Monthly Archives: December 2019

BEST OF 2019: 20 Rookies to Watch in 2018-19 Panini Prizm Basketball

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(Editor’s Note: With the end of the calendar year approaching, we like to take a moment on the COMC Blog to look back at some of our favorite and most memorable posts of the year. With 2019-20 Panini Prizm Basketball set dropping earlier this month, we thought we’d take you back to our projection of 20 of the rookies featured in the 2018-19 Panini Prizm set.)

Arguably the most anticipated basketball release of each calendar year over the last several years has been Panini Prizm Basketball. Panini’s stranglehold over the NBA trading card landscape over the last ten years thanks to an exclusive agreement with the NBA has resulted in the disappearance of once established key rookie sets like the Topps Chrome Refractor and Ultimate Collection Rookie Materials Autographs. In their place rose the new heirs to the throne such as the National Treasures Rookie Patch Auto and the Panini Prizm Silver Prizm.

Silver Prizms and their respective lower numbered parallels are the beck and call of NBA basketball collectors and speculators. We’ve seen meteoric rises of Silver Prizms of some of the game’s newest established stars in recent years. Jayson Tatum silvers were all the rage in 2017-18, while Ben Simmons set new heights in 2016-17. Kristaps Porzingis won collector’s hearts in 2015-16 Prizm, while others waited on Joel Embiid in 2014-15 Prizm. While Giannis Antetokounmpo proved everyone wrong when his 2013-14 Prizm skyrocketed, we can’t forget that the 2012-13 inaugural Prizm set featured a strong crop of rookies including Anthony Davis, Kawhi Leonard, and Kyrie Irving among others.

So now here we are in 2019 and the 2018-19 Panini Prizm market is truly starting to take form. There’s no doubt you’ve probably heard the names of the top rookies all making waves in the NBA this season. But what about the rest? That’s why we’ve got you covered with our list of 20 rookies to watch in 2018-19 Panini Prizm Basketball

Head of the Class

  1. Luka Doncic – Doncic established himself internationally before making the leap to the NBA and has not disappointed. Averaging nearly 20 points a game this season, his meteoric rise can be attributed not only to his stellar on-court performance, but also his charisma and personality. He has all the makings of an NBA Superstar and is easily the Rookie of the Year up to this point.
  2. Deandre Ayton –  The first overall pick of the 2018 NBA Draft has lived up to the hype, with the big man posting over 16 points and 10 rebounds per game. The Phoenix Suns might be having a rough go at it this season, but a strong young core will eventually tip the scales the other direction.
  3. Trae Young –  The Atlanta Hawks Point Guard came out of the gate strong before cooling down, but still owns an impressive 15+ points and seven assists per game stat line.
  4. Kevin Knox – Thrust into the scrutiny of the Madison Square Garden faithful, Knox has delivered, posting over 12 points per game with a 35% 3-point percentage. A big market only means big potential for the 19 year old.
  5. Jaren Jackson Jr. – The fourth overall pick rose his stock tremendously with a 36 point performance back in November, and has elevated his game ever since.
  6. Marvin Bagley III – Prior to sustaining an injury, we loved the direction the Kings PF was headed in. That brief scope of work was enough to nudge him ahead of our #7

Rounding out the Top 12…

7. Michael Porter Jr. – Speculation is building on Porter, who missed the majority of the 2017-18 season at Missouri and has yet to play in an NBA game. With no timetable for his return, the five star recruit out of high school doesn’t have the stat lines to back it up, but that hasn’t stopped his Silver Prizm from reaching the $50+ mark.
8. Collin Sexton – Sexton suffers the misfortune of playing for a post-Lebron Cleveland Cavaliers team, but he has performed impressively so far, posting almost 15 points per game.
9. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – The Canadian Point Guard from ‘The 6’ has wasted no time getting acclimated to the west coast. Strong defense and the ability to score earns him a well deserved spot in our top 10.
10. Rodions Kurucs – The Latvian small forward has come on strong as of late, and has played well in limited time this season. He’s posted 24 points twice this season, earning him recognition among collectors and speculators.
11. Lonnie Walker IV – Suffering a torn meniscus in preseason was a setback, but the Spurs love what they see in the shooting guard from the University of Miami. Recently posted a 34 point performance in G-League action.
12. Mo Bamba – The Orlando Magic big man has posted decent numbers in his rookie campaign, logging 1.4 blocks per game so far. It also doesn’t hurt that a friendship with a popular rapper has resulted in off-court attention for Mo.

