Tag Archives: Kyrie Irving

Sports Card Hot List for May 1st 2013

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Kyrie IrvingKyrie Irving Silhouette Patch Autographs

Talking about firing on all cylinders, this would definitely describe the work of Panini America of late.  As hard core basketball collectors will tell you, they have felt a bit left out in the cold of late.  The hate has been so extreme that even fans of the product line feel the need to be sarcastic about recent success.

These Silhouette patch autographs are second in the industry only to the National Treasures patch autographs and for Panini to have two giants at the top of a players list is a welcome sign to anyone who collects basketball.  I am confident that these two products could compete even if there was an Upper Deck NBA Exquisite on the market.

Nolan ArenadoNolan Arenado Chrome Autos

Last weeks appearance was just a warmup.  A call up and a big fly have caused his refractor autographs to jump about $30.  And to further my own selfish personal agenda I would like to point out that elite autographs have tripled from $10 to $30 and have been much easier to obtain through the entire process.

A call up and a big fly does good things for a prospects stock even when it happens in somewhere like Colorado where the national attention isn’t focused.  While I look for Arenado to do some good things in the majors, part of me still has Ian Stewart flashbacks.

EJ ManuelE.J Manuel Valiant Autographs

The NFL Draft provides tons of surprises every year.  Manuel was definitely the story this year.  The Bills are in need of a true franchise quarterback and after scouting and interviews they think EJ is the guy.  The fanbase is still quite split on this as lots of people are even still upset with the pick.  Bills collectors (or whoever is buying these things) seem to be sold, as his valiant autographs tripled from $10 to $30.  I think they could go even further if Leaf would do something about it’s confusing parallel runs.  The prismatic line that they do looks fantastic but does not need all of the different numbering systems and variations.  Keep the high end rare, and see the market react.

An impressive deep ball, work ethic, and attitude is what helped the Bills overcome the lack of polish in this pick.  He will take a couple of years to get ready to see the field so that means you can probably get his cards for a discount later.  The Bills have recently come out and explained that one of the reasons for going with him is his impressive work in bad weather.  I would like to point out that a workout in bad weather isn’t the same as a fast paced NFL game.

Nick WilliamsNick Williams Rookie Autographs

Nick is apparently too good for the South Atlantic League.  This 19 year old held up an impressive 303/333/618 slash line with 7 home runs in 18 games.  That will get pretty much anyone excited about your baseball cards.

He’s a masher that should hit in every level, but is prone to slumps giving him the “streaky” label.  This also means he is a high risk prospect.  Remember that you don’t necessarily need major league success when prospecting.  It’s a pretty sure bet that he’s gonna hit a ton in the minors.  Take that information and use it while you can, bowman chrome autographs at $15 are not out of reach yet.  Don’t worry about the 7 day DL thing.  It’s only precautionary after roughing up his shoulder diving for a ball.

Chris StrattonChris Stratton Chrome Autographs

Outside of Tim Lincecum the giants have a specific set of attributes in mind when they go scouting prospects.  It’s almost like they are trying to clone Matt Cain.

You can’t argue with the successful track record the Giants have with developing pitchers.  The 20th overall pick in this draft is looking like he’s the next in that line as he has held South Atlantic League hitters to a sub Mendoza .163 batting average.  His ground ball rate is also quite nice as well.  With his college background expect him to move through the minors quickly.  His chrome autos are up from $8 to $15 this week.

Nate Robinson06-06 UD Exquisite Nate Robinson Patch Auto

The NBA is certainly a fast paced league.  It seems only natural that the cards be as volatile.  One game in the spotlight with a glimpse of greatness can cause a price spike in the playoffs.

On Sunday Nate dropped an incredible 24 points in the fourth quarter to help his current team, The Chicago Bulls beat the Brooklyn nets in two over times.  His 36 point performance followed by a steady showing the day after has his exquisite autographs more than doubling from $25 to well over $50.

Bryce HarperBryce Harper Chrome Autographs

It’s a simple and tested formula.  ESPN runs a positive story and a players cards spike.  Bryce Harper is the most recent subject of the media giants eye.  This week has been dubbed by some as ESPN’s Bryce Harper Appreciation Week.

It’s not like the best prospect in recent memory actually needs the hype as everything he does is watched by and reacted to by baseball fans.  The hobby has never seen such a sustained push by a rookie with this amount of purchase volume behind it.  With ESPN pushing even harder the rich got richer and his 2011 Bowman Chrome auto got even more expensive pushing to $450.

