[djohn]

With the recent jump in rookie values for some Topps Update (Trout, Harper, Kershaw, etc), I decided to look back at some cards to see which ones might not have jumped yet. I noticed that the 2003 Topps Traded card of Robinson Cano actually books higher than the Chrome version. This seemed very odd to me, as the Chrome cards were harder to pull that year. Is this just another case of Beckett updating pricing on one but not another card, or is there some other reason the value would be higher for the base instead of the Chrome.

[pjrussell529]

I would guess it just hasn't been changed. All the chrome are more rare and desirable from that era so it should be higher. Personally I don't know how they can keep up with everything.

I see all Aaron Judge cards book much higher(appropriately) except for his Heritage Action which books the same as it did when it came out. Meanwhile they are selling on ebay for $300+.

Way too many cards out there to keep up with as a collector let alone pricing.

[djohn]

I understand that is can seem overwhelming to try to keep up with pricing. However at some point they had to have bumped the value of the base over the Chrome. It wouldn't have been that hard to have also bumped the Chrome value at that time. It seems more like laziness to me. For a casual collector it's hard to keep up with, but when it's your job as a pricing analyst at Beckett you should be able to keep track of things like that.
The biggest issue I have with this is that there are some people who still insist that book value is the end all for pricing, especially when it comes to trading. While I agree for the most part that most cards can be traded that way, this is just another case where the book value is obviously off. If someone cares to make the case that it's not let me know and I will trade you a base Topps Update Cano RC for his Chrome Update RC.

[pjrussell529]

I understand that is can seem overwhelming to try to keep up with pricing. However at some point they had to have bumped the value of the base over the Chrome. It wouldn't have been that hard to have also bumped the Chrome value at that time. It seems more like laziness to me. For a casual collector it's hard to keep up with, but when it's your job as a pricing analyst at Beckett you should be able to keep track of things like that.
The biggest issue I have with this is that there are some people who still insist that book value is the end all for pricing, especially when it comes to trading. While I agree for the most part that most cards can be traded that way, this is just another case where the book value is obviously off. If someone cares to make the case that it's not let me know and I will trade you a base Topps Update Cano RC for his Chrome Update RC.

Agree 100%. I know there is no possible way I would trade my heritage Judge for $20 in bv. I guess that's why I don't do much trading here. I just mainly like the organizer and don't really use the pricing much except to get an idea of who is up and who is down.

[oneofakindcards]

Technically the 2003 Traded Cano isn't a rookie card - Topps even calls it a 'first year' card. Many people wouldn't consider it the same as a 2011 Trout, 2017 Judge or 2008 Kershaw.

[djohn]

Technically the 2003 Traded Cano isn't a rookie card - Topps even calls it a 'first year' card. Many people wouldn't consider it the same as a 2011 Trout, 2017 Judge or 2008 Kershaw.

Beckett lists the card as a FY RC. Before 2006, and MLB got involved with defining what constitutes a RC, the definition of a RC was a bit different than it is now. So it's hard to compare rookies of Kershaw, Trout, Judge or any other post 2006 rookie with a 2003 rookie card.

[oneofakindcards]

Beckett lists the card as a FY RC. Before 2006, and MLB got involved with defining what constitutes a RC, the definition of a RC was a bit different than it is now. So it's hard to compare rookies of Kershaw, Trout, Judge or any other post 2006 rookie with a 2003 rookie card.

Yes, agreed.

Interestingly, Cano doesn't have a standard Topps flagship card in 2005, his rookie year. He does have a "2005 Topps Factory Set Team Bonus" card, however... I guess this would be considered his RC by today's terms.

His first regular or standard (non-FY) flagship card is in 2006.