Don’t Sleep on These Guys..

13. Wendell Carter Jr. – Carter has shown flashes of brilliance mixed with inconsistency under center for the Chicago Bulls. Still, a 28 point performance is noteworthy enough to find his way into our favorite sleeper pick.
14. Miles Bridges – The 12th overall pick of the draft finds his way into #14 on our list as a strong sleeper pick. The versatile small forward has all the athleticism to either erupt into a play maker or carve our a niche as a solid role player.
15. Allonzo Trier – The Knicks shooting guard has garnered attention coming off of the bench, warranting play time as the Knicks look to get young. Suffered a small set back with a hamstring injury a few weeks back.
15.  Robert Williams III – Drew attention with two blocks on Anthony Davis in a game back in December.  Strong flashes of defense and playing for a large market earns him considerations for our list.
17. Mikal Bridges – Playing along side Deandre Ayton, the small forward from Villanova has performed commendably, posting nearly eight points per game.
18. Anfernee Simons – He has displayed phenomenal talent at the preps, and has the athleticism to boot, but has yet do anything of importance at the NBA level during his rookie campaign. Still, we have the optimism and Pacific Northwest bias to land Simons a spot on this list.
19. Kostas Antetokounmpo – The last name alone is going to draw him attention and speculation. The younger brother of Giannis was the 60th overall pick of the 2018 draft by the Philadelphia 76ers and then traded to the Dallas Mavericks. Let’s be honest, we all know what Giannis did, emerging from the ashes of mediocre stat lines to become a mega star.
20. Josh Okogie – Quickly becoming a T’Wolves fan favorite, Okogie has split time between starting and coming off the bench. We like the shooting guard’s potential.

One of the things we enjoy about these lists involving sleepers is that no one seems to want to tell us if they disagree for the sake of not drawing attention to the prospect they’re stashing! There are 53 rookies total in the 2018-19 Prizm base set, meaning 33 did not make the cut here. Who else deserves consideration? Let us know in the comments below!

Happy Holidays! Reduced Customer Service on December 25th and January 1st

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Happy Holidays COMC Nation!

It has been one long, wild, and crazy decade! As we say goodbye to 2019 and welcome in 2020, all of us here at  COMC want to wish you, your loved ones, and collectors all around the world a wonderful Holiday Season and a very Happy New Year!

In observance of the Holiday Season, we will have limited customer service support. On December 25th and January 1st, phone support will not be available, with limited email support available on both days.

If you have any questions or need assistance, please send an email to staff@comc.com and one of our customer service agents will be there to help!

We are very excited to enter a new decade during a time when excitement and interest within the hobby we all love has never been greater. We’ll see you in 2020!

2020 Update for Current Year Processing Services

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Happy Holidays!

With 2020 approaching, we wanted to remind you about the end-of-year update coming to our Current-Year Basic (1 month) and Current-Year Select (1-week) consignment services. These service levels offer expedited processing for newly released cards but have strict set year requirements which are updated twice per year. 

Beginning January 1st, all cards submitted to the Current-Year service levels must be from 2019 single-year, 2019-20 dual-year, or newer products. Submissions containing any cards from other products will be assessed a missing/incorrect paperwork fee of $3.00 and the entire submission will be processed as regular Select or Basic. 

Current-year submissions containing 2018-19 dual-year items must be postmarked by December 31st to be eligible for these services. On January 1st, 2018-19 cards will be retired from the Current-Year services, and submissions postmarked on this date or later will not be processed under the Current-Year services. Please take note of these changes to our current-year services when preparing your future consignment submissions. Our next Current Year Processing update will occur in June 2020.

As always, we recommend that sellers spot check the values of some of the items they are consigning that may already be available for sale on COMC. When supply exceeds demand on items, perceived value can differ from true market value. This is especially true for some 2018-19 products.

