You want to see a different breed of card sellers nowadays...

[mrmopar]

Just look at the new Topps Pristine cards. I didn't notice this until now, but a LOT of sellers are removing them from the sealed Topps factory cases. This was once (and still should be) taboo and should be a buyers decision. All of the cards being popped out of the cases will make the sealed cards that much harder to find later, not to mention the show guys who always let cases like that get scratched up instead of protecting them. It's probably a rash of "flippers" who don't collect, never did and don't have a clue.

 

[WizardofOz1982]

Just look at the new Topps Pristine cards. I didn't notice this until now, but a LOT of sellers are removing them from the sealed Topps factory cases. This was once (and still should be) taboo and should be a buyers decision. All of the cards being popped out of the cases will make the sealed cards that much harder to find later, not to mention the show guys who always let cases like that get scratched up instead of protecting them. It's probably a rash of "flippers" who don't collect, never did and don't have a clue.

I haven't seen this happening. There are "raw" and "encased" versions of just about every parallel. Are you sure you aren't just seeing Orange Refractors (raw) and Orange Pristine Refractors (encased, different refractor effect, and marked Pristine on the back) and thinking they're the same? The Pristine refractor effect doesn't show up in photos very well at all.

On that note though, all the Pristine refractors for my Ryan Helsley rainbow are being liberated from their cases so they can go in binder pages and display better.

 

[mrmopar]

I haven't seen this happening. There are "raw" and "encased" versions of just about every parallel. Are you sure you aren't just seeing Orange Refractors (raw) and Orange Pristine Refractors (encased, different refractor effect, and marked Pristine on the back) and thinking they're the same? The Pristine refractor effect doesn't show up in photos very well at all.

On that note though, all the Pristine refractors for my Ryan Helsley rainbow are being liberated from their cases so they can go in binder pages and display better.

You could be and probably are correct. I frankly don't know anything about the issue and apparently was talking out of my ass! My apologies.

You are making that choice to free them once you own them, which is great. if/when you go to resell them, some buyers may be disappointed, some may not care less. I am still needing to keep the factory sealed cards sealed...for now.

 

[smapdi]

I don't know about the case issue, but people that came into the hobby the past few years definitely have different views. Most noticeably for me, the stigma of Panini's lack of license doesn't seem to bother them. Personally, I don't even look at Panini baseball stuff unless it's something I really like, such as the Flawless diamond cards or the animal print parallels of Select or Prizm because they just look sweet (I have a giraffe Prizm Yordan Alvarez and it's one of my favorites). But they'll be out there buying Prizm or Donruss and treating it the same as a Topps product. And all the fringe products are a lot more mainstream now in the quest for new value. Anything with Jordan on it, from Broders to the weird prismatic stickers or the 1985 Nike Jordan Postcard that always seemed undervalued to me are viewed as legit collectibles on the same tier as regular cards, or nearly so. Not everything is expensive but nearly everything has some value compared to a decade ago. The people that came into the hobby without the burden of Beckett's definition of things take a much different view on what is desirable and what is junk. Of course, a lot of that could be the result of the money that hit the hobby, so many dimes turning into dollars, that there was no choice but for prices to go up. But more open-minded collectors are keeping it going.

And it's probably inevitable due to the tidal wave of companies, but the old tier system of grading companies has been changed up. For a long time, the consensus was BGS for modern chrome stuff, PSA for vintage to semi-vintage (say 1948-1990) and SGC for pre-WWII stuff. Old companies like KSA or CSA were dead and buried, *** never got traction (some sort of scandal, too, but I never really learned about it), and all the grade-at-home companies from the first grading boom faded away. But PSA seems to be king of the hill for all segments now. Plus CSG took hold on the basis of their comic book track record and good timing, allowing for quick turnarounds while PSA and BGS were refusing new submissions. The others like HGA and whatnot seem to be hanging in. Not that they are selling for the same premiums as PSA, but people accept them. Also, people are lot more willing to get anything graded, even if it doesn't make financial sense. You could probably collect a complete PSA-graded 2023 Bowman Chrome set this year. People just send in everything, counting on getting enough 10s to make it all worthwhile.

 

[jmc855]

I don't know about the case issue, but people that came into the hobby the past few years definitely have different views. Most noticeably for me, the stigma of Panini's lack of license doesn't seem to bother them. Personally, I don't even look at Panini baseball stuff unless it's something I really like, such as the Flawless diamond cards or the animal print parallels of Select or Prizm because they just look sweet (I have a giraffe Prizm Yordan Alvarez and it's one of my favorites). But they'll be out there buying Prizm or Donruss and treating it the same as a Topps product. And all the fringe products are a lot more mainstream now in the quest for new value. Anything with Jordan on it, from Broders to the weird prismatic stickers or the 1985 Nike Jordan Postcard that always seemed undervalued to me are viewed as legit collectibles on the same tier as regular cards, or nearly so. Not everything is expensive but nearly everything has some value compared to a decade ago. The people that came into the hobby without the burden of Beckett's definition of things take a much different view on what is desirable and what is junk. Of course, a lot of that could be the result of the money that hit the hobby, so many dimes turning into dollars, that there was no choice but for prices to go up. But more open-minded collectors are keeping it going.

And it's probably inevitable due to the tidal wave of companies, but the old tier system of grading companies has been changed up. For a long time, the consensus was BGS for modern chrome stuff, PSA for vintage to semi-vintage (say 1948-1990) and SGC for pre-WWII stuff. Old companies like KSA or CSA were dead and buried, *** never got traction (some sort of scandal, too, but I never really learned about it), and all the grade-at-home companies from the first grading boom faded away. But PSA seems to be king of the hill for all segments now. Plus CSG took hold on the basis of their comic book track record and good timing, allowing for quick turnarounds while PSA and BGS were refusing new submissions. The others like HGA and whatnot seem to be hanging in. Not that they are selling for the same premiums as PSA, but people accept them. Also, people are lot more willing to get anything graded, even if it doesn't make financial sense. You could probably collect a complete PSA-graded 2023 Bowman Chrome set this year. People just send in everything, counting on getting enough 10s to make it all worthwhile.

Yup. I won't even consider Panini baseball stuff. Only Leaf autos and plates/ultra short print stuff that has defensible eye appeal. I ve always liked the 80s and 90s broders. To me those /10k shiny 1 off cards like Nolan Ryan beating on Ventura , Griffey Jr in various poses etc are cool as any licensed 90s base cardprinted in the bazillions lol. Grading and authentication have just become absurd overall.