Weekly Market Report - April 19, 2006

A Fresh Look at Sports Collectibles News

To commemorate his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, McFarlane will be selling an exclusive Troy Aikman figure at Hall of Fame weekend. They will be set up outside of the Hall of Fame on August 4-6. The figure is similar to his original release in the NFL Legends Sports Picks series last summer, however this version will sport the NFL's 75th anniversary patch and a nameplate highlighting his election into the Hall of Fame. These Aikman figures are limited to 3,000 pieces and will sell for $15 at the event.

As cool as the Aikman figure will be, wouldn't it be cooler to have seen a Reggie White? Or maybe even a John Madden coaching figure? Warren Moon would also be interesting. It just seems like McFarlane took the easy route and are basically reproducing an existing figure as opposed to creating a new one. There are so many great story lines in this year's HOF class that it's disappointing to not see a unique figure. [read release]

The 2001-02 Upper Deck Young Guns Jason Spezza card officially doesn't exist. Yet somehow a copy of the card sold last weekend on eBay for nearly $1,000. See, Upper Deck produced the card assuming that Spezza, the #2 overall pick, would make the team. When he was sent down to the minors before the season, Upper Deck was forced to pull the card because it would be in violation of NHLPA rookie card guidelines.

This happens far too often - company makes card, company can't release card, card somehow reaches eBay. Do you know why? Because Topps, Upper Deck, and every other card manufacturer wants these cards to leak out. Why wouldn't they? It's a good story and gets the company some free pub. If they really wanted to, they could destroy each and every card that was made and that would be the end of it. [read article]

From April 1 to April 9 Chris Shelton's 2004 Absolute Memorabilia Autographed Rookie Card went from selling for around $10 to $75. Why? Well his .455 AVG, 9 HR, 17 RBI, and 1.145 SLG in the first 14 games of the season might have something to do with that!

The real question here is whether or not Shelton is the real deal. Is he the next David Wright or the next one-season wonder like Brady Anderson? Considering Shelton's solid .299-18-59 season last year in only 388 at bats, it looks like he is, and that this hot streak he is on now is not just an aberration. However, collectors would probably be better off waiting until he cools down a little before buying anything Shelton related. Prices now are insanely high because of the ridiculous demand. [read article]