How Much Would You Pay For This Card?

How do you assign a value to a Baseball card?

I’ve firmly been of the opinion for some time that a card is only worth as much as someone is prepared to pay for it in the first place. This is often the problem with those collectors who live and die by the ‘value’ of a card as laid out in Beckett Baseball… What’s the point in screaming blue murder that a card’s worth $100 when someone’s only prepared to pay $50 for it? Where does the true value lie in that instance?

Check out this auction that ended on 26th November 2012 -

2012 Bowman Chrome RED Refractor AUTO BRYCE HARPER # /5 Rookie Autograph

Now, please bear in mind that this isn’t even the ACTUAL card that the highest bidder won, it’s the Redemption Card. I don’t know for certain if Harper has returned these autographed cards to Topps at this point in time so the actual card that’s been purchased in this auction might not even exist yet! Scary, but true!!

So, is this card (or technically the ‘promise’ of a card) really worth just over $2000??

If you firmly believe that Bryce Harper will carve himself a place in Baseball history at the tender age of 20 then you could make several arguments that this particular card is easily worth that amount of money, and possibly even more!

However, perhaps the better question then would be – How much would YOU be prepared to pay for it?

$2000?? I don’t think so! If I was that desperate to get hold of a Harper 2012 Bowman Chrome Autograph RC (and had that kind of money available) then I’d just get a standard (i.e. non-refractor) one and spend the spare change on some Vintage cards… Best of both worlds if you ask me!!

Then there’s this card which finished on ebay just yesterday -

2012 Bowman Draft Chrome Bryce Harper RED REFRACTOR AUTO #’d 4/5 Mint in hand

At least this one is signed and in the possession of the seller… But come on!! Just under $1800 for the initials BR scribbled onto the front of a card in a blue sharpie that looks as if it’s about to run out of ink?!?!?!

If I was to pull a card like this I’d sell it in an instant!

Maybe I don’t put as much faith if the process of prospecting that a lot of collectors do!

Maybe I consider that it’s always best to strike while the iron’s hot and sell, sell, sell if I was lucky enough to pull one of the hottest tickets in the Hobby!

Or maybe if there’s someone out there crazy and willing enough to pay BIG for a small piece of cardboard with the initials of a young Baseball prospect scrawled onto the front, then who am I to deny them that simple pleasure in life??

$$$ Kerching $$$

2012 Bowman Draft Chrome Bryce Harper Autograph RC #’d 4/5