If you have any questions, simply send an email to staff@comc.com and our friendly customer service team will be more than happy to assist.

 Regards, 

The COMC Team

10 NBA Rookies to Watch from 2019-20 Prizm Basketball

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What a wild ride it has been this December with the release of the 2019-20 Panini Prizm NBA Basketball Card Set. This set was expected to set the hobby on fire, partly due to the rising value of last year’s set, and partly due to a strong rookie crop led by ZION MANIA! Zion Williamson has yet to make his NBA regular season debut for the New Orleans Pelicans, but that hasn’t stopped the Zion hype train from absolutely dominating the hobby this fall!

Zion is certainly a polarizing figure, and only time will tell if he’s the next in the lineage of NBA legends like Lebron James and Michael Jordan, or if he’s the next “what could have been” ala Greg Oden and Kwame Brown. Once you get past the Zion hype, 2019-20 Prizm NBA is a set chalked full of potential future stars, with perhaps a stronger rookie class than even last year’s basketball products. We’d like to delve into that discussion and present our 10 NBA Rookies to watch from 2019-20 Panini Prizm NBA.

Zion Williamson

Obviously the biggest name in the product, Zion Williamson follows Luka Doncic from last year as the top rookie (for now) in Prizm. With his ungraded silver prizm RC’s fetching over $500 out of the gate, we haven’t seen prices like that upon a Prizm release since Ben Simmons in the 16-17 Prizm set. Williamson is a 6’6″ 285lb generational athlete who backed up the hype in his one year at Duke, posting 22 points per game on 68% field goal percentage. He’s expected to make his NBA debut in early 2020.

Ja Morant

The clear-cut second best player in NBA Prizm just happens to also be the #2 overall pick of the 2019 NBA Draft. Ja Morant has already transitioned beautifully to the NBA level, averaging about 18 points and six assists per game through the Memphis Grizzlies first 17 games as of this writing. He’ll have a good head start for NBA Rookie of the Year over Zion and the rest of the field if he can continue that production. With his Silver prizms already doing $200+, there is no secret as to the talent Morant possesses.

Rui Hachimura

This Gonzaga Bulldogs standout has the potential to be an international NBA mega star thanks to his stellar play as well as his Japanese heritage. All Rui Hachimura has done since arriving in the NBA is provide much needed stability to the Washington Wizards front court. With a statement double-double in his NBA debut and his continued progression, Rui has looked like the most NBA ready player out of the 2019 Draft so far. $100 appears to be the ground floor for his silver prizm RC’s currently.

RJ Barrett

The second Duke player to make our list, the Canadian-born RJ Barrett is seemingly unphased playing on a New York Knicks team in otherwise complete disarray, having just fired their Head Coach David Fizdale. The Knicks has been trying to find their way for quiet some time, but putting the ball in Barrett’s hands seems like a good start. Through 20+ games, he’s average 14 points as the team’s starting shooting guard.

Coby White

The seventh overall pick in the draft by the Chicago Bulls is already a record setter, hitting SEVEN three pointers in a single quarter against the New York Knicks on November 12th. That feat immediately elevated Coby White‘s stock as a long range threat. White has nothing to prove when it comes to scoring, but improvements playing off the ball will help White evolve into a feared guard the Bulls desperately need.

De’Andre Hunter

The fourth overall pick from Virginia, De’Andre Hunter has meshed well with Trae Young in Atlanta as the Hawks look to build a future contender. He posted a ridiculous six steal performance in mid-November loss to Phoenix, and followed that up with two 25+ point games in a three game span about a week later. Hunter’s early season performance has flown under the radar of other similar performing rookies, making him an excellent buy-low candidate from 2019-20 Prizm out of the gate.

Tyler Herro

This Kentucky Wildcat already has a legendary last name, now it’s time to see if his skills can transcend to that status as well. Tyler Herro started off his rookie campaign strong, pouring in 29 points in his fourth game, and he continues to remain productive in other areas of the stat sheet as well. Shooting nearly 40% from down town, the Miami Heat have caught the NBA by surprise this season. If they can continue this run into the Spring, Herro’s ETA to becoming a household name will definitely be fast-tracked.

