[QUOTE=Dbacksbaseball;15983107]Is it me or is 19-20 Prizm taking off? Still some available to me at a reasonable price. Look like boxes are approaching a few hundred regularly.[/QUOTE]

noticed this as well... was looking to buy more blasters (collecting the red mosaics) and noticed a big jump. On ebay I could get 5 blasters for the price of 4 now its almost 2x the price of retail for one lol

Buyer beware A LOT of the cards are warped out of the box. Noticed this since about February no matter where ive bough boxes from. Think I'm going to get a few more boxes call it quits and buy the remaining ones i need

(1) Werner will most likely start at Chelsea over Abraham.

(2) Aubameyang gets lots of attention both from the media and collectors. He doesn't have many cards. His auto is one of the ones collectors are constantly hoping gets included in new releases.

(3) Pulisic's move has helped his reputation tremendously-- both in the hobby and in the sport. His cards sell better now than they did when they first came out, and, while he initially struggled to get playing time, he was productive when he got it. He proved that he belonged on a top flight premier league team and silenced many critics. He does need to stay healthy but that is true of anybody.

[QUOTE=Akphillips86;16003719]He still has to perform, but his cards have potential to jump for sure. [/QUOTE]

That's kinda the point I've been trying to make in a nutshell about all of these good young players....they've got to match or exceed their current level of performance moving forward in order to keep the hobby spotlight on them.

And given all the variables that come into play (playing time, health, new manager, new system, etc.), that's usually easier said than done.

Too many people assume that potential leads to guaranteed success. Reality isn't quite so kind. A lot of good players move to a new club and see their careers stagnate.

I'm not so sure Werner will start directly over Abraham, rather we see Werner on the left, Abraham in the middle, Ziyech on the right, at least to start. If Abraham struggles we'll see Werner move in to the middle and Pulisic come in. A lot of mouths to feed at Chelsea and foreign players often need time to acclimatise to the premier league so I'd temper initial expectations for Werner but he has a higher ceiling if he does well at Chelsea comapred to RB Leipzig.

edit: as a second derivative knock on effect by not going to Liverpool to be a long term replacement for Firmino, Werner has created an opportunity for someone else. The more I think about it the more I think Havertz, perhaps with a little bulking up, could fill that role as a false 9 or even as a future number 9 really well, with the ability to interchange with Salah on the right.

mfw13 sounds like the only one who knows what he's talking about, everyone else has blinders on or too much invested.

The story is always the same in this hobby for the last 30 years. It just repeats over and over and people never learn.

[QUOTE=k13;16007536]The story is always the same in this hobby for the last 30 years. It just repeats over and over and k13 never learns.[/QUOTE]
I do agree.

[QUOTE=k13;16007536]mfw13 sounds like the only one who knows what he's talking about[/QUOTE]

Like when he said Footballers peak at 24?

[QUOTE=k13;16007536]mfw13 sounds like the only one who knows what he's talking about[/QUOTE]

Like when he said Footballers peak at 27? :doh:

If you're going to compare everyone to Messi and CR7, then you're going to have a bad time. If you're focused on "the hobby spotlight", then you're clearly an investor trying to make a quick buck, which also tells me that you're new to football collecting. I've been collecting this sport for almost a decade, and only in the past two years or so has there been any money in this.

The recent growth of football collecting is unprecedented, and anyone who says they understand what will happen in the next two years is selling snake oil.

Buyer beware.

[QUOTE=YayNJ;16007652]Like when he said Footballers peak at 27? :doh:[/QUOTE]

I'm confused. You think that's too old or too young?

[QUOTE=AsianBrizz;16007932]If you're going to compare everyone to Messi and CR7, then you're going to have a bad time. If you're focused on "the hobby spotlight", then you're clearly an investor trying to make a quick buck, which also tells me that you're new to football collecting. I've been collecting this sport for almost a decade, and only in the past two years or so has there been any money in this.

The recent growth of football collecting is unprecedented, and anyone who says they understand what will happen in the next two years is selling snake oil.

Buyer beware.[/QUOTE]

👍👍. Completely agree on this.

[QUOTE=Raj3sh;16010247]👍👍. Completely agree on this.[/QUOTE]

Agreed with this, collected stickers and “cheap” cards for many years.

I do think the market could be flipped by the entrance of Panini into the hobby, they took over the other sports and have legitimised (perhaps too soon to say that) the soccer card market by running their brand and products in parallel.

The fact a Flawless Lebron auto sells for xxx legitimises the soccer product in some ways - although value in soccer seems limited to the two hillclimbers and hot prospects/ “rookies”

Hard to be sure of anything with regard to long term value, soccer collectors have been around forever but usually with a set builders mindset and not necessarily concerned with condition.

This way of collecting is different and a step change to many, it could take a generation to set in fully, bring in a whole new wave of collectors or it might never take off...

Many of the old school soccer guys I speak to (sticker forums) haven’t caught on just yet or outright refuse to join the party, so it seems the prices are driven by mainly card guys, speculators and individual fans.

One thing I am sure of - of the current crop of “rookies” /young players, there won’t be one who matches up to CR7 or Messi in the end, I just don’t see it.

If you “invest” in anyone invest in the goats.

