Father's Day and Me?

Well, its kind of odd that my first Father's day comes only 2 months after Noah was born, as somehow I feel like I havent earned it quite yet. Either way, its still pretty cool that I get to celebrate this holiday so early in life, as I never expected to be married with children quite yet. Its not like I am not ecstatic to be a dad, just kind of shocking, right?

On top of all of that, I feel like this hobby is so father/son related, anyways. Everyone seems to be collecting for themselves now, but for their sons in the future. Personally, I can promise that he will have to pull my collection from my cold dead fingers, but at least he will end up with it some day. I mean, my dad was the reason I became such an avid collector of all things athlete signed, and I STILL havent gotten his Johnny Unitas signature that he has stashed away.

That part of our lives it is why most of us are here, and thats why a day like this is important. Noah is always going to have an understanding of how cool it is to meet his idols, and thats because he is going to see the joy I got from the stories I will tell. He may not travel down the same path I did, but he is going to know what it means. Although I stand by the fact that children should not and never should be the focus of growing the hobby, having a few extras like me and Noah around doesnt hurt. I would not give two rat's asses about this hobby if it werent for my father, and Noah probably would have less of a chance of falling into it if I didnt show him the way down the road. Even though I am going to have to compete with his future XBOX 1080, hopefully he will get the point.

Basically, we all have a starting point, and in the past it was mostly our parents stories of losing all those Mickey Mantle cards to the garage sales or the trash heaps. In the future, its going to be a completely different story because of the way people find information now. Its less about "when I was growing up" and more about message boards and facebook from this point forward. That IS NOT a bad thing at all, just detrimental to the way some children discover things (good or bad).

I do hope Noah ends up as a sports fan, and I definitely hope he ends up as a collector some time in his life. If he doesnt, it wont be the end of the world for me, but it will be something that I feel could have been fun for us if it doesnt work out.

3 Boxes of Donruss Elite - Presented By Blowout Cards.com

I wanted to try out a few boxes of Elite because it is the first pro uniform product of the year for the rookies, and I am very glad that I did. I am always a sucker for the first product like this, but usually end up always regret it, not this time! I pulled two autos of GREAT players, and one low numbered auto of an okay player. I also pulled some good rookies and a Patch. Its not like I pulled a passing the torch dual auto or anything, but it could have been A LOT worse. Thanks to Chris and Pat at BlowoutCards.com for the great prices on these boxes. If you havent started buying all your boxes from them, you need to start now.

As you can see, if I were a Patriots fan, this would have been the best break I could have had.

Rookies:

Sam Bradford 444/999 (NICE!)
Jonathan Dwyer 272/999
Eric Berry 706/999
Jermaine Gresham 970/999
Golden Tate 808/999
Mike Williams 236/999
Carlos Dunlap 593/999
Sean Witherspoon 072/999
Chris Cook 622/999
Chris McGaha 296/999
Riley Cooper 98/999

Rookie Parallels:

Kyle Wilson Die Cut Status 60/99

Elite Rookies NFL Shield and Team Logos:

Tim Tebow 375/999 (This is a $20 card for some reason)
Sam Bradford 379/999 (Same?)
Mardy Gilyard
Brandon Lafell
Andre Roberts
Jermaine Gresham

Base Parallels (Die Cut):

Ryan Grant 6/25
Peyton Manning 11/82

Jersey Cards:

Calvin Johnson
Anthony Gonzalez
Ronnie Brown
Larry Fitzgerald
Ben Roethlisberger

Patch Cards:

Eli Manning (2 Color) /50

Autographs:

Ryan Matthews 154/199 (Always nice to pull a 2010 Target)
Taylor Price 16/24 Status Die Cut
Devin McCourty 318/499
Aaron Hernandez 187/399
Zac Robinson 473/499 (Yes, my 4th Pats auto)

And...

Ndamukong Suh on card NFL shield auto

Here is a pic because my scanner isnt working.

What Is Going On With Elite?

Now that Elite has been out for a few days, we are getting a good picture of how much the cards are going for. Suprisingly, prices are not as expensive as I thought they would be, which makes me wonder as to how collectors are perceiving the strength of this draft class. Even the top running backs of the class are selling lower than I expected, as the Peterson effect would usually have prices of Spiller and Matthews through the roof. On top of that, players like Dez Bryant, who play for highly collected teams arent feeling that bump like I have seen in similar situations for previous years, and im not sure that it all has to do with how the cards look. So, that begs the question of whether or not it’s the class or the product.

