Topps Chrome vs Bowman Chrome

[golsson]

Good evening. Looking for some feedback/opinions from the group. My son and I have decided to focus on collecting a chrome baseball product. However we are struggling to decide whether to focus on Topps Chrome or Bowman Chrome. He likes them both and so do I.

Our goal is to go deeper on one product versus buying a bunch of different products.

Does anyone have a recommendations or thoughts? Or is there another product we should consider?

Thanks for the input.

[Links242]

Topps chrome for RCs
Bowman Chrome for prospecting (yes there are RCs with Bowman as well but not as popular compared to Topps Chrome)

So it depends on what you and your son prefers.

[MiamiMarlinsFan]

Topps chrome. Easier to go deeper on.

[hermanotarjeta]

It should come down to whether you prefer following MLB or MILB.

[rwperu34]

As stated, Bowman Chrome for prospects, Topps Chrome for RC. So depends on who you collect and where they are in their career.

You are in Michigan. That could mean Detroit Tigers. It could mean West Michigan Whitecaps. It could mean Great Lakes Loons. Or it could mean Lansing Lugnuts. Or it could be Toledo, Cleveland, Fort Wayne, or even Chicago. I'd say whichever stadium you find yourself in most often determines prospect vs RC.

Or both, with a 2:1 ratio to the favorite. I do agree it's not a good idea to come in looking at 20 products to start, but two? Pretty easily two of the top three as far as main products go.

[cardsin47]

Bowman for Prospects
Topps for Rookies and other year MLB Year Cards

Good thing is, both Products are excellent and in high demand. If you are going to focus on particular Players and not just product? ~ could get fun doing a little of both — bowman chrome will often ( not always ) have a players Prospect card 2-ish years before the RC hits Topps Chrome

i.e. 2016 bowman chrome has Soto’s Prospect Card / 2018 Topps Update Chrome for his RC

[LVDan]

For MLB rookies Bowman Chrome (and BC Sapphire) are sneaky good IMO. The RC color parallels look sharp. Less eyes on these than TC at release and can usually be picked up for a fraction of the cost. I’d much rather target BC rookie color than settle for similar prices wave derivatives in Topps Chrome.


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[ThoseBackPages]

both for sure.

live it up!

[majestik101]

If given the choice between the two, Topps Chrome.

If money was no object, I'd go with Finest and Bowman's Best too

[sportzking]

I’d say both if you can. Despite the prospect and rookie card debate, Bowman chrome will always command more demand, especially if it’s an autograph version. It does cost more so if you’re planning on going deeper like rainbows and stuff then Topps chrome would be more accessible/ affordable.

[MoreToppsPlease]

TC has always been oriented towards collecting. BC has always been oriented to people who like NFTs and crypto. Topps used to like playing one off the other, but not as much anymore.

Originally Posted by sportzking

I’d say both if you can. Despite the prospect and rookie card debate, Bowman chrome will always command more demand, especially if it’s an autograph version. It does cost more so if you’re planning on going deeper like rainbows and stuff then Topps chrome would be more accessible/ affordable.

The only people who use the word ‘always’ is this context are prospectors and flippers. To be fair, they’re often proved wrong, eventually. The only BC items that have been in greater demand are autos, but that’s likely because of their print run and hoarding.

[Archangel1775]

Originally Posted by sportzking

I’d say both if you can. Despite the prospect and rookie card debate, Bowman chrome will always command more demand, especially if it’s an autograph version. It does cost more so if you’re planning on going deeper like rainbows and stuff then Topps chrome would be more accessible/ affordable.

This can confuse people. Are you comparing the 1st Bowman Chrome Prospect Auto to the Topps Chrome Rookie card or are you comparing a 2nd Year Bowman Chrome Prospect Auto to a Topps Chrome Rookie card or are you comparing a XXXX Bowman Chrome Prospect Auto to a XXXX Bowman's Best Auto or are you comparing a Bowman Chrome Rookie Card auto to a Topps Chrome Rooke Card Auto?


To the OP, Topps Chrome in 2022 should be a blast as there are players your son would have heard of amongst his social circle (Trout, Tatis Jr. , Soto, Acuna, etc.) and the rookie class should be pretty big dependent on checklist. Then you have the special Target Mega Topps Update w/ exclusive Topps Chrome Update cards that can normally be found at retail. Not sure if Fanatics is changing that this year though.

[sportzking]

Originally Posted by Archangel1775

This can confuse people. Are you comparing the 1st Bowman Chrome Prospect Auto to the Topps Chrome Rookie card or are you comparing a 2nd Year Bowman Chrome Prospect Auto to a Topps Chrome Rookie card or are you comparing a XXXX Bowman Chrome Prospect Auto to a XXXX Bowman's Best Auto or are you comparing a Bowman Chrome Rookie Card auto to a Topps Chrome Rooke Card Auto?

