Wow. Have BC colored refractor RCs without autos taken a major hit?

Bob Loblaw · Dec 13, 2012

Maybe I'm showing my age, but I remember not too long ago that even fringe prospects blue and gold refractors were $20 and $50 right out of the gate. It was not uncommon for a gold refractor to hit $100 of a mid range prospect, shortly after release.

I'm looking at my team's draft cards, and blue refractors to 250 are commonly available for $3-5 -- golds are $15-25 -- and these are for top 5 round draft picks!

Is it the proliferation of orange/red/super/purple and red/purple ice diluting the product, the economy, or have people essentially stopped speculating? Further, has the issue of auto vs. non auto taken effect -- people are not investing in the non-auto in the fear that BC will eventually produce an auto card?

Thoughts?

...maybe I should just buy Leaf autos...

CatdaddysCards · Dec 13, 2012

I think It's a culmination of everything you mentioned. I miss the good ole days when it was just base/ref/xfrac/gold/super.

Also love Leaf products. Started the Valiant auto set, but cutting that project. Don't want to buy em all from eBay, and no one seems to trade them.

Prospect Rush · Dec 13, 2012

It's Dec right before Christmas, Market is Flooded, and people are broke.

Bob Loblaw said:
Maybe I'm showing my age, but I remember not too long ago that even fringe prospects blue and gold refractors were $20 and $50 right out of the gate. It was not uncommon for a gold refractor to hit $100 of a mid range prospect, shortly after release.

I'm looking at my team's draft cards, and blue refractors to 250 are commonly available for $3-5 -- golds are $15-25 -- and these are for top 5 round draft picks!

Is it the proliferation of orange/red/super/purple and red/purple ice diluting the product, the economy, or have people essentially stopped speculating? Further, has the issue of auto vs. non auto taken effect -- people are not investing in the non-auto in the fear that BC will eventually produce an auto card?

Thoughts?

...maybe I should just buy Leaf autos...

All The Hype · Dec 13, 2012

I got burned once by Topps putting out an auto after I had stashed up on non-autos. That was enough for me to stop buying them. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice...

The only time I buy them now is if they already have a chrome auto and either a) I'm looking for a cheaper option of a guy I'm not sure I want to dump a ton of money into, or b) to diversify, as sometimes non-auto Gold Refs can move on a different schedule than autographs. Taylor Guerrieri was a perfect example of this for me. I had a Gold Ref non-auto and around 50 chrome autos (base through orange). The autos actually dropped in value by a couple bucks over the first two or three months after '11 BDP came out, but I was able to more than double my money on the Gold Ref over the same time period. Different buyers want different things.

WaxPax · Dec 13, 2012

Agreed...... It used to be, If the prospect's BC cards didn't have an auto, it still was the card to get. Now if they don't have a second prospect card with an auto, they will most certainly will have a BC RC Auto. I think the RC auto is the main factor, since you know it's just a matter of time.......

charsupv said:
I think It's a culmination of everything you mentioned. I miss the good ole days when it was just base/ref/xfrac/gold/super.

Also love Leaf products. Started the Valiant auto set, but cutting that project. Don't want to buy em all from eBay, and no one seems to trade them.

Exposfan · Dec 13, 2012

All The Hype said:
I got burned once by Topps putting out an auto after I had stashed up on non-autos. That was enough for me to stop buying them. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice...

The only time I buy them now is if they already have a chrome auto and either a) I'm looking for a cheaper option of a guy I'm not sure I want to dump a ton of money into, or b) to diversify, as sometimes non-auto Gold Refs can move on a different schedule than autographs. Taylor Guerrieri was a perfect example of this for me. I had a Gold Ref non-auto and around 50 chrome autos (base through orange). The autos actually dropped in value by a couple bucks over the first two or three months after '11 BDP came out, but I was able to more than double my money on the Gold Ref over the same time period. Different buyers want different things.

This, at least for me.

morgoth · Dec 13, 2012

I love it because I collect only my team players for the most part and hate paying tons of money for non autoed versions, even short printed. The bigger issue to me is the vast overspend I have to do for non prospect autos numbered to 25 or less of my team. People just seem to hold onto the dream that anyone numbered low is worth 100 or more, even if they are no longer in a MLB organization.

uniquebaseballcards · Dec 13, 2012

I've noticed interest in the same parallels lose interest no matter what set its come from after several years (Finest, Topps/Topps Chrome, etc). All these parallels build up so they don't seem as special after a while. The base BC parallels have been around for over a decade now, and its easy to get decade old BC gold refs for a couple bucks each.

Something completely different would renew some interest, but I can't imagine it getting back to what it once was.

The same will eventually happen with autos.

BBCgalaxee · Dec 13, 2012

Yeah, one of the reasons I don't open anything bowman any more.

Used to absolutely love to open a case of all bowman stuff, but once all the value went to autos, rendering base, refs and even blue non autos (x's too) nearly valueless, I stopped.

wish it was how it used to be when you could get $5 to $10 for base

Brewer Andy · Dec 13, 2012

So adding Purples, Oranges, Pinks, Sepias, Camos, returning Atomics and Greens, and whatever else I forgot hasn't helped? Topps had a great 2011 and to me 2012 just seemed like they were running the same stuff out. When they find something that is well received they tend to go overkill on it every damn time

Bruin7 · Dec 13, 2012

If they're going to make autos of guys then don't make non-auto'd versions within the same product PLEASE!

Allen

Jaypers · Dec 13, 2012

Bruin7 said:
If they're going to make autos of guys then don't make non-auto'd versions within the same product PLEASE!

Allen

They seem to have cut back on that in 2012 Draft - only a few players with autos also have non-autos.

carlitoson · Dec 13, 2012

I'm probably closer to a set collector than anything and it doesn't help that Topps waited so long to release Bowman Chrome. I was still working on the auto set for that when just a month later Bowman Draft was here (with 40 more!). They keep adding more and more autos each year too.

By the time I have the autos I want, my card budget is long gone. There's none left for non-auto'd refractors. Hopefully BC returns to August next year so everything doesn't arrive all at once (around the holidays no less).

I'm not a fan of having the same guys with autos and non-autos either, but I understand the benefit of it (a cheaper alternative for some folks).

padremurph · Dec 13, 2012

Jaypers said:
They seem to have cut back on that in 2012 Draft - only a few players with autos also have non-autos.

Or don't have a non auto version in bowman and the an auto in BC. I don't mind if a player gets an auto just make it the next year so that the non auto 1st BC card keeps some value.

markakis8 · Dec 13, 2012

charsupv said:
I think It's a culmination of everything you mentioned. I miss the good ole days when it was just base/ref/xfrac/gold/super.

Also love Leaf products. Started the Valiant auto set, but cutting that project. Don't want to buy em all from eBay, and no one seems to trade them.

So....2005?

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Wow. Have BC colored refractor RCs without autos taken a major hit?

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