Aaron Rodgers 2005 Topps RC Value (And other "hot" cards)

[dragonfire613]

So as some of you may have seen elsewhere, I've been out of the hobby for 10+ years, and coming back in things have obviously changed a lot. One thing I'm curious about is why are some particular cards so hot and high value versus others.

Example the 2005 Topps Aaron Rodgers RC... BV $200 versus the Bowman which is $25. Same thing with certain other stars from various sports. What is it about one particular mass-produced base card versus all the others?

 

[SymphonicMetal]

From wjhat I have heard there are a lot of new collectors in the hobby and because Topps is the most well known company in sportscards, that particular brand has skyrocketed while other brands have lagged behind in price increases.

Shaq's mass produced Topps RC is a prime example. It went from $8 to $100 overnight while the Upper Deck remained at $30 and $20 depending on which version you had. Other Shaq RCs like Ultra and Fleer remained at $8-$10. It really is insanity when you consider the supply of these Topps cards.

Bottom line is that most new collector/speculators know Topps but not the other brands which drove the mass produced Topps cards values into the stratosphere.

 

[dragonfire613]

Things have changed so much during my hiatus from the hobby I'm still getting my bearings, but I guess as a child of the Upper Deck / premium era... those Topps base cards are always the least desirable in my mind. But I'm still figuring out what is what. What are the big name products now for NFL and NBA? As in, with topps out of those markets, what products are now the mainstream?

 

[PRosefan1]

Things have changed so much during my hiatus from the hobby I'm still getting my bearings, but I guess as a child of the Upper Deck / premium era... those Topps base cards are always the least desirable in my mind. But I'm still figuring out what is what. What are the big name products now for NFL and NBA? As in, with topps out of those markets, what products are now the mainstream?

Football and Basketball Panini (Prizm, Optic) seem to be king.

 

[SymphonicMetal]

Things have changed so much during my hiatus from the hobby I'm still getting my bearings, but I guess as a child of the Upper Deck / premium era... those Topps base cards are always the least desirable in my mind.

If you took a hiatus from the hobby just 10 months ago, you would not recognize the current sports card scene. And I was just talking with a guy at the LCS about how Upper Deck once was the premium issue and Topps was considered 3rd rate. Now so many Topps cards, most of which are very easy to find, are through the roof while other comparable, harder to find cards from other companies values are stagnant or at best lagging badly behind.

The LCS in my small town just opened in February and we counted at least a dozen Topps Kobe Bryant RCs that have come in the door in 2 months time. Every one of these cards was acquired from people who physically came into the store and none via EBAY or something similar. If that many Topps Kobes came to this card store in that short amount of time, how rare could they be.? And yet, within 24 hours of acquiring every one of these Topps Kobe RCs the LCS owner has sold them for a very good good price! It is just jaw dropping to see what is going on.

 

[dragonfire613]

Right? Just like that 08-09 TChrome Kobe I found in a pile of dollar star cards (along with the Rodgers, and Westbrook TChrome Ref from same set) that were the leftovers I couldn't move when I cashed out everything except my PC around '09. I put the Rogers on my tradelist the other day thinking it was a $10/20 card and got so much immediate interest I had to go look up the BV just to have my jaw drop again. I'm sure there's a ton of those stories, but I'm thinking I'm going to cash out and call it a win. My LCS is also raking in money hand over fist; where he used to get a handfull of customers a day it's always packed every time I stop by now... which I'm happy for him as many years as he's struggled to stay open in rural Kentucky. Still just a wild phenomenon.

I suppose that's the other big thing that changed since I've come back is just the cost of packs. In the 2000's I loved breaking boxes and more often than not felt like I would break even over the long haul. I ran a little ebay store and traded some on here and at the LCS and some friends. It was a fun way to pass the time and enjoy the hobby. Now it feels too much like a slot machine or lottery tickets for my liking... Feels like I've been priced out of the market. I did pick up a box of Heritage today, but now my mindset is more on just buying or trading for the singles I want on the secondary market.

 

[SymphonicMetal]

I also thought the Rodgers RC was in the $20-$30 range until I saw your other topic on it where it ended up being $200!! In my April, 2021 Football Benckett that Topps Rodgers was $30 with no up arrows on it so the price rise happened overnight.

I saw that 2008-09 Topps Kobe (the regular, not the Chrome) for the first time the other day at the LCS and I would have never guessed that was a $300 card much less what your Chrome must book for. No one, and I mean no one, wanted basketball cards in the last 25 years but now every one is killing themseves to get them.

I too have been cashing/trading out of the cards that took huge price jumps in the last year. I've been mostly trading them for undervalued (IMO undervalued) vintage cards. These days no one seems to want the vintage as everyone is all fixated on the new product or the suddenly hot basketball cards of the past 20 years. that recently jumped in value. So once again I am going after the cards no one wants (in this case vintage) just like I did over the past years picking up basketball which no one wanted. Taking the path of least resistance or buy low/sell high are my two collecting philosophies.

Here is another weird price jump this month. The 1981-82 Topps Larry Bird (his 2nd year card) went from $12 to $250 in the new guide. The cards from his rooki year (1980-81 Topps) did not move and outside of the famous Bird/Dr J/Magic card all the other rookie year Bird cards are a fraction of his next year's card. Nothing makes sense anymore.