Miguel SanoMiguel Sano Chrome Autos

Let’s face it, dude is Albert Pujols in the minors.  I cannot fathom a world where this guy comes up to the majors and isn’t a big star.  His 1.183 OPS in the minors is no joke and probably not just the result of a hot start of a young season.  He does strike out a bit, but the run production is there and it’s a big deal.  It’s only a matter of time before he sees major league action.

His chrome rookies are up $20 from $50 to $70 this week.

I am sure there are some people left off the list, obviously we can’t include them all.  Tell us who we missed!

Sports Card Hot List for February 24th 2013

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FCBHotlistLogo-1-11

 

 

 

Well, Spring Training games have officially started, the Daytona 500 has started off the NASCAR season, the NBA Playoffs are right around the corner, and it is about time to start filling out those brackets for March Madness. Football fans can also get their dose with the NFL Combine. Overall, it’s the start of many great sporting events. This week, a large variety of sports are represented and there is a little dose of everything for sports fans.

Jerry Buss#1 Jerry Buss Autographs

Under Jerry Buss’ ownership, the Lakers won 10 NBA Championships and reached the finals 16 out of his 34 years as the owner. After an 18-month struggle with cancer, Lakers owner Jerry Buss passed away on Monday. Consequently, the prices of his cards skyrocketed because, as we all know, his autographs will be tough to get. His 2011 Leaf Metal Poker Autograph was selling for $6.50 prior to his death, and it jumped to $65 the day of.  His 2011 Leaf Poker /236 autographs were selling for $14 bucks last week and were selling for $100 as a high before leveling out at $51 at the end of the week.

 

Paul George#2 Paul George Autographs

After scoring 27 points against the Knicks on Wednesday, Paul George and the Pacers came closer to clinching the number two seed in the Eastern Conference.  George also scored 17 points in the NBA All-Star Game at the ripe age of 22. Many believe that George can take the “throne” from King James and make a strong run in the NBA Playoffs. George is also a class act; he recently gave employees of the Pacers a thank you letter and tickets to upcoming games.

Because of his gameplay and acts of kindness, George’s cards have jumped up in price.  Recently, his Panini Gold Standard auto /25 sold for a whopping $406 and his Totally Red autograph /99 sold for $78, where a lot of two of the same card sold for $63. If the Pacers continue their roll to the playoffs, it can only help his card prices.

Thomas Robinson#3 Thomas Robinson Autographs

Although nothing happened at the NBA Trade Deadline with the Lakers, other trades happened elsewhere including the trade of Thomas Robinson to the Houston Rockets. Robinson was selected 5th overall in the 2012 NBA Draft, and the Sacramento Kings already decided to move him. The Kings gave up on him quick, and they could soon regret it.

Robinson’s 2012-2013 Panini Threads autograph was selling for $7 prior to the trade and the “Buy it Now” option was being hit on eBay for between $20-$25 immediately after the trade.

 

 

taveras#4 2012 Bowman Chrome Oscar Taveras Autographs

Yes, yet again Taveras is on the hotlist. If he cooled down, there would be no reason to keep him on here, but with the way he’s selling, there is no stopping Taveras now. A refractor autograph /500 recently sold for a record of $300, up from $250-$275 the previous week. Base autos rarely sell for less than $150, and a raw one recently sold for $165 at auction. The Superfractor non-autograph is scheduled to end next week and it will sell for crazy money. It is definitely a seller’s market out there.

Chris:  Honestly this prospect’s cards are way out of hand.  If you have not sold yet then you should probably get on that.  It will take a Mike Trout style performance for these cards to maintain.

Kyrie irving#5 Kyrie Irving Autographs

The best Cleveland Cavalier since Lebron James (that was ages ago) is some guy named Kyrie Irving. Maybe you’ve heard of him? The guy is averaging 23.5 points per game, and has a true shooting percentage at about 57 percent. Irving scored 15 points in the NBA All-Star Game and followed with a 35-point game against the Hornets on Wednesday. It’s almost impossible for them to make the playoffs, but the Cavaliers have a key part of their future in Irving.

