Friday Marketwatch, 2008 Baseball Card Design Vote Winner and Getting An Etopps Card Graded

As of today, February 15 the following are stats covering the last 7 days on ebay for etopps in-hands:

Quantity of etopps in-hands listings: 203
Sell-Through: 52.22%
Average starting price: $3.07
Average final price: $13.71

Highest Sale: 2007 Ronald Reagan Allen and Ginter $49.99
Highest Graded Sale: 2006 Laurence Maroney (BGS 9.5) at $45
Highest Autograph Sale: 2003 Tom Brady $225

Other best sellers:
1953 Mickey Mantle reprint
2007 George Bush Allen and Ginter
2006 Brodie Croyle
2007 Alex Gordon

Received most bids that sold well:
2007 Adrian Peterson: 13

The vote is in for the 2008 Etopps Baseball design:


I'm just glad the retro look was voted. This design will probably be appealing to team collectors, considering the big logo that seems to dominate the design.

If you are considering getting an etopps card graded to get a better price on it, think twice before considering this. Etopps cards are already considered mint condition so anything below a 9.5 is like buying the card ungraded.

The best grading service for etopps cards is Beckett Grading Service (BGS). Unless you get a 9.5 or 10 on a card, you may not be able to sell the card at a higher price than if it was ungraded, especially since their grading service is not cheap.

When submitting the card, you may wonder: should I break the seal and open the case? Do Not Do This.

Let the grading company open the case of the card.

If you use the grading card company PSA, they will contact you after they receive your submission to get your authorization to open the card(s).

With BGS, you can ask them to grade the card in the case and ask them to keep the card in the case if the grade falls below the minimum grade you will accept. In other words, if the lowest grade you want is a 9 and the grade is an 8.5 you will have your card returned in tact in the original case. Also, you're better off shipping the card in the case because the case will protect the card.