What's it worth? Strasburg/Harper -vs- Pedroia Superfractors -vs- 1/1 -vs- RC

[demello5416]

PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO READ THIS INTIRE POST AND RESPOND TO MY QUESTIONS, SPECIFICALLY THE ONES TOWARDS THE END! THANK YOU.

Can someone please explain the worth of cards to me? Is it a rookie because Beckett says that it’s a rookie and not a prospect, what exactly clarifies this? Is a prospect card now worth more than a rookie card? Is the first 1/1 card worth more than the first autographed card because it was printed first? Why does Beckett list a card as a rookie card but that same card with a print run is not listed as a rookie?

I have been collecting for some time now and it seems to me the mass production years were a lot easier to figure out even though that part of my collection is worth a lot less. Any seasoned collectors out there agree with that statement?

I am going to use my Dustin Pedroia collection as a basses for my questions and I would really appreciate feedback. First let me list Pedroia’s first cards according to Beckett. I say according to Beckett because Pedroia has college cards that Beckett does not list.

Card 2002 SP Authentic USA Future Watch #USA17 Dustin Pedroia S# 1999
Card 2002 Upper Deck Rookie Update USA Future Watch Swatches #DP Dustin Pedroia Mem
Card 2002 USA Baseball National Team #17 Dustin Pedroia
Card 2002 USA Baseball National Team Jerseys #DP Dustin Pedroia Mem, S# 475
Card 2003 Upper Deck Finite Stars and Stripes #16 Dustin Pedroia S# 299
Card 2003 Upper Deck Finite Stars and Stripes Game Jersey #J16 Dustin Pedroia Mem
Card 2003 Upper Deck National Pride Memorabilia #DP Dustin Pedroia Mem
Card 2003 Upper Deck Star-Spangled Swatches #DP Dustin Pedroia R Mem
Card 2003 USA Baseball National Team #16 Dustin Pedroia
Card 2003 USA Baseball National Team Signatures Blue #16 Dustin Pedroia AU, S# 250
Card 2003 USA Baseball National Team Signatures Red #16 Dustin Pedroia AU, S# 750
Card 2003 USA Baseball National Team Signed Jersey Blue #16 Dustin Pedroia Mem, AU, S# 150
Card 2003 USA Baseball National Team Signed Jersey Red #16 Dustin Pedroia
Mem, AU, S# 350

Let me stop and point out the obvious, nothing listed as a rookie. So let me hit the link “Rookie Card” located under card attributes to the left of the price guide page and this is what Beckett lists.

Card 2004 Donruss Elite Extra Edition #262 Dust Pedroia AU/ 1114 RC RC, AU, S# 1114
Card 2004 Hot Prospects Draft #109 Dustin Pedroia AU RC RC, AU, S# 299
Card 2004 SP Prospects #340 Dustin Pedroia AU 400/ RC RC, AU, S# 400

Interesting, a card that says “prospect” is listed as a rookie card and the variants of that same card (smaller print run) are not considered a rookie? Wait a minute, Low and behold there is another link listed as “(rc)” Let’s see what hitting that gets me.

Card 2006 Topps 52 #40 Dustin Pedroia (RC)
Card 2006 Upper Deck #1027 Dustin Pedroia (RC)

OK, so what’s the difference between “rookie card” and “rc”? I also have been reading the recent articles on Bowman Chrome Superfractor sales so this makes me look up the first Bowman Chrome cards of Pedroia and this is what I got.

Card 2008 Bowman Chrome #172 Dustin Pedroia
Card 2008 Bowman Chrome Blue Refractors #172 Dustin Pedroia S# 150
Card 2008 Bowman Chrome Gold Refractors #172 Dustin Pedroia S# 50
Card 2008 Bowman Chrome Orange Refractors #172 Dustin Pedroia S# 25
Card 2008 Bowman Chrome Printing Plates Black #172 Dustin Pedroia S# 1
Card 2008 Bowman Chrome Printing Plates Cyan #172 Dustin Pedroia S# 1
Card 2008 Bowman Chrome Printing Plates Magenta #172 Dustin Pedroia S# 1
Card 2008 Bowman Chrome Printing Plates Yellow #172 Dustin Pedroia S# 1
Card 2008 Bowman Chrome Red Refractors #172 Dustin Pedroia S# 5
Card 2008 Bowman Chrome Refractors #172 Dustin Pedroia
Card 2008 Bowman Chrome SuperFractors #172 Dustin Pedroia S# 1
Card 2008 Bowman Chrome X-Fractors #172 Dustin Pedroia S# 250

OK, know let me get to my real questions that I would love to get some feedback on. In my collection I have at least one of every Pedroia card I listed from 2002-2003. I guess this part is easy enough for me to figure out the pricing because none of them have been graded yet. Now I get to his “rookie” cards and it becomes not so easy. In my collection I have the following…

Card 2004 Donruss Elite Extra Edition Signature Turn of the Century #262 Dustin Pedroia ROO/ 100 AU, S# 100 w/ Beckett grade of 9
Card 2004 SP Prospects #340 Dustin Pedroia AU 400/ RC RC, AU, S# 400 w/ beckett grade of 9
Card 2004 SP Prospects Draft Duos Dual Autographs #PD D.Pedroia/ A.Dobies AU, S# 175 w/ Beckett grade of 9
Card 2004 SP Prospects Draft Generations Triple Autographs #AGP Aparicio/ Garciaparra/ Pedroia AU, S# 25 w/ Beckett grade of 9.5
Card 2004 SP Prospects Gold #340 Dustin Pedroia AU AU, S# 10 w/ Beckett grade of 9
Card 2004 SP Prospects Platinum #340 Dustin Pedroia AU AU, S# 1 w/ Beckett grade of 9

I skip 2006 and go to the first Pedroia Bowman Chrome cards released in 2008, this is what I have (close to a master rainbow, missing two plates)….

