It's a Rookie Card Bonanza

Before I get into the day's real topic, let me say that my Tony Romo RC card auction is done - and I'm pretty happy with the result.  At auction's end, the card sold for $11.50 (and I included free shipping).  So all told, I'll make about $7.00 off of it.  The card wasn't graded or numbered.  So for a regular non-Chrome RC, that price is actually very good.  And it makes me want to tackle the entire box of cards that I got to see what other treasures are in there.

Now, for the 'Bonanza' piece of the post, I want to call your attention once again to one of Target's staples - the double packs of cards for $4.99.  Really, the Topps NBA double packs are the best value in loose packs right now.  In the pack you're getting a numbered Chrome variation and a gold parrallel as well.  And not to mention the base cards, which are still awesome in their photography.

I bought one of these double packs again because I've had great success with getting some value out of them.  And this pack was especially nice.  If you happen to buy any packs in a retail bin, you have to know that you're not getting a relic or an auto.  And if you do happen to pull an auto - buy a lottery ticket at the first gas station you see, becuase it may just hit.

So a loose retail pack has to have something else to replace the lack of what you already know you're not going to pull.  And these double packs are doing a fine job with that.  First off, I pulled the Tracy McGrady Chrome /999.  Not a fan of the T-Mac myself, but it's a nice looking card.

But the real value of this pack was that it contained no fewer than 5 RC's.  And not just scrub RC's.  Good ones.  Here's the four that I liked the best (not pictured is James Harden).

Are you kidding me?  Ricky Rubio is a yet unproven commodity, but he still has a following in the hobby.  But to pull the Jennings and Curry in the same pack is just a bit ridiculous.  Pretty much, I paid a dollar for every rookie card in the pack - and I don't feel cheated or left feeling like I could've put that money somewhere else (like a slot machine, for example).

I'm not into grading cards or anything, but I'm smart enough to know that even though I don't believe in the principle or the practice - other people do.  And they're willing to pay for the final product.

I'm not saying that I'm going to pay a person to slab any of these RC's - but I have enough loose cards to probably make it worth my time.  Had I slabbed the Tony Romo card I just sold, I could have sold it for five times it's selling price.  In fact, I'm sure that the person who did buy it will send it away to be slabbed to flip it.  It's a piece of the hobby puzzle - love it or hate it.

Really though, as a basketball fan, I'm more than happy to have personally pack-pulled RC's of Curry and Jennings.  And when making trades, I know that other people will love to have the cards as well.  The double packs of cards really are the best value right now in cards.  I could've taken the same five dollars into a hobby shop and bought maybe one pack of a product and recieved far less.  Sad but true. 

I've probably purchased six or seven of these double packs now - never once have I been dissapointed.