muzzy66
OzCardTrader
Hi everyone,
I've only just started to get back into basketball cards (with some real enthusiasm!) after being out of the hobby for many years, so when I saw this forum I thought I'd sign up and introduce myself!
I started collecting basketball cards as a young'un back around 1992 (when I was in around 2nd grade) - was a big Patrick Ewing/Karl Malone/Penny Hardaway fan. My prized card for years was a 1993-94 Penny Hardaway refractor that I still have. It's value is now about 1/8 of what it once was, but still love the card!
A few months back I've ordered some boxes just for fun - here are the ones I have bought as well as the key hits from each:
* 1 x 2013/14 Panini Crusade
* 1 x 2012/13 Panini Hobby (Bradley Beal Auto)
* 1 x 2012/13 Panini Elite Series (Eric Gordon Status Die-Cut Auto #04/10)
* 1 x 2013/14 Panini Gold Standard (Kobe Bryant Marks Of Gold Redemption #/25)
* 1 x 2013/14 Panini Immaculate Collection (David robinson Patch Auto Gold #50/50, Andre Roberson Rookie Patch Auto #16/21, Kevin Durant Gold Parallel #2/10, Thaddeus Young Ink #9/10)
* 1 x 2012/13 Panini Limited (Blake Griffin Lights Out #198/199
* 1 x 2012-13 Panini Momntum (Kobe Bryant Momental Marks #53/149)
* 1 x 2013/14 Panini National Treasures (Giannis Antetokounmpo Kobe All Rookie Gold #19/25, Dominique Wilkens Signatures #28/35, Scottie Pippen Colossal #23/99)
* 1 x 2013/14 Panini NBA Finals Promo Pack (13/14 Panini Tim Hardaway Jr Rookie Patch Auto #13/25)
* 1 x 2012/13 Panini Signatures (Blake Griffin Blue #6/15)
* 3 x 2013/14 Panini Signatures (Jordan Crawford Vet Film Auto #1/1, Kevin Durant Dynamic Ink Redemption #/35, Marcus Smart Rookie X-Change, David Robinson Film Card Red #07/10, Russel Westbrook Red #7/10)
* 1 x 2010/11 Panini Totally certified (Lebron James Fabic of the Game #222/299)
* 1 x 2012/13 Upper Deck Fleer Retro (Larry Bird 97-98 Ultra Platinum Medallion #68/100, Hakeem Olajuwon Molten Metal)
* 1 x 2011/12 Upper Deck All-Time Greats (Magic Johnson Illustrious Signatures #6/15)
* 1 x 2013/14 Upper Deck All-Time Greats 3 Box Case (Michael Jordan Signatures #43/45, Michael Jordan Gold Parallel #01/50, Magic Johnson Signatures 08/50)
* 1 x 2013/14 Upper Deck Black (Paul George Signatures #22/75, Hakeem Olajuwon Old School #64/75)
* 1 x 2012/13 Upper Deck Equisite Collection (Michael Jordan Signatures #21/99, John Havlicek Collegiate Signatures #39/45, Clyde Drexler Endorsements #54/99)
* 1 x 2012/13 Upper Deck SP Authentic (Michael Cooper By the Letter #38/75)
* 1 x 2010/11 Upper Deck Ultimate Collection (Bob Lanier Signatures #54/99)
So far I have found that my favorite boxes to break have been:
* Panini Immaculate Collection
* Panini Signatures
* Upper Deck Exquisite Collection
* Upper Deck UD Black
* Upper Deck All-Time Greats
I'm really favouring Upper Deck products overall at this stage, not only because I've gotten my best hits with them but also (and mostly) because I just really like the designs of their cards and the quality of the players in their sets. I really like the silver/gold ink on black background and the very classic designs - it's a classy touch and a nice change for the sea of white that's in every other product. Even in the case of the Exquisite cards that are white, they just seem to do a nice job of decorating them to look different and unique. Love their books also - much nicer IMO than any of the book cards I've seen from Panini. Also to me the cards seem to have a more solid weight to them and just feel more equisitely (pun intended) finished. Finally the high end sets (i.e. not SP and Retro) have very few scrub players, meaning it's very rare to get a break where you don't have at least one nice card from a popular player. Oh and as far as I'm aware ALL signatures are on-card in Equisite, Black and ATG.
