Monday, June 14, 2010

Before & After (& Back To Before)......Armando Galarraga

Ebay often provides the ultimate roller coaster ride of memorabilia value for players who suddenly find themselves in the spotlight for all the right or wrong reasons.

Our spotlight today is on Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga, artist of Major League Baseball's greatest "perfect game that wasn't actually a perfect game" on June 2nd. A look at his 2008 Bowman Sterling Autographed rookie card is a perfect example of how fleeting some moments can be in the ebb and flow of card values. Hours before the blown call heard around the world, the card could be had for just over $3.oo (a little over $6.0o w/ shipping). Several hours later, impulse buyers caused a 483% spike in the value of that same card!! Not quite 2 weeks removed from the moment, and following a far more pedestrian outing in his next start, we're pretty much back where we started.

Moral here? If you happen to be in front of the TV on any given night and hear that sports history is in the making, scour through that card collection, put everything you've got with the face of the player involved on eBay (1 day auction would be recommended in this case), and don't worry about your indirect involvement in someone else's buyer's remorse a week later :-)

The madness continues.....

With 2 pretty dominant major league starts behind him now, Stephen Strasburg continues to bring the sports card collecting hobby attention unseen since the arrival of the recently retired Ken Griffey, Jr. 21 years ago.

The first major cash-in on the rarities of all things Strasburg came on May 29 with the $16,000+ haul on a 2010 Bowman Strasburg "superfractor".....a true 1/1
. Now the other major Strasburg treasure, the 2010 Bowman Red 1/1 autographed card, has been found and can be yours on eBay......for a small fee that can be negotiated.

My best advice for anyone holding anything Strasburg and looking to make money is SELL NOW!!! As anyone who discovered the hobby in the 80's and 90's can tell you......holding onto rookie cards has its ebbs and flows as value goes, and most collectors don't make their living on Wall Street for a reason :-)