Cardboard vs Etopps

[Qball76]

Here is an article I found on cardtarget that was written by a middle aged man that just joined the etopps program and I think it is very interesting...

eTopps View From A Newbie
By [email protected]
I stumbled upon the Etopps website while doing a card search a few months ago, and I loved the idea as soon as I saw it! I am one of those "Newbies," and I wanted to offer my perspective on this facet of the card hobby.

I am a 42 year old man,(ask the wife, I am terminally 12, but that's another story), and I've bought cards since I was 12, and yup, I still own all the ones bought as a kid. Ahhhh to go back to those days knowing what I know now. How many 1960s boxes would YOU have bought??

The initial appeal I saw with Etopps had a few angles to me. First? I was so sick of the expensive packs that yielded nothing but commons, and the small print runs make sense. Second? Almost no one knows about Etopps yet. Relative to conventional card collectors? This is still virgin territory. Think for a moment, If you had bought Beanie Babies, vintage cards before the 1980s explosion, cabbage patch kids, classic comic books, etc. The point is, the ones who are there first in any collectable, will make the money once the masses see it as the "Next big thing."

To me, the print runs on Etopps are VERY attractive. A print run of 5,000 ? So what! There are hundreds of thousands of card collectors out there, and they WILL find Etopps at some point. Then? the print runs that seem big now? Those will be absorbed into the new portfolios, and the folks salting these cards away NOW will reap the benefits. It is a cycle that always repeats itself in any hot hobby. LOOK! Someone made money, I want some too! Shades of Gordon Gecko -"Greed is good."

It is not an overnight thing, however. I think, as an investment vehicle, you have to give Etopps 5 years. For me? I am buying modestly, spending $20.00-$30.00 bucks a week, buying both IPO's and from Ebay. Worse case scenario? I'll get back something in 5 years time, and will have enjoyed this hobby for what it is. Best case? I'll be right, and watch the current cards perform like the initial Etopps cards do now.

I've read where people worry about Topps pulling the plug on the program, and there's just no way that will happen. They have the perfect business vehicle here. Print on demand, no middle man, and market research I am sure, that will show slow steady growth. NASCAR? That's just the beginning. They will continue to tinker, innovate and advertise, bringing new people to the program. Eventually? Those of us who buy and stick with the program, will be rewarded when the masses come on board. And then its time to sell sell sell!

In the meantime? I'll keep salting those cards away, and telling my friends. Here's hoping you do the same!

[podstock]

well, the guy in the article makes some very convincing points, esp. about no middle man.

Topps get all the profits with Etopps/

[Qball76]

And I think both cardboard buyers and etopps buyers can agree that's is all about the profits LOL...Upper Deck is scheduled to start a similar program to etopps in 2004 supposedly so some of the idea must be catching on....

[meuandthelot]

Not to sound rude, but how can anyone base a whole program on one fact,card,etc(ie:Banks). look at the program as a whole, or find your own little niche'. The bottom line is you can make $$ not just paper profits, and there are alot of ways to strike while the iron is hot!

[Qball76]

Good point, I started only 4 months ago and now with most of my cards being football I am up $120 dollars, and football season is still a good 2 and a half months away...If price increases are similar to last year or even less I should still easily see gains of around 30 to 35 percent of my investment should I decide to sell...Thats one of the great things about etopps IMO, I don't have to have $200 dollars worth of cards to make a $100...

[pwaldo]

Originally posted by Qball76
186 cards are the number that was produced making it the lowest produced etopps card ever...And never say never as I think as etopps continues to grow more and more collectors will start to accept it, the Banks card aside...

I got it that there were the lowest amount made.

But 186 really isn't that low for a collectible.

I've sold cards of players that were #d out of 50 for only a couple of bucks.

My thing is that I've been a collector of SLU since the beginning and the whole market collasped for them.

I know that it won't happen to ETopps but I'm just too conservative right now to get into them.

But if I do get enough points I wouldn't mind getting that Michael Vick ETopps.

[Qball76]

Leave my Vicks alone LOL, to each their own when it comes to collecting...Maybe someday in the future you'll give it a shot and hopefully like it....Good luck no matter what you collect...

[pwaldo]

Originally posted by Qball76
Leave my Vicks alone LOL, to each their own when it comes to collecting...Maybe someday in the future you'll give it a shot and hopefully like it....Good luck no matter what you collect...

Well thank you.

LOL You'll probably get to the Vick before me anyway. I end up spending the points when they get high anyway.

Its not that I'm against ETopps because I think that they are good for the hobby and something that it has needed the past couple of years.

But right now I'm happy with cardboard cards and if ETopps does because more popular in the future then its just better for me seeing as how I'll be able to pick up cardboard cards for cheap.

[plunge]

For a returnee to collecting with the state cardboard is in with all the different sets, the game used cards and everything, it's been a lot easier to get into etopps. In another thread I wrote how convenient it is and as someone said, so liquid.

[IggyWH]

Originally posted by pwaldo
I got it that there were the lowest amount made.

But 186 really isn't that low for a collectible.

I've sold cards of players that were #d out of 50 for only a couple of bucks.

My thing is that I've been a collector of SLU since the beginning and the whole market collasped for them.

I know that it won't happen to ETopps but I'm just too conservative right now to get into them.

But if I do get enough points I wouldn't mind getting that Michael Vick ETopps.

Okay, I've been quiet here but time for me to try and work my magic to get you to understand.

To understand the Tony Banks phenom, you must first understand supply and demand. At the convention, they said there are over 75,000 etopps accounts. If we say that 1% of those account holders want a Tony Banks (either they're a fan, a set builder and need him for their set, or just want one for the novelty), that leaves 7,500 people wanting a share of a card that has a PR of 186. Supply and demand then drives up the price to where only those who can afford it own the 186 in population while the rest of the accounts are left out. Not to mention a guy by the name of PapaTony used to own over 30% of all the Tony Banks cards and I believe he still owns over 20%.

Okay, now for a comparison that will help you understand. Back in 1993 when Topps Finest first started and they had their refractor inserts, none of them were numbered. It is however thought that some of the refractors were short printed such as the Nolan Ryan (which I have heard numbers around 525). Now I understand that Tony Banks is no Nolan Ryan, but that Ryan sells for well over $1000. If Nolan Ryan had a card today that was numbered out of #500, do you think it would go for $1,000? NO, because there has been overproduction since '93. But in '93, that was the first really known if its kind to have a card that rare and that's why it still sells for that much now-a-days. Another comparision would be in basketball. In 1999 UD Century there was a Jordan #'d to 23 autographed that books at $7000. In 02-03 UD I think it was there's a Jordan game used & auto card #'d to 23 and you are EXTREMELY lucky to get $1000 for such a card. Why? Because the #'d cards have been way overproduced and while in '99 a #'d Jordan to 23 auto'd was rare, today it's not that special of a thing. So with the Tony Banks and eTopps, it is the 93 Finest Nolan Ryan, it is the '99 Jordan auto'd to #23. Now if there were 20 other cards #'d to 186 in eTopps, the Banks wouldn't be as high as it is now. It is the most rare card made and probably ever made in eTopps so it is the Honus Wagner rookie card of the eTopps world. That is why you can't compare the Tony Banks to your cardboard that you pull now that's #'d lower and sells for a buck or two.