Rookie card questions

[brownscollector78]

Let me preface my questions by saying that I have very little experience with the card hobby. My questions will definitely show that.

1. Do the 2012 draft class have rookie cards out yet?
2. Since there are so many companies out there, do we know or have a good idea what company will be the most valuable card for the rookie?

I'm looking into buying a Trent Richardson rookie card but haven't seen one yet with a Browns uniform or logo on the card. I realize theyve only had a few days of rookie minicamp and perhaps that could be why but I wasn't sure if they just put out cards nowadays with their college uniforms on calling it a rookie. I've seen lots of those.

Please reply,
James

[frankh8147]

The draft class of 2012 have indeed hit the market, in fact, there are over 500 Trent Richardson cards on ebay! Almost, if not all of them are in his college uniform- but as long as they are part of the 'base set', they are still rookie cards. As the season progresses, more rookie cards will come out and a lot of these will feature him in his NFL uniform.
As per predicting which cards will hold the most value, that's tough to estimate. To give a good example, in 1998, Peyton Mannings' SP Authentic rookie card was valued at $125, while his Playoff Momentum rookie card was worth a little more at $150. Over the years, demand changed, and his Playoff Momentum rookie card is now a $50, and his SP Authentic card is now at $800!! Also, it's hard to predict future value because players 'flop'. A 1999 SP Authentic Edgerrin James card which was one worth $400 is now worth about $20-$30 (and I use James because he didn't have a bad career, but it wasn't good enough to hold the value of his cards.
To sum it all up, collect what you like because past events can't be used to dictate future results. Enjoy the hobby for the collection you build, and if you get lucky and land a few cards which skyrocket in value, good for you, but that should just be the icing on the cake.

[jefferyepayne]

I agree. In this hobby you are either a collector or an investor or both. If you like Trent Richardson as a player and just have to have his cards now as a collector, then pay what you think is appropriate and buy them. But don't be surprised when they drop in value as most rookie cards are massively overvalued.

If you want a Trent Richardson card because you think it will someday be worth a lot of money, you might as well purchase lottery tickets. Or find them in packs and quickly sell them on ebay after he has his first 100 yard rushing game.

If you are both a collector and an investor, wait until the initial Trent Richardson hype dies down, and then if you still believe he will have an all-pro / HOF career, purchase them at a reasonable price and sit on them.

I personally don't believe today's cards are worth the cardboard they are printed on. Too much supply and not enough demand. If you want to invest in the card market, you need to go vintage to get a reasonable return on investment at a much lower risk.

jeff

[brownscollector78]

Thanks for the replies guys.

I collect Browns stuff and was wondering if it would be a good investment to get his rookie card before he studs out (if he does.)

[jefferyepayne]

Usually rookie cards start out too high, drops down closer to reality based upon how the player is playing (or if they get injured), and then start moving up again if the player looks like they are becoming a star. I would wait until his price drops to a reasonable level before picking these cards up.

In general if Trent Richardson's cards are selling for the same value as Jim Brown's rookie card, I would avoid them ;-)

jeff