 

[cmcjr99]

I saw that 2008-09 Topps Kobe (the regular, not the Chrome) for the first time the other day at the LCS and I would have never guessed that was a $300 card much less what your Chrome must book for. No one, and I mean no one, wanted basketball cards in the last 25 years but now every one is killing themseves to get them.

that's 800 for the base and 2000 for the chrome...if you look , you'll see that almost every card with a lebron or kobe cameo (04-05 topps/topps chrome jalen rose and 07-08 topps/topps chrome tracy mcgrady come to mind) started taking off some time ago and any cards of either of those two that has a cameo of the other actually exploded more like 12-15 months ago beginning with the 08-09 topps and chrome

 

[SymphonicMetal]

that's 800 for the base and 2000 for the chrome...if you look , you'll see that almost every card with a lebron or kobe cameo (04-05 topps/topps chrome jalen rose and 07-08 topps/topps chrome tracy mcgrady come to mind) started taking off some time ago and any cards of either of those two that has a cameo of the other actually exploded more like 12-15 months ago beginning with the 08-09 topps and chrome

I had never even laid eyes on that Kobe/LeBron card until last week. Man oh man, I'd have never guessed the value on that especially being a base that was not a short print or a RC.!

Did you see the price jump for the 1981-82 Topps Bird? And do you know if the Magic Johnson card from that set jumped like that too?

 

[dragonfire613]

The funny thing when I first found the chrome card I didn't even notice LeBron until somebody else mentioned it.

 

[cmcjr99]

the 81-82 bird and magic are both 250.....the super actions are 50/40 in favor of magic...kareem 30 with his sa at 20....mchale rc at 30...laimbeer rc at 20...the oddity is dr j at 5 with his sa at 15

the bird/magic/irving just moved up again to 3000 with all the other 80-81 tri-cards with bird or magic going to 200 , 250 , or 400 depending on the additional players pictured

 

[SymphonicMetal]

the 81-82 bird and magic are both 250.....the super actions are 50/40 in favor of magic...kareem 30 with his sa at 20....mchale rc at 30...laimbeer rc at 20...the oddity is dr j at 5 with his sa at 15

the bird/magic/irving just moved up again to 3000 with all the other 80-81 tri-cards with bird or magic going to 200 , 250 , or 400 depending on the additional players pictured

Wow! That is just stunning! The guy at the LCS has the basketball monthly Beckett loaded on his phone and showed me the Bird BV. I forgot to check the Magic so I really appreciate the info.

I think those "other" Bird and Magic cards from the 1980-81 set were $15 and $40 for years and years. And until last Fall the Brid./Magic/Dr J was $250 and now it is $3000!!

I'm pretty sure that the most pricey card for the 1981-82 Topps set was the McHale RC which now is tied for 5th!!! These values change so quickly that I cannot keep up.

Here is one of those crazy prices in last month's Basketball Beckett. The 1990-91 Fleer Jordan was $30 but the complete 1990-91 set booked at only $25! They really need to tighten up their editing and proof reading at Beckett's

 

[cjay101]

I think a lot of it is Beckett attempting to keep up with the crazy auction market right now. They've gotten somewhat better over the last few years, but if you have a card of value, it's extremely hard to trust BV when you're looking at trading either way.

I know a lot of people are hardline "only trade by BV" and I get it, but in this unprecedented market, it's not a very applicable strategy.

For example, that Rodgers Topps RC booked 20 for years, then it moved 30-40, peaking at 50 in recent months. Then the explosion of hobby drove up ebay prices, and overnight beckett bumps it to a more realistic value. If someone traded a Rodgers RC at 50 6 months ago and looks at it today, I'm sure they're not super pleased.

 

[PRosefan1]

So, what has Rodgers topps chrome rookie went up to?

 

[dragonfire613]

Raw is selling for $500, so I'm guessing the bv is around $1k hi. I didn't keep my sub to fb so someone will probably look it up for you.

 

[SymphonicMetal]

I was reading an old article about why the card market has exploded. The usual theories were discussed in the piece but the one that I had not thought of was that the competition for entertainmant dollars dried up last year. No concerts, movies, live sports, dining out etc etc, so many people put their fun money into cards which many people became very nostalgic about out of boredom. That made sense to me. What is puzzling to me is now that things are opening back up again, the card market is even going higher!!!

 

[gestes72]

Rodgers Chrome BV is $500

 

[rlschles]

I'd be a little nervous about what I like to call the McGwire effect. Will these cards that are not at all rare and easy to acquire maintain their high value, or will they tumble back down to their real value the way Game Stop stock did?

 

[forceplay sport]

Take a look at the prices in Becket Vintage (with Hank on the cover) all the later baseball sets are exploding in prices, I think between the pandemic and how they where reasonable made them easy to aquire and the more sales of any of these will drive the price up.

 

[rlschles]

Not to change the subject, but I see you're collecting vintage. I'm 4 commons away from completing 69-70 Hockey set. I may have some 67-68 Hockey and some 68 Baseball.