AUTOGRAPHS

when collecting autographed (sports) cards does the brand of card matter?

for example would a topps or upperdeck card be worth more than another brand of card. and besides condition does anything else effect the value of the card?
they are in person signed autographs, mostly purchased on ebay

There are many variables here. Are you talking about regular cards that you have signed in person or through the mail, or about the ‘certified autograph’ cards that are inserted at random into packs of cards sold in the last 15 years? Because there’s a big difference.

It used to be that there were no ‘pre-signed’ cards, so collectors had to take their cards and have them signed. If it was an important rookie card that’s now of high value, that turned out to be a mistake. It was always recommended to get your autographs on the cheaper cards, which would raise the value, instead of lowering the value of a good one. Once anything is done to that card, even a signature and the card is still otherwise mint, it’s no longer mint.

It’s very different with the certified autographs, and I avoid them like the plague. To me, it’s all perceived scarcity in the minds of collectors that drives the value of them, and artificial scarcity created by the card companies to fatten profits. Now, don’t get me wrong – I’m a die-hard capitalist and love profit. But I’m against stupidity. If I want an autograph of Albert Pujols on a baseball card, I’ll get it on a cheap card. I’m not going to pay more than what I’d pay him for the autograph (if I had to pay) for a special design that whatever company only made five of, and numbered 1 to 5, that sells for $500 or more because ‘it’s so rare’, and then they make a slightly different version of the same card, maybe changed the color of the border or something, number it to 50, and those sell for $300 because they’re not as rare, and then make still another slightly different version and number it to 200 and those sell for $100 because they’re even MORE not as rare.

To me, it’s all gimmickry. An autograph is an autograph, and rare cards are regular cards that didn’t start out rare, but are rare because they didn’t survive until today in top condition, for a lot of reasons. They were handled, they were thrown away, they were lost, and very few were ever put away so they still are in as-issued condition. You can buy early 1950s cards of common ballplayers for a dollar in typical handled but not abused condition, but if you insist on having the best quality available, you’re going to face some stiff competition and high prices, because there’s only a small handful of survivors.

The two, autographs and rare cards, do not belong together. They have been, though, because collectors have bought into the idea of paying high prices for created scarcity.

I think of it this way. I show someone my Mickey Mantle rookie and they go ‘Wow!’ (This is hypothetical – I own a lot of great cards, but not that one.) I show someone my rare Honus Wagner T206 that makes news every time one hits the auction block, and they go ‘Holy crap!’ I show them my Carl Crawford signed 1 of 1 Press Plate, or whatever, and tell them it’s worth $1,000 or whatver because it’s the only one ever made, and they blink and go, ‘What? Carl Crawford only signed one card? BS! I caught him at the ballpark on a good day and got him to sign my card for free!’

The average person understands the real rarities, but they will never grasp the huge differences in value between one signed card and another.

But, if this is the type of autographed cards you mean, the company that makes them isn’t really important, it’s the numbers. Edition size. The smaller editions sell for the most money. And, in theory, they should all be mint, so condition isn’t at play.

With signed regular cards that aren’t worth much on their own, it’s better to keep them nice than to handle them, but strength of signature is the key thing. Autographs are rated on a 1 to 10 scale. Modern signatures should all be 10 quality, but if an athlete is in a hurry and a bit sloppy, it could easily be a 7 or 8, and that affects value a bit. Vintage signature values are affected somewhat more. I have seen weak, faded Mantle signatures on cards that sell for half or less of what a strong example brings.

Tons of RARE Sports Autographed Memorabilia For Sale! Kobe Ruth Jeter LeBron Mantle AMAZING !!