2012 Topps: "Rookie Patches" Insert Set
2002 Upper Deck Sweet Spot: "Rookie Gallery Jerseys" Insert Set
1997 Proline: "Emerald Autographs" Insert Set
2012 Topps: "Rookie Patches" Insert Set
Jay's Football Cards
Those Wacky Auctions
My opinion only, (as if it matters) (Updated March 24th, 2024)
I am not only a huge football card collector, but I buy almost exclusively on eBay, probably about 85% ebay. Anyway, I'm always checking on cards to complete a set or looking at cards to start that next set and I'm always amazed at auctions that start at some ridiculous price. My first thought is always, is this how you're saving for your kid's college tuition? For whatever reason, the following auctions are a few that I noticed that made me look twice:
1) 1992 Proline Profiles " Don Shula" Autograph: Now I understand that Don has an incredible coaching record, but let's be honest, unless Don is buying this card himself, there is zero chance this card sells at that price. $999.00 for a NM-MT graded card is a huge asking price.
2) 2006 Upper Deck SP Authentic "Laurence Maroney" Rookie Autograph Patch: Sometimes when I see auctions such as this, I think that the person really doesn't want to sell the card listed, but he will if you offer them "this much". Or they could just be showing "the world" their latest addition to their collection. Also, I've never been a big fan of getting cards #'d to a player's jersey #, but some of us do collect those cards. Either way, this card is severely over-priced.
3) 2003 Playoff Absolute "Troy Polamalu" Rookie #149: Like Don Shula above, Troy was an amazing football player and had many amazing impact plays, but to say that this card is worth $799 is just plain silly. I will gladly leave this card to the Steeler nation to snag.
4) 1997 Press Pass "Orlando Pace" Rookie Autograph #21: Now this card isn't such a stretch at $499. I've seen it recently go for just over $103 in early 2022. But $500 for Orlando Pace is just asking a tad too much, even for an autographed short-printed card. Sorry Orlando, but a SB win and a HOF nod doesn't guarantee a $500 card.
5) 1992 Proline Profiles "Troy Aikman" #6 of 9: Now a really glitzy card holder with a player's name does not $50 make. Seriously? This is a $2.00 card and a $2.00 card holder. This card will never sell for $50. I'd take that bet to Vegas. I don't care how dumb cowboy fans are, they can't be that dumb.
6) 2012 Panini "Robert Griffith III" Tools of the Trade Towel #2: This was such a unique and different memorabilia card, but there is no way I'd pay anything close to $600 for one of these. I don't care if its the Redskin eye or not. Even at $59.99, I'd probably have to pass. If I was the seller of this card, I'd offer it up to Daniel Snyder. He's been known to overpay for things.
7) 2000 Upper Deck Gold Reserve "Travis Taylor" Facemasks #FM-TT: Hey, I loved Travis Taylor. And as of this writing I still need this card, but there is no way this card is worth $105 bucks. I guess I shouldn't complain, at least the shipping is free.
8) 2001 Topps Stadium Club: "Joe Horn" Lone Star Autograph #LS-JH: Joe Horn was a great wide receiver and definitely deserves all the accolades of helping resurrect the Saints franchise, but $92 bucks with $5 shipping? You've gotta be kidding me. I got this card for a buck.
9) 1999 Fleer Mystique: "Akili Smith" Fresh Ink Autograph #27: Look, poor Akili just didn't pan out. As much as I rooted for him to do so, it just didn't happen. And unfortunately, this $299 sale isn't going to pan out either.
10) 1999 Upper Deck HoloGrFX: "Peyton Manning" UD Authentics #PM: A Peyton Manning autograph card can go for this and on a regular basis too. But not this card. This set, (like the 2002 Upper Deck SP Rookie autograph cards), has a horrible card stock/ink combination that Upper Deck should've been aware of. Look how the ink has bubbled. It's awful. This card should sell nowhere close to this.
11) 2006 Upper Deck SP Authentic: "Mushin Muhammad" Chirography #CH-MM: Now it's one thing to sell a card that has a rare flaw, (there is a market for that), but to sell a signature or autograph that you literally cannot see is dumb. I think he'd have a difficult time selling this thing for a dollar.
