0000001 eTopps Sold - $4,500

netjr

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2792435099&category=56043

Congrats to the buyer KISSnCREED. He talked to me personally about buying this card today. He just really wanted it and knows it will be a serious collectible for years to come. This is the first card eTopps ever shipped holding the shipping serial number 0000001 as eTopps is now over 100,000 cards shipped.

timc67

LINK

ydsotter

wow...
neat card... but for $4500 I might have rather picked up a nice jackie robinson rookie and used the change for a small vacation somewhere warm...
brrrr

estang

hmmmm....I dont' get this...I haven't been collecting or paying much attention to eTopps...

Help me understand this a bit better. Is this the first ever eTopps card ever offered for any sport, or just the first eTopps card of Emmit Smith for a particular year....I'm not familar with their serialization process.

As well, is it better to leave the card inside the Topps casing? Does Topps guarantee the card to be Gem Mint or Pristine? I'd imagine the "warranty" is void if/when you break it out of the casing to submit for grading. What's the winning bidder plan on doing with the card?

Learning the Ropes on eTopps

carew4me

A fool and his money......

lamar

Why would anyone spend that kinda money on that card? I know the seller - it's david greenhill. he used to be a big player in the industry during the boom, but kinda faded into oblivion. The things I could do with $4,500....

Basilone

with purchases like that...I expect him to fade back into oblivion.

netjr

estang...this was the first card eTopps shipped out. eTopps applies a serial number to each card they ship. They are currently over 110,000 total cards shipped from their online portfolio's. The guarantee the cards to be "mint" but that is a vague definition and its outlined in their terms and conditions. Cards received with obvious flaws can be returned within 30 days of receipt for a card without flaws.

obviously every collector has their own unique interests, that one thing they might pay a premium for, and in this case the buyer has something special to us who collect eTopps - the first card ever shipped. There can't be two of them. The card sold for about $700 almost two years ago to the current seller.

estang

netjr,

Thanks for the insight on the serialization of eTopps cards.

How about the question of whether it is a good idea to leave the card in the holder from Topps or is it better to have it graded. I would only guess that the Topps holder is tamper proof and the value is better in the Topps holder?

Is there a standard practice on getting e-Topps graded or not?

thejd99

I took a look at the bid history on this auction. How did the final price get to $4500 when the second highest bidder was only $1250?
bid history

AkbarClone

He bought using "Buy It Now" feature. It says that beside the "Time Left" indicator.

thejd99

joestalin

well considering that the stickers come off and that I actually owned two cards without stickers, that
is a HUGE chance to take on a card, not to mention a card with no autograph or jersey on it. Again
I question the legitimacy of this auction. I figure the in hand Emmitt is worth no more than 80 bucks..
so someone is paying 4,420 dollars for a little sticker that has 000001 on it??

This proves that the etopps world revolves around a bunch of monkeys. Thanks again to netjr for showing
us yet another reason to laugh at etopps and its blind followers.

JS

schr1st

I'm someone that likes to collect first, last, and "notable" (jersey, accomplishment #, etc.) serial numbered cards, but $4,500 for that is just plain silly. To each his own, I guess.

pc

worse buy than my 1/1 fleer mystique grifey years ago.
that etopps purchase is an instant loss of atleast $3k.

NickM

The most common grade given by BGS for eTopps cards is 8.5. There are slightly more 8.5s than 9s, and slightly more 8s than 9.5s.
If the eTopps holder is anything like the uncirculated holders Topps uses for boxtoppers and certain other cards, the card has the potential to move in the holder and get corner and edge wear.

Nick

Mistercoinman

I would have sold my whole collection for that price. New to the boards here, but a oldtime collector. Any guys in here from Pa.

CADILLACN97

i have seen on MANY occasions etopps cards that were graded psa 8s, many more so than 9s. what is actually topps guarantee? that they are untouched, uncirculated? guaranteed mint? there has to be a reason they are encased.

netjr

estang I think part of the interst in eTopps is that the cards are not circulated. The subject of this auction, the card, was shipped out and is considered circulated. Its value to the collector is that it holds a shipping sticker of 0000001. Joe Stalin has a bitterness towards eTopps and loves to harp on its flaws - the sticker can come off if the card is handled too much. Etopps cards are - in my opinion - best left in their cases and not graded. Why grade a card that has never left its encasement? Its in the uncirulcated condition this way - eTopps calls that "MINT" but their definition of "MINT" is not a BGS 10 or PSA 10. It really is a guarantee of being uncirculated with reasonable or common printing issues that can occur.

if you have not seen an eTopps card in person get one - there are thousands available and many of them quite cheap...pick your favorite player and buy 2. Crack one open to see the card and keep the other in the encasement - that is the best way to learn about them in hand.

Most of the eTopps cards are stored by eTopps in a professional storage facility. We never take them in hand but leave them there to be handled - free of charge for now - by eTopps. We have portfolios' that show us what cards we have in the storage bin, we can request them at most any time, but even better we can buy them on ebay and have them transferred into our port with no shipping, and now - starting today - we can trade them with other users with no ebay fees at all.