When cards serial #'ed /100 might as well be #'ed /1
 

In a quest to find more of the newer Canseco cards, I've found that many of the serial numbered stuff (as high as 100-200) are simply not available for sale online.

In the past few months, I have come a long way in understanding the twisted mind of a player collector. It isn't just a function of how much money you want to throw out there. That is far from reality. I thought if you had money, you could make quick work of your want list and stake your flag at the top of super-collector mountain, proclaiming you as the man.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrjwaqZfjIY

Wrong.

Even though we have more avenues than ever to pick up our favorite cards in today's global marketplace, it can still be like finding a needle in a haystack.

Why is this?

A few theories:

1) A lot of product never got opened (I'd absolutely LOVE to know the numbers on various product print runs and how much was actually sold!)

2) Many serial #ed parallels look similar to their non-numbered counterparts and have been lost forever in the vast sea of base cards, rarely to be touched again.

I'm not sure if many people have seen this sort of thing before, but there are honestly millions upon millions of cards that literally may never even be thumbed through again ... let alone for a specific player for your needs. I've personally seen and heard of tons of stockpiles like this. Out of the millions of cards I have sold off in the past several years, I didn't look through the majority of them either - there simply isn't enough time in life to do this sort of thing.

3) They are slowly transforming into a brick-o-cards.

http://www.mycollectionofcards.com.p.../worthless.jpg

If you have had un-sleeved glossy cards in a box together in a non-climate controlled area, or any area that has stuff stacked on them, you are familiar with this.

Again, I sure wish there were a way to know print runs and how much went unsold. You never know when a card that was # to 100 only may only have 20-30 out there recognized for what they are.

An example is the 2002 Donruss Fan Club series. I thought I had all #/100 copies

2002 Donruss Fan Club Credits #/100 #121
2002 Donruss Fan Club Credits #/100 #282
2002 Donruss Best of Fan Club Spotlight #/100 #121
2002 Donruss Best of Fan Club Spotlight #/100 #282

As it turns out, I was wrong. I have NO credits versions, and THREE EACH of the best of!

What is going on? How did this happen???

I believe the 2010 Exquisite cards were #/75 or similar as well, and yet only a few exist.

This could get interesting, I think. Not all is as it seems. Heck, I'm seeing some serial numbered cards outselling the same card with a relic embedded on them.

Obviously, this isn't the norm, but it seems to be happening more and more these days. Never in a million years would I have ever thought this would have happened, but it does.

Relic cards have seemingly flooded the market, and while there will ALWAYS be a market for them (because let's face it ... they are awesome!) they were/are rarely, if ever overlooked like some serial numbered parallels are.

15 or more years have passed since the first relic card hit the market, and ever since, collectors have been grabbing them up like crazy. Nowadays, collectors are looking in their collections and saying...

"Wait a second - they made a blue, red and green version of the same card with no relic on it? Cool! Time to hit ebay and pick 'em up! The relic card was $20, so surely the non-relic versions are easy to find and only $1-5 each!"

So you hit ebay, and...

http://www.mycollectionofcards.com.p...815/serial.jpg

Days turn into weeks, and weeks into months.

Nothing.

Then finally one comes up - for higher than what you paid for your relic card. You have a choice of either waiting for the next version of it to pop up (which literally may not happen again) or cough up the extra dough. If you want to get almost all of the cards of the player you collect, this scenario could play out a hundred times over the next decade. Either you pay higher than you expect, or you simply don't get the card.

http://www.mycollectionofcards.com.p...815/uoxul0.jpg

As a numbers guy, (I'm saying this in a roundabout way for the third time, I know) I sure would LOVE to know if there is a truly solid way to determine at least some sort of an idea ... not necessarily the print runs, because I think they are accurate ... but rather that availability of certain cards that have not been lost in the sea of base.

How would the value to you and others be changed if you found out that one mid 00's donruss insert had a print run of 100 but only 30 out there were "gettable"?

Don't get me started on the black hole of 90's cards that is pacific. They had so many parallels and some were not numbered, but INSANELY tough to grab, making even the most super of collectors fall to their knees and cry.

What higher serial numbered cards have you been chasing that might as well seem to be #/5 or less? I'm curious to hear your experiences and theories.

I'm still looking for a 1999 Upper Deck Exclusives Bronze /100 of Matt Luke, card 122. For 16 years now. I know of another Luke collector with 4 copies. Neither of us have seen any other copies for sale, as far as I can recall. And I have no clue how he acquired his copies.

Mouschi---

To be sure, in the era that Canseco played, so much evolved in the hobby. I really like your point of "When cards serial #'ed /100 might as well be #'ed /1", as that truly reflects so much of the serial numbered craze that swept the world of card collecting.

I saw a particular 2004-05 In The Game Ultimate Memorabilia hockey card, numbered /25. I didn't jump on it when I saw the beauty on eBay back in about 2005-06. I lost the chance! Oh was I enraged with myself! While I didn't look for the card every day to appear again, henceforth, I kept it in mind and must have looked for it hundreds of times. Finally, earlier this year, it came up again! I won it, and was so relieved. I figure nine long years have passed since I first saw the gorgeous card.

While I am very gratified to have finally landed this white whale, and know that these haven't really held their value per se, I love some of those cards. They were designed well and with the right colorized photograph to anchor it, I am genuinely thrilled to have it. With only 25 examples made, it's really just as your line of when 1 of a hundred might as well be a 1 of 1. Guess it comes down to how badly you want it, and what you're willint to pay for it in time and money. It's obviously not about the future value of the card, but what the card fulfills in my enjoyment of collecting a particular player(s).

Good topic, bro, and one I'm certain many of us can relate to on a very personal level.

----Brian Powell

PS---Among the problems collecting serial #ed cards from the 90s is that when everyone saw the overabundance of cards everywhere they looked, and people were getting out of the hobby by the tens of thousands, so much of the leftover product was just stored away, or even thrown away as worthless. Nestled in amongst those millions of worthless were some of these serial numbered gems that are now extremely hard to find!:D Happy hunting, bro.

Great response, thanks for writing!

Finding mysel In The same boat recently. I've been working ôn the topps gold label red set /100. Some are impossible to find. And when I do find them seems like the price is crazy high. But I have heard from a few guys with a lot of this stuff that many got destroyed because of bad storage.

Really great post mouschi and nice reassurance we are not alone in futility!

Thanks guys and best of luck!