Talking about the first BC base auto compared to a TC base first auto.

People can argue all they want about collecting, flipping, value, prospects, and whatever. From what I see a Bowman Chrome auto always goes for more than a Topps Chrome auto on the same tier.

[JohnnyAppleseed]

Originally Posted by MoreToppsPlease

TC has always been oriented towards collecting. BC has always been oriented to people who like NFTs and crypto. Topps used to like playing one off the other, but not as much anymore.

Boy this is a bold take considering Bowman Chrome predates crypto entirely by over a decade.

Bowman Chrome has always been about the rookie card. Most people consider the first Bowman Chrome card the first true professional card of any player, so it commands a premium, auto or not. Collecting the vets from a Bowman Chrome set has almost always been cheaper than the Topps counterpart, although until the last few years or so we're talking a $2 refractor vs. a $3 refractor.

It really comes down to what specifically you're looking to collect OP. Do you want to pay a premium for the "first" card of a player or do you want players in their pro uniform? You could simply collect whichever sets you find more attractive as well.

I, personally, enjoyed collecting Topps chrome more. You would get neat insert sets from time to time. But the prices right now are 3x what they used to be and they're printing more parallels than 05 Donruss products, so I am not collecting them at the moment.

[jduds]

Originally Posted by MoreToppsPlease

TC has always been oriented towards collecting. BC has always been oriented to people who like NFTs and crypto. Topps used to like playing one off the other, but not as much anymore.



The only people who use the word ‘always’ is this context are prospectors and flippers. To be fair, they’re often proved wrong, eventually. The only BC items that have been in greater demand are autos, but that’s likely because of their print run and hoarding.

Some strange shots fired there. I'm not really sure about Topps Chrome being geared more for collecting or even sure what is meant by that other than set collecting, which while more people put together the Topps Chrome set isn't really a major draw compared to rookie autos and parallels which happen to drive Bowman as well. There might be a bit of a recent overlap between Bowman and the NFT crowd, but I think that is a very small and new overlap and find the longterm Bowman folks to be highly involved with following baseball.

[pewe]

Originally Posted by jduds

Some strange shots fired there. I'm not really sure about Topps Chrome being geared more for collecting or even sure what is meant by that other than set collecting, which while more people put together the Topps Chrome set isn't really a major draw compared to rookie autos and parallels which happen to drive Bowman as well. There might be a bit of a recent overlap between Bowman and the NFT crowd, but I think that is a very small and new overlap and find the longterm Bowman folks to be highly involved with following baseball.

Maybe he’s saying that few collectors start their PC when a player gets their 1st Bowman in the minors. So most buyers of bowman at release are “investors” hoping to find someone to flip. And given that attitude, those bowman buyers are more akin to investors in other alternative assets?


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[Hail2TheVictors]

One thing I don't see discusses as much as it should be is how strong Bowman 1st Chrome have been holding up - both non auto and auto 1st Bowman Chrome.

Even when called up, and after, the 1st Bowman Chrome is the stronger option when compared to Topps Chrome, IMO.

For that reason, I would go 1st Bowman Chrome. It also gets you into minor league baseball, which is a blast for a father/son.

[pewe]

Originally Posted by Hail2TheVictors

Even when called up, and after, the 1st Bowman Chrome is the stronger option when compared to Topps Chrome, IMO.

A couple folks on here tried to look into the question of whether there is more appreciation post RC launch for the RC or the 1st Bowman. And I think there was some mixed findings (I think Trout might have been one case where 1st Bowman did better, and that was using the one super high sale during COVID).

Have you seen any more work on it? It would be fascinating to know if 1st Bowman peaks on a returns basis at RC release. Or is able to keep up (or exceed) RC thereafter.


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[Hail2TheVictors]

Originally Posted by pewe

A couple folks on here tried to look into the question of whether there is more appreciation post RC launch for the RC or the 1st Bowman. And I think there was some mixed findings (I think Trout might have been one case where 1st Bowman did better, and that was using the one super high sale during COVID).

Have you seen any more work on it? It would be fascinating to know if 1st Bowman peaks on a returns basis at RC release. Or is able to keep up (or exceed) RC thereafter.


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I haven't seen that - sounds interesting. I don't have any research to base this on, just kind of following things as I sell guys who are called up, etc.

Just in general, it seems like the 1st Bowman Chrome (auto especially) really holds strong - at call up, and well after (comparatively speaking vs other MLB releases, etc).