Eric Paschall

With Kevin Durant gone, Klay Thompson recovering from surgery, and Steph Curry going down to injury early in the season, the Golden State Warriors needed someone to step up. Eric Paschall, a 2nd-round pick, answered the call, averaging over 17 points a game. This may be a throwaway year for the Warriors, but they picked up a major piece for the future in Paschall, who’s extended time on the court this season will benefit him tremendously when the Warriors are back at full strength for another championship run in the future.

PJ Washington

The Charlotte Hornets are quietly building themselves a strong team through the last two draft years. Adding PJ Washington to a potent starting lineup featuring sophomores Devonte Graham and Miles Bridges, this Kentucky Wildcats standout will have all the support he needs to evolve at the NBA Level. The 12th overall pick dropped 27 points in his NBA debut, and has been a consistent producer ever since. As this young core continues to grow together in Charlotte, they may be only one or two pieces away from being a major playoff threat.

Cam Reddish

The final member of the big three to be drafted from Duke in 2019, Cam Reddish has not quite found his footing yet for the Atlanta Hawks. Though he has been outshined up to this point by fellow rookie DeAndre Hunter, Reddish still has high upside, which is why he was taken 10th overall by the Hawks. Reddish showed a glimmer of that talent in early December with a 25 point performance in a loss to the Brooklyn Nets.

Snubbed by Panini: Kendrick Nunn

We couldn’t wrap up this article without talking about Kendrick Nunn, who as of this blog post has been a noticeable omission from all checklists with the exception of one Panini Instant card. If the rumors are true, and Panini releases 2019-20 Prizm Series 2 Basketball in 2020, Nunn will likely be the centerpiece of the set in terms of true rookie cards. The undrafted Miami Heat guard is averaging over 15 points per game and making a case for rookie of the year!

Honorable Mentions

There were many deserving players who could have rounded out our top 10 who’s first rookie cards are included in 2019-20 Panini Prizm. Those names include Brandon Clarke, Darius Garland, Jordan Poole, Jarrett Culver, Cameron Johnson, Jaxson Hayes, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Each of these players posses break out potential to be the next high dollar silver in the set, and will be ones to watch closely moving forward.

Sleepers to Stash

Delving even further into the checklist, some buy-low sleeper rookies in the product who have shown flashes of on court prowess are Matisse Thybulle, Goga Bitadze, Kevin Porter Jr., Darius Bazley, Carsen Edwards, Bruno Fernando, Admiral Schofield, and Cody Martin.

You never know who will be the next rookie to rise through the ranks and come up big for their team. Not all of these players will have outstanding careers, but history tells us that there is always one or two players who make it worth it to dig through those old boxes of forgotten rookie card of years past!

Browse 2019-20 Panini Prizm on COMC

BEST OF 2019: ‘Living 200’: Ranking Our Favorite Baseball Cards from Topps Living Set #101-200

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(Editor’s Note: With the end of the calendar year approaching, we like to take a moment on the COMC Blog to look back at some of our favorite and most memorable posts of the year. Topps Living Set is still going strong, and card #300 should come our way on February 5th, 2020 if the three cards per week model that TLS has utilized since it’s inception stays true. Rest assured we’ll be back in a few months with our favorites from 201-300!)

Last year Topps surprised the trading card industry with a unique one-of-a-kind set like no other produced before. The baseball card set was called ‘The Living Set‘, and each week three new trading cards would be released and sold only online for a seven day span. Once that window was over, the cards would never again be printed. Players could only be featured in the set one time per team they’ve played for, and the set would feature rookies, veterans, and legends. Produced entirely using the artwork of legendary sports card artist Mayumi Seto, the set is stylized after the iconic 1953 Topps baseball design.

The set started off extremely strong with Aaron Judge (Print Run 13,256) earning the coveted first card in the set. The set was overall met with optimism and speculation, as many of the key rookie cards in the set produced huge print runs, such as Ronald Acuna Jr. (PR: 46,809) and Gleyber Torres (PR: 28,550). While superstars, rookies, and hall of fame players still generate large numbers (such as #200 Mike Trout with a print run of 22,017), the set has come back to earth in weeks, with most print runs hovering in the 3000 range.