When it comes to the argument that the class is responsible for a normal pricing bump that follows the first post premiere NFL uni product, I think there is definitely merit. This draft was so defense heavy, that most of the elite prospects were Defensive Linemen who normally wouldn’t command high prices. Outside of the defensive line, there were a handful of great CBs, LBs, and other player positions that have no demand in the hobby in normal cases. Bradford is the top QB of the class, but he is being outsold by Tebow, who is looking more like a career backup than anything at first glance of his skill set. Bryant is the top WR of the class, but he fell far in the draft due to character issues. Spiller is the top RB by a nose over Ryan Matthews, but people arent buying in to his stuff like they would in previous years because its more generally understood that Adrian Peterson and Chris Johnson were more the exception to the rule than the rule itself. That, and most of Johnson's success came in his second year, not his rookie year like Peterson.

As for the actual product, this may be the first time that NFL uniforms may have been detrimental to a product. Even though people like me bought into a product we normally avoid like the plague due to college stuff, other collectors were expecting it. Then when you also factor in that the design is more simple and plain than previous years, all those collectors that usually shout "OOOO SOMETHING SHINY!!!" when they buy a card, may not be as excited. Again, even though I am just about 100% focused on design and love simplicity over the eyesores of last year's thunderstorm cards, there are a lot of people that want foil and other crap like that because they think it looks better (or may have vision problems that prevent them from liking good looking stuff).

Overall, Elite will have a following regardless of anything because it has brand recognition, but I am acutally pretty surprised that prices arent higher. Although Im not sure as to why its happening completely, im sure it’s a combination of all of the above. I will say that it takes a lot for me to want a box of something, and I bought some of this product. At the very least, that says that things are getting better with Panini rather than worse. They still have buttloads of sticker products with no hint of any veteran cards worth buying, they may love ridiculous amounts of parallels, they may have floating swatches, but they did good by me here by including NFL uni cards as early as possible. Considering that people like me are rising at a more rapid rate due to the way products are being produced, you would think that things would be at a much higher price point. Obviously, something else is at work.

Is Tebow Hype In Football Equal To Strasburg Hype in Baseball?

Its rare that I would care about somehting like this, but it was completely shocking to see how much Tebow's base rookie out of elite is going for. Now, it would be one thing if the guy had a shot at starting and doing well, but for a late half first round pick who is third on the depth chart, this is ridiculous.

You all know my feelings on Tebow's prospect of doing well in this league, but when you have a base card numbered to 999 that is selling at this price, I start to wonder what certain people are smoking. Sam Bradford, the number one pick in the draft, is selling at five dollars less, something I find pretty amazing. Also, the unsigned version of the NFL shield card is selling quite high as well, which is funny because it isnt even part of the normal Elite base set.

Again, prospecting is one thing, but when you buy in at the 85th floor instead of getting in on the ground level, you have a few screws loose. A number of sites have been talking about the dissaray of the Rams' offensive line, and that hasn’t hurt Bradford's price, so I guess that being buried behind Orton and Quinn for the moment wouldn’t hurt people's understanding of the potential of a guy with throwing and accuracy problems.

Just when I thought my respect level for certain things couldn’t get any lower, right?

Bowman Chrome Promises Crazy Money

Hope you bought into 2010 Bowman Chrome this past month before this preview, because prices are going to jump after people see it. I have been talking about the Strasburgmas that is a comin' for the last few weeks since the big superfractor sale, and this preview confirms the crazy perfect storm on the horizon. I have said that when it comes to the superfractors, the first auto will almost always trump the first card, and in this case, I definitely think it will as well. Because of that fact, as well as another most likely amazing auto checklist, Bowman Chrome should shine as brightly if not brighter than 2010 Bowman.

I hope it does, because when the hype machine gets rolling, its very good for the hobby in general.

Donruss Elite Is Live, Good and Bad

Elite has hit the bay, and so far things are on the good side of things and on the bad side to match.

Here is what has been posted so far:

Jimmy Clausen Green Auto - I LOVE that there are premiere pics in a product this early. I LOVE it. However, the foilboard vastly detracts from an otherwise pretty awesome card. Either way, 100 times better than last year, but still not all the way there.

Sam Bradford Green Auto - The green autos may be the base ones, and the Bradford is already selling high. This should be one of the more valuable cards in the set. I stand by my reaction to the Clausen.

Tim Tebow Blue Auto /24 - Whoever pulled this is one lucky dude. Although the numbering is crazy (out of 24?), the pic and card look in line with the others. Looks pretty good. So glad that Panini left the Tesla Coil electrical storm at home this year.