I do think 1st Bowman is especially strong in cases like Wander, where he will have a million different RC. With all of these options, the 1st Bowman is kind of the unquestioned option in terms of value and brand. The 1st Bowman brand is really strong.

[MoreToppsPlease]

Originally Posted by JohnnyAppleseed

Boy this is a bold take considering Bowman Chrome predates crypto entirely by over a decade.

This ‘timing’ take doesn’t account for anything though as they both exist.

BC is more like an NFT than crypto in that NFTs aren’t physical whereas BC doesn’t show the proper physical team the prospect plays with. Both definitely require a healthy imagination to buy into them.

Originally Posted by JohnnyAppleseed

Bowman Chrome has always been about the rookie card. Most people consider the first Bowman Chrome card the first true professional card of any player, so it commands a premium, auto or not. Collecting the vets from a Bowman Chrome set has almost always been cheaper than the Topps counterpart, although until the last few years or so we're talking a $2 refractor vs. a $3 refractor.

BC has always been about the pre-rookie card, not the rookie card; calling them ‘rookie cards’ was always an obvious gimmick by Topps to sell cards people ordinarily do not want - cards of players decidedly NOT in the MLB. Furthermore, generally only the BC *auto*may garner a premium, and that’s partially attributable to print runs.

Any value argument doesn’t make either TC or BC better or worse, But we can say the pool of people who tend to buy BC is far smaller and buy for different reasons than the folks who buy and are more interested in TC.

Originally Posted by JohnnyAppleseed

It really comes down to what specifically you're looking to collect OP. Do you want to pay a premium for the "first" card of a player or do you want players in their pro uniform? You could simply collect whichever sets you find more attractive as well.

Other sets like Major League Debut are also first professional cards. Do these also command a premium?

Originally Posted by jduds

Some strange shots fired there. I'm not really sure about Topps Chrome being geared more for collecting or even sure what is meant by that other than set collecting, which while more people put together the Topps Chrome set isn't really a major draw compared to rookie autos and parallels which happen to drive Bowman as well. There might be a bit of a recent overlap between Bowman and the NFT crowd, but I think that is a very small and new overlap and find the longterm Bowman folks to be highly involved with following baseball.

Any way one looks at it, BC is a niche product while TC is mainstream, partially because prospecting is a very niche activity. People who like pre-rookies should buy BC, but it’s fair to say most everyone who buys BC intends to sell it as soon as possible.

[Archangel1775]

Originally Posted by sportzking

Talking about the first BC base auto compared to a TC base first auto.

People can argue all they want about collecting, flipping, value, prospects, and whatever. From what I see a Bowman Chrome auto always goes for more than a Topps Chrome auto on the same tier.

Yeah, that started in 2001 with Albert Pujols…..Mike Trout in 2009 is another good example……it’s actually the first lesson in collecting baseball cards. You already have people calling a prospect card a rookie card in this very thread. Ultimately you’re comparing two completely different cards. It’s like telling someone that the Lamborghini is better than an F350. A flip boy and a farmer will have two different opinions

[rwperu34]

Originally Posted by Hail2TheVictors

One thing I don't see discusses as much as it should be is how strong Bowman 1st Chrome have been holding up - both non auto and auto 1st Bowman Chrome.

Even when called up, and after, the 1st Bowman Chrome is the stronger option when compared to Topps Chrome, IMO.

For that reason, I would go 1st Bowman Chrome. It also gets you into minor league baseball, which is a blast for a father/son.

They've held up better than common Topps Chrome stuff for sure, but BCA are definitely falling (or have fallen).

[rwperu34]

Originally Posted by pewe

A couple folks on here tried to look into the question of whether there is more appreciation post RC launch for the RC or the 1st Bowman. And I think there was some mixed findings (I think Trout might have been one case where 1st Bowman did better, and that was using the one super high sale during COVID).

Have you seen any more work on it? It would be fascinating to know if 1st Bowman peaks on a returns basis at RC release. Or is able to keep up (or exceed) RC thereafter.


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My work says they pretty much go up and down in tandem. The spread is wider now due to the PSA deluge and print runs, but overall I'd expect a 1st Bowman Chrome and a Topps Chrome RC to move in a similar way. The BC typically holds more value because of the lower print run. For similar #'d cards I pretty much price them the same.

[golsson]

Thanks everyone for the input. The comments about Finest and Bowman's Best are also interesting and got my son and I looking at those also. Much appreciated to everyone.

[ThoseBackPages]

Originally Posted by golsson

Thanks everyone for the input. The comments about Finest and Bowman's Best are also interesting and got my son and I looking at those also. Much appreciated to everyone.

most Topps chromium MLB brands before 2007 are fantastic looking

it was in 2007 when Topps decided to save money and remove etching from most of their chromium releases. Sad indeed.