My Bernie Williams card made me think about a question collectors do not always separate cleanly: when does an autograph become an inscription? You can see the card above. Under the signature there is a small extra mark, almost like a heart or personal symbol. At first glance it looks different from a standard autograph, … Read more
Michael Jordan is one of the biggest names in sports cards, but his card market is not one clean market. The 1986 Fleer rookie card, the 1986 Fleer sticker, rare 1990s inserts, Upper Deck autographs, game-used cards and important high-grade copies live in a completely different world than ordinary late 80s and 90s base cards. … Read more
I went through Catawiki again after writing about Etsy, and the difference is pretty obvious. Etsy gives me this strange feeling that almost anything can be uploaded if the photo is clean enough. A framed Jordan, some COA nobody knows, “authentic” in the title, decent seller page, done. Catawiki feels different, but not because I … Read more
I was looking through Etsy again for sports memorabilia, and it is one of the stranger places to search for autographs. The selection is huge: Jordan, Brady, Ohtani, Kobe, Messi, framed jerseys, signed photos, balls, helmets, display pieces. A lot of it looks good at first glance because Etsy is built for presentation. Nice photos, … Read more
I saw this in a sports card Facebook group: PSA 9s should not be that much cheaper than PSA 10s. Good topic. Also exactly why I still read Facebook groups. I have written before about sports card Facebook groups being messy, but this is where the real hobby talks. Not auction copy. Not dealer language. … Read more
Upper Deck is in a strange place today. Not gone. Not irrelevant. But also not sitting in the middle of modern basketball cards anymore. A quick look at the Upper Deck Store in May 2026 says enough. Goodwin Champions, Skybox Metal Universe Champions, World of Sports, multi-sport boxes, hockey, nostalgia, niche products. That is the … Read more
A damaged Topps relic card made the rounds in collector groups recently, and honestly, I understand why people reacted so strongly. This was not just a tiny corner issue. It looked more like one of those cards where you immediately ask yourself how it came out of a pack like that. The top edge looked … Read more
The Miami Heat are an interesting memorabilia team. Not every Heat item is automatically valuable, but Miami has championships, a strong visual identity, and a few players who matter in the wider collectibles market. And then there is LeBron James. That changes the discussion. His Miami years were short compared to his full career, but … Read more
Exclusive autograph deals with names like LeBron James and Shohei Ohtani have changed the feeling around modern sports card products. Not everything, of course. You can still collect cheap cards. You can still build sets, collect teams, buy vintage, search dollar boxes, chase weird inserts, whatever. The hobby is still big enough for all of … Read more
Today I want to look at a question that matters a lot in modern sports memorabilia: Are Fanatics COAs legit? I am using a real example from my own collection: a signed Victor Wembanyama basketball from Fanatics. Wembanyama is already one of the most important young names in basketball, and after becoming one of the … Read more