HIGH END, EXCLUSIVE PRIVATE COLLECTION OF RARE, AUTHENTIC AUTOGRAPHED BASKETBALL CARDS, JERSEYS & MEMORABILIA
DETERMINING AUTHENTICITY IN SIGNED SPORTS CARDS, JERSEYS & MEMORABILIA
Article Originally Appeared in The Jordan Collection’s Blog
AUTHENTICITY
Every Item Listed in The Air Jordan Private Collection is Guaranteed Original & Authentic
All cards, jerseys, basketballs, autographs and memorabilia listed for sale on our site are guaranteed Authentic. All cards are original and not a copy, fake or reprint. We stand behind the authenticity of every item listed on our site, and to back this, all products are covered by a 7 day return policy.
Refunds Allowed
If a card or memorabilia purchased is not the exact same as listed on our site, in the same condition as advertised or an Authentic original print we will accept it back and provide a full refund of the purchase. Returns must be received in the exact condition as received: In original protective case or packaging and without any added defects.
TRADING CARD VALUES
These Card Prices seem High, are Sports Cards Really Selling at these Prices?
Yes. And it’s happening more and more often.
A few examples of card sales that have making headlines over the past couple of months include a Luka Doncic Rookie selling for nearly 250,000 with more than 5 of his other rookie cards of his selling between $10,000 and 50,000.
A Zion Williamson Rookie card recently sold online for higher than $100,000. Several of his rookie cards have already sold on ebay for amounts well above $10,000 a piece. This is just in the past few months.
See: Zion Williams Cards Regularly Fetching Higher than $10,000
A lot has changed over the past 25 years.
Cards are much more expensive, there are more inserts/parallels and less base cards than we had growing up. There are many sites with cheaper cards for sale if you’re just starting out. The basketball cards and memorabilia listed on our site are exclusive- these are extremely rare short-print, limited edition and low numbered rookies, autographs or both.
There are many cheaper options available, but if you’re looking to invest in the most valuable cards with the highest upside due to their exclusivity and low numbered prints (supply and demand) you’ve come to the right place. The Air Jordan Private Collection caters to the serious collectors, those with exclusive taste that only want high end, rare autographed cards and memorabilia.
For Budget conscious collectors and for those new to the hobby, starting with some basic or higher numbered release or non-autographed cards may be a better option to start out with before starting to collect some of the more exclusive cards & memorabilia listed for sale on our site.
Some of the more exclusive Basketball card boxes reflect the value in some of these cards, as you can see by the prices of the premium basketball card hobby boxes listed below. Many of these boxes only contain 10–30 cards at most. Even at these prices, you’re not guaranteed a hit (high value card) like the ones listed on our site.
PREMIUM PANINI BASKETBALL CARD HOBBY BOX PRICES
Panini National Treasures First Off The Line Hobby Box $7,999.95 ( 10 Cards)
Panini Flawless Hobby Box $3824.95 (10 Cards)
Panini Immaculate Hobby Box $1289.95 (6 Cards)
SHOULD I GET INTO SPORTS TRADING CARDS AS A HOBBY, AN INVESTMENT OR BOTH?
Some collect purely for the joy and hobby of it. They collect the entire set, their favorite players, or their favorite teams. Others speculate purely on the monetary value potential of cards and how to most effectively sell their cards. Others do a little bit of both, they enjoy collecting and holding onto some of their cards while moving others that they don’t want, that they can make money off of, or that someone else would enjoy more.
HOW DO I KNOW WHAT MY CARDS ARE WORTH?
An immediate question asked by many collectors is what their cards are worth. Most trading card companies do not put values on their trading cards, they simply manufacture them.
A secondary market exists on single card and set sales. You can read this story that provides you with details on how you can determine the value of your card(s).
HOW DO I KNOW WHAT MY SPORTS MEMORABILIA IS WORTH?
Trading cards are a pretty common commodity, but in the world of sports memorabilia, determining pricing and values can be a much tougher proposition. Luckily Upper Deck did some of the leg work for you and have created a comprehensive guide on the best ways to determine values on signed sports memorabilia.
HOW DO I KNOW IF A CARD OR AUTOGRAPH IS REAL?
Grading companies like PSA, JSA, Beckett or other third-party authentication services offer grading not only for card conditions, but also for autographs. They authenticate signatures from the worlds of sports, history, entertainment and just about everything in between.