Ryan Matthews Blue Auto /49 - This is called lucking out on color combinations. Great looking card with the royal blue border, though I still dont get all the parallel sets, which I guess is just typical Panini.

Sam Bradford On Card Elite Same Day Sig - I am very glad that Panini went with an on card element with pictures taken at the OTAs. So, with how great these look, why is foilboard needed at all in this set? Oh right, its Panini. This should go for big money.

Justin Gage Jersey Card - Wait, Panini actually went out and bought a Justin Gage jersey? Who's bright idea was that? Also, this card features a ridiculous floating swatch and a terrible design. Back to old habits again, eh?

Adrian Peterson Jersey Card - Another floating swatch, another horrid looking card as a result. At least if they had found a better place for the swatch, it would be much better.

Darren Sproles Jersey Card - MUUUUUCH better, this is a better look and a better place for the swatch. More of these, less of the above.

Those are the highlights for now, ill update as bigger hits like the Passing the Torch autos are posted. I will also have some boxes to open from Blowout cards that I bought earlier this week with an in depth look at things. How long until Topps Chrome again?

Topps Chrome and the Quest for the Best

My love affair with Topps Chrome has been well documented on this site. Aside from my yearly boxes of SP Authentic and a few sporadic boxes here and there, it was the only product I spent a considerable amount of money on. With recent previews showing a new and improved product, I am confident that Topps Chrome will once again contend for product of the year, and here are the reasons why I think it will.

Product Additions

In terms of content versus price, Chrome has always led the way in most respects, mainly because of how much collectors value the hits and non-hit cards. This year, with the addition of Bowman Chrome, Dual Rookie Autos, Red Zone Rookie Autos, and the Flashback Signature cards, Topps Chrome has added a considerable amount of content to a product that was already at the forefront of the game. Its like adding the hellfire conversion kit to a grenade launcher - it just adds that much more awesome.

Although the addition of Bowman Chrome is great for this particular product, I think it detracts from the overall calendar that Topps puts out. Despite the similarities between the two products, Topps low end never disappoints, and I will say that adding more products like Platinum and Finest, takes away from the overall feel of what makes Topps, well, Topps.

Lack of Relevant Competition

With Upper Deck not producing licensed products, Topps was able to reenter the football market again. Yay for us, no joke. Because SPA, Ultimate, and Exquisite will not function in the same capacity again (if at all), Topps has the opportunity to hit it so far out of the park that it should land in the street. Because the availability of hard signed veteran signature cards has dropped from a whole calendar's worth with Upper Deck to nothing with Panini and Topps, the second age of sticker autographs has been crowned. Therefore, products like Topps Chrome and Bowman Chrome, as well as Topps Flagship no longer look like they are behind the times. Though people like us, who are very on top of the way the general calendar shakes out, the general collector probably wont be able to recognize the shift - at least consciously. Topps Chrome will be more visually appealing as any foilboard riddled set from Panini, and that registers with even the Joe-est of Joe Collectors, even if they don’t understand why. Its because when you compare a rookie focused set like Elite and Classics to a rookie focused set like Chrome, its like comparing a Kia to a BMW. I would even go so far as to say that Limited and National Treasures are the only products remaining on the ENTIRE calendar from Panini that have a chance at living up to what Chrome is going to provide for the money. Now, Upper Deck isnt completely out of the game, and we have yet to see the direction of where they are heading. SP Authentic, even with a focus on NCAA stuff, could still rake, and at that point, all bets are off.

Refractors

If Topps ever had a trump card, it’s the refractor. Refractors are like crack to most people, and even someone like me who HATES rainbow foil, loves what they bring. It has to do with the stock and the way the cards themselves are printed, and when it comes to the "chromium" tech that Topps made famous in 1993, accept no subsitutes. I think that fact is even more evident when you hold up a parallel from any Panini foilboard product next to a refractor. Again, there is no comparison.

Then when you factor in that refractors have the ability to maintain a great premium price despite a lack of autographs or jerseys, and it only furthers the point that they are at the pinnacle of low end collecting.

Price

I don’t think there is a better price point for any product in any sport than Chrome in football. When it comes to value in cards outside of the box hit, Chrome is in territory all by itself due to the content of the base and base parallel cards. This is just as much a result of consistency and follow through each and every year of release, as well as collector loyalty to the brand as a direct correlation. The autos, when they are of good rookies, are some of the most valuable low end cards in existence, and that only adds to the allure of the miniscule price tag. When a box of Elite (more of a mid-end product) costs 60-70 dollars more for cards that aren't worth half as much, things start to come into focus. With Topps adding further content this year, it only makes more of case for why Chrome remains a collector favorite.

