Question to the modern collectors. A&G vs. Heritage vs. Bowman Chrome

akuracy503

When I got back into the hobby in 2001 it was all about the Bowman Chrome and SPX RC's.
Fast forward to 2008 when i got back into it again it was all about the A&G and Heritage, the influence of this forum got me into the Heritage and dabbled a bit with A&G.

So it's 2010 and I'm trying to focus my modern collecting to 1 product (i've found modern to be a big waste of money, although the nostalgia of ripping packs can't be rivaled)

I've found Topps Heritage is a fun/challenging set build, but realized it'd be cheaper just to buy the master set outright.

A&G is unique enough with some hits that is fun from time to time.

Bowman/Bowman chrome....goes back to the roots of my childhood collecting days where RC's were the focus and prize.

Would like to hear from those who collect each of the 3 products and why you believe it be the superior product.

I avoided this years Heritage like the flu, with Bowman and A&G set to release I am trying to decide...Bowman seems like the better product.

wem1472

Having gone the same route as you in terms of what I bust, I will say that it really depends on what you are trying to accomplish. If you are looking for "investments", prospecting, etc., you know the answer to the question as to which is the superior product.

If you are busting to build sets, Heritage and A&G both offer you a fun time in terms of building the sets. Personally, I went with Ginter over Heritage because after 58, I wasn't much of a fan of the Topps design. Ginter also gives you something other than baseball players. If you like just baseball in your product, stick to Heritage. Because I liked the variety of the A&G product and the fun of putting together the oddball sets and "the crack the code" hype, I've always leaned towards Ginter.

So I think it comes down to flipping to make money vs. enjoying the aesthetics of the cards. I enjoyed both those aspects, so I cracked cases of both each year. The thing I love most about Chrome is that it's the gift that keeps on giving. Even years after the product has been released you can go back to it and find players that crack the big leagues and go in value that you can sell. Jermaine Dye was a great example from 1994. Jason Heyward from 2007 and even Clay Buchholz from 2005 with his no hitter became big money. That card was like .50 cents when the product came out.

I've actually stopped busting all of it b/c I realized that all I was doing was losing money in the end. You are better off buying the singles of the guys you want to invest in with Chrome and building the sets by buying singles lots at shows and stff if you are doing A&G or Heritage. Of course, you aren't going to hit a $500 auto doing that, but you'll going to spend $1,000 to get that $500 auto, so what's the point? Unless you are addicted to the rush, which clearly, many people are.This may be different for the people busting 40+ cases of this kind of stuff (ala brentandbecca on ebay), but the average joe can't blow that kind of money. Maybe they've built a big enough following that they are somehow making money doing this or maybe they are just so loaded it doesn't matter. I think I'm tangenting from the topic, so I'll stop there!


For me, the superior product is Ginter b/c in the end, to me, the cards should be about enjoyment and aesthetics of the design, not the money you can make from flipping. It just took me a long time to come back to that (which is how it was when I was a kid). Once again, I think I've gotten myself back to the point where that is just about all it's about. I still flip some stuff on ebay as I go back through my "prospect" stacks and older years of chrome, but now, I'm just buying singles I like to collect and working on some vintage sets that I can pass along to my kids down the road for fun.

Bill

zep33

This years and last years Heritage sucked (for me at least)

A & G is a lot of fun. I do like the non-baseball stuff they throw in there. Some do, some don't. I do

Bowman is cool but most of the guys in the sets you won't hear about for a few years unless you monitor the minors pretty closely. (Aside from a few players that make the news). I like it cause after I open and sort, i can go back a in a few years and find out I have some good cards. This year and next year I should be able to cash in on some 2007 product.

A set that just came out this week is Topps National Chicle. Stoney did a case break and it made me break my rule of slowing down quite a bit and I ended up buying 3 boxes. It's a beautiful set with a lot of hits (for Topps) 2 autos and 1 GU per box.