What's the future of game used?

[masonphillip]

I think it depends on the "game used" card. Too many people have bought in to the serial numbering rather than seeing the big picture. You can have 10 cards serial numbered of 50 made from the same jersey. Rather than acknowledging 500 jersey cards too many are putting emphasis on the numbering of 50 as though there's only 50 cards with that swatch of jersey. Certain patch cards will carry a premium IMHO but that depends on the sport as well. Logoman cards are great and all but a player can potentially wear 162 jerseys that can be turned to logoman cards while an NFL player can only provide 16. A lot of variables to take into consideration for sure.

All good points. You are right on about serial #'ing. I remember buying a Juan Gonzalez 1998 Upper Deck insert off eBay shortly after it released. It was /2000 and I think I paid $5 or so for it. I was absolutely stoked to have a card that was limited to 2000.

Now I pull cards out of DEEE that are /50 that don't sell for $.99 on eBay.

After thinking about it some more I can see even more "event worn" cards hitting the market and more emphasis being placed on some premium patch cards. I have seen logoman cards in recent baseball and football products that were either "event worn" or not worn at all. Of course this will create an added premium on legit game worn cards. The next horizon I can see card companies going is to provide an entire logo patch as a redemption for patches not fitting on one card. I love me some Ripken cards and could live with a couple of patch cards. However, give me an opportunity to own an entire "8" or Oriole patch and I would get excited.

At what point in time will collectors think "man, I should just buy a GU Jersey?"

 

[ChasHawk]

I think the market will come tumbling down when it's proven both Topps and UD are inserting non game used swatches and marketing them as game used. I'm not talking about using vague verbiage like "relic," such as Topps did with the Ruth seat cards; I'm talking about putting in fake swatches. They're already doing it, too bad collectors are too lazy and complacent to care or even question/demand an explanation about where the supposed "game used" items were acquired

Proof?

That's a pretty inflammatory accusation to just throw out there.

 

[Mr.Whipple]

Couldn't agree more with serial numbering! I just don't get it (in most cases), especially with game used and autographs. A sticker from the same sheet is applied to various colors of border or whatever, yet one is more "rare" than the other? How is that not the same thing?

I did a post on this with the on-card Sweet Beginnings autographs in Sweet Spot: http://pricelesspursuit.wordpress.com/2 ... numbering/

One is numbered to 499, the other to 65. But how can the /65 possibly treated as more rare? Cahill signed the same stack, and there are 564 Cahill Sweet Beginnings autos out there. Some just happen to have a different color border. If the autograph is all you want, why not just get the less rare version for a lot cheaper? And this is coming from the guy who pulled the more "rare" version and STILL doesn't like it!!

Thats my thinking on buying autographs that are not base rookie autos. Hockey collectors are the exception to the low number parallel verison selling higher than the base version. They also love non numbered short print cards. But If I wanna buy a Jordan auto a 300 dollar on card is the same to me as a 1200 dollar on card low number one.

 

[Mr.Whipple]

I think the market will come tumbling down when it's proven both Topps and UD are inserting non game used swatches and marketing them as game used. I'm not talking about using vague verbiage like "relic," such as Topps did with the Ruth seat cards; I'm talking about putting in fake swatches. They're already doing it, too bad collectors are too lazy and complacent to care or even question/demand an explanation about where the supposed "game used" items were acquired

Proof?

That's a pretty inflammatory accusation to just throw out there.

when they inserted Josh Gibson "game used" bat cards, When infact the bat was not game used but a game model bat his family had.

 

[RITM]

I think it depends on the "game used" card. Too many people have bought in to the serial numbering rather than seeing the big picture. You can have 10 cards serial numbered of 50 made from the same jersey. Rather than acknowledging 500 jersey cards too many are putting emphasis on the numbering of 50 as though there's only 50 cards with that swatch of jersey. Certain patch cards will carry a premium IMHO but that depends on the sport as well. Logoman cards are great and all but a player can potentially wear 162 jerseys that can be turned to logoman cards while an NFL player can only provide 16. A lot of variables to take into consideration for sure.

