Basketball card gripes

[Akumadevil]

Do you have any gripes about the current state of basketball cards? I know I do. In my mind things got silly around 1997.

1. Too many sets each year: Remember when there were around 5 new sets a year? Now Upper Deck makes at least 5 a year.

2. 1/1 Inserts and the like: Can't complete sets, no value in price guide, not worth grading, if lost or destroyed it's gone forever, companies releasing heaps of 1/1 cards destroys the novelty factor.

3. Material cards: Is this stuff worth collecting? An average NBA player can go through a hundred jerseys, shorts, shoes, balls, headbands, suits, ties and towels every year. How much is a piece of shoe worn once really worth?

4. Autograph cards: Worth collecting but they are flooding the market. Thousands upon thousands of new signatures every year from current and retired players dilutes the market. To the point now where a Jason Kidd or Vince Carter auto will set you back less than $15 (my own experiences).

5. Beckett price guide: eBay "completed items" is the true price guide. It's very rare to see cards sell for even the 'low' Beckett value.



Each year I see more and more high priced cards entering the market and it reminds me of the early 90's where people were paying ridiculous amounts for cards. More than 10 years on only a select few cards have held their value and I wonder if it will be the same in another 10. Will your Shaq auto still be worth $50 when he has signed literally 10,000 cards?

Cheers.

[tradebark]

Agreed on all counts

I just recently came back to the hobby and it's nuts how a Bill Walton autograph can set me back well under $20.. Whereas back in the day you could pay that much to get a common Autographics from Skybox..

Same goes for the original UD Game jersey cards which booked in the hundreds, while now you can get superstar GU's for under $10 too

On one hand, it's horrible in terms of individual card values as only the really high end stuff gets value.. but then if you're in it just to collect, it's nice to be able to get such cool memorabilia cards at low prices.

I totally agree on the 1/1 thing though. I'd much rather have something numbered out of 25 from an old set than something numbers /5 or /1 from the recent releases

[WilyWestbrook0]

Yeah - I have an Antoine Walker refractor from 97-98 Finest numbered to 289, and it's worth $60! I also have a Walker card from that same year from Stadium Club - a One of a Kind numbered to 150 - and it is also worth $60.

Cards of moderate stars numbered to 150 and over these days sell for about $3.