2008 Bowman Chrome #172 Dustin Pedroia
2008 Bowman Chrome Refractors #172 Dustin Pedroia
2008 Bowman Chrome X-Fractors #172 Dustin Pedroia /250
2008 Bowman Chrome Blue Refractors #172 Dustin Pedroia /150
2008 Bowman Chrome Gold Refractors #172 Dustin Pedroia /50
2008 Bowman Chrome Orange Refractors #172 Dustin Pedroia /25
2008 Bowman Chrome Red Refractors #172 Dustin Pedroia /5
2008 Bowman Chrome SuperFractors #172 Dustin Pedroia 1/1
2008 Bowman Chrome Printing Plates Cyan #172 Dustin Pedroia 1/1
2008 Bowman Chrome Printing Plates Yellow #172 Dustin Pedroia 1/1

OK, if you have made it to this part of the post, first let me thank you for taking the time to read it. I would really appreciate some feedback on this collection. What makes me ask this question is the current Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper Superfractor sales for $21,403 and $12,500. These guys may be super talented but no one can argue the fact that as of yet they are unproven in the Big League. Let’s compare experience

Bryce Harper – Major League Experience = NONE

Stephen Strasburg – Major League Experience = Career statistics
(through August 19, 2010)
Win–loss record 5–3
Earned run average 2.97
Strikeouts 92
Walks 17
WHIP 1.12

Career highlights and awards
On June 8, 2010, struck out fourteen Pittsburgh Pirates batters (Washington Nationals record)

Dustin Pedroia - Major League Experience = Career statistics
(through August 18, 2010)
Batting average .305
Home runs 54
Runs batted in 253
On Base Percentage .369
Runs 376

Career highlights and awards
3x All-Star selection (2008, 2009, 2010)
2007 AL Rookie of the Year
World Series Champion (2007)
2008 American League MVP
Gold Glove Award Winner (2008)
Silver Slugger Award Winner (2008)

OK, so give me some feedback. What is this Pedroia collection worth? The 1/1’s?

I would also like opinions on my Pedroia collection and would love to hear from other Pedroia fans and what they have collected on “The Laser Show”.

 

[slavlite]

The Rookie card mess should be cleared up in the near future. Since Pedroia's 1st cards were made before the MLBPA and Card manufacturers came up with th eofficial RC logo, his 2004 Cards are his true Rookie cards. His 06 cards marked as Rookies have the parenthesis around (RC) because those are his RC cards with the official Rookie logo on them. Prospect cards such as Bowman Prospects and Chrome Prospects etc. were released before or after His first Official RC cards and (RC) cards so they are not considered Rookies at all.

Also RC cards have always been only denoted as RC or (RC) cards when they are from the base set only, any card that is a parallel/Refractor/Mini etc. is never considered an actual RC or (RC) card.

as to the value of your lower numbered Pedroia cards, they are worth whatever someone is willing to pay for them. Trying to make sense out of this hobby, especially when it comes to Prospect and RC cards is impossible. When we finally get to the point where the MLBPA's and Card Makers Rules catch up to players who havent had any cards made before they actually have a card with the official RC logo, it will be easier to see which card is the actual RC and we should stop seeing cards listed with (RC).

Hope that makes some sense, and helps a little.

-Nick

 

[dan5]

PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO READ THIS INTIRE POST AND RESPOND TO MY QUESTIONS, SPECIFICALLY THE ONES TOWARDS THE END! THANK YOU.

Can someone please explain the worth of cards to me? 1/1
”.

This is easy, They are worth what some one is willing to pay for them. If you are willing to pay more for a Jack Clark card than you are for a Dustin Pedroia then Jack Clark is worth more. Pretty simple concept.

For you Pedroia is worth more than Harper or Strasburg because that is who you collect.

 

[MrBlackisBack]

To further clear up the RC mess, here is a simple guide. Anything that is a college set, USA baseball set or any other type of prospect set is consider not a "mainstream" release. Beckett only classifies cards that are MLB mainstream releases as official RC sets. Upper Deck Prospect Premieres falls into this category, too.

As for pricing, the market dictates a lot. Beckett fudges most of the rest. I can't really comment on the pricing of Pedroia stuff. The only card I can give you a price on is the 2004 SP Prospects Draft Generations auto. I paid around $100 for mine. This was before Pedroia became a star, so the price was entirely driven by Nomar and Aparicio.