Bowman Chrome - Bad for a new collector?

[SportsCardMojo]

I was at a card show today and I decided to see what previous years of Bowman Chome was like. Although the cards look great, I didn't get much that I felt had any value. Most of the prospects and even some of the rookies were of people I've never even heard of before.

I'm a new collector and I'm not that familiar with prospects. I pre-ordered a case of 2010 BC and BDPP. I'm starting to think I made a mistake.

I'm not a rip and flip guy. Nor am I a straight prospector. I know everyone recommends buying singles if I'm collecting, but I like to do box breaks...and now case breaks. The only thing, it's nice when you recognize the names on the cards. Even if it's just a small handful of names. Out of three boxes, I think I had 4 cards of people I recognized.

Should I just go ahead and break the case? Or should I flip the case and recover some of my money?

 

[AndruwHRJones]

If you don't follow prospects, Bowman Chrome probably isn't a product you are going to like. You could always pick up a magazine or browse the internet however to get information on the rookies in the product.

 

[predatorkj]

Honestly...I find doing a set of bowman, bowman chrome, and bowman draft picks and prospects every year to be quite fruitful. Its amazing how many of the guys turn out somewhat decent over the years. But if you are a new collector...I'd just buy a box of of a few things you think you might like, or maybe even a few packs. Also, browse ebay and quite a lot and see what type of stuff is out there. Then you can start to decide on what you want to focus your collecting on.

 

[PeteD]

If you're not into prospecting I would get out and flip. You'll just end up with a pile of cards wondering what to do. Unless you want to put in the time to do reseach, and that's a full time job with tons of prospects.

Besides...base chrome prices are flat. Unless you pull a low # refractor or auto.

jmho.

 

[JoshHamilton]

So you spent several hundred dollars on two products you knew nothing about...

 

[brouthercard]

It's a great way to learn about and get excited about a sport.

I open Hockey every now and then, and maybe I only know virtually nothing about any of the rookies, it's fun to do the research and every once in a while a neat thing to discover that you pulled someone who may actually be good or hyped.

I encourage new collectors to open things they've never tried before, it's what drives the hobby and keeps collectors excited about a sport.

Sometimes, it's good to feel slightly lost - it brings you a new perspective which may turn into grand revelations.

 

[bodiaz]

Buy Topps Chrome. Bowman is out there for minor league fans.

 

[ThoseBackPages]

It's a great way to learn about and get excited about a sport.

I open Hockey every now and then, and maybe I only know virtually nothing about any of the rookies, it's fun to do the research and every once in a while a neat thing to discover that you pulled someone who may actually be good or hyped.

I encourage new collectors to open things they've never tried before, it's what drives the hobby and keeps collectors excited about a sport.

Sometimes, it's good to feel slightly lost - it brings you a new perspective which may turn into grand revelations.

Great post.

i am going through this exact thing right now with Football and Basketball. back in the late 80s and early 90s when i was in my late teens/early 20s, it was easy to collect all four sports, everything that came out, and i did so.
i also knew a lot more about all four sports as well because of the collecting aspect. Then i fell out of favor with football and basketball, and quit them cold turkey in 1992, only to re-discover them again in 2010.

Sure there are a lot of things to learn, but thats half the fun!

bottom line is, enjoy whatever YOU like, do not worry about what i or anyone else ont he internet has to say about what YOU do or do not collect. its YOUR money, and at the end of the day, what you do with it is up to you.

 

[Exposfan]

So you spent several hundred dollars on two products you knew nothing about.....


This statement amazes me...Wax is a horrible investment to begin with, throw in a lack of knowledge of prospects and that's a bad formula.

 

[SportsCardMojo]

So you spent several hundred dollars on two products you knew nothing about...

Yes, I did. I looked at it more like an investment. Get in at a decent price...sell the boxes if I changed my mind. I'd rather buy it now instead of buy it later if the prices happen to go up. (This was pre-Strasburg injury.)

Think of Bowman Baseball. If I bought it before the prices went up, then I would be sitting on a case of it before it got over inflated. I would have had options....I could open the boxes at a great price, or I could sell the boxes and make a ton of profit on them. I wasn't thinking exactly the same with Chrome and DPP, but I was thinking I would at least break even or get in at a good price.

And no, I was not trying to cash in on Strasburg. I was protecting myself from the prices getting inflated after release. I'm okay with losing a little bit of money on this process. It's the gamble you take.

In terms of prospects, I've learned alot in the short time that I've been collecting. But the whole reason I pose this question is, I opened boxes of 07 and 08 chrome. You would think that some of these prospects would be on the radar by now in 2010. But like I said...out of that entire box, I had 4-5 prospects that I recognized. I may have just opened a dud of a box, but it made me worry about 2010 Bowman Chrome.

