sell the Harvin, you can bet a Sanchez or Stafford logo would be out of my hands faster than you can say "Dirty Sanchez."

Lets face it, 500 dollars is a lot of money when you have a card to sell that you pulled and are not attached to. It could buy you a baseball of any player post 1940, it could buy you the top rookie card of every player other than a small handful, or it could get you a nice new blu-ray player or XBOX if that’s your thing. Its one thing if you collect the player, but completely different if the only connection you have is that you pulled it. Save a scan, and look back when you get misty eyed. The prospects of buying something you want or need should always be more tantalizing than letting it collect dust with a high BIN.

Take it from the guy who just sold his Mark Sanchez SP Authentic 1/1 for over 2500 dollars. Im guessing he is pretty pleased consdiering he could buy a small car if he wanted with that money. At the very least, he has money for a great card of his favorite player and a lot more left over to invest in other things. He let his run, where others just let them sit and collect dust. Bad idea, trust me.

2009 SP Authentic Has Logo Confusion

So far, a few of the 1/1 Logo patches out of SP Authentic have popped up on ebay, including this beautifully signed Josh Freeman. The Matthew Stafford was posted earlier this week, and more are sure to come. The issue with these cards is not that they are even close to being fake, but more a question as to where these logos came from.

If you notice on both the Freeman and the Stafford, the logo patches used feature an OLD NFL logo with many stars instead of the new 2008 logo with four stars. If you look at similar Panini 2009 National Treasures logo 1/1s, as well as last year's SP Authentic, the cards feature new logo NFL patches as expected.

One explanation is that UD used the logos off throwback jerseys rather than new player issued jerseys, or that they just used old jerseys from other players at the premiere. My guess is the throwback explanation, as UD had some AWESOME 1/1 cards in 2008 Ultimate Collection with the laundry tag off similar throwback jerseys.

Regardless of the explanation, its still kind of weird to use these types of logos, even if they are only event worn. Either way, the cards still look great regardless of the lack of script 1/1 tags or new logos. Its just unusual that players would not have new logos on their jerseys.

EDIT: Here is a Shonn Greene with the new logo, so I guess some are old, some are new.

Reebok Logos and Hand Numbered Patches Make Their Debut In 2009 SP Authentic

In the past, whenever we have seen sleeve logo and brand logo patches in the non-parallel versions of the SPA rookie patch autos, we knew something was up. Now, not so much, as the patches are looking crazier than ever. Even in the base patches out of 999 and below, there are numerous versions of the Reebok patches from the sleeves of the jersey.

Here are some examples:

Glen Coffee
Aaron Curry
Mark Sanchez
LeSean McCoy

For these cards, the patch is legit, as the cards are too new, and because there are so many examples. I imagine there are at least 5 to 10 per player and we could see more as the patches are unearthed. That gets fucking scary to me when you think about what the possibilities are.

There is also a new level of patches that are numbered to 5, but the numbering is not the weird thing. The part of these cards that befuddles me is the hand numbering, as all of them are not foil stamped.

Here are some examples:

Josh Freeman

Brandon Pettigrew
Matt Stafford
Javon Ringer

These are all listed parallels on the SPA checklist, though unlike the gold patches, the only difference is the hand numbering. I dont get it, but im sure we will have more of them by the time this product hits the faking threshold. Although I doubt fakers will be able to find a way to get rid of the foil without damaging the cards, this could cause some issues in the long run.

What other mysteries does SPA hold? Im guessing we will have a few more in the coming weeks.

I Had No Idea These Were Even Possible

Just saw this posted over on UD's wall by a collector who pulled it. Just a crazy card considering how many logos are on it. Interesting idea for use of the Logo patches.

We Dont Need No Stinking Licenses

Since Topps secured the license to be sole producer of baseball cards for the coming years, Upper Deck has gone on a signing spree that should make a lot fans happy. Its funny that now that the license to produce cards with logos and team names is gone, all the players are starting to come around and sign autograph deals. Personally, I hate exclusivity in any shape or form, but in this case with the license, it may actually work out better.

