Sports memorabilia/collectibles

**bigboydan** · 05-02-06, 04:58 PM

sports memorabilia is way too unpredictable though. any item can go down in value too in a heartbeat.

the way these baseball card collectors are nowadays, it's all about PSA graded stuff.

**Willie Bee** · 05-02-06, 06:59 PM

Too bad we all don't have a few of these red-hot 'rookie' cards...

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2429888

by Darren Rovell / ESPN.com
Alex Gordon has yet to play a single game in the major leagues and yet his rookie card is the hottest in all of baseball, selling for as much as $2,550 in recent weeks.

Is Gordon the Kansas City Royals' next great player? Could be. But that isn't why his card, which is No. 297 in Topps' 2006 set, is worth that kind of money.

The piece of cardboard is worth that much only because it never should have been produced in the first place.

Last year, in part to reduce confusion in the marketplace, the Major League Baseball Players Association ruled that card manufacturers could make rookie cards only of players who either made the 25-man roster or played in a major league game the season before. Gordon didn't qualify either way. After he led Nebraska into the College World Series, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2005 draft didn't sign his contract -- including a $4 million signing bonus -- until late September.

But a fan named Jeremy Troutman pulled five of Gordon's cards on a shopping trip in his hometown of Wichita, where, coincidentally, Gordon is playing Double-A ball for the Wranglers this season.

"I went to Wal-Mart, bought two boxes, and got two in the same pack," Troutman said. "So I bought seven more boxes and got another three in the same pack."

Troutman, whose story first appeared in the Wichita Eagle, opened 1,000 packs to find his five cards. He sold all five of them to different collectors for a total of $5,761.79.

Troutman had the right idea. The Gordon cards are believed to exist only in the earliest shipped packs, many of which went to Wal-Marts across the country.

But before you raid your local Wal-Mart in search of a bonanza, you should know that the odds of a payday like Troutman's aren't in your favor. Fewer than 20 of the Gordon cards have shown up for sale on eBay, leading some in the collectibles industry to believe that the card is as rare as they come. Luraschi is confident that fewer than 100 cards got out.

A few weeks ago, Jason Mauk, owner of the card store "In The Zone" in Hagerstown, Md., purchased one of the cards from the wholesaler who provides boxes for his store. After hearing the story, Mauk paid $1,000 for it. He then put it up on eBay and sold it for $1,425.

"I've sold thousands of cards online and I've never had 2,000 hits on one auction like I did in this case," Mauk said. "I've never had 100 people put a single auction on their watch list like I did with this card."

John Schulteis, a 28-year-old from Mission, Kan., bought one of the Gordon cards from Troutman for $895. Schulteis, who buys to sell, currently has the card up for auction.

"The fact of the matter is that Topps is the most collected brand out there, and this card ruins it for people in that they won't be able to have it in their set," Schulteis said.

The last major error of this magnitude in the trading card industry happened in 1989, when a Fleer card featuring Billy Ripken was released that carried an obscenity clearly written on the knob of the bat Ripken was holding. Fleer's attempted cover-up created more than six versions of that card, but the original remained the hottest property, selling for hundreds of dollars at the time. Today, that card can be had for $5.

"If he turns out to be a superstar, the price can be sustained for a long time," said Rich Klein, price guide analyst for Beckett, a collectibles publisher. "If he's a flash in the pan, people will still remember it, but they won't care as much."

But Schulteis doesn't agree that Gordon's star potential is much of a factor in the frenzy.

"The fact of the matter is that Topps is the most collected brand out there, and people won't be able to have a complete set without getting this card," Schulteis said. "The scarcity of the card means much more than the caliber of player this guy is or does become."

Like the Ripken card, other versions of the Gordon card have emerged. One version has the photo missing and so just includes the thin card borders, and it has been selling in the $30 to $50 range. A full Gordon card that just has his name on the front and a blank on the back has sold in the $100 to $200 range.

What does Gordon himself think? He was shocked when he first heard about the value of his card.

"One of my buddies said he searched the card online, just as a joke to see how much I was worth," Gordon said. "And he told me, 'Your card is selling for hundreds and hundreds of dollars.' I thought he was joking. It blew my mind."

So far, Gordon hasn't come into possession of any of the valuable cards, but he says he does a double-take every time he signs an autograph to make sure he stays on the lookout for one.

And he certainly isn't complaining about the error.

"Topps is helping to get my name out there," Gordon said. "I should send them a thank you card or something."

**Mudcat** · 05-02-06, 07:53 PM

You never know what is going to be valuable in this loony industry.

**BuddyBear** · 05-02-06, 07:55 PM

I use to collect baseball cards....i have a lot of Juan Gonzalez rookie cards as well as a few Mike Piazza's and a few David Nied's if anyone is interested.

**bigboydan** · 05-03-06, 01:16 AM

double B, those cards use to be red hot in the early 90's. well, the 1992 bowman was

thats another thing people forget about card collecting though. certain brands are worth more than others from year to year.

**onlooker** · 05-03-06, 01:19 AM

Originally posted by bigboydan

certain brands are worth more than others from year to year.

Your right. But the market is flooded with so many different type of cards. When I was collecting, there were Topps, Donruss, Bowmans and Upperdeck was just getting into the scene.

Score, Fleer, Skybox and NBA Hoops were other ones in hoops and football.

**flyingillini** · 07-20-07, 12:44 AM

I am huge collector of psa sets, cards, unopened cello, rack and a little wax... been doing it since 1978 but serious since 1985.. my prize item is 1921 w551 whole set.. in original form i have cobb and ruth on the same card.. on the pop report only 1 other one in the world.. for that set i have been offered 20k in 2001 and 2 weeks ago one of the largest dealers offered me 9k just for the ruth and cobb card.. i am always up to discuss cards and what not... i also am up for trading as i have tons of unopened material from the 1980s as well.. good to know there might be some traders on here! pm me to discuss if ya want.....its my passion....

**ShamsWoof10** · 07-20-07, 12:51 AM

Guys I would love to "CHIME" in here as this has been my area for 10 years now... The prices have gone way up in the last 10 years but I expect that it will not last more then a few years if that...

My client has a lot of actual game worn things like Marshall Faulk's GAME WORN HELMET from 2001 for 3,500 and Barry Sanders ROOKIE GAME WORN helmet for 18.5K... These are on Ebay actually now... He has game worn jerseys for anywhere from 1K and UP so I can believe some of these ridiculous prices...