I once had an autograph card that the family cat knocked into a soap dish. The card was all bloated, had water damage, the signature was smeared. This guy makes me think I was an idiot for throwing it away.
12) 2008 Upper Deck Ultimate: "Mike Tolbert" Rookie #134: Now there are some collectors out there that like collecting the first card in a numbered series, but not for $400+ dollars on a fullback. Trust me, this card is going to stay in this seller's collection for a long time.
13) 2001 Bowman's Best: "Drew Brees" Rookie Autograph #BB-DBR: Now I always make it a rule to never pay more for an Exchange or Redemption or an autograph card that contains an error than I would for the same company-issued autograph card.
Drew Brees was an amazing NFL ambassador both on and off the field, but I don't know of a single rookie autograph card of his that I would pay 7 grand for. Which makes a card without his autograph worth even less.
This card is truly a 1-of-1, one ridiculous auction.
14) 2000 Playoff Prestige: "Frank Wycheck" Alma Mater Materials #AM8: Now hey, I'm all for a guy making a buck, but sometimes you just have to be realistic about this. This card posted here is competing against another just like it that is posted for $7. AND that one hasn't sold. So the chances that this one is sold for 16x that amount is nil.
15) 1999 Upper Deck SP Signature: "Akili Smith" Autograph #AK: What the heck is wrong with people? Why do people think that Akili Smith's cards are worth way more than they truly are? There is no way that a GEM MINT Akili Smith autograph card is worth $1499 dollars. My hope is that the seller accidentally misplaced the decimal point.
16) 2000 Donruss Elite: "Tom Brady" #183 STATUS PARALLEL 5/10 Graded GEM MINT 10: Five Million Dollars!! This card falls under the category of "Lookie what I have!!" In my opinion, the owner of this card really doesn't want to sell this card, but he will for 5 Million Dollars!! There is no way this card sells. I'll take that bet to Vegas.
Oh and by the way, this card has a $500 dollar shipping price tag!! Because, well, why the hell not!!
17) 2001 Quantum Leaf: "Fred Taylor" #G-5 Gamers /25: After Tom Brady's 5 Million Dollar price tag, (See #16 above), this one is just a small fortune. Still, $10k for a Fred Taylor card #'d to 25 is asking way too much!! I don't care if the memorabilia has a "Nike" swoosh or not.
18) 2008 Upper Deck Ultimate: "Mike Tolbert" #134 Graded GEM MINT 8: I have no idea what is up with this card. I have it posted at #12 on this list at $449, which I thought was too high, Now the same card shows up again. And it wasn't just re-posted. No, the seller increased the price!! If it didn't sell for $449, why on earth would you increase the price? And no, the seller didn't increase it by 5 bucks, he more than tripled the price!!
I would have trouble paying $10 for this card.
19) 2013 Playoff Absolute: "Emmitt Smith" #X Tools of the Trade Autograph Shoe: Again, most of these auctions are of legit players, (Akili Smith aside), but still the asking prices for some of these cards are just plain ridiculous.
What should I do, buy a new car or buy an Emmitt Smith autographed shoe card?
Sorry, this card is not going to move.
20) 2001 Bowman's Best: "LaDainian Tomlinson" #124 Graded Rookie: I don't know what the significance of this starting price is. It seems like it's set to a jersey # or a rushing total, but I haven't been able to figure it out. Either way, It's not gonna sell for this price or at $6,286.92
You might as well keep it.
21) 2006 Donruss Classics: "Sean Taylor" Sunday Stars Jersey #15: One thing I have noticed about online auctions is that when a NFL player passes, that gives the seller a "Get of out Jail Free Card" when it comes to listing prices. As good as Sean Taylor was, none of his cards are worth $8,000 dollars. If he continued to play out his career, retired and was Pro Football HOF worthy a $8,000 price tag would still be a reach. All this is, is an owner saying, "Lookie what I own!!" listing. This card will never sell.
I am always finding these wacky auctions so check back from time to time to see what other surprising auctions are out there. Thanks for looking.
