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Happy collecting,
The TCC Staff
TradingCardCentral.com

With 185 collectors and over 3720 posts in less than 2 months, there's plenty of ways to get involved with the other members - either in discussions or with trading. So, are you ready to join and start meeting other collectors?

Then, simply click here to sign up for the Collector Zone.

In addition, we're offering contests and special giveaways throughout Memorial Day weekend - running through Tuesday, May 31st. The current list of contests/giveaways with prizes still available includes:

NBA Playoffs Prize #1: "Getting to know each other" drawing
Prize: 2004-05 Upper Deck Sweet Shot Basketball - Dwight Howard Sweet Shot Jersey (SSJ-DH) game-used card

NBA Playoffs Prize #5: "And the number is... - Round 2" contest
Prize: 2003-04 Upper Deck Legends Basketball - Gilbert Arenas Signs of a Future Legend (FL-GA) autographed card

NBA Playoffs Prize #9: "Get a Member!" drawing
Prize: 2004-05 Fleer Ultra Basketball - Vince Carter Scoring Kings (SK/VC) game-used card

NBA Playoffs Prize #10: "Heat/Pistons: Guess the Total Points #2" contest
Prize: 2004-05 Upper Deck Black Diamond Basketball - Chauncey Billups Black Diamond Jersey (BDJ-CB) game-used card

I wouldn't be trying to cash in on any stock tips from your friend. Unfortunately, the 1990 Topps cards were part of the over productive years of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Unless you got a great deal, the box is probably worth less - $8-$12 - than you paid for it back then. The only card of note in the 1990 set is Sammy Sosa's rookie card No. 692, which lists for $5-$6. Frank Thomas' rookie card (414) is worth $2 unless you come across one without his name on the front. Those list in Tuff Stuff and Beckett for $300-$375. It's my understanding that error cards made it into some factory sets but weren't found in wax packs. As for the box bottom, it's worth $1.50 in top shape, although Boggs' election to the Hall of Fame this year might spark a little interest. The biggest problem with box bottom panels/cards is finding them in top condition. After all, they're box bottoms subject to being crunched, scuffed and in general dinged up. Three of the four panels from 1990 are worth $1-$2. The fourth panel with Nolan Ryan, Cal Ripken, Ryne Sandberg and Jim Rice is worth around $4 thanks to having three Hall of Famers out of the four players pictured with Rice still having an outside chance to make it to Cooperstown.

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While LeBron James looked to be the clear cut fan favorite following the 2003 NBA Draft, he's nearly been caught in the eyes of collectors by the Flash. Dwyane Wade's Rookie Cards debuted well behind James in early-summer '03, but just as Wade has kicked it into high gear during his second NBA season, so have his cards. Here's a look at the values of the key RCs of James and Wade (both from 2003-04 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection, released in summer '04) as tracked by Beckett Basketball:

Aug. 2004 (cards debut shortly after James named ROY)
James $2,500
Wade $550

Nov. 2004 (tip-off of their second season)
James $2,700
Wade $1,000

Feb. 2005 (NBA All-Star Game)
James $2,700
Wade $1,400

July 2005
James $2,900
Wade $2,000

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The Beckett.com website first reported last Wednesday that a source at Fleer said the company has suspended its trading card operations indefinitely until its future can be mapped out. The report said the company has laid off the majority of its work force, although a few employees still remain.

"The trading card operation is suspended and we're not releasing anything new going forward until ownership determines the course of action it wants to take," the source, who requested anonymity, was quoted as saying.

The website for card dealer Georgetown Card Exchange (www.gcxonline.com), which includes sell sheets for upcoming products, is now listing all future Fleer products as "cancelled." Fleer's website - which said nothing about the suspended operations as of this past Friday - still includes a calendar of upcoming product releases, but the company's last actual release appears to have been its 2004-05 Genuine NBA set on April 27. Two baseball sets, Patchworks and Autographics, were due out earlier this month, but have not been released.

Other previously-scheduled Fleer releases that are now listed as cancelled include: Ultra football, Tradition series two baseball, Premium baseball, Tradition football, Sweet Sigs baseball, Showcase football and Greats of the Game basketball.

According to the Beckett.com report, the source said Fleer's decision to suspend operations came as a surprise to most of the employees, although the company was apparently shopped around to potential buyers late last year.

Collectors waiting for redemption cards to be fulfilled from the company will apparently have to keep on waiting, at least for the foreseeable future, as the source quoted by Beckett.com indicated that redemption fulfillment has been suspended along with other trading card operations.

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Does a 13-year-old boy scratching lottery tickets sound legitimate to you? Well, a similar process occurs daily in the sports card industry. In my opinion, it's hard to see the difference between buying a lottery ticket at a convenience store and a premium pack of collector cards. Sound silly? Not so fast.

Buy a pack of cards or pay your mortgage

Today, it is not odd to see collectors as young as twelve spend $100-$300 on a pack of four or five cards in hope of pulling a card worth thousands of dollars. Anyway you slice it, this is gambling pure and simple. Good luck finding a pack of cards for less than $5 in your local card shop. Just 15 years ago, I remember spending fifty cents for a pack of 20 cards and the packs came with a piece of powdered bubble gum! I looked for my favorite player or the up-and-coming rookies, not a $20,000 card. This forces me to ask the question: Is there really any difference between scratching a lottery ticket from your local 7-Eleven or buying a high-end pack of cards from a hobby shop? Not really.

Still need convincing?

One of the best examples of this "lottery" mentality sweeping the card-collecting market is the LeBron James/Michael Jordan "All-NBA Access Pass" card found in Upper Deck's 2003-04 Exquisite Collection Basketball product line. This card is extremely unique and a true "one-of-one" collector's item. Exquisite basketball initially retailed at $500 for a box of 5 cards and peaked around $700 a box or roughly 1000-1400 times the cost of a pack of cards during my youth. There is no need to do a double take; do the math and that is between $100 and $140 per card.

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