Kyrie Iving’s cards have heated up like South Beach where his 2012-13 Panini Limited Unlimited Potential Autograph /199 sold for $240 and were selling for around the $200 mark last week.

booty#6 Josh Booty Baseball and Football Autographs

Who Booty is it? If you don’t watch MLB Network, you’re probably clueless as why this Booty is on the Hotlist this week. Josh Booty played quarterback for LSU and was a former 1st round draft pick for the Florida Marlins way back in 1994 and eventually played for the 1997 World Series team. He also was drafted in the 2001 NFL Draft by the Seahawks as a 6th round pick. Booty competed against his brother John David Booty, former Bills and Boston College great Doug Flutie, former LSU quarterback Ryan Perrilloux, and former Georgia quarterback David Greene in a knuckleballer competition called the Next Knuckler on MLB Network. They each competed in different knuckleball skills competitions, and Josh Booty came out on top, winning an invitation to Spring Training with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Because of the media hype, Josh Booty’s cards went from not selling at all to becoming a decent sale if you had a stash of Bootys. Even his 1994 baseball Signature Rookie autograph was selling for $4 at auction, and previously would not even sell for a buck. A 2001 Press Pass autograph sold for $8, which would have gone unsold if it weren’t for the show. It is very unlikely that Booty will make the team as a knuckleballer, but if you have a stash of Bootys somewhere, now would be the time to sell.

almora#7 2012 Bowman Chrome Draft Albert Almora Autographs

Considered one of the safest high school bats in the 2012 MLB Draft, the Cubs selected Almora with the 6th overall pick. Almora had played for Team USA since he was 16 and was already well known by prospectors when he was drafted. Needless to say, he had autographed cards aplenty when he was drafted.

Being the Cubs number 2 prospect according to Baseball America, only brought more hype to Almora’s cards. Last week, his base autographs in 2012 Bowman Draft sold for $40-45, and this week they are up to $50.

 

Panini Blindsides Rare Basketball Insert Collectors with Prizm

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lebron prizmBasketball collectors have had it rough this year.  After a strike cut products short last year things seemed to be stagnant this year as well.  All this cash in the pockets of high end collectors and nothing to pull it out of their pockets with.  Even with a combined rookie class, nothing seemed to be able to gain momentum.  You had your Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis autographs in threads, and those saw some action but nothing really moved the hobby interest needle.

The Upper Deck company saw some success by introducing a modern version of a legendary Fleer insert run from the 1990′s that resulted in a few collectors chasing precious metal gems.  The rarer versions had basketball product moving in hobby shops but the boxes soon had collectors out priced as they hit $450 a box.  One of the worst things about the hobby is that when product is bad you can’t give it away but if a product is too good it gets so inflated that collectors can’t find or afford it.

The Leaf Trading Card Company stepped in with signature series and Ultimate basketball.  The big deal with this product is that it was the only place to find the only rookie autographs of Damian Lillard.  As Lillard became the stand out player from both rookie classes his cards became the most sought after even out pacing former #1 picks Davis and Irving.  His Leaf autographs without NBA logos were selling for ridiculous amounts as one inscription card topped the $1000 mark.  As nice as Lillard stuff is he’s the only rookie draw in the product and a lot of the veteran content although it looked nice isn’t something that high end basketball collectors were willing to chase.

Almost out of no where Panini Prizm steps into the market and gets rave reviews right off the bat.  The rare gold parallels are limited to 10 copies and have become the high end insert of the year for basketball collectors.  Without autographs or game used swatches these cards out pace nearly everything Panini has made this year combined on the secondary market.  The appeal of the gold inserts has trickled down to the rest of the product as nearly everything you can hit has better resell value than cards in other products.  It is the only product in basketball this year where base cards of stars are worth sticking in your ebay store as they will probably get bought.  Base cards have been cast aside in recent years only seeing secondary market action in lots making this an impressive accomplishment for this product.

From a sealed product perspective this has been the hit of the year as well.  Although because it was such a surprise card shops did not order very much of it.  Most stores around the country are sold out.  My store only had two cases as we were cautious in our ordering due to slow basketball sales across the board.  Those that were aggressive and saw the value in this brand reaped the reward as boxes are legitimately trading at and above Panini’s minimum advertized price policy.

Going forward I see this product having tons of longevity.  The high end hits are probably near the top of their market value, but there is plenty of room for the mid range stuff to appreciate.  This product has some good under the radar rookie autographs in it as well.  Keep in mind that before former Syracuse center Fab Melo fell out of favor with the NCAA he was the brightest and most talked about player in college basketball.  Players like him in this product could make for a fun ride down the road.