All good points. You are right on about serial #'ing. I remember buying a Juan Gonzalez 1998 Upper Deck insert off eBay shortly after it released. It was /2000 and I think I paid $5 or so for it. I was absolutely stoked to have a card that was limited to 2000.

Now I pull cards out of DEEE that are /50 that don't sell for $.99 on eBay.

After thinking about it some more I can see even more "event worn" cards hitting the market and more emphasis being placed on some premium patch cards. I have seen logoman cards in recent baseball and football products that were either "event worn" or not worn at all. Of course this will create an added premium on legit game worn cards. The next horizon I can see card companies going is to provide an entire logo patch as a redemption for patches not fitting on one card. I love me some Ripken cards and could live with a couple of patch cards. However, give me an opportunity to own an entire "8" or Oriole patch and I would get excited.

At what point in time will collectors think "man, I should just buy a GU Jersey?"

That creates a problem in itself. Once upon a time I owned some GU jerseys and felt less and less comfortable as time went on and more people got ripped off. Even reputable authenticators have had to acknowledge they screwed up. Even with authentication there is no way of knowing at the end of a day if a jersey is legit. Of course this is true with the GU jersey/patch card market which creates a lot of uncertainty with me on that as well.

If a person can get a jersey from a team, player foundation or league that is one thing. However I can see the GU market dropping as well with the uncertainty. Over the past few years I dumped every GU jersey I owned with the exception of a jersey that I either bought directly from a team shop or got from a league auction. Even still I only own a couple and they are minor league jerseys.

 

[ChasHawk]

I think the market will come tumbling down when it's proven both Topps and UD are inserting non game used swatches and marketing them as game used. I'm not talking about using vague verbiage like "relic," such as Topps did with the Ruth seat cards; I'm talking about putting in fake swatches. They're already doing it, too bad collectors are too lazy and complacent to care or even question/demand an explanation about where the supposed "game used" items were acquired

Proof?

That's a pretty inflammatory accusation to just throw out there.

when they inserted Josh Gibson "game used" bat cards, When infact the bat was not game used but a game model bat his family had.

Ok, there's one example. He makes it sound as if the majority of g/u cards are fake.

 

[RITM]

Couldn't agree more with serial numbering! I just don't get it (in most cases), especially with game used and autographs. A sticker from the same sheet is applied to various colors of border or whatever, yet one is more "rare" than the other? How is that not the same thing?

I did a post on this with the on-card Sweet Beginnings autographs in Sweet Spot: http://pricelesspursuit.wordpress.com/2 ... numbering/

One is numbered to 499, the other to 65. But how can the /65 possibly treated as more rare? Cahill signed the same stack, and there are 564 Cahill Sweet Beginnings autos out there. Some just happen to have a different color border. If the autograph is all you want, why not just get the less rare version for a lot cheaper? And this is coming from the guy who pulled the more "rare" version and STILL doesn't like it!!

Thats my thinking on buying autographs that are not base rookie autos. Hockey collectors are the exception to the low number parallel verison selling higher than the base version. They also love non numbered short print cards. But If I wanna buy a Jordan auto a 300 dollar on card is the same to me as a 1200 dollar on card low number one.

Bingo. A wise collector once told me something that changed the way I view memorabilia. He told me to always ask myself "Where is the value of the card?" when determining value. Your Jordan point is a great point. If I am in the markey for a Jordan auto I am not going to pay a ton for a lower serial number. A Jordan auto is a Jordan auto. I'll save a ton of cash and go with the cheaper copy.

 

[Mr.Whipple]

I think the market will come tumbling down when it's proven both Topps and UD are inserting non game used swatches and marketing them as game used. I'm not talking about using vague verbiage like "relic," such as Topps did with the Ruth seat cards; I'm talking about putting in fake swatches. They're already doing it, too bad collectors are too lazy and complacent to care or even question/demand an explanation about where the supposed "game used" items were acquired

Proof?

That's a pretty inflammatory accusation to just throw out there.

when they inserted Josh Gibson "game used" bat cards, When infact the bat was not game used but a game model bat his family had.

Ok, there's one example. He makes it sound as if the majority of g/u cards are fake.