THE GRADING PROCESS
PSA authenticates both sports and non-sports trading cards across all eras.
A series of PSA graders review your cards for authenticity. If genuine, PSA looks for evidence of doctoring, such as re-coloring or trimming.
If your cards pass these two steps, PSA grades the condition of each card on a scale of 1–10, with 10 being best.
After grading, PSA holders each card in its own tamper-evident case. A label within the case displays the card’s pertinent information and unique certification number.
JSA is one of the leading Authentication & Grading Companies. Their process for determining if an autograph is authentic is as follows:
AUTOGRAPH AUTHENTICATION
The certified autograph can be verified publicly using PSA’s online Certification Verification webpage or through their mobile application.
HOBBY BOX OR RETAIL?
One of the questions a lot of new collectors have (and some veteran collectors, too) is whether they should buy hobby boxes or retail boxes when it comes to sports cards. Beckett does a great job in explaining the differences between the two as well as covering the upsides and downsides to each.
HOBBY BOXES
The Pros
More Autographs and Memorabilia — Usually
While all cards are geared at collectors, hobby configurations are aimed more at the hardcore collector. That means they generally focus on the premium aspects of a product like autographs and memorabilia cards. Odds of finding them are usually easier as well.
Most hobby products today promise, at minimum, one signature or relic per box. On the other hand, a retail blaster box might give you a manufactured patch card or somewhat generic swatch. Or it might just give you a handful of packs. Even if you’re ripping loose packs, dozens of retail packs might not give a whiff of any ink or premium content.
Levels vary, but if you simply break it down to how much you spend for a hit, it’s likely to be less with hobby. It’s important to note that’s across a span of time. Sure, there are instances when that single hanger pack from Target yields something huge. But that’s the exception.
Premium Exclusives and Products
Not only are high-end cards usually more plentiful in hobby configurations, often it’s the only place you’re going to find them. And it’s not always autographs and relics. Sometimes it’s parallels or scarce inserts.
For a lot of products, everything is a hobby exclusive. That’s because it’s the only configuration. High-end releases usually go this way. You’re not going to find a retail version of National Treasures or Transcendent. Even a lot of mid-range products like Finest are hobby-only.
The Cons
Cost
You’re going to get more premium content from hobby boxes, but it comes at a price. A lot of hobby products today start at $100 per box and go up from there. Even the accessible products are generally $50 or more. Compare that to the average retail box that is less than $30.
So if you’re casually interested in sampling a product, hobby can be an expensive way to go. This is particularly true if your expectations are low as far as hits go. For many, it’s a lot easier to make a spontaneous $20 purchase than a $50 one.
Availability
The days of a card shop in every town are gone. Some large cities might have just one — and it’s probably a long drive away. For most collectors, heading down to the store for a handful of packs or box isn’t easy anymore. As a result, hobby products might not be a direct option.
RETAIL BOXES
The Pros
Cheaper
There aren’t a lot of retail boxes that would be considered expensive. Even with card makers experimenting with a few different configurations, including some that are similar to hobby, the average retail blaster box is going to be somewhere between $20 and $30. Hanger packs are generally in the $10-$15 range. Single packs can be found for $3 or less.
While the content is going to be different, retail often an affordable option for many. It might also be a way to try something out to see if you want to delve deeper into a more expensive hobby box afterwards.
Retail is a place where you can find some solid value or just plain cool cards that, in the long run can be coveted due to their perceived rarity. Part of that is because a lot of retail buyers are collectors who aren’t necessarily selling on the side — at least as much. These retail cards are just as likely to be filed away in a box or tucked in a binder.
The Cons
Less of the Big Stuff
One of the big pros on the hobby side is one of retail’s weaknesses. Autographs can be scarce. In a lot of products, regular memorabilia can be too. Take something like Topps Baseball that’s plentiful on both fronts. A regular hobby box will give you one signature or relic. A retail blaster usually yields a manufactured relic. But if you want an autograph or a swatch from a game-used relic, they might not even be available. And, as already mentioned, if they are, the odds can be long.
THE AIR JORDAN PRIVATE COLLECTION
Where the High End Collectors Find The Most Valuable Cards
High End, Exclusive, Authentic, Autographed Rare Basketball Cards & Memorabilia.
