Wind of Change: Shifting from Paper to Chrome

[BigRedMachine80]

Originally Posted by BaseballKing

I think this is mostly it. But perhaps it's also the constant ebbs and flows in the hobby. When I got back into it in 2018 I absolutely loathed Topps Chrome - and not just because it was a savage product to rip. I simply didn't like the look of it. I loved Bowman Chrome and flagship.

For some reason this year I have started to appreciate Topps Chrome a lot more than before. I have no idea why, but my opinion of it has gone from disliking it immensely, to really liking it.

We must have fallen victim to the same voodoo mind control, because I'm the same. When I got back into the hobby I didn't care about Topps chrome at all and I couldn't even tell you why. I just knew I wanted Bowman Chrome, it was king, and it was all I cared about.

Then, sometime around the end of Spring Training this year, I suddenly only wanted Topps chrome. Topps Chrome, Topps Chrome, gotta have more Topps Chrome. Currently, it's still all I care about. I simply don't like Bowman Chrome anymore and I don't know why.

[Chicosbailbonds]

Please Chrome, stay away from Heritage. TIA.

[BBases31]

Originally Posted by BigRedMachine80

We must have fallen victim to the same voodoo mind control, because I'm the same. When I got back into the hobby I didn't care about Topps chrome at all and I couldn't even tell you why. I just knew I wanted Bowman Chrome, it was king, and it was all I cared about.

Then, sometime around the end of Spring Training this year, I suddenly only wanted Topps chrome. Topps Chrome, Topps Chrome, gotta have more Topps Chrome. Currently, it's still all I care about. I simply don't like Bowman Chrome anymore and I don't know why.

Because you want what's popular and in demand. When I got back into collecting two years ago, I'd never heard of a rookie debut card. I began to hate them just as much everyone else. Bowman paper? Wasn't around when I was collecting before either. I won't touch it. Is there any logical reason for either? No, other than the market says they are plentiful and no one wants them

[BaseballKing]

Originally Posted by BigRedMachine80

We must have fallen victim to the same voodoo mind control, because I'm the same. When I got back into the hobby I didn't care about Topps chrome at all and I couldn't even tell you why. I just knew I wanted Bowman Chrome, it was king, and it was all I cared about.

Then, sometime around the end of Spring Training this year, I suddenly only wanted Topps chrome. Topps Chrome, Topps Chrome, gotta have more Topps Chrome. Currently, it's still all I care about. I simply don't like Bowman Chrome anymore and I don't know why.

This is very strange. Very strange indeed.

[pewe]

Originally Posted by Chicosbailbonds

Please Chrome, stay away from Heritage. TIA.

Wait... what??? Hasn’t chrome been part of Heritage for years?

And besides ROA, it is where the most value seems to be going?


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[MoreToppsPlease]

Originally Posted by pewe

Wait... what??? Hasn’t chrome been part of Heritage for years?

And besides ROA, it is where the most value seems to be going?

The Chrome in Heritage debases it.

It will be even worse with Heritage Sapphire Chrome, Heritage Sapphire Chrome X and Heritage Sapphire Chrome X Mini 3D releasing later this year.

[pewe]

Originally Posted by MoreToppsPlease

The Chrome in Heritage debases it.

It will be even worse with Heritage Sapphire Chrome, Heritage Sapphire Chrome X and Heritage Sapphire Chrome X Mini 3D releasing later this year.

It’s the creativity that Topps shows that really impresses me


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[ThoseBackPages]

Originally Posted by pewe

Wait... what??? Hasn’t chrome been part of Heritage for years?

since day one

[MoreToppsPlease]

Originally Posted by pewe

It’s the creativity that Topps shows that really impresses me

Or that they are able to make some people think that any one of these parallel products is fundamentally different than another

[Wrigs37]

Paper got huge with 18 update /thread

Trout update too like Dream mentioned on page one, but honestly Trout update didn’t shoot 1000% until people where scrambling for 18 update.

They actually helped each other.