So far, UD has signed contracts with key pieces of the Yankees World Series Championship teams, as well as announcing that Joe Jackson will be in their products now that the rules have changed. In my opinion, the Joe Jackson news is AS important as the signings of Rivera, Pettite, Posada, and company, mainly due to the buzz it created over Prime Cuts last year. As we saw with Prime Cuts, licenses mean little to nothing when you have a good product, and with Exquisite Baseball coming our way, it should be interesting to see if UD can live up to the billing.

I will say this, in previous years before the license was lost, UD baseball has been mediocre at best. With Football at the forefront of the competition by a mile, Baseball didn’t have the same pizzazz at all. Products were flat, prices were high, and design wasn’t top notch. Now that they don’t have to play by the same rules, hopefully they can fill in those gaps with signatures from star players who don’t normally sign (Rivera), and retired players who are banned from production (Jackson and possibly Rose).

With many of the players garnering less value than normal because of the economy, baseball sets will need a jump start if they are going to continue to attract collectors. Although I don’t think the Yankees and Jackson are the only answer to the problem, its definitely a start. What UD baseball will have to prove is that they can function at the same level as a set like Topps, focusing more on great photography and design to make up for the fact that no logos will be able to be used. Prime Cuts did a great job of that, especially considering that Baseball players are known more for their likeness rather than the jersey they wear.

The starting point is definitely the success of Exquisite Baseball, and how well Upper Deck can get the set to the level of its Basketball and Football products. Exquisite Football is the best of the year because of the prestige of the name, design of the set, and content of the cards, which means that Baseball has big shoes to fill after the disaster that was the Exquisite Rookies set of 2008. However, with the 2006 Exquisite Baseball redemption set to build from, these cards could be amazing, or they could easily suck. Lets hope, for the sake of competition, that everything turns out great. As it stands right now, Im not going to say much more until I see the results.

A Different Kind Of Matt Ryan Logo is Up On Ebay

For you fans of Ultimate Collection football, there is card up on eBay right now that I believe you will like. This Matt Ryan 1/1 "logo" patch is not quite what people are used to when it comes to the typical NFL 1/1's, but I love the idea none-the-less.

Each year, Ultimate Collection is one of the top valued RC cards because of the cost of its wax. It was the first super high end product, and the ideas of what the product holds have pretty much held the same through the years. In 2007, Ultimate Collection was far and away the worst product of the year. The designers of the product used stickers and photoshop to basically make each card look the same, in order to fill out the new format of one auto per pack. That meant that if you pulled a Sunday Stars auto, it looked exactly like Ultimate Ink, but with a different title on the card.

Ultimate also had a bunch of logo cards over the years, with many of them just being the normal NFL shield in a diecut window. The "logo" cards from 2008 were different, using a special tag from specially designed NFL throwbacks, and I think they look awesome. Its always good to think outside the box, as long as the result isnt too nuts. This Matt Ryan fits that mold, in my opinion.

Hockey Showing Em Who's Boss: Crosby Logo at 16,000

Many of us are wondering what would have been if Tom Brady or Peyton Manning had logo cards when they were rookies. What about LT? How about Albert Pujols or Michael Jordan? What would those be worth? A lot.

Well, for hockey fans, Sidney Crosby, one of the top money grabbers in the hobby does have a logo rookie card, and it is on eBay right now with more than 6 days to go. Price? Over $16,000 with 42 bids. So, its either a Honda Accord or this card, and there is still a lot of time left.

I have long mentioned the 10K cap on modern cards, and how tough it is to break that mark, but this card crossed that line and crapped on it. Personally, I dont really like the look of this card, but it is one of THE Crosby cards to own if you have the bank, or for that matter, own the bank. His RC card from the Cup sells for thousands, and that is pretty crazy by itself, but 16K+ for something like this is shocking.

New Logo Bonanza

Well the Timberwolves have a new alternate logo that I assume will go on the courts and jerseys like the awful "Tinnesota Mimberwolves" one that it is pretty much replacing (SEEN ON RIGHT). Im sorry the logo is small, but I pulled it off the draft day hats. Hopefully this logo is used more often than not.

I think the new logo is ridiculously cool as the howling wolf is a logo that needs to be used more in sports. Either way, why does the Tinnesota log have fur around the letters? Somethings, we were never meant to know.