When the market has been flipped on its head, experience can actually work against you. It’s a new world out there and a lot of the rules have changed. People who have collected other sports have taken a sizable interest in soccer and they aren’t interested in set building. They are interested in graded rookies, low numbered parallels, and on card autos. Don’t expect this to change any time soon.

Cards are worth what people are willing to pay for them, and clearly they are willing to pay far more for modern trading cards across all sports than they used to. Soccer isn’t an isolated phenomenon, it’s just the last sport to experience the surge.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[QUOTE=Akphillips86;16011205]When the market has been flipped on its head, experience can actually work against you. It’s a new world out there and a lot of the rules have changed. People who have collected other sports have taken a sizable interest in soccer and they aren’t interested in set building. They are interested in graded rookies, low numbered parallels, and on card autos. Don’t expect this to change any time soon.

Cards are worth what people are willing to pay for them, and clearly they are willing to pay far more for modern trading cards across all sports than they used to. Soccer isn’t an isolated phenomenon, it’s just the last sport to experience the surge.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk[/QUOTE]

Who will they sell this back to? the greater fool theory might work

It's crazy to me to see soccer fans trying to argue that soccer cards should be worth significantly less than other sports.

[QUOTE=KhalDrogo;16011271]It's crazy to me to see soccer fans trying to argue that soccer cards should be worth significantly less than other sports.[/QUOTE]

If the cost is high then we can't afford anymore. We could not open a box for fun. My collecting have significantly come down.

[QUOTE=Raj3sh;16011286]If the cost is high then we can't afford anymore. We could not open a box for fun. My collecting have significantly come down.[/QUOTE]
Wax is expensive, no doubt. Singles are still cheap. I'm still buying nice Messi parallels for under $30.

Transfer market watch... Real Madrid just bid 90m for Kai.

[QUOTE=KhalDrogo;16011319]Wax is expensive, no doubt. Singles are still cheap. I'm still buying nice Messi parallels for under $30.[/QUOTE]

get some ronaldos too :)!

[QUOTE=Prospectorsadvantage;16011354]Transfer market watch... Real Madrid just bid 90m for Kai.[/QUOTE]

That's almost enough.

[QUOTE=Raj3sh;16011355]get some ronaldos too :)![/QUOTE]
I'm on it! I find that Messi shows up far more often for what I like. Wish I had been collecting at release for some of these sets.

[QUOTE=Prospectorsadvantage;16011354]Transfer market watch... Real Madrid just bid 90m for Kai.[/QUOTE]


71 million in real money, and it got turned down yesterday.

Just my opinion. European Football / Soccer cards will have significance but until the MLS can compete as a top 10 league and they are nowhere close, those in the States will not follow or collect like Europeans. It's no secret that we are blessed with the NFL, NBA, MLB & NHL but the level of talent in the MLS is lacking. North America has been blessed with some amazing sports Leagues but Soccer isn't one of them.

If the card market wishes to have strong support in the US, it needs to have a team in the States in the MLS and Mexico. Traveling to watch the games is important therefore be in a Mexican League and being in the MLS will bring viewers to realize how skilled this league really is.

Then the card market will flourish, my opinion.

[QUOTE=AsianBrizz;16007932]If you're going to compare everyone to Messi and CR7, then you're going to have a bad time. If you're focused on "the hobby spotlight", then you're clearly an investor trying to make a quick buck, which also tells me that you're new to football collecting. I've been collecting this sport for almost a decade, and only in the past two years or so has there been any money in this.

The recent growth of football collecting is unprecedented, and anyone who says they understand what will happen in the next two years is selling snake oil.

Buyer beware.[/QUOTE]

Odd take because no one has a crystal ball. But lets assume what looks to be true that the economy is going to make a bounce back. Then lets assume smooth sailing economically for 24 months. Considering cards just continued to explode in a pandemic, the ONLY danger to cards is itself. The only way values, and wax prices go down, is if people stop group breaking, which doesn't look like it will happen.

The Soccer market is becoming very similar to the basketball market, Mega-stars and rookies, expect big money. Stars, and all time greats....expect pennies.

If you want to make money, buy sealed wax and sit on it for a few weeks. The ability to turn 30-40% profits takes weeks anymore....not months and years.

[QUOTE=Akphillips86;16011205]

Cards are worth what people are willing to pay for them, and clearly they are willing to pay far more for modern trading cards across all sports than they used to. [B]Soccer isn’t an isolated phenomenon, it’s just the last sport to experience the surge.
[/B]
[/QUOTE]

Hockey says 'Hello'

I was essentially priced out of basketball wax following the 2018-19 season. I grew up on football, baseball cards and Fleer basketball (stuff used to be $.25/pack) but I have very little interest in FB/BB products these days. Seeing the SMR values for mid 2000s Bowman Chrome is heartbreaking. So I started ripping & accumulating footy assets; smartest decisions I ever made.

Footy cards are in their infancy. Panini sticker-based products from Europe have a multi generational following however wax based products are different compared to the other 4 major sports. So the old sticker collectors along with the new collectors/flippers/breakers are creating this new hype. My biggest mistake was not buying every graded Messi true rookie last year but happy with what I accumulated overall. Wax will definitely see an uptick following this year’s releases. There is no way stuff goes down/stays the same. And whomever said buying wax was smart is correct.