Paper parallels are the cream of the crop in my eyes. Long term best stash. Paper is iconic and chrome has been around since... 96??? So 25 years of chrome to go on?? No matter what anyone says, that’s not long enough

[Archangel1775]

Originally Posted by Wrigs37

Paper got huge with 18 update /thread

Trout update too like Dream mentioned on page one, but honestly Trout update didn’t shoot 1000% until people where scrambling for 18 update.

They actually helped each other.

Paper parallels are the cream of the crop in my eyes. Long term best stash. Paper is iconic and chrome has been around since... 96??? So 25 years of chrome to go on?? No matter what anyone says, that’s not long enough

I do think Gem Mint graded paper parallels have upside as most are condition sensitive. That'll be determined by the player and their career though. As for Chrome being around since 96.....looking at some of the shows on Youtube...it overlaps all generations of collectors. Many, many young people in the hobby are coming over from basketball and that's all they know. 1996 is an iconic set in that sport and Chrome is King. As for baseball, that's yet to be determined but with Soto, Acuna and Tatis....that same trend is following suit with the Sapphire brand particularly. Refractors are seeing bigger numbers lately too

[Wrigs37]

Originally Posted by Archangel1775

I do think Gem Mint graded paper parallels have upside as most are condition sensitive. That'll be determined by the player and their career though. As for Chrome being around since 96.....looking at some of the shows on Youtube...it overlaps all generations of collectors. Many, many young people in the hobby are coming over from basketball and that's all they know. 1996 is an iconic set in that sport and Chrome is King. As for baseball, that's yet to be determined but with Soto, Acuna and Tatis....that same trend is following suit with the Sapphire brand particularly. Refractors are seeing bigger numbers lately too

Oh I whole heartedly agree with all that. I love chrome, I just think the High graded paper parallels that sell for 50% of its chrome counterpart in today’s market wins out in the absolute long haul. I mean, this is just me, but I’d prefer to have a black paper #ed /60-70 in PSA 10 than a red /5 PSA chrome 10. I’d rather have an Independence Day /76 PSA 10 over an Orange /25 PSA 10 chrome all day every day. Both papers in the comparison are considerably cheaper than the chrome VS examples

[BaseballKing]

Originally Posted by MoreToppsPlease

The Chrome in Heritage debases it.

It will be even worse with Heritage Sapphire Chrome, Heritage Sapphire Chrome X and Heritage Sapphire Chrome X Mini 3D releasing later this year.

No,no,no.

Heritage refractors - especially the black ones - are some of the nicest cards in the hobby.

[BaseballKing]

Originally Posted by MoreToppsPlease

The Chrome in Heritage debases it.

It will be even worse with Heritage Sapphire Chrome, Heritage Sapphire Chrome X and Heritage Sapphire Chrome X Mini 3D releasing later this year.

I'm not keen on the Sapphire everything myself.

A Topps Chrome Sapphire card is as about as nice as it gets but seeing it (probably inevitably) turn up as stand alone Bowman products when they already have Atomic parallels was pretty disappointing.

It will be interesting to see where this goes. The dilution (innovation?) of all products is in full swing and the market will dictate which ones thrive and which ones don't.

In any event there is absolutely nothing one can do about it other than to buy it or not to buy it.

[Raleigh504]

Originally Posted by BaseballKing

I diagree there. I sold my Wander and Jasson Dominguez paper 1sts for $25 each. I think Wander is still at about that price now.

And I don't quite get why people would want to go into a break knowing they're not getting the paper. Maybe it's just me because I'm not much into breaks but it does strike me as odd( I understand why the breaker would not wish to get bogged down shipping paper) that people are ok with not getting Bowman paper.

I like Bowman paper

I am also sure breakers don't ship paper cause they can double (maybe triple?) down on profits. Save on shipping for them, sell the break priced at all the cards and only give out half, and then sell the paper of players who are doing well or in lots via eBay.

