Dailywax

There comes a time in every collectors life where they need to ask themsleves if now is the best time to cut their loses and attempt to sell a failed investment quest. Recently, a rash of low numbered, hard to find Maurice Clarett cards have popped up on eBay from a single seller, and it begs me to ask the question: “Is now the best time to unload your Maurice Clarett cards?” Clarett, who is 2 years into a 7 year prison term, will probably never see action in the NFL, but still remains a favorite for quite a few Buckeye collectors. Check out this amazing stash of Clarett cards to find their way on to eBay over the last week:

• 2005 SPX Autograph Auto Maurice Clarett NFL Patch Logo 1/1
• 2005 SP Authentic Auto Maurice Clarett NFL Patch Logo 1/1
• 2005 Ultimate J.J. Arrington Maurice Clarett NFL Patch 1/1
• 2005 Exquisite Maurice Clarett RC Auto Autograph Patch /199
• 2005 Exquisite Maurice Clarett RC Auto Autograph Patch /5
• 2005 Leaf Certified Materials Maurice Clarett RC Auto Autograph Patch /5
• 2005 Playoff Maurice Clarett Auto RC Contenders Championship Ticket 1/1
• 2005 SP Authentic Maurice Clarett RC Auto Autograph Patch /5
• 2005 Topps Maurice Clarett RC Auto Autograph 50th PSA 10 /10
• 2005 SP Authentic Maurice Clarett RC Auto Autograph Patch /25

As of October 2008, Clarett has been blogging about his life in prison on The Mind of Maurice Clarett; although he does not have Internet access in the prison, he sends his entries to family members, who post them for him.

There is nothing more beautiful than a rainbow, especially if it’s made up an amazing collection of a young and talented Evan Longoria 2006 Bowman Chrome Draft Auto. Just like at the end of a real rainbow, the owner of this sweet collection is hoping there is a pot of gold for them at the end of the auction. With a BIN of $350,000.00, this 2006 Bowman Chrome Draft Auto Evan Longoria Rainbow is sure to grab some attention. With a majority of the cards in the collection a BGS 9.5 or PSA 10 – you are going to be hard pressed to find a set in better condition, but, for $350k – I could find a lot better things to spend my money on.

As always, happy bidding!

Back by popular demand, DailyWax is holding another contest for all of our readers. Our first contest was a success, and we hope to continue to offer more contests in the near future. To enter the contest, simply reply to this entry with your name and email address (which will not be visible) along with your guess of final price of this 2006 Bowman Chrome Alex Gordon Superfractor Auto auction on eBay. The closest, without going over, to the final price listed in the auction will win a 2009 Bowman Jose Reyes Printing Plate 1/1. In the event of multiple correct guesses, it will be randomly awarded to one of the correct guessers. You are only allowed to enter your guess once, multiple guesses from the same email address will result in disqualification from the contest. Be sure you use a valid email address, as I will be contacting the winner via email on where to send their prize.

Good luck and happy guessing!

MLB.com is reporting that 19-year-old San Francisco Giants Prospect, Angel Villalona, who considered one of the top prospects of the franchise, has turned himself in to Dominican Republic authorities following the murder in La Romana, DR.

The shooting occurred on Saturday, September 19 around 11 PM local time, and the authorities have named Villalona as the prime suspect.

This year, Villalona hit .267 with 9 home runs, and 42 RBIs in 74 games with the San Jose Giants at the Class A Advanced level before a season ending injury in July. As a 16-year-old rookie, Villalona received a $2.1 million signing bonus, one of the largest ever at the time.

Villalona had a 2008 Bowman Chrome Prospect Autograph that has been an anchor for the set and one of the years more highly sought-after prospect cards. If convicted, this could really damper a once very bright and aspiring future.

While, we’re not exactly sure how they all ended up on in the sellers hands, over 2,400 2008 Rene Tosoni Bowman Chrome Auto’s have been placed up for auction on eBay. The seller, who deals in “buying lost freight shipments, unclaimed freight, manufacturer and distributor overstocks, and close-out merchandise”.

The seller currently has auctions for 2,412 of the cards, that were originally inserted as redemptions from Topps in their 2008 Bowman Chrome product:

• 500 base autographs
• 498 base autographs
• 484 base autographs
• 480 of 500 Refractor autographs
• 241 of 250 Xfractor autographs
• 142 of 150 Blue Refractor autographs
• 44 of 50 Gold Refractor autographs
• 23 of 25 Orange Refractor autographs

The lot of the Orange refractors also contains 24 of 25 Tim Bascom Orange Refractors autographs too. If you ever wanted to own a near entire print run of an card, here is your chance.

This has to make you wonder what Topps will do to replace the redemptions currently in circulation or which have been redeemed?

The push for the exclusive invites to this years Post Season Party is in full effect. A number of teams are jockeying daily atop of the Wild Card standings with the look of a photo finish almost imminent. This month, some of our hottest cards are from players helping their team lay a stake in this years Post Season.

