Basketball Cards

[Bonus]

Dont know is this the right place where to post, but i will try. Like all you know, im new here and actually new to (basketball) card trading. So i have a few questions. First of all i wanted to know, which card makers are most valuable - UpperDeck, Topps, Victory, Skybox (all i know) or maybe another. So you can post me who are most valuable and say another. Next question is about card value. More valuable card will be that, whose older (year of make) with authentic signature or older with real peace of shirt? Back to card makers - if i had a one year card from two difirent card makers (for example UpperDeck and Topps) without any signatures and peace of shirt, so which will be more valuable? Next question is about collection. How you, card traders, are making collections? One card maker released a new series and you try to get the whole cards? Or maybe you just see some team (f.e. Dream 1992) and try to get all cards from difirent makers? Or maybe cards from the same realease year? Thank you and sorry for my bad english.

[WilyWestbrook0]

Fleer/SkyBox went bankrupt and were absorbed by Upper Deck in 2005. Additionally, Upper Deck produces the "Victory" set you mentioned. Topps and Upper Deck are now the sole producers of NBA basketball cards, and the two companies produce a variety of basketball sets that have both small and low values depending on the set. Upper Deck's "Exquisite" set is the most valuable of all basketball sets produced. Their "Ultimate Collection" set is also valued highly. Some of their other sets - like "Rookie Debut" - are not worth as much.

I am not sure I understand your second question as well; sorry. Are you asking if signatures are worth more than shirt cards? If so, then yes, signatures are usually worth more than shirt cards, but a combination of the two elements (signature and shirt on the same card) is worth more than having just a single signature element or single jersey element alone.

As for Topps vs. Upper Deck in general, it depends on which set is compared to another to determine which is more valuable. For example, Upper Deck's "Victory" and "Rookie Debut" sets are not worth as much as the Topps sets of "Pristine" and "Luxury Box" - but Upper Deck's "Exquisite" and "Ultimate Collection" sets are worth more than the Topps sets "Total" and "Bowman."

Finally, card traders can collect anything they like. Some collect teams, some collect an entire set series, some collect players, some collect "rookie cards," some collect signature cards, and so forth. There are many different kinds of card traders.

I hope this helps answer some of your questions. Thank you for your interest.

[Bonus]

Big thank you. Your post gave me many answers. But i had a few other. Just looked at my cards, that i bought about five years ago. I have many (39) Skybox cards (1990, not sure if its the real year of make). Also two from the '95-96 Fleer (card no. 259 (Blazers) and 267 (NBA)). Three from Victory (2000, Dikembe Mutombo, Tony Delk, Shareef Abdur-Rahim). And six from Upper Deck (1998), but dont know the name of set. How worth are they? And another question - where can i regulary follow releases of new sets and where can i look up the old sets?

[WilyWestbrook0]

I am sad to say those cards of yours are not worth much - only a few cents per card. They are 'common' cards from sets that aren't worth as much as many others.

You can follow new sets and look up old sets on beckett.com - they have many options to choose from to find out card values. They have prices on their site as well as in their magazines.

Good luck collecting.

[mattyj]

Wow JammingJames, you are really on the ball, i was going to answer the questions but you got them all! haha

[Bonus]

Back to those sets. Why exactly these sets have a big value? Because they are rare?
EDIT: What do you collect (and why)? I see you have Antoine Walker collection - you are trying to get all AW cards or only some special cards from him? And what is "game used" card? And another one - if i havent a very valuable card, but if i get the signature on it, how is the value growing?

[WilyWestbrook0]

Yes, these sets produce their cards in rarer amounts, so they have more value.

I collect most AW cards. I also collect some sets.

A "game used" card has a piece of shirt, a piece of ball, or other used materials/memorabilia from sports events.

Signatures on common cards usually increase the value, but there needs to be 'authentic proof' that the athlete signed the card (and not someone else signing in the athlete's name) for it to increase. Upper Deck and Topps have 'authentic' signature cards that sell for higher values since they pay athletes to sign their cards.

[tradebark]

I'd say the rarity doesnt matter as much as the SRP price on each pack/box of cards

Any pull from a $2 pack is likely to be worthless (unless it is EXTREMELY rare)

and any pull from a $1000 pack is likely to be worth something..

[Bonus]

Again few questions. How i have to understand the mean of Graded card and Serial Numbered card? And why the SRP price is so difirent (also between similar cards, but not from the one set and publisher)?

[tradebark]

Serial numbered cards are any cards you pull from packs that are stamped with..a serial number.. They are just a stated print run of that card. For example, cards that are numbered 05/50, 65/150, etc. As a general rule, the smaller the print run the more valuable the card.. So a /50 Lebron card would be worth more than a /150 Lebron card, assuming they are from similar value sets (pack costs or box costs comparable).

It's worth noting that in recent years, serial numbering has become VERY common practice, and as you can expect, in large part they arent all that valuable anymore. A card numbered to 150 from a 1995 set is likely worth quite a bit more than a card numbered to 25 from one of last year's sets.



Graded cards are cards that YOU must send to a grading company (PSA, BGS, etc.).. They basically analyze the card using some methods, and then arrive with a score or grade for it (usually out of 10, where 10 is a completely perfect card).

Graded cards are also a way of authenticating cards (to make sure they arent counterfeit etc.. which is an important thing when it comes to old sets like 86 fleer).

In general if a card grades at 9.5-10, you get a big premium on the card's normal selling value. If you get between 8-9, it's a small premium, and anything below you might as well not have graded it. Exceptions to this are for very old or condition sensitive sets (something like say from 1948 Bowman) where a 6-7 may be considered a good grade.