I think a large majority are game issued and not used, That can account for the large inventories they hold. I think a jersey makes 350-400 1x1 swatches and a bat probably can make 1000-1500 swatches considering how thin they're cut. If someone doesnt fie a legal inquiry as to the authenticity of game used in cards. We wont ever know, Sooner or later someone will though.

 

[ChasHawk]

I think the market will come tumbling down when it's proven both Topps and UD are inserting non game used swatches and marketing them as game used. I'm not talking about using vague verbiage like "relic," such as Topps did with the Ruth seat cards; I'm talking about putting in fake swatches. They're already doing it, too bad collectors are too lazy and complacent to care or even question/demand an explanation about where the supposed "game used" items were acquired

Proof?

That's a pretty inflammatory accusation to just throw out there.

when they inserted Josh Gibson "game used" bat cards, When infact the bat was not game used but a game model bat his family had.

Ok, there's one example. He makes it sound as if the majority of g/u cards are fake.

I think a large majority are game issued and not used, That can account for the large inventories they hold. I think a jersey makes 350-400 1x1 swatches and a bat probably can make 1000-1500 swatches considering how thin they're cut. If someone doesnt fie a legal inquiry as to the authenticity of game used in cards. We wont ever know, Sooner or later someone will though.

From an interview on donruss.com:

"From a standard-sized jersey, say a size 52, we probably get around 1,000 swatches 1 inch-by-1 inch. Swatches are pretty much cut to order. We estimate what the jersey is going to yield at what level how many prime, jumbo and regular swatches."

 

[masonphillip]

Couldn't agree more with serial numbering! I just don't get it (in most cases), especially with game used and autographs. A sticker from the same sheet is applied to various colors of border or whatever, yet one is more "rare" than the other? How is that not the same thing?

I did a post on this with the on-card Sweet Beginnings autographs in Sweet Spot: http://pricelesspursuit.wordpress.com/2 ... numbering/

One is numbered to 499, the other to 65. But how can the /65 possibly treated as more rare? Cahill signed the same stack, and there are 564 Cahill Sweet Beginnings autos out there. Some just happen to have a different color border. If the autograph is all you want, why not just get the less rare version for a lot cheaper? And this is coming from the guy who pulled the more "rare" version and STILL doesn't like it!!

Thats my thinking on buying autographs that are not base rookie autos. Hockey collectors are the exception to the low number parallel verison selling higher than the base version. They also love non numbered short print cards. But If I wanna buy a Jordan auto a 300 dollar on card is the same to me as a 1200 dollar on card low number one.

Bingo. A wise collector once told me something that changed the way I view memorabilia. He told me to always ask myself "Where is the value of the card?" when determining value. Your Jordan point is a great point. If I am in the markey for a Jordan auto I am not going to pay a ton for a lower serial number. A Jordan auto is a Jordan auto. I'll save a ton of cash and go with the cheaper copy.

Great point.

It also does make the point of why rookies are probably the most loved piece of the hobby. Because there is a finite number of them.

 

[G $MONEY$]

The Only company i trust close to 100% with their game used stuff is In The Game. I believe everything they use to be real.

 

[matchpenalty]

Game used card market is trash. Card comapnies love it, they don't even have to even prove the stuff is legit. Just hack it up and no one will know. Even then they have been busted putting garbage on cards.

I'd like to see card companies insert redemptions for full game used pieces that are authenticated by MLB auctions. Wouldn't it be cool if they bought a bunch of game used stars and stripes caps, game used pink Mothers Day bats and had redemptions for them. Much better than game used cards, by a mile. It is amazing how many people have dropped cards and went to collecting full game used pieces. Gameuseduniverse.com has tripled in members it seems in last year from card collectors switching over.

 

[wolfmanalfredo]

The blog asks: "what must card manufacturers do to keep the game used concept fresh?"

An interesting question, but does GU really need to be fresh? Do base cards need to be fresh?

