Category Archives: rookie premiere

Questionable RPA Now Has Slab?

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I saw this on eBay yesterday and something just doesnt look right. Im sure that the slab was real at one point, as the registry on it says that the number refers to a Peterson red that was graded a 10. The problem is, the autograph just looks off, and it could just be Peterson’s oft messy sig. However, when you look at the real RPAs, I begin to question the authenticity of this card.

The other thing is that I wonder how long it will take for the fake RPAs to be slabbed as real and then sold as such. We know they are very obviously fake, but all it takes is a bad day for one of the HUMAN people to arbitrarily assign a real cert to one of these.
You be the judge:

Join The Cause

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A big focus of this blog lately has been to highlight scams that are happening around the hobby, mainly with the fake Topps rookie premiere autos that have spread like a disease. Topps has yet to respond to any emails, despite the number of people who have contacted them in response to this site. This means that as long as eBay is making money off these auctions, and as long as people continue to buy them, they are here to stay. Sadly.

Here are some ways to protect yourself, as most of these cards are pretty big investments. Basically, if any of these red flags are present, stay away and just wait for the next one.

1. Seller has MANY rookie premiere autos or questionable cards up for sale that all look the same. Most of the time, these cards come up for sale through sellers that have basically made a living selling them. That will leave hundreds of cards in their possession to sell, many of them looking signed by the same person. If you see this pop up, its time to investigate before bidding. If you are about to buy a rookie premiere, this should be step number one, and the link to do so is right under the seller’s name in the auction. Actually, this isnt a bad idea with any questionable card.

2. Seller has MANY red ink RPAs for sale. Ever since the inception of these cards, the red ink variations have been the toughest to pull. Usually around 10 or so copies of the cards are signed in red ink, which leaves very few of these cards to actually pop up for sale. Unfortunately, this has changed recently, as the red inks are a favorite of these douchebags due to their value. Although its possible for someone to sell their collection of red inks, that comes once a year at most. If you see an auction block full of duals and quad red inks, stay away.

3. Seller’s cards are signed in THICK markers. Staedler pens, which are used to sign these cards, are becoming harder and harder to find. Most of the time they are also pretty expensive to purchase. This leads to the sellers trying to use the wrong pens, or just being to stupid to use the right ones. Staedler pens leave razor sharp lines that are very distinguishable, and you can easily tell when someone has butchered a fake with a fine point sharpie. Again, this is something that can be seen in the seller’s auction listings, because many should have the same lines in the sigs.

4. Autographs on the cards don’t look right. It can be tough sometimes to determine which autos look real, but most of the time, you can find PSA or BGS graded copies to compare the autos to. Look for the slant of the letters, the connection of the lines, even stop and start points on the sig. If they are different, something is up.

5. The players sold by the seller are always the top of the class. I have seen that during the sales of these cards, SOME of the weird players from the premiere sometimes get fakes, but the top guys ALWAYS are a focus for obvious reasons. If the guy has twenty rookie premiere autos for sale, and all of them are Calvin Johnson, Adrian Peterson, and Matt Ryan, a flag should be applied.

6. Price is low. Most quad red ink autos sell at around 400 for the good players, these are selling at around 200. Obviously, its rare that a price would drop 50% for any card without circumstance, so be sure to pay attention to ending price on the cards. If they usually are ending lower than they should, its for a reason.

Guys, in all reality, if people would just do their research, this could all be avoided. Im not saying they should come here, but they should go on eBay and look around to compare notes on other legit sales. The fact is that people in this world are generally ignorant and would rather live in their own world than spend their money with people who actually deserve it. If they had the tools, they would use them, but as we have seen around here lately, using smarts to apply to a sale is very rare.

Its Going To Be A Long Couple Of Months…

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Over the next few months, there will be 10-15 products that will have post premiere stuff, but are still before the start of the NFL season. If you consider that august is the preseason start and september is when things get going, there are quite a few chances for you to pick up NFL uni stuff from your draft target (if you have one), or new stuff from last year’s target. With 10-15 products coming out, which one is the first one to be worth your time?

Elite looks to be next on the calendar for Donini products, and I guarantee you that this is not the first product to be worth your time. Although you get 4 hits per box and one auto usually, the cards are usually just Prestige Chrome. The only redeeming part of Elite is the Passing the Torch Autos, which are astronomical pulls for a good one. Add in that the checklist is as bad as Prestige for the RC autos, and you have a really bad situation for box breaks. See, before the premiere, there is not as many seeding schemes that favor the guys who were there. Most of the time, you will end up with a second day pick or free agent as your box hit, rather than a premiere guy as your box hit. For 100 bucks, you can bet your ass that you would be better served to wait.

