Welcome to the first edition of TGC Collector’s Corner. I’m going to be looking at the Sports Card and Memorabilia side of sports – mainly with baseball. I thought I could do a nice little intro into the card-collecting scene.
Much has changed since you could go to the corner shop and pick up a pack of cards for pocket change. My collecting started in the mid-80s, when a pack of cards ranged from $.25-.50 per pack. As time went one, the prices have jumped; today, basic cards range from $.99 to 3.99 (depending on the kind and where you buy them).
First off, lets do some terms:
Base cards – regular set cards.
Parallels – variations on the base cards.
Game used cards (GU) – cards that contain a section of bats or clothing used in MLB games.
Inserts – Subsets that normally showcase stars or rookies.
Autographs (AU) – signed cards.
Hobby Box – box of packs sold at card shops/shows.
Retail Box – box of packs sold at regular retail stores (Kmart, Target, etc).
Blaster Box – smaller box of packs sold at retail stores.
Box Break – Opening a box of cards to tell what was in it.
Box Topper – A card or small pack of cards inside of a box that is different than the regular cards. They are normally inserts or uncirculated cards.
Uncirculated Card – A card that was produced but not put into packs. Uncirculated cards are sealed in plastic casing and numbered.
Collector’s are normally broken into 2 categories: set builders and non-set builders. Set builders are the people who buy packs/boxes with the intent to get the full set; the non-set builders look more for the inserts, like game-used cards and autographs. Depending on what you want to do will affect what you collect. Some sets, like the regular Topps, Upper Deck, and Fleer sets, have fewer inserts and larger base sets; Topps and Upper Deck also make sets that have fewer cards, but better chances of getting inserts.
Gone are the days that there are a lot of companies making cards. Fleer recently went bankrupt and was sold to Upper Deck. Donruss lost licensing rights with the players union. Only Topps and Upper Deck produce cards now; they also make at least a dozen sets a piece – including the Bowman and Fleer sets respectively.
The difference between Retail and Hobby are the odds of receiving inserts. Hobby boxes receive better odds to reward the die-hard collectors that go to card shops/shows. It’s really a loyalty thing. It also hurts the industry, since card shops don’t reach the kids like the big retail areas – Wal-Mart, Target, and Kmart. Cards are also not at some of the places they used to be sold, like grocery stores.
Now, with that out of the way, my most recent box…
Collector’s Corner Box Break: 2007 Upper Deck Artifacts Blaster Box
SRP: $19.99
Packs: 8
Cards per Pack: 5
Set Details
Base Cards:
Artifacts (100); MLB Apparel (98); Divisional Artifacts (96); Antiquity Artifacts (98); MLB Rare Apparel (60); Awesome Artifacts (95); Autofacts (73); Artifacts Bat Knobs (10).
Parallels:
MLB Apparel Parallel 1 (97); MLB Apparel Retail Parallel (100); Divisional Artifacts Parallel 1 (97); Divisional Artifacts Auto Parallel (61); Divisional Artifacts Retail Parallel (99); MLB Apparel Auto Parallel (58); Antiquity Artifacts Patch Parallel (81); Antiquity Artifacts Retail Parallel (99).
Box Details
% of Set Completed: 39%
Duplicates: 0
Inserts:
Autofacts – Ian Kinsler (the blank area has the signature on the actual card)
MLB Apparel – Joel Zumaya.
Box Topper: 2002 UD Diamond Connections Bat Around GU Quad Bat – Preston Wilson, Brian Giles, Shawn Green, Todd Helton.
General Thoughts
The cards look nice, and this was the best blaster boxes I’ve gotten. It’s a small base set, which is nice for collectors and has some good rookie cards. I’d recommend them.
Next month, I’ll be back to talk about autographing and another box break (bank account pending). Be sure to send questions and comments.