There's only so much one can do to a piece of cardboard that size - and most people like their cardboard to be a certain size. Innovative design, useful stats on back, nice photography will always be the most important elements to a card.

i wonder what would happen if there was a set with the base cards being gu :?:

03 Topps Clubhouse collection was all GU, base to inserts

 

[jswaykos]

Game used card market is trash. Card comapnies love it, they don't even have to even prove the stuff is legit. Just hack it up and no one will know. Even then they have been busted putting garbage on cards.

I'd like to see card companies insert redemptions for full game used pieces that are authenticated by MLB auctions. Wouldn't it be cool if they bought a bunch of game used stars and stripes caps, game used pink Mothers Day bats and had redemptions for them. Much better than game used cards, by a mile. It is amazing how many people have dropped cards and went to collecting full game used pieces. Gameuseduniverse.com has tripled in members it seems in last year from card collectors switching over.

True, actual entire game-used pieces would be great, but they're priced WAY out of a lot of collectors' price ranges. Plus, they're not sold near the registers at Target.

 

[BunchOBull]

I'd like to see themes of the '90s like "Fabrics of the Game" come back, this time, the materials used to face the cards would be from game used items with the images printing dirrectly on to the fabric/wood/leather etc.

 

[subpop77]

Dead before we know it.

Heck, even autographs are slowly going downhill.

As many people have been yelling for some time ON CARD!!I is more atractable than a sticker band-aid auto. Make the cards of people who sign and don't have any redemptions. This would probably cut down on the cards made and increase the value.IMO
subpop77

 

[jswaykos]

If anything, why not just cut down on the number of players used for signatures/autos? I'd be OK with one per box if it was of someone decent.

 

[ChasHawk]

Game used card market is trash. Card comapnies love it, they don't even have to even prove the stuff is legit. Just hack it up and no one will know. Even then they have been busted putting garbage on cards.

I'd like to see card companies insert redemptions for full game used pieces that are authenticated by MLB auctions. Wouldn't it be cool if they bought a bunch of game used stars and stripes caps, game used pink Mothers Day bats and had redemptions for them. Much better than game used cards, by a mile. It is amazing how many people have dropped cards and went to collecting full game used pieces. Gameuseduniverse.com has tripled in members it seems in last year from card collectors switching over.

2007 UD Elements had 1 per case redemptions for full g/u items, some of them auto'd.

I was a little late to the party when I pulled mine, but they still sent me 2 g/u auto'd Garret Anderson OMLBs and a few boxes of newer product.

 

[matchpenalty]

Game used card market is trash. Card comapnies love it, they don't even have to even prove the stuff is legit. Just hack it up and no one will know. Even then they have been busted putting garbage on cards.

I'd like to see card companies insert redemptions for full game used pieces that are authenticated by MLB auctions. Wouldn't it be cool if they bought a bunch of game used stars and stripes caps, game used pink Mothers Day bats and had redemptions for them. Much better than game used cards, by a mile. It is amazing how many people have dropped cards and went to collecting full game used pieces. Gameuseduniverse.com has tripled in members it seems in last year from card collectors switching over.

True, actual entire game-used pieces would be great, but they're priced WAY out of a lot of collectors' price ranges. Plus, they're not sold near the registers at Target.

I think most card collectors think this and it's far from true. You can get get used MLB autheticated balls for $25-$50, same with scorecards. Bats can be real cheap from common types as well. Find them $25 or so on Ebay. Even at many team fanfest they start common/scrub players at $25 and some even are MLB authenticated. Jerseys start at $75. Heck during MEiGray summer and Holiday sales Texas Rangers can be had for $50. Even NHL jerseys at under $150 and same with Philadelphia Eagles gamers. Sometimes even the MLB/NHL/NFL auctions game used pieces can be had for deals. Just have to do more work. Your right on cards though with them being so easy to buy. But nothing like finding a full game used piece. I used to do only cards, then got into full game used and it blows away cards. Then you are always on the lookout for photomatches after it.

 

[sportscardtheory]

With all the garbage Upper Deck has been involved with, why would it shock anyone that they would be as low as to use non game-used material as game-used. The entire market is a joke to me. Trusting a card company to always do the right thing is incredibly naive... especially when it's UD. I stay away from anything that has a high chance of being fake, and there is absolutely NO way to ever prove if a game-used card is actually game-used. No thanks.