Collecting 101: Get your questions about the hobby answered in the next BSCM

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Do you have any questions about the hobby — easy or hard — that you’d like answered in the next issue of Beckett Sports Card Monthly?

We’re prepping the “Collecting 101” issue, which will be an issue that lays out a lot of the basics of collecting as well as answer other questions.

Leave them in a comment below and they just might get answered in the next issue.

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19 comments

  1. KZED 16 May, 2011 at 10:28

    Why do card companies have players sign newer cards first, and not honor the older redemptions first? I have seen it from both UD and Panini where They have players in house signing 2010-11 items, when there are still outstanding 2009-10 and earlier redemptions out there.

  2. alan 16 May, 2011 at 10:31

    Please do a list of descriptions on error card abbreveations. A lot of them are very hard to get. Thaks so much.

    From mod: Some more universal abbreviations might be, but your best bet is to get a copy of one of our annual books. They often have descriptions of errors.

  3. Stan Jastrzebski 16 May, 2011 at 10:54

    Why do the cards of some players who have not seen big league success but were highly-touted before making it to the big leagues (i.e. Kosuke Fukudome, Chin-Lung Hu, Kei Igawa) retain more value than the cards of players who have established themselves as stars (Joey Votto, Josh Hamilton)?

  4. Paul 16 May, 2011 at 11:13

    Why is the latest Beckett basketball guide in non-chronological order and with no table of contents page (or did I get an error version)? It’s hard enough to find a set in there when you know the year and name but when the name and/or year is not obvious (with all the inserts for example or an insert like a blue Chronology Lebrons that came in a regular Upper Deck pack) it’s pretty frustrating flipping pages to try to find the right one (sometimes there are no pictures either, spacing issue I guess) and with no contents, you can’t scan to find the title there either.

    From mod: The price guide listings are in the order the database sorts them — Chronologically/Alphabetically.

  5. Johnny Dawn 16 May, 2011 at 11:49

    How does beckett calculate the value of cards?

    Do they go by what they sell for in the secondary market and make the low-high range based on that?

    someone told me BV means nothing even the low end because the only thing that matters is market value what someone is willing to pay for the card. im guessing they are very wrong.

    From mod: Book value is based on market value from several sources — a low- and a high-end.

  6. Bryon Pratt 16 May, 2011 at 14:11

    Will we ever see the day of non-exclusive rights for sports so Topps and UD can again issue pro-licensed basketball cards?

    Will we ever get away from redemption cards?

    What print runs are considered rare, very rare, hard to find, commons, etc?

  7. Double-R 16 May, 2011 at 17:07

    Why haven’t the Card Manufacturer learned that producing a jersey card of some low level player is not a good idea. When you spend big money on a box of cards & you pull a Nick Swisher Jersey card as you big hit, Its not good. But I have the perfect Solution, All Jersey Cards should be S/N to 25 or lower. This will make even low level Jersey cards worth alot more. Cause people who are trying to put a master set together will only have a low amount of cards to pick from, Not Hundreds or even Thousands to pick from. I think this would also regenerate collators feeling toward Jersey cards.

  8. Richard 16 May, 2011 at 17:50

    Why are there still no lists for the 2008-2009, 2009-2010 Rip Card Exclusive Mini Autographs
    in the big guides? I can understand something being too scarce to price, but knowing who
    is in the set and perhaps the quantity of each made would make things a lot nicer.

    Also, can you please confirm that all of the regular mini cards were made for the 2008-2009 year
    since I have yet to see an appearance of the Pete Maravich mini, though I believe I have seen
    every other player a few times. And if any of the minis were made in differing quantities that
    would be nice to know too.

  9. danny 16 May, 2011 at 18:54

    1 whats the print run of the blue “refractors ” in 2006 upper deck special f/x,

    2 why has topps not released information about the short print 2010 topps update gold bordered cards (look at some feebay sales )?

    3 is the strasburg bowman draft base a true rookie (not draft chrome)?

  10. Keith S 16 May, 2011 at 19:03

    Regarding Topps Diamond Giveaway, Million Card Giveaway, Gridiron Giveaway:

    Why can’t most people realize that in order to trade, each person should get something of value.

    For example, if you want my 1968 common card, offer another 1968 (or a bit older) common card. Or perhaps offer 2 1970 common cards.

    90-95% of the offers I get are like: I’ll give you a 1988 common for your 1971 common or the like. I seriously get about 1 even (1978 for 1978), and 1 sweetened (like a 1977 for 1978 or 2 1980s for a 1978), vs about 30 really offensively lopsided ones in the traders favor. I’d like to not have to weed thru so many junky trades every day!

  11. Mark Barrett 17 May, 2011 at 10:41

    How do the card companies decide what to number the cards for the players?

  12. Nicky Wizig 18 May, 2011 at 06:15

    If players like Dwanye Wade have no exclusive deals with other companies why can’t Panini get them to sign cards?

  13. Emmanuel Akognon 9 June, 2011 at 02:22

    I have a question about 1989 Pro Set Football. What do the following letters stand for:?
    SP NOTR TR UER

    And what do they mean by: 47A William Perry SP? 100A John Elway DRAFT

    SP = short-print
    TR = traded banner added
    UER = Uncorrected Error

    DRAFT notes a variation where he is listed as being drafted, not traded to, in his bio

  14. Danny miller 28 January, 2013 at 23:54

    I have a misprint Jason brookins/chad Pennington football card and in the pricing it says uer what does uer mean? Thanks

    Danny

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