Card Values - Vol 2 : 1999 Upper Deck Game Used 12 Year Decline

Card values are always on most collectors minds, but only very few cards actually gain value.  Most of the types of cards that gain value are players that come out of nowhere.  For example a typical rookie card from a 13th round draft pick is usually a common card, and common autographs.  But what happens when that 13th round player is Albert Pujols?  That common autograph goes from $8 to where it is today $500+.  On the flip side you have the first pick of a draft, lets use Bryce Harper.  His 2011 Bowman Chrome Autograph was $400 and now is currently $300.  It has already decreased and he even made the All-Star game in his first year.

Above I am reviewing a very popular set of cards from 1999 Upper Deck, the Game Used Jersey set.  It seemed someone at Beckett was getting paid off by Upper Deck.  Would anyone of us buy a plain Nolan Ryan Jersey for $500?  Or was Beckett trying to create a huge craze?  I don't blame card manufactures for the decline of collecting during the early 2000s, I think Beckett set prices too high causing many of the typical and low end collectors to start to feel left out.  If you look at the 1999 UD Game Jersey's values in 2012 it is more typical of what you would see in a typical one piece relic card.  When all those collectors who actually paid what Beckett stated in their magazines, and when Ebay became big around 2003 those collectors were shocked!  How can my card I just bought two years ago for $200 only sell for $12?  It was about this time (2003) many collectors left the hobby in disgust, they put in tons of money and made nothing.

Now came the new bread of collectors, the E-Bay, auctions, online traders and websites like Check Out My Cards.  We are able to shop around for the right card from the comfort of our house.  Card shops now have to get creative to compete with online stores, and I am a HUGE fan of dime and quarter boxes.  A few shops in the area I have been to have their packs out in the open for anyone to search, so it leaves me not wanting to buy picked over hobby packs so I usually buy boxes online.

If you are new to collecting or looking at starting collecting you need to not worry about the book prices.  The only real time I reference a book price is by doing a trade.  For example I will trade a $50 card book price for another $50 card.  I like to collect rookies, any, because you never know when that one late rounder becomes gold.  I just wanted to show how much this set and cards have dropped over a 12 year period, and if you ever find someone who stopped collecting in 2000 and have these cards don't be surprised if he tries to sell you one of those cards for a couple hundred...just try not to laugh at him!

My Rule for young collectors: "Collect smart, not by impulse. Don't think about current values, they almost always go down.  Don't be pressured to buy with out doing research! And last but not least...HAVE FUN, your hobby is yours to do whatever you want to it, enjoy it!