[hempick]

First off, this is a super clutch post. Thank you for taking the time to respond in such detail.

1. Yeah, so I went back and looked at my old cards...I collected some odd players...JJ Stokes? Joey Galloway? Sheesh. But I was hopeful because Faulk was a HOF-er, some would be worth something. Nope!

2. I think I'm going to double-down on specific players I think will pan out...but am stuck still figuring out what refractors to choose and from what company. I snagged a couple Carr ones, just snagged a Chrome Mariota green refractor on eBay.

3. SUPER unfortunate. I mean, I'm at the core, an Upper Deck guy...SPx especially. So the fact they ended in 2015 and they all consolidated into exclusives was real disappointing to me. Where does one get a handle on all the different Panini varieties and releases for 2017? I end up drawn to the brands I'm familiar with...for Panini, it seems to be Donruss that attracts me mostly.


6 seems reasonable.


C'mon Topps! LOL! So, this is more what I'm seeing mostly cause I'm starting with 2014 and moving current. So what is with them appearing to hide the odds? To me, that's a key element.

So in general, is the order of interest levels essentially: Refractors (by scarcity), then refractors w/ serials (by scarcity), then refractors with on-sticker auto, and last refractors w/ on-card auto? And do I have it correct that the serial also matters...like a 10/50 is more valuable than a 41/50? Or is it just that the overall print run matters...meaning an X/50 is more appealing than an x/200?


Yeah, my budget isn't huge...I'm avoiding most of the highest end refractors right now and auto's aren't going to happen unless I have a hunch on a player (like Brett Hundley).

I posted this Q above, but that serial comment, are you saying target ones with a run of 100 or less? Or you want your serial to be under 100, somewhat regardless of the print run?

I greatly appreciate your post, sir!

Mostly it is just the print run that makes a card more valuable. xx/25 is almost always going to get more money than xx/100 (unless the xx/100 card is autographed and the xx/25 is not, I suppose).

Certain collectors will value a player's number serial over other cards (Drew Bledsoe #11/xxx or Michael Jordan #23/xxx), but to most people it doesn't matter.

Also, the post you quoted incorrectly states that Panini produces refractors. They do NOT. They produce a parallel call "Prizms" which are very similar to refractors. They can't actually be called a "refractor" because Topps owns the rights to that name. (Topps also owns the rights to the terms Xfractor and SuperFractor.)

Only Topps and Bowman releases can have refractors in them. Any other companies' releases are just knock-offs like Panini's Prizms, Press Pass' Reflectors, or Leaf's Mirror Gold/Black/Blue/etc.