The life-saving products for Panini (in my eyes) have been Immaculate and Signaturews. Immaculate might be my favorite product right now, period (up there with Exquisite). They have a stunning card design, a quality feel, quality, good inserts and a nice player checklist. Far superior IMO to the similarly priced National Treasures. National treasures just seems very big gamble to me, and the cards just don't feel or look as nice IMO...plus a lot of unknown players.
signatures also seems like a fantastic option as a value buy (currently $70 at D&A). While there don't seem to be a lot of big dollar hits in the sets, there also seems to be very few bad breaks from this product. The Draft X-Change cards for example (one per box) of even the worst players seem to be worth around $25, which is about 1/3 of the box pice returned in one card. Not just value though, they are classy card designs and the film cards (IMO) are both great looking and nicely innovative - a rarity these days. It's been my 'value' pick of choice so far.
Anyway, the problem I face now is that so much with these breaks that I just want to keep buying boxes...and I think I've probably spent about $3,000 in the past 3 months including the most recent order I just placed!
I don't know if I've just been lucky with the breaks so far, or if these breaks have been pretty typical of what you get from the products these days. If it's normal, then wow - this is a great era for card collecting! If it's not normal, then I should probably cut the buying back before the bad luck catches up with me!
Anyway, I've decided I'm going to do one last monster buy and then I'm going to cut myself off for a long time...maybe 6 months or even a year.
Here is wha I have ordered so far for the final break:
* 1 x 13/14 Leaf Best of Basketball
* 2 x 11/12 Upper Deck Exquisite (D&A's price of $340 US was just too cheap to pass up!)
* 1 x 2011/12 Upper Deck UD Black
* 1 x 2011/12 Panini Gold Standard (as this look like the best year for Gold)
* 1 x 2004/05 Topps Jumbo
* 1 x 2009/10 Upper Deck Hobby
* 1 x 2007/08 Fleer Hot Prospects Retail
Here are the last few items I still want to add:
* 1 x 2013/14 Upper Deck All-Time Greats
* 1 x 2013/14 Upper Deck UD Black (too cheap now at $160 US at D&A's)
* 1 x 2013/14 Panini Preferred
* 1 x 2012/13 Panni Select
Hopefully this will give me enough fun to allow me to put the addiction to rest for a while! :/
Do you think this is a solid selection of boxes? Also please let me know if you want me to film any of these breaks when they come, maybe I can create a youtube account and put it up if anybody has an interest in some of these products.
- Peter
I've only just started to get back into basketball cards (with some real enthusiasm!) after being out of the hobby for many years, so when I saw this forum I thought I'd sign up and introduce myself!
I started collecting basketball cards as a young'un back around 1992 (when I was in around 2nd grade) - was a big Patrick Ewing/Karl Malone/Penny Hardaway fan. My prized card for years was a 1993-94 Penny Hardaway refractor that I still have. It's value is now about 1/8 of what it once was, but still love the card!
A few months back I've ordered some boxes just for fun - here are the ones I have bought as well as the key hits from each:
* 1 x 2013/14 Panini Crusade
* 1 x 2012/13 Panini Hobby (Bradley Beal Auto)
* 1 x 2012/13 Panini Elite Series (Eric Gordon Status Die-Cut Auto #04/10)
* 1 x 2013/14 Panini Gold Standard (Kobe Bryant Marks Of Gold Redemption #/25)
* 1 x 2013/14 Panini Immaculate Collection (David robinson Patch Auto Gold #50/50, Andre Roberson Rookie Patch Auto #16/21, Kevin Durant Gold Parallel #2/10, Thaddeus Young Ink #9/10)
* 1 x 2012/13 Panini Limited (Blake Griffin Lights Out #198/199
* 1 x 2012-13 Panini Momntum (Kobe Bryant Momental Marks #53/149)
* 1 x 2013/14 Panini National Treasures (Giannis Antetokounmpo Kobe All Rookie Gold #19/25, Dominique Wilkens Signatures #28/35, Scottie Pippen Colossal #23/99)
* 1 x 2013/14 Panini NBA Finals Promo Pack (13/14 Panini Tim Hardaway Jr Rookie Patch Auto #13/25)
* 1 x 2012/13 Panini Signatures (Blake Griffin Blue #6/15)
* 3 x 2013/14 Panini Signatures (Jordan Crawford Vet Film Auto #1/1, Kevin Durant Dynamic Ink Redemption #/35, Marcus Smart Rookie X-Change, David Robinson Film Card Red #07/10, Russel Westbrook Red #7/10)
* 1 x 2010/11 Panini Totally certified (Lebron James Fabic of the Game #222/299)
* 1 x 2012/13 Upper Deck Fleer Retro (Larry Bird 97-98 Ultra Platinum Medallion #68/100, Hakeem Olajuwon Molten Metal)