Anyway, please don't turn this into some "rip and flip" or "made a mistake" discussion. I'm just trying to get some pointers. I'm new to the hobby. I'd like to know if I'm in over my head trying to be aggressive by getting into BC/BDPP or should I ease myself into it with less boxes. I'd like to be a savvy collector/prospector etc...

 

[AKA Coastal]

So you spent several hundred dollars on two products you knew nothing about...

Yes, I did. I looked at it more like an investment. Get in at a decent price...sell the boxes if I changed my mind. I'd rather buy it now instead of buy it later if the prices happen to go up. (This was pre-Strasburg injury.)

Think of Bowman Baseball. If I bought it before the prices went up, then I would be sitting on a case of it before it got over inflated. I would have had options....I could open the boxes at a great price, or I could sell the boxes and make a ton of profit on them. I wasn't thinking exactly the same with Chrome and DPP, but I was thinking I would at least break even or get in at a good price.

And no, I was not trying to cash in on Strasburg. I was protecting myself from the prices getting inflated after release. I'm okay with losing a little bit of money on this process. It's the gamble you take.

In terms of prospects, I've learned alot in the short time that I've been collecting. But the whole reason I pose this question is, I opened boxes of 07 and 08 chrome. You would think that some of these prospects would be on the radar by now in 2010. But like I said...out of that entire box, I had 4-5 prospects that I recognized. I may have just opened a dud of a box, but it made me worry about 2010 Bowman Chrome.


You
Anyway, please don't turn this into some "rip and flip" or "made a mistake" discussion. I'm just trying to get some pointers. I'm new to the hobby. I'd like to know if I'm in over my head trying to be aggressive by getting into BC/BDPP or should I ease myself into it with less boxes. I'd like to be a savvy collector/prospector etc...

You've been in the game for 10 minutes. If it was that easy. Everyone would be doing it.

 

[SportsCardMojo]

So you spent several hundred dollars on two products you knew nothing about...

Yes, I did. I looked at it more like an investment. Get in at a decent price...sell the boxes if I changed my mind. I'd rather buy it now instead of buy it later if the prices happen to go up. (This was pre-Strasburg injury.)

Think of Bowman Baseball. If I bought it before the prices went up, then I would be sitting on a case of it before it got over inflated. I would have had options....I could open the boxes at a great price, or I could sell the boxes and make a ton of profit on them. I wasn't thinking exactly the same with Chrome and DPP, but I was thinking I would at least break even or get in at a good price.

And no, I was not trying to cash in on Strasburg. I was protecting myself from the prices getting inflated after release. I'm okay with losing a little bit of money on this process. It's the gamble you take.

In terms of prospects, I've learned alot in the short time that I've been collecting. But the whole reason I pose this question is, I opened boxes of 07 and 08 chrome. You would think that some of these prospects would be on the radar by now in 2010. But like I said...out of that entire box, I had 4-5 prospects that I recognized. I may have just opened a dud of a box, but it made me worry about 2010 Bowman Chrome.


You
Anyway, please don't turn this into some "rip and flip" or "made a mistake" discussion. I'm just trying to get some pointers. I'm new to the hobby. I'd like to know if I'm in over my head trying to be aggressive by getting into BC/BDPP or should I ease myself into it with less boxes. I'd like to be a savvy collector/prospector etc...

You've been in the game for 10 minutes. If it was that easy. Everyone would be doing it.

I'm not saying it's easy. I'm just saying. Some of these 07 08 prospects should be on the radar by now. Of all the cards I pulled, I don't recognize many. I've done packs of regular bowman from previous years and I've pulled quite a few guys I recognize. And those were just packs! I broke 1 box of 07 and 2 boxes of 08 and had 4 cards I recognized the prospects. I've never second guessed my decision until now.

 

[ThoseBackPages]

"regular" Bowman Chrome has really never been about "prospects"
it tends to feature a handful of top line autos, and then the rest of the
"prospects" are mid-talent, OLDER prospects that tend to turn out to be nothing.

Bowman Draft on the other hand, has always been the gift that keeps on giving.
that is, until 2008, when Razor blew that all to hell, but thats a story that has been
beaten to death.

as was mentioned, you are brand new to the game. stick around, live and learn

 

[SportsCardMojo]

It's a great way to learn about and get excited about a sport.

I open Hockey every now and then, and maybe I only know virtually nothing about any of the rookies, it's fun to do the research and every once in a while a neat thing to discover that you pulled someone who may actually be good or hyped.

I encourage new collectors to open things they've never tried before, it's what drives the hobby and keeps collectors excited about a sport.

Sometimes, it's good to feel slightly lost - it brings you a new perspective which may turn into grand revelations.

