2011 Topps Update Baseball Forum

This is insane.  Mike Trout's 2011 Topps Update RC ($250 BV) is worth more than the entire set ($150).  As the only missing Topps or Topps Update/Traded set in my collection dating back to 1968, I am out of options for completing my collection.  When I got back into modern card collecting in 2013 after going strictly vintage in 2007, I found a complete 2011 Topps Update set for $25 shipped.  I held off buying it because I was only willing to pay $20, which I was able to find for everything since 2005 Topps.  Well, that $25 set kept going up and up and up.  Finally, I had to eventually settle on paying $25 for the complete set without Mike Trout.  I've been waiting 4 years for the price of this card to go down without any luck.  I can't find a copy of this card for under $100.  I'd rather pay $100 for the '68T #177 Nolan Ryan RC I need to complete that set.  I hate to say it, but I almost hope Trout get caught taking PED's or gets hurt for a year so the card will plummet so I can complete my set.  I'd pay up to $25 for it.  Maybe I could trade a bunch of stuff for it. 

I'm in the same boat and atittude about the ding dang SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSP 2012 Topps Archives Bryce Harper RC that was upwards of $100 upon it's release. In my book modern cards should NEVER get into the 3 digit price range and NEVER when they are less than 5 years old. 

Just simple supply and demand.  You don't have to buy them.   Seen this with McGwire, Bonds and Sosa.

At the Chantilly card show this weekend a dealer told me he bought an Autographed Aaron Judge card for $3200 and sold it about 20 minutes later for $4k so prices are getting over inflated like the rookie craze of the 80s.

The 2011 Topps Update has many sought after rookie cards now.....Rizzo, Trout, Altuve, Goldschmidt, etc.  So, it's definitely a high demand set because of that.  Same with the 2008 Topps Update, the Scherzer and Kershaw rookies are insane right now.  Key words however, "right now."  Even though the potential is very high for both pitchers to reach HOF membership, what is the ultimate potential of Topps Update cards as a whole?  Particularly those from the base set, without even mentioning all of that crazy autograph/variation/parallel nonsense.  That is the question in my mind, and as a collector we have all seen this type of hype before.  Aaron Judge cards are a great example of that, a perfect example in fact.  $4,000 for a Judge is insanity on steroids.  

True but with the current "demand" for certain cards it is more a matter of "can't" even think about buying them.

$4K for a brand spankin' new Aaron Judge card. SMFH (Shaking My Foolish Head). OH it was an autographed card, then it's OK.

I still am amazed by the people who think nothing about buying a recent card for $100s let alone one for a few Thousand. Guess that is what credit and debit card debt is for. *Sigh*

Personally, I was never a fan of update sets, RCs or not.      I never collected them but did buy them for later resale.   Most dropped in value.   Determining when to buy or sell is a risk you take.    As a kid in the 50s and 60s, we bought cards and put together sets.  We traded.   We gave no thought to current or future value.   A Phillies fan would trade you a Mantle for a Tony Taylor.  A Yankees fan would trade you a Mays for a Tony Kubek.   It was a lot of fun and so were the many versions of flipping card games.

I lucked in to my Trout update card in a binder of cards I bought without realizing it was in there. Not sure I'd have ever gotten one otherwise. It is certainly a high cost, of course he has had years of great performance fueling the demand.

The Aaron Judge madness is crazy to me. That feels like complete speculative investing. No doubt he has had an impressive year, but I couldn't ever justify spending those amounts on current cards. I heard that Topps sold some cards with his home run derby worn socks or something like that and they sold instantly for hundreds each. Let alone the thousands others have mentioned. Buying at that price seems so unlikely to be a wise investment. Even if he goes on to be a future hall of famer I'm not sure they retain that value for even a year, let alone 10. Like others have said, it is more about demand. Maybe that demand stays high, but I'm certainly not betting on it.

From my experience, 90% of the time when a RC gets hot, you should SELL SELL SELL. I've held onto so many cards that I could have made a killing on, that are now worth a fraction of what they once were, sometimes even worthless. Either the player gets traded, career goes downhill, gets injured, gets in trouble with the law, steroids... Very rarely will you come out on the losing end of the equation without being able to buy them cheaper down the road. Tom Brady is probably one of the lone outliers. Judge cards next year or year after will drop when he comes back to earth. Don't know what to tell you about Trout!!!

I am still looking for a trout 2011 heritage minors SP card. found 1 on ebay. I bid full book value $30 and it sold for $50

I hope he goes down soon. I have sold 15 trout 2010 bow plat cards and im happy they never skyrocketed up.