COMC Communications Manager James Good and Senior Business Analyst Grant Wescott each own a copy of the full set from #1 to #200 and counting. Some 30 plus weeks ago, we asked them to talk about the set and give their 10 favorite cards from the first 100 in the set. You can read that blog here. With the set now surpassing 200 cards, we’ve asked them to chime in with their 10 favorite cards from #101 – 200. 

Grant Wescott (In no particular order)

Topps Living Set Card #200 – Mike Trout – Print Run: 22017

Topps has historically saved round numbers on many of their checklists for the very best in the game. Remember Babe Ruth at #100? I don’t think there was much doubt leading into the card #200 release day who would be featured on it.

Topps Living Set Card #193 – Ken Griffey Jr. – Print Run: 8369

Beautiful card of my all-time favorite player. That swing never gets old.

Topps Living Set Card #180 – Nelson Cruz – Print Run: 3581

The Nellie you see on this card is the Nellie you see in every game he plays, defying multiple laws of nature while wearing a grin.

Topps Living Set Card #173 – Fernando Tatis Jr – Print Run: 10099

One milestone for any young professional baseball player is when they get to see their first Topps card. There has to be a little extra appreciation from this 20 year old star when that card happens to be such an amazing hand-drawn portrait.

Topps Living Set Card #154 – Stan Musial – Print Run: 4575

One of baseball’s good guys, Stan the Man was famous for making people happy both on and off the field.

Topps Living Set Card #132 – Daniel Mengden – Print Run: 3250

Topps Living Set has seen a few errors along the way, but none so blatant as the Rollie Fingers wrong name error (I kid).

Topps Living Set Card #127 – Kris Bryant – Print Run: 5361

A striking image of Kris Bryant, who appears is now back to his 2016 MVP form.

Topps Living Set Card #192 – Wade Davis – Print Run: 2605

Nick Markakis famously held the long-standing record for low print run since week 2 of TLS with 2,678 copies. That is, until Howie Kendrick came along at card #183 with 2,633 copies. That is, until just a few weeks later when Wade Davis set the new low with this card. As someone who plans to buy the set forever, it’s kind of fun to watch my complete set become even rarer.

Topps Living Set Card #109 – Nolan Arenado – Print Run: 4065

Artist Mayumi Seto captured some big emotion on this one. Arenado is one of the elite players in the game today, yet for some reason still a bit overlooked in the hobby. I love this card.

Checklist Card 1-100 & 101-200 – Print Run: 4393

I’m going a little off script here because 1) these are two cards, not one, and 2) they aren’t technically part of the set. Doesn’t matter. I was more excited than I had reason to be when these were released. I’ve never checked a single box on a checklist. I’m not about to start now. Why does this make me happy?

James Good (Ranked in order of favorites)

Topps Living Set Card #193 – Ken Griffey Jr. – Print Run: 8369

There was no other pick for me. Griffey was an unexpected surprise at #193, and tops my list as my favorite TLS card in the entire set, surpassing Babe Ruth (#100) and Mitch Haniger (#54) in my top 3. That iconic Jr. smile is infectious.

Topps Living Set Card #179 – Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – Print Run: 27749

This was clearly a landmark card for Topps and Seto, so I’m guessing that she had plenty of time to work on this portrait. It clearly shows in the photo-realism of Vladdy Jr.’s first true Topps RC. The level of detail of this card, especially when it’s in-hand, is unreal. The hat logo, the hair, the Nike swoosh logo. I’ll take this card all day long over his first flagship Topps RC in series 2.

Topps Living Set Card #200 – Mike Trout – Print Run: 22017

We all knew that Mike Trout was going to be #200, and the card delivered exactly what we wanted, and what the set needed. The huge print run was a shot in the arm to TLS at the right time.

Topps Living Set Card #127 – Kris Bryant – Print Run: 5361

I love the sideways glance of Bryant in this card. The Cubbies deep blue jersey is among my favorite jerseys of all-time, so I might be a bit partial here.