Photography

With the exception of 2008, Topps photography for their base set and Chrome tends to be amazing. Dynamic rookie poses (the sell sheet cards are mock ups, not finals), great design, and awesome game shots lead to display worthy low-end cards. How often does that happen? Rarely ever.

Notoriety

Even my mom knows what Topps Chrome is, and its because its been the best for the longest. For most people, due to the basic human characteristic of vanity, building a collection has as much to do with gaining notoriety among your peers as it does with loving the cards. You can deny it all you want, but being able to display your rainbow is pretty awesome when you see the oooo's and ahhhh's from the peanut gallery. Topps Chrome carries that through with each new year, and it has been pretty evident when you see the sales trends in the hobby going in the wrong direction for everything except cards like that.

When it comes down to it, buying a box of Chrome is a great time. Building the set is fun, and displaying your top singles is great. Then to find out that doing so is very inexpensive in most cases, makes it that much more appealing.

My name is Adam Gellman, and I am an addict of the worst kind.

One Of My Favorite Days of the Year: Topps Chrome Preview Day!

Saw the Chrome sell sheet on FCB, and I am both ecstatic and kind of sad at the same time. I absolutely love Topps Chrome and I dont think this year will be any different from the looks of things. However, they have added in Bowman Chrome cards and some weird subsets for the second year in a row, and I have a feeling I may get pretty annoyed with this.

First off, the cards look great, as did the base cards from flagship Topps. The autograph cards are still stickers as expected, but they arent done horribly. They still feature borders that call your attention to the fact that stickers are on the cards, but with Topps Chrome, you cant see them any other way. Plus, the boxes cost around 50 bucks a piece, so they get a pass in my book.

Secondly, they are adding in red zone rookie autographs for this product as well, and I am wondering if only part of the checklist will be in base Topps and others will be in Chrome. I would expect we will have to wait for Bradford and Tebow to be in chrome, if that were the case. Who knows, maybe its just a value added type of thing. In that case, the more on card sigs, the merrier. I just hope that the red zone cards are numbered similarly to the rookie premiere autos, as it would be terrible and tiring to have to redo the fake auto fiasco all over again.

Also, I really like the Bowman Chrome cards this year, and it sucks that they wont get their own set. I would much rather have Bow Chro than Finest any day of the week. Hell, take Platinum too, I dont care. Low end Topps = win.

On the bad side of things, the dual autos look kind of stupid, and the patch refractor autos /25 are pretty bad for the third year in a row. Did that patch really need a border on it? No, it just covers up more of the player. Plus, who needs the event used stuff in a product like this anyways? Its like 2008 Topps Stadium Club all over again.

I am eager to see the Topps reprint autos that they mention without pictures, because those could be some of the coolest cards ever. When this was done in both baseball and football a few years ago, people went nuts over them, but a lot of it had to do with hard signed signatures. If they arent hard signed, I will probably pass. Who knows, they could be cool.

Im not saying I will buy as much of this stuff as I did last year, but its going to be close. I love the 2010 Topps design and that should transfer into some awesome stuff from the rookies. The final product will be eagerly awaited here on my end.

My Reflections on Visiting a New (Horrible) Shop

Here is a look at my thoughts for finding a good shop - it may benefit you to read the post before continuing here.

I had an experience that I would like to share, one that I regret having. I know there are a lot of shop owners that read this site religiously, so I want to speak directly to them with the hopes that they can avoid this situation.

First a little background for everyone, because I don’t discuss it much here on the site. When I was living in Los Angeles, I made it a point to visit as many shops as I possibly could. Although I don’t really think there is a better marketplace for singles than eBay in the world (likewise with Blowout and DA for wax), convenience is key with a good local shop, and it can be a fun way to kill some time on a weekend. The first store I went to was Santa Monica Sports Cards, which was probably the biggest and most well known shop in LA when it comes to more modern stuff. I liked the size, but the prices were close to outrageous. I only went back once simply due to that Best Buy sort of experience. There were lots of boxes and wax, but the staff wasn’t too interested in me, the one person in their store.

The second place I went to was Beverly Hills Card Shop, and from the get go, I could see that they were more of a place for vintage collectors than anything. They had new stuff and new boxes, but I felt like I really didn’t fit with their target audience. Again, prices were ridiculous, more so than Santa Monica, so I only went back each time the Rookie Premiere rolled around.