Then you move onto Heroes and Philadelphia for UD, which in my opinion are good sets, but not necessarily the top of the pile for RC auto collectors. The difference between Heroes and Philadelphia and the other products from Donini, is that both the UD products will have on card elements, with Philadelphia being the best of the three based on the info we got from the premiere. Philadelphia is the product featuring the players’ crazy inscriptions that really have not been present before on a card. Instead of just a plain sticker on a rookie card, these will feature more than I have ever thought could be possible. That alone puts UD head and shoulders above Donini. Now, most of you know I am partial to UD in terms of design, creativity, and pretty much everything, and this is why. They take things like a normal autograph, and make it better than one would expect. I used to think that stickers were okay as long as they were done well, but this puts things in a different light. Stickers are still fine, but they will never compete with stuff like inscribed nicknames on card.

Yet, Im not sure that Philadelphia is that one product you should hold your breath for, as I am not a fan of retro sets. It will be the best of the few that have come out pre-premiere, but SPA and Exquisite will still be king. Of course, who wants to wait six months before buying anything? In that vein, you may want to wait for Topps Chrome to come out, as long as it doesn’t have those awful stickers all over the curved auto space. That would suck. At around 60 bucks a box for base RC cards that are actually worth a little bit, you really cant go wrong with buying a couple. Since I started collecting, Chrome and Finest RCs have been my cards each year to get, and that has continued. One of my favorite Peterson cards is still the Chrome auto I have, despite the fact that my Exquisite is a clearly better card. Its just my personal and nostalgic connection to chrome, and that looks to be continuing this year.

I think as collectors, we need to start coming to terms with the fact that 100 bucks for a box with 3 hits and an auto isnt worth it any more in this economy. I know that I can no longer justify buying boxes when I can buy the singles I WANT for less than the price of a break. Much like millions of people in America, my disposable income has been cut, and I no longer have the means to bust and bust. Add in the fact that there are really only 5 products each year that I look forward to, on a calendar of 25+, and you should see the problem. Right now, my products are SPA, Exquisite, NT, Topps Chrome, and Leaf Limited, yet last year many of the Donini products let me down. For the first year in 3, I did not buy any Limited, it just wasn’t as good in huge base box form. I don’t have the money to buy a box of Exquisite or NT, but we have busted a few of each on the site. Chrome I bought about 5 boxes over the course of the year, and SPA I bought 2. This year could be drastically different, though group breaks on the site could change that.

Even though Beckett seems to think that the blogs are cesspools of misinformation and are only good for connecting with other collectors, I think that the commentary is necessary for people looking to plan out their year. I read what they said about early SAGE offerings, and I definitely don’t agree with any of their coverage on products so far. They tend to set a horrible expectation that these products will hold through the year, though every single fucking person knows they wont. Don’t waste your time on Prestige or Elite, and watch yourself on Classics. Absolute is usually pretty fun to bust, so you may want to wait for that. As for UD, Philadelphia will be great as a popular retro set, however it may not hold its value on the rookie side of things. Early sets rarely do, hopefully this will be an exception. If last year’s calendar is any indication of the longevity of sets, SPA will be the first bang of the year, and it wont come until December. Ultimate, NT and Exquisite will come at the end as well, and those are the only ones to REALLY hold the year in the minds of collectors. Keep that in mind.

Another View From The NFL Rookie Premiere

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Over the last few days I have had the pleasure of working with Mike and Mitch of Extra Innings Sports Cards for coverage of the NFL Rookie Premiere. Mike was nice enough to sit down with me for a few minutes on Sunday and discuss the goings on from the weekend, and just like with my impressions after talking to Gregg Kohn, it seems like the weekend was a huge success.

I am going to focus on a few things, mainly the players’ interaction with the people there, as well as some neat tidbits from Mike. Before I move on, I want to talk about how great Mike and Mitch are, and give them another plug for their shop. Upon reading SCU for the first time, Mike emailed me and wanted to see if I wanted to attend his shop’s event and possibly win a spot at the Premiere yesterday. He wasnt sure if he could get me in any other way, but thought he would try. Both Mike and Mitch were sympathetic to SCU’s situation, and were out to help. I honestly couldnt believe they wanted to help, but thats the kind of guys they are. Eventually they just tried to get me on their team’s list, but were told I was not allowed on the Premises. So, despite their best intentions, I couldnt be there, so they did the next best thing. Mike offered to take some stuff to the event on my behalf, and I came back with autos from the three guys I am targeting from this class (pics are included in the post). Ill say right now, these two gentlemen have made my year so far, its nice to see there are people out there who actually care.

