Anybody familiar with Etopps?

mreuter

Watching an auction with an Etopps card I need for a player collection. How does it work? It says I need a membership to get my card, does this cost anything? Also, what is the "small fee" to get my card shipped? Thanks for the help.

yankeeno7

I would say that the best thing to do is bid on one from a seller who has one "in hand"

I also dont know how etopps works.

jmbkb4

<< <i>I would say that the best thing to do is bid on one from a seller who has one "in hand". >>


Good advice. I had a nightmare-ish experience trying to get one transferred to my Etopps account, and it cost a fortune for Topps to ship me my card.

Stone193

I would check with JoeStalin - he's a big Etopps collector and advocate.

mike

WinPitcher

would check with JoeStalin - he's a big Etopps collector and advocate.






or vintage Jeff


Steve

THEBULLPEN

Etopps come in 2 ways- in portfolio or in hand.

the in hand part is like any other card, except it sealed and encased at Topps- almost indentical to the Bowman Uncirculated line on thePit, if you've ever taken one of those in hand.

in portfolio cards get sold initially on an IPO basis. They announce the card, you put in how many you want, and you might get all, some or none. they then start trading electronically using ebay as the marketplace. Once the eBay sale closes, the seller has to transfer it to your account. You can let it sit there electronically, again like thePit, or you can ask for it to be shipped to you inhand.

In hand shipments are expensive relative to the values of most cards- 6.95 plus .85 per card. You can also have them shipped to a participating hobby shop for .65 each.

Some of the cards have the print runs enbossed on them, others have a cert that comes with it.

If you don't want to open an eTopps account (which is free) it is better to wait until those cards hit the inhand market- about 45 days after the IPO. They are generally cheaper and you will pay less in shipping at that point.

I sell a ton of eTopps in hands on my site. For more information on the in port aspect, see Cardtarget, a private site run by a couple of eTopps members dedicated to eTopps.

Hope that helps.

VintageJeff

Looks like a fellow etopper the bullpen handled this one. If you have any more questions email me or hit me up on AIM imjwest94


Thanks for remembering me winpitcher.

gregmadduxfan

Great info from thebullpen........I have been doing a lot of etopps stuff over the past 2 years and have done very well. I enjoy it since it's easy to do and you don't need to worry about storage, I also love being able to accumulate multiples of the same card and get a high % of ownership. The cards are beautiful in hand and that is another positive. I know a lot of people don't like etopps, Joestalin and I have gone back and forth on this with several posts over the past couple of years but I do like the program and I will stand by it. I know a ton of people made money and ran and a lot of people also lost a ton in 2002, if you got in at the right time and know what you are doing then you are going to be fine. I made a killing on several key 2001 football rcs by building up solid accumulations in 2001, most notable was Chad Johnson. If you are ever looking for a new avenue of collecting you should check it out since it really can be a lot of fun and very easy as well.