Great post.

i am going through this exact thing right now with Football and Basketball. back in the late 80s and early 90s when i was in my late teens/early 20s, it was easy to collect all four sports, everything that came out, and i did so.
i also knew a lot more about all four sports as well because of the collecting aspect. Then i fell out of favor with football and basketball, and quit them cold turkey in 1992, only to re-discover them again in 2010.

Sure there are a lot of things to learn, but thats half the fun!

bottom line is, enjoy whatever YOU like, do not worry about what i or anyone else ont he internet has to say about what YOU do or do not collect. its YOUR money, and at the end of the day, what you do with it is up to you.

Thanks! It's always good to find people who understand what you are going through. I'm tired of seeing all these people who have nothing constructive to say when you post here.

I'll be honest. I'm not the most knowledgable sports junkie. I'd like to be, but I can't recite stats or the names of all the players on my favorite teams of the past. I grew up liking the O's and the Redskins. The only names I remember from my childhood are Eddie Murray and Jim Palmer. Or Riggins, Monk, Theisman, Green, Clark, Manley....from football. Back then, I just enjoyed watching the games...

Now that I'm older, I wish I was more knowledgeable about sports. And having two young sons, it makes me want to be more knowledgeable so that I can get them into sports as well. My dad was into sports, but because he was an immigrant, I didn't have the typical Father/Son outtings to ballgames and sporting events. The only chance I got to go see a game was when a neighbor or family friend had tickets.

Anyway, I'd like to follow Baseball and Hockey. I've always been into Football and Basketball. And I picked a good time to pick it up with the DC area picking up so much talent over the years. DC area sports is fun again!

But I do need pointers and any help would be appreciated.

 

[uniquebaseballcards]

Bowman would be for minor league fans if they actually showed those players on minor league rosters...technically Bowman is minor league players "pretending" to be major leaguers. Topps Debut is the pure, true MiLB product.

I can't help but think that the best way to invest serious coin today would be in the stock market.

Buy Topps Chrome. Bowman is out there for minor league fans.

 

[SportsCardMojo]

It's a great way to learn about and get excited about a sport.

I open Hockey every now and then, and maybe I only know virtually nothing about any of the rookies, it's fun to do the research and every once in a while a neat thing to discover that you pulled someone who may actually be good or hyped.

I encourage new collectors to open things they've never tried before, it's what drives the hobby and keeps collectors excited about a sport.

Sometimes, it's good to feel slightly lost - it brings you a new perspective which may turn into grand revelations.

Exactly!

I've always wanted to get into Hockey, but I had nothing pushing me to learn all the teams and the player names. So I've started opening Hockey lately, and it's been a lot of fun.

I posted this before, but I made a BIG blunder at the National Convention this year. I was at the Panini Wrapper Redemption and I pulled a Brandon Jennings Auto Numbered. I didn't follow Basketball last year because the Wizards were horrible, so I had no idea who Brandon Jennings was. I traded it for a few blue parallels of local area guys! Since then, I've been must more careful.

I do enjoy bustin wax...and that's the main reason I bought BC and BDPP. But the last 3 boxes made me doubt myself.

Thanks everyone for your pointers. I think I will bust my case. I'm excited again.

 

[ThoseBackPages]

i say bust it, enjoy busting it and dont worry about the monetary aspect.

from 2005 (when i got back into collecting) until 2008 i ripped a case of Draft each year.
fun as hell to rip, did i make back my money? of course not lol but thats ok.

i still have the base cards in the 800ct boxes that i put them in, in my closet,
from when i opened them way back when.

 

[ThoseBackPages]

and what a great time for you to get into Hockey

Ovie is awesome, Panini is putting out NHL stuff, things are looking up for hockey!

 

[SportsCardMojo]

I can't help but think that the best way to invest serious coin today would be in the stock market.

The only thing is, I enjoy busting wax. Honestly, if hobby boxes weren't so expensive, I'd be busting boxes weekly, regardless of who's in it. Actually, it's part of the reason I bought those boxes yesterday. They were fairly inexpensive and I wanted to see what they looked like. I wasn't expecting to pull a Heyward Auto.

I did pull a red refractor /5 of Delwyn Young, but I don't think that's worth anything.

I do invest in stocks, but I've been burned day trading, so I'm holding stocks right now...and honestly, it's not doing much.

I'm not joking when I say this...If I could open a hobby store, break wax every day, and still stay profitable, I'd do it. I want to do what that guy Chris does on Youtube. Break boxes for other people.

 

[Krom]

Bowman Chrome if held on to is the one product that can be called the gift that keep on giving. Some years are better than others but there are many prospects that would sell for almost nothing (or even nothing) upon release but makes you glad you held onto them years later.