Moving on to the event, Mike said he couldnt have had a better time. He and his shop’s employees were there as part of the Panini team, and had on field access to the players there. The first words out of his mouth when asked about the players there, were “for 22 year old millionaires, they were some of the nicest guys there.” He talked about how much fun the players were having this year, especially with the different articles they had to make “used.” If you asked them to run a few steps, they ran a route, if you asked them to wear in a jersey they went and tackled a friend across the field. “It was a very positive atmosphere, and you could feel it,” he said.

Most of us who have a negative view of this event probably think that the jerseys are slipped on and off, and most of the time that is true. This year, for people like Mark Sanchez and others, a few second werent enough to designate something as used by the players. Mike specifically recalled Sanchez’s objection to calling something ‘event used’ unless it was dirtied some how. He would drag cleats across the grass, spike footballs and really get the props broken in. I was glad to hear that, and so was Mike to see it first hand.

Mike also specifically remembered guys like Jason Smith and Tyson Jackson, saying that they were some of the best players to be around at the event, cracking jokes and talking shit. At one point, Smith actually went at it with Tyson Jackson of the Chiefs at mid field as a “preview of 2009.” Nice.

The event was done in shifts, where four or five rookies came to the station at a time, and went through the requests of the company. For Panini, most of the players had ten or so jerseys to put on, seven footballs to play with and 3 pairs of cleats. For the top guys there, it was 10 home and 10 away jerseys, plus having to sign all the on card offerings like the NT Pen Pals set, and the manupatches. I am glad to hear that Panini is focusing a lot on hard signed products just like Upper Deck. They also signed nameplates and helmets according to the Panini schedule I obtained from Jeff (not associated with EI Sports Cards), another person who was there, as well as many other personal autos for the workers at the tent. Per the schedule, each player wore around 30-50 articles of clothing, and signed about 600-650 cards and stickers. Mike made it a point to say that even the last group, who had been there all day in the heat, signed beautifully without objection.

Mike also talked about Matt Stafford, as Mitch had mentioned how out of place he seemed at all the events of the weekend, including the pre-party at the hotel, and the nights at the bars. Per the people around him at the event, he was just too nice a guy, a southern gent, even when asked about a Georgia Tech loss during the last season and last game of his college career.

So, all politics aside, I am beyond happy with Mike’s report. I will put that much more of a stake into this year knowing that the players actually question why their shoes are being cut up instead of given to needy families, knowing that they want to make sure that the stuff is “used,” and knowing that even at the end of the day, they still wanted to be there for the fans.

One thing stuck out to me, as Mike talked about a special guest of the shop. He was a younger kid, and was a child of a person they knew. He was a huge SC fan, and was unfortunately stuck in the stands for most of the day due to security. Luckily for him, Mark Sanchez and Patrick Turner didn’t hesitate to go sit and talk to him and make him feel important for a full half hour. Kudos to them on that.

With that, ill end it there. However, if you are anywhere close to LA and looking for a shop, PLEASE go check out Extra Innings Sports Cards on Washington Blvd in Culver City. It is worth any trip you make, as Mike could be the nicest shop owner I have ever meant. After hearing some stories, Mitch is cut from the same cloth, even driving product out to customers who cant or wont make the drive. Tell them you read about their store here, so at least I know that I can somehow pay them back for the amazing opportunities this past weekend.

SCU Reports: The 2009 NFL Rookie Premiere With Gregg Kohn Of Upper Deck

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Over the last few days, I have spent a lot of time covering the politics of the Rookie Premiere access, but now I have some info on the goings on of the event itself. Gregg Kohn, product manager of UD Football, graciously spent some time informing me of what happened, and based on our conversation, my respect for the 2009 class has gone through the roof.

First some background. Since the early part of the decade, the top NFL rookies have gathered each year in Los Angeles to run through the routes for the first time in their full gear. Also since the early part of the decade, there have been swatches from jerseys obtained at the event put into the cards we buy throughout the card season. Most people automatically assume that the jerseys they get are one of two things: game used (they are not) or the jersey in the picture (they are not). In reality, the jerseys are worn for a matter of seconds, and the jerseys in the picture are kept by people at the event. Really, as long as you know this, there wont be any surprises, so I wont talk about it much more. What you may not know, is that the event is the sole reason we have cards for the year at all, so its a big give and take with the collectors. Again, I am not going to focus on this, the NFL had their chance for that and epically failed.