Topps Living Set Card #156 – Ryon Healy – Print Run: 2765

Healy has a lot of critics here in Seattle, but I’ve been a big support since the day we traded for him. This card that broke a 102 card drought for the Mariners in Topps Living Set and also captured Healy’s positive personality and his professed enjoyment for the game the baseball so very well. It’s a shame he’s dealing with spinal stenosis, the same ailment that shortened the career of fellow 3B David Wright.

Topps Living Set Card #136 – Mariano Rivera – Print Run: 8945

The timing of this card was impeccable – right after Mariano became the first player to unanimously be voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in the first year eligible.

Topps Living Set Card #118 – Nolan Ryan – Print Run: 6745

Ryan’s career spanned the course of 4 different decades. Ask 10 different fans about Ryan, and you might get 10 different memories. My earliest memories as a fan of the game were of ‘The Ryan Express’ as a non-nonsense 40-something fireballin’ Texan. This card brings me back to all those early 90’s junk wax cards of him that helped kick start my passion for the hobby.

Topps Living Set Card #178 – Xander Bogaerts – Print Run: 3776

I’m not much of a Red Sox fan. Correction, I slightly despise most Boston-area teams (Ya’ll aren’t the underdogs, ever, just stop). But I love this card of Bogaerts. Again, the artwork on this card when it’s in-hand truly makes me appreciate the card so much more.

Topps Living Set Card #106 – Cal Ripken Jr. – Print Run: 6423

Similar to my memories of Nolan Ryan, I best remember Cal Ripken Jr. during his iron man stretch, with the gray hairs on the sides of his head becoming more prominent each year. That said, I love the throwback artwork on this card, and the white Orioles cap really seals the deal.

Topps Living Set Card #121 – Buster Posey – Print Run: 3990

Catchers get the short end of the baseball bat when it comes to trading cards, often depicted wearing their full gear. This card steps away from that, giving us an excellent portrait of Buster that shows a side of him that few cards have. Now let me get on my soapbox…

Buster Posey is one of the most underappreciated players of this era. Even Giants fans will credit the team’s three World Series in six years to their stellar pitching, pointing to Madison Bumgarner, and I don’t disagree. But who do you think called all those games behind the plate? Three Rings, Four Silver Sluggers, 2010 ROY, a Gold Glove, and a Batting Title later, I can’t wait until Cooperstown calls for Buster Posey.

We’re 200+ cards into the set, and yet there are so many players who haven’t earned a spot into the coveted Living Set yet. Who do you want to see in the next 100 cards? Let us know in the comments below! 

Western Canada Sports Collector’s Convention Dice Roll Results

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Thank you to everyone who stopped by our booth last month at the Western Canada Sports Collector’s Convention last month in Langely, British Columbia. We had such a great time at the event and look forward to coming back in 2020!

Here are the winners of the COMC Dice Roll Contest:

 
Roll a 6 or less – 2017-18 Upper Deck #221 Alex DeBrincat RC – shanedawg2k12
Roll a 7 – 2017-18 Upper Deck #201 Nico Hischier RC – manscaveonline
Roll an 8 – 2016-17 SP Authentic Silver Skates #SS-AO Alex Ovechkin – Samgoalies
Roll a 9 – 2014-15 Upper Deck Hockey Heroes #HH68 Jaromir Jagr – MR2fastest240K
Roll a 10 – 2013-14 Upper Deck Shining Stars Center Golden Rainbow #C9 Steven Stamkos – edlo 
Roll an 11 – 1972-73 O-Pee-Chee #278 Gerry O’Flaherty PSA 6 – bee
Roll a 12 – 2015-16 MVP #282 Jared McCann RC – Ryguy666
Roll a 13 – 2015-16 Trilogy Rookie Premieres #160 Level 2 Nikolay Goldobin #417/499 –  oxydk
Roll a 14 – 2017-18 Upper Deck #247 Brock Boeser RC – dalervance
Roll a 15 or more – 2018-19 Parkhurst Tallboys Achievements #TBA-6 Elias Pettersson – Brayden_Morgan10


To claim your prize, contact staff@comc.com with your full name and COMC account name by Friday, January 24th, 2020.