* 1 x 2011/12 Upper Deck All-Time Greats (Magic Johnson Illustrious Signatures #6/15)
* 1 x 2013/14 Upper Deck All-Time Greats 3 Box Case (Michael Jordan Signatures #43/45, Michael Jordan Gold Parallel #01/50, Magic Johnson Signatures 08/50)
* 1 x 2013/14 Upper Deck Black (Paul George Signatures #22/75, Hakeem Olajuwon Old School #64/75)
* 1 x 2012/13 Upper Deck Equisite Collection (Michael Jordan Signatures #21/99, John Havlicek Collegiate Signatures #39/45, Clyde Drexler Endorsements #54/99)
* 1 x 2012/13 Upper Deck SP Authentic (Michael Cooper By the Letter #38/75)
* 1 x 2010/11 Upper Deck Ultimate Collection (Bob Lanier Signatures #54/99)
So far I have found that my favorite boxes to break have been:
* Panini Immaculate Collection
* Panini Signatures
* Upper Deck Exquisite Collection
* Upper Deck UD Black
* Upper Deck All-Time Greats
I'm really favouring Upper Deck products overall at this stage, not only because I've gotten my best hits with them but also (and mostly) because I just really like the designs of their cards and the quality of the players in their sets. I really like the silver/gold ink on black background and the very classic designs - it's a classy touch and a nice change for the sea of white that's in every other product. Even in the case of the Exquisite cards that are white, they just seem to do a nice job of decorating them to look different and unique. Love their books also - much nicer IMO than any of the book cards I've seen from Panini. Also to me the cards seem to have a more solid weight to them and just feel more equisitely (pun intended) finished. Finally the high end sets (i.e. not SP and Retro) have very few scrub players, meaning it's very rare to get a break where you don't have at least one nice card from a popular player. Oh and as far as I'm aware ALL signatures are on-card in Equisite, Black and ATG.
The life-saving products for Panini (in my eyes) have been Immaculate and Signaturews. Immaculate might be my favorite product right now, period (up there with Exquisite). They have a stunning card design, a quality feel, quality, good inserts and a nice player checklist. Far superior IMO to the similarly priced National Treasures. National treasures just seems very big gamble to me, and the cards just don't feel or look as nice IMO...plus a lot of unknown players.
signatures also seems like a fantastic option as a value buy (currently $70 at D&A). While there don't seem to be a lot of big dollar hits in the sets, there also seems to be very few bad breaks from this product. The Draft X-Change cards for example (one per box) of even the worst players seem to be worth around $25, which is about 1/3 of the box pice returned in one card. Not just value though, they are classy card designs and the film cards (IMO) are both great looking and nicely innovative - a rarity these days. It's been my 'value' pick of choice so far.
Anyway, the problem I face now is that so much with these breaks that I just want to keep buying boxes...and I think I've probably spent about $3,000 in the past 3 months including the most recent order I just placed!
I don't know if I've just been lucky with the breaks so far, or if these breaks have been pretty typical of what you get from the products these days. If it's normal, then wow - this is a great era for card collecting! If it's not normal, then I should probably cut the buying back before the bad luck catches up with me!
Anyway, I've decided I'm going to do one last monster buy and then I'm going to cut myself off for a long time...maybe 6 months or even a year.
Here is wha I have ordered so far for the final break:
* 1 x 13/14 Leaf Best of Basketball
* 2 x 11/12 Upper Deck Exquisite (D&A's price of $340 US was just too cheap to pass up!)
* 1 x 2011/12 Upper Deck UD Black
* 1 x 2011/12 Panini Gold Standard (as this look like the best year for Gold)
* 1 x 2004/05 Topps Jumbo
* 1 x 2009/10 Upper Deck Hobby
* 1 x 2007/08 Fleer Hot Prospects Retail
Here are the last few items I still want to add:
* 1 x 2013/14 Upper Deck All-Time Greats
* 1 x 2013/14 Upper Deck UD Black (too cheap now at $160 US at D&A's)
* 1 x 2013/14 Panini Preferred
* 1 x 2012/13 Panni Select
Hopefully this will give me enough fun to allow me to put the addiction to rest for a while! :/
Do you think this is a solid selection of boxes? Also please let me know if you want me to film any of these breaks when they come, maybe I can create a youtube account and put it up if anybody has an interest in some of these products.
- Peter