Just my .02

[tyrith]

Originally Posted by Wrigs37

Oh I whole heartedly agree with all that. I love chrome, I just think the High graded paper parallels that sell for 50% of its chrome counterpart in today’s market wins out in the absolute long haul. I mean, this is just me, but I’d prefer to have a black paper #ed /60-70 in PSA 10 than a red /5 PSA chrome 10. I’d rather have an Independence Day /76 PSA 10 over an Orange /25 PSA 10 chrome all day every day. Both papers in the comparison are considerably cheaper than the chrome VS examples

While I don't expect the market to ever switch over to your preferences, your preferences definitely set you up to get to a collection that makes you happier for less money than if you were like most of us and preferred the chrome cards. My personal expectations don't have the market swinging back to paper to square up that parallel difference, but more power to you - I've said several times on these forums that the best advantage you can have over other collectors is to want things that other people don't want as much.

[Wrigs37]

Originally Posted by tyrith

While I don't expect the market to ever switch over to your preferences, your preferences definitely set you up to get to a collection that makes you happier for less money than if you were like most of us and preferred the chrome cards. My personal expectations don't have the market swinging back to paper to square up that parallel difference, but more power to you - I've said several times on these forums that the best advantage you can have over other collectors is to want things that other people don't want as much.

Zigging when people are zagging 😉

[griffan15]

Originally Posted by Wrigs37

Zigging when people are zagging 😉

Correct. I bought a ton of Topps Chrome in 2016-2019, but now I'm buying Bowman Chrome from 2019-2020.

However, I still buy more flagship then anything. It's not going anywhere, ever.

[Thor34]

I love #/d Topps Chrome parallels. You know, in advance, exactly how many of those are available. If you have a Gold #/50, you've got something pretty special. Never mind anything numbered even lower.
Complete shift to Topps Chrome for me.

[Chicosbailbonds]

Originally Posted by BaseballKing

No,no,no.

Heritage refractors - especially the black ones - are some of the nicest cards in the hobby.

I should have been more specific, I dont want a dedicated Chrome Heritage set. The topps black chrome parallel are very nice.

[eye4talent]

What I find perplexing is that there is usually a tilt one way or the other—often a considerable tilt, particularly when it comes to the parallels.

There are 50 Topps Chrome golds and 50 Father’s Day blues, 99 Vintage Stocks and 99 Chrome greens. Some of us prefer paper, some prefer Chrome, but most of us like both—and I think we all like rare cards of good players. So, why such disparities? (I know, a lot of it is following the crowd in the moment, and most market activity focuses on young players who likely don’t have lasting power.)

In these cases, I like to apply the HOF test. If there were Derek Jeter Topps black and Topps Chrome orange rookies, how would the market treat them? There would probably be a lot of love for both. Same with Topps gold and regular refractors—although, the more common refractors are a lot easier to come by, and these days you can get them in prism, pink, sepia, and X.

If Trout had a 2011 Topps Chrome Update and all its parallels, would the market forget about the paper black, gold, red, etc? I doubt it, right? They’d all be monster cards.

Of course, these are players who’ve withstood the test of time, and so more cards become more significant as a player becomes entrenched as historically significant figures in the game.

[unclemonkey]

Everything eventually rises in value if the player is special.

I bought into 60 cases of Bowman Draft one year. Sold enough to break even and still owned 200+ Bowman Draft Soto paper base. What cost .05cents, sold for $1 each after his debut.

Tatis and Gleyber has been a monsters for me with chrome, refractors, and minor color.

These were not even "1st Bowman"

I got a different approach these days, but still with the same mindset.

[ThoseBackPages]

Originally Posted by eye4talent

If Trout had a 2011 Topps Chrome, would the market forget about the paper black, gold, red, etc? I doubt it, right? They’d all be monster cards.

Trout made Flagship what it is today

if he were in 2011 Topps Chrome, the landscape would be different today

of that, i am sure.

[3rdpedal]

Interesting conversation, and great input from the board.

Why has Finest taken such a back seat to Chrome, when it's a premium stock shiny product with even more history?

[LVDan]

Originally Posted by 3rdpedal

Interesting conversation, and great input from the board.

Why has Finest taken such a back seat to Chrome, when it's a premium stock shiny product with even more history?

I agree, it's great to hear the strong takes from so many knowledgeable members. I've learned a lot.
I think the main reason Finest lags is that its pedigree is tied to those early superstar refractor cards and not so much iconic RCs. It's release date early in the RC year also disqualified so many key rookies from being included throughout the years (all the Update guys).