Here is the Top 25 Baseball Cards for September 2009:

1. 2007 Bowman Chrome Tim Lincecum RC Auto
2. 2007 Bowman Sterling Tim Lincecum RC Auto
3. 2007 Bowman Chrome Prospects Tommy Hanson RC
4. 2008 Bowman Chrome Draft Prospects Gordon Beckham RC Auto
5. 2008 Donruss EEE Pablo Sandoval RC Auto
6. 2009 Topps Chrome Tommy Hanson RC Auto
7. 2004 Bowman Chrome Felix Hernandez Auto
8. 2009 Bowman Aflac Bryce Harper PROMO
9. 2002 Bowman Chrome Joe Mauer RC Auto
10. 2008 Donruss Elite Neftali Feliz RC Auto
11. 2006 Bowman Chrome Prospects Pablo Sandoval
12. 1993 Upper Deck SP Derek Jeter RC
13. 2009 Bowman Prospects Gordon Beckham Auto
14. 2008 Bowman Chrome Draft Prospects Buster Posey RC Auto
15. 2002 Bowman Chrome Prospect Zack Greinke
16. 2008 Sweet Spot USA Signatures Black Stitch Red Auto Stephen Strasburg
17. 2002 Upper Deck Prospect Premieres Prince Fielder RC auto
18. 2008 Upper Deck USA Stephen Strasburg
19. 2004 Bowman Chrome Aflac Andrew McCutchen
20. 2005 Topps Chrome Update Andrew McCutchen Auto
21. 2008 Bowman Chrome Draft Rick Porcello RC
22. 2006 Bowman Chrome Draft Pick Evan Longoria RC AU
23. 2005 Bowman Chrome Pospects Justin Verlander Auto
24. 2009 SPx Matt Wieters Auto
25. 2008 Bowman Chrome Draft Prospects Jesus Montero RC Auto

Happy collecting!

Riding on the coat tails of his skyrocketing 2008-09 Upper Deck USA cards and recent cover shots on SportsIllustrated and Beckett, Harpers limited edition AFLAC All-American Promo cards have been hitting eBay with their sellers looking for premium prices.

From what I have read, production numbers are around 125 per player, with 40 total cards in the set.

In a recent tweet on Twitter, Topps has announced that Wilmer Flores has begun to sign his 2008 Bowman Chrome Draft cards. These originally were inserted in packs as redemption only and may collectors were growing inpatient and speculating that Flores would not sign and these cards would be deemed as replacements only.

As teams are making their pushes toward the post season, a rash of mid-season call-ups have escalated the demand for quite a few prospect rookie cards resulting in an overwhelming demand and collectors paying out at some all-time highs for prices. For the month of August and possibly into late October, I can see that Gordon Beckham and his cards are going to very hot.

Here is the Top 25 Baseball Cards for August 2009:

1. 2008 Bowman Chrome Draft Prospects Gordon Beckham RC Auto
2. 2007 Bowman Chrome Prospects Tommy Hanson RC
3. 2007 Bowman Chrome Tim Lincecum RC Auto
4. 2009 SPx Matt Wieters Auto
5. 2008 Bowman Chrome Draft Prospects Jesus Montero RC Auto
6. 2007 Bowman Sterling Tim Lincecum RC Auto
7. 1997 Bowman Chrome Roy Halladay RC
8. 2009 Bowman Prospects Gordon Beckham Auto
9. 2008 Bowman Chrome Draft Prospects Buster Posey RC Auto
10. 2004 Bowman Chrome Aflac Andrew McCutchen
11. 2005 Topps Chrome Update Andrew McCutchen Auto
12. 2006 Bowman Chrome Draft Pick Evan Longoria RC AU
13. 2008 Bowman Sterling Evan Longoria RC Auto
14. 2009 Bowman Chrome Prospects Logan Morrison Auto
15. 2006 Bowman Chrome Justin Upton RC AU
16. 2007 Donruss EEE Matt Weiters Auto
17. 2008 Sweet Spot USA Signatures Black Stitch Red Auto Stephen Strasburg
18. 2008 Upper Deck USA Stephen Strasburg
19. 2009 Topps Red Hot Rookie Redemptions
20. 2004 Bowman Chrome Felix Hernandez Auto
21. 2002 Bowman Chrome Joe Mauer RC Auto
22. 2008 Bowman Chrome Prospects David Price Auto
23. 2008 Bowman Chrome Draft Rick Porcello RC
24. 2009 Topps Chrome Tommy Hanson RC Auto
25. 2005 Bowman Chrome Pospects Justin Verlander Auto

Happy collecting!

Topps has signed an exclusive deal with Major League Baseball, and starting 2010 will have an exclusivity on MLB, club trademarks, logos and other intellectual property for use on baseball cards, stickers and other product categories featuring MLB players.

What does this mean? Basically that no other card manufacturers will be able to show photography of players in their actual MLB uniform or use team logos on their product. Topps is hoping that this exclusivity will appeal to a new generation of enthusiasts and restore their reign as the crown jewel of the sports collecting world.

he exclusive arrangement ends MLB’s 30-year relationship with Upper Deck, the other main player in the market, which retains licensing rights from the MLB Players Association. That enables Upper Deck to continue producing cards with players’ images, but team logos and such are out.