What's the best baseball card brand? Or is there really any difference?

Question

My son has recently decided he wants to collect baseball cards (new ones), and I am so confused by the different brands. Topps for example is so much more expensive then, say Upper Deck, for significantly less cards. There are many other brands as well. Prices are very different as well as the number of cards in a pack. Is there any reasoning behind this?
Also I notice some cards are signed (not really thought, the signatures are printed on there). Does this really effect how valuable the card is, or is this justs a ploy to get you to pay more?

People who know about baseball cards, and possibly collect them too... please comment!

Thanks

Answer 1

Nah, they all pretty much suck. But they can still be fun.



Do NOT get obsessive over the "value" of any given cards (as perniciously perpetrated by publications such as Beckett Baseball Monthly or Tuff Stuff). Those numbers, for the purposes of the individual collector, are meaningless.



Pick up a few packs of any product you want, open, riffle through, sort, see which are appealing, and collect those. If you should happen across a rare and potentially valuable card, good for you, they are nice, but don't fall for the notion that anyone gets rich from these silly things. It doesn't happen.



There is only one rule, and one corollary, of collecting:



1. Collect what YOU want. (No one else's opinion matters.)

1a. ...and can comfortably afford.

Answer 2

Baseball Card Brands

Answer 3

Topps have very nice cards. You can by a pack of 12 cards for $2. Are you buying your son individual packs? Or are you buying him a big box for $10 or $20? I have always collected cards. Baseball, football, and some basketball and the brand I always look for is Topps and highly recommend them. The 2007 Topps baseball cards all have fake signatures on them and this does not effect the value of the card and it is not a ploy to get you to pay more. If you are lucky you may come across an authentic signed baseball card and on the back it will have a Certificate of

Authenticy. You may also come across cards with a patch of game used jerseys, baseballs, and even bats.



Hope this helps!

Answer 4

All cards made now-a-days are worth the same amount of money. Cards worth more are actual autographed cards and once in a while the chrome refractors. Topps, in my opinion, manufactures the most cards and for a child collecting newer cards, they can be fun. When you start looking at Allen & Ginter and the Turkey Red card packages where you get say 5 cards for $4.99 that is ridiculous. Those cards are not worth anymore than a 15 pack of Topps. Again, he's just a child collecting for fun so go with what you can afford. You can also Google your questions to find out more about cards and good luck to you. =0) Jennifer

Answer 5

It depends.



The card market is full of "gimmick" packs. They sell these cheap cards for like 6 cards a pack, with a chance to get a card that has a signature, or a fragment of a players jersey on a card, or a bat...



And even if you do win one of these cards, it'll most likely be a David Riske card that will be worth nothing (money wise or sentimentally).



The card market was killed years ago by spectulators who thought that buying all sorts of sports cards could one day payoff, and they can send their kids to college. But really, all they are are cardboard cards with some pretty gloss and gold foil that are only worth the paper they're printed on.

Answer 6

Topps or Upper Deck - my son is 15 has been collecting since he was 6 or 7 - he has tons of binders full (loves the catchers!) To protect them I buy those sheet protectors for cards - they are cheeper at target than the avery ones. In fact we buy the cards from target too. If he likes a particular team - go to a card shop and buy a team set (Topps is best)



He will sort them by team, position or year. It is a labor of love.



The other brands - he may buy a package or 2 just to see what they look like but always comes back to topps and upper deck.



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Answer 7

Topps cards are usually $1.99 a pack. Upper Deck, Fleer, Ultra Fleer will cost between $1.99 to $2.99 per pack & each pack will come with anywhere from 6 to 10 cards. There are other companies that will have cards that will cost $5 to $100 per pack. The autographs on the cards are printed on cards. You can buy cards at toys-r-us and the range from $1.99 to $3.99 per pack plus the have some cards in boxes & it will have maybe 8 to 10 packs of different companies(maybe a few years older)(2002-2005 cards) plus they will have boxes of cards(different companies) with 8 to 10 packs in each boxe from $9.99 to $19.99. Good luck.

Answer 8

Upper Deck overall. Their cards have higher Beckett value in comparison to the other brands.

Answer 9

the best brand for finding authentic autographs and relics are topps 2007 co-signers baseball. but you should buy a hobby box of them!

Answer 10

topps or upper deck, i wouldn't suggest wasting money on something worthless, buy him some video games, books, or some lotto tickets.