The secondary market collapse on cases of 2010 Topps and Bowman chrome are indeed historic. I can’t ever remember sealed wax falling in value like this so close to release. Overproduction and quality control problems have shop owners and distributors on their heels a bit, looking for some relief from plummeting wax that they must take a loss on to move.
It’s quite a different ball game when it comes to the singles market. EBay auctions for some of the better players have been surprisingly strong. This combination creates a good situation to rip wax and maybe get more than you pay for.
It’s also a great time to buy singles, as lots of the market is flooded with people trying to recoup case money. It does mean that interest is up, and where there is interest there are higher prices. Currently this is offset by an increase in supply, especially for base level autographs. This all leads us to the big question of who to buy. I have compiled a list of who in my opinion the top buys are:
1. Stephen Strasburg
2. Aroldis Chapman
3. Gary Sanchez
4. Miguel Sano
5. Shelby Miller
6. Aednis Hechavarria
7. Kyle Gibson
8. Matt Davidson
9. Arodys Vizcaino
10. Max Kepler
11. Jason Kipnis
I would like to put a bit of emphasis on the hitters in the lower half of this list. Matt Davidson and Jason Kipnis have both shown the potential for massive power, and have really cheap autographs. That is the best situation for prospecting that I can think of. Topps also did singles buyers a favor with Max Kepler. The back of the card has his birth date listed as 1983. Uninformed case rippers selling the cards often look to the players age as an indicator to hold the card or sell it. If a really young player gets an autograph, the assumption is that the guy is a legit prospect. Often times they are right, but in the case of Kepler, the birth date is a mis print. Kepler was born in 1993, and is the youngest prospect in the set. He also has outstanding potential, and is a wonderful buy.
