2018 Topps Living Baseball Forum

So I got my first Living card yesterday (Ernie Banks) and want to go back and get all the other Cubs featured in the set. That's when I noticed Ian Happ was selling for ridiculous amounts on ebay.  Can anyone help me understand why this is?  (I also noticed this for Nick Markakis as well.)  Most listings brag about it being a short print, but there are a number of other players whose print runs are lower than or about the same as Happ's, though I admit Nick's run is pretty low compared to most players.  What's the story behind these cards, why are most sellers claiming SP,  and are there any others out there in this set with seemingly unnecessarily high value?  I mean Ian Happ?  Dude was demoted to the minors in Spring Training and just got the call up this past weekend.

Bear with me if this has been brought up before or if its commonly known.  I've only been around here for a month so I haven't quite navigated all the site's features yet.  I did some internet searching but came up empty, and I figured if anyone would have an answer it would be here.

For some ebay sellers that's their modus operandi. I'd be patient if I were you. 

looks like the same thing on COMC only one of each available. 

PSA 9 Happ - on sale for $117 (from 176)

Markakis - on sale for $227.95 (from 350.45)

same seller for each

meanwhile a Rizzo at about double the print run can be had for $7.99 with 8 available for sale

There were a lot of quality control issues the first few weeks so those cards are harder to find in good condition.  Also for a long time they were the shorter printed cards of the set.  There were even articles printed about those cards.  Because of these things, the cards have remained in higher demand even though they are no longer lowest print runs in the set.

Ahh, I see. That definitely make sense in like May or June of 2018. It’s weird that they’ve kept their value since then given that print runs have since leveled out for players of his caliber. I can see QC being an issue but man, for those of us that just want the card and aren’t worried about grading, I’d gladly take a screwup if my other option is $80. I wouldn’t even spend that on his Cool Base jersey, lol!

Thanks for the info and for all the speedy replies. This site is great! I just got back in the game after 25 years and, with the way the industry has changed, it’s basically like being totally new to collecting.