The third shop I took a look at was Baseball Card Company in Chatsworth, and I can say that it was definitely the best shop in the area without a doubt. Not only did they have a great selection of wax at close to blowout prices, but the people were nice and interested in establishing me as a regular customer. The staff was chatty, something I valued, and the shop was well kept and usually filled with customers. They also had a "bid board" which allowed customers to consign their cards for auction within the store. It attracted a bunch of people, and was a great place to unload your cards as well as get some great deals. After leaving LA, this shop was my template, as I had spent enough money and time there to feel like they had the business model for others to emulate.

When I arrived and got set up here in San Antonio, I knew I wanted to find a shop here that mirrored at least some of my experience in LA. Even if it was some small shop, I just wanted everything to be good with me showing up to buy some recently released product just to see what was up. I searched on google to find places that peaked my interest, but there really wasn’t much going on. There were a few comic shops that listed sports cards, and there was one particular shop that was listed as an actual card shop. I searched on the forums and found some good reviews of the place, so I thought I would check it out. It was a terrible mistake.

First, the shop was not in the best area of town, and in a very dingy strip mall. The kind you would expect to find a payday loan place residing in. As I walked up to the door, I didn’t actually think there was anyone inside because the windows were practically blacked out. I realize now it was probably for protection against window shopping theives, but after going inside, there wasn’t much to steal anyways. When I opened the door, I was greeted with a foul stench of mildew and some godforsaken scent. It was noxious to say the least, and without even thinking "Is something burning?" shot out of my mouth. "Yeah, incense." was his response, and I immediately started breathing through my mouth. In fact I think that smell has penetrated my pores because I still get a whiff periodically despite 10 showers in the last few days due to the new baby. Strike one.

As I waded through boxes of old starting lineups and odd action figures, I found it tough to navigate to their small area of display cases because it was so dark in the shop. Obviously the guy had not understood that sunlight helps with bad smells, and was also quite important for customers not looking to kill themselves by tripping on crap. The display cases themselves were filled with all sorts of cards, but when I say display cases, I don’t mean actual installations, but card show displays on a folding table. Yeah, not good. I don’t even think the cards were his, because someone's business card was all over them taped to the plastic window. I started looking for wax, but all I saw were old boxes of action packed football, some 2003 Topps baseball, a few factory sets, and a sealed box of Chrome from 1999. There was not a recent box in the entire shop. Not one pack. Im not sure if they were sold out of whatever, or if the guy just didn’t buy new stuff, but it was terrible. I had intended to buy a box of something, but that was out of the question without anything recent to buy. Strike two.

Owners, if you have invested the money in a storefront for some reason only you and god know of, at least do your part to make it worth my while to come there. Why would I show up if you arent going to stock recent stuff for me to buy? Yes, keeping a stock of product is time consuming and expensive, but this is a business, and you have a responsibility to get your shit together. What if your local grocery store only kept food from last week? They wouldn’t have any business. What if that store was gross and smelly? Same result. I just don’t understand how anyone could spend that kind of time and then expect people to keep spending their money when the store looks to be in shambles.

The worst part of everything was the prices. Not only were the prices on the old boxes set to prices of recent stuff, but they had to look up every single in the Beckett before selling. I didn’t ask for a price on anything, but the one other person there had a barrage of them. Each time he asked, the guy there would say, "it goes for X in Beckett, so ill give it to you X minus five dollars" or whatever. Give me a break, seriously. Price out the damn cards and label them clearly. If the shop can stand to drop the price on a card or two, say that in the sale. Don’t pee on my leg with Beckett prices and tell me its raining when you chop five bucks off high book. That is highway robbery, especially when you consider the state of that shop's business store front. Strike three.

On a side note, I didn’t even venture into the back area of the store because there were so many cardboard boxes piled haphazardly on the floor to the ceiling. It looked like war torn ruins, not kidding. It made me wonder why this guy even bothered to come into work every day, maybe because there arent any good options in the city. I actually saw he responded to criticism that was posted on SCF back in 2008, mostly defending a stance that no one made. Someone said the shop was disorganized (it was) and had nothing worth buying (it didn’t), and he created an account to say that none of it was true and that he had just organized and priced thousands of jersey cards for people to buy. He said they bought lots of collections and that he didn’t always have time to get them out in a normal way, but after seeing the store first hand, there was no way any of it was true. I could have been in someone's garage who just happens to set up at shows once in a while, and I wouldn’t have known the difference.

Lastly, im not sure where the positive reviews came from. I really don’t. There is no way that place could be considered to be a good shop, and I guess will focus on finding another place to buy on whim if and when I actually need to. Speaking of that, I think I owe the guys at the Baseball Card Company an email to thank them for being awesome.