Instead, I am going to focus on a few other things, mainly the players, and some great stuff that is coming down the pipeline for UD. Before I move on, I want to thank Gregg again for the wonderful help he has given to this blog. He is one of the only people I have met that appreciates the role blogs play in the hobby media.

Moving on to the event, Gregg said he had a great time with a great class. He said that it was one of the best classes they had invited to event, and there was not a primadonna in the group. He mentioned that EVERYONE was happy to be there, and more than willing to overparticipate on what was asked. He also mentioned that a lot of the players were very happy to sign their stuff, and most wanted some of the cards to take home with them. They brought quite a bit of product with them to get hard signed for the sets, and that will include 10 of 12 sets with elements of hard signed cards, and more than half at ALL on card.

Mainly, they were trying to focus on getting more for you, the collector, which includes things like player inscriptions, as well as other newer ideas that really havent had a place in the past days of the hobby. He also commented that the many of the guys, including Darrius Heyward-Bey in particular, were determined to sign their full name regardless of how they felt about signing cards. As a kid, Heyward-Bey hated give up autos and told Gregg he would be signing everything the same.

Many of you also wanted to know about throwbacks and other jerseys that players may have worn, and there were players that needed to wear them due to depleated inventory at the jersey manufacturers, or for a nice touch in general. So, for instance, Crabtree wore some Jerry Rice stuff, Tyson Jackson wore some Derrick Thomas stuff, and a few of the Giants even got to wear some Mark Bavaro stuff. Gregg said that they players actually like this a lot, and Josh Freeman even wanted to keep the awesome Warren Sapp throwback they used. Of course, that means if you see a weird letter in your card, don’t worry.

Gregg specifically remembered Jason Smith and his wonderful and addictive personality, saying that he was one of the best players to be around at the event, cracking jokes and talking shit. He also mentioned that Brandon Pettigrew of the Lions was great, and that he may have been the biggest tight end ever. People like Aaron Curry were also gigantic, but somewhat reserved as well, which was funny to hear. Gregg even agreed that Beanie Wells was surprisingly big for his stature, and would not like to take a hit from that tank at full speed.

Gregg explained that the event was done in shifts, where four or five rookies came to the station at a time, and went through the requests of the company. For Upper Deck, they tried to keep them in teams or at least with their buddies, at least to keep things easy. They wore around the expected amount of jerseys, enough to fill the 2009 products, but it was definitely not as many as you would expect.

So, all politics with the NFL aside, I am thouroughly impressed with Gregg’s report. I will put that much more of a stake into this year knowing that the players have fun doing the events of the weekend, even the Touchdown Dance competition and the trampoline jumps for pictures. After we finished talking about the event, Gregg and I were in agreement that it was tough to think ahead a few years and know that a few of these guys wont be playing anymore. He said they were a great group of guys to spend a weekend with, and wished them the best in 2009.

As for UD products, it looks like it is going to be another banner year. SPA will be back and better than ever with an unprecedented 10 auto rookie patches per case. For the other boxes, you will either get a jumbo signed patch of a rookie or possibly veteran, or one of the new authentic dynasties cards that focus on the teams of each decade. Gregg didnt mention the letters, but they could still be included.

Philadelphia looks like it is going to be a huge success, as we have seen in the galleries from the weekend, and you can imagine that the cards are going to be beautiful. He specifically mentioned jumbo inserts that were hard signed, as well as the mini signatures we would come to expect as a staple of many retro products. There will also be a National Chicle insert set with autographed parallels, many of which were signed during the weekend.

When it comes to 2009 Ultimate Collection Football, Gregg said that they were going to go back to the non-relic versions of the RC Autos. He also said they are tossing around an idea similar to USA baseball where the players will be asked a question to answer along with their sig. That should be interesting, as the USA cards were immensely popular.

These products will accompany Heroes and Draft which should be on shelves very shortly, both of which look great. Heroes will have all hard signed cards, and you can thank the weekend for those.

With that I want to give ANOTHER special thanks to Gregg and to Brandon Miller for their work on this blog and the rookie premiere, their participation is always a treat for me. Both have a standing invitation to come back whenever he wants. Also, sorry to Lindsey who is the brains behind UD design work. I referred to her in a previous as a guy, she is actually quite the contrary. Thanks!