As we wrap up 2018, we wanted to take the month of December to highlight some of our favorite blog posts of the year. This was one of our most popular new blog series this year, and generated buzz on social media. This story was originally published on 05/21/2018 and is presented in it’s entirety in this blog as well

Over the course of our 11 plus year existence, we’ve seen A LOT of cards. When we say a lot of cards, we mean somewhere in the neighborhood of 52 million and climbing at the time of writing. As you can imagine, we’ve seen our fair share of iconic cards, especially cards that didn’t gain notoriety until many years after we first saw them. This can lend itself to some pretty hilarious historical pricing data when some of these cards sell years or even a decade before they peak in value.

That being said, we’ve scoured some historical sales to find some of the best “It Sold for WHAT?!” examples in COMC’s history:

2009 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects – Prospects Chrome – Refractor Autograph #BDPP89 – Mike Trout /500

As the legend of Mike Trout continues to grow, so do the value of his 2009 Bowman cards. This particular card was listed for sale on February 19^th, 2010 and sold almost two weeks later for a fraction of what it’s worth today. These cards are so desirable that we’ve never seen a copy of this card consigned since. BGS 9 versions of this same card have recently sold for $7000.00.

2000 Playoff Contenders – [Base] Rookie Autograph #144 – Tom Brady [BGS MINT 9]

We have seen our fair share of this coveted Tom Brady rookie card over the years. This BGS 9 version was sold back in June of 2013 for a paltry $1254.00. Recent sales of this card with an equal grade have recently sold in excess of $10,000.

2013-14 Panini Prizm – Autographs – Target Red Prizms #33 – Giannis Antetokounmpo /49 [BGS 9.5 GEM MINT] 

Before earning his nickname ‘The Greek Freak’ and becoming the NBA mega star that he is today, Giannis  Antetokounmpo’s rookie cards could be had for a fraction of what they’re worth now. This beautiful Red Prizm RC autograph sold for just $256 back in October of 2016. A Non-graded version of this card recently sold for over $1,700.

1986-87 Fleer – [Base] #57 – Michael Jordan [BGS 9.5 GEM MINT] 

We’ve seen just two BGS 9.5 graded copies of perhaps the most iconic basketball card ever printed sold on the COMC Marketplace. The most recent took place in 2016 and sold for over $11,000, but it is the first sale that makes this card earn a spot on our list.  In the summer of 2013, a BGS 9.5 Michael Jordan RC was had by a buyer for just over $4,000.00. Talk about a good return-on-investment!

2013 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects – Draft Picks Chrome – Gold Refractor #BDPP19 – Aaron Judge /50

In hindsight, a 6’7″ power-hitting Yankees prospect flying under the radar just seems silly, but it’s safe to say that Aaron Judge cards sold at pedestrian prices until #AllRise took baseball by storm last year.  Not one, but TWO of these gorgeous gold refractors sold for right around $30 in 2014. This card can’t be had for under $1,000 just four years later.

If you happen to have sold one of these cards, just remember time heals all wounds. It also increased the value of your card exponentially. If you’ve sold a card on COMC that you’ve regretted years later when a player’s stock rose significantly, we want to hear about it! Share your best “What was I thinking?” stories with us!

Over the course of our 11 plus year existence, we’ve seen A LOT of cards. In many cases, we first saw a superstar’s cards long before they became a household name. As a result, this lends itself to some pretty hilarious completed sales in our historical sales history. Whether these buyers are cardboard Nostradamus’s, or simply happened to pick up a card before it’s value skyrocketed into oblivion, one thing is for sure: they got a crazy good deal!

We received an overwhelming positive response to what we intended to be a one-off posting highlighting some of the better skewed historical sales data. You can read the first installment here. In response to your desire to see more of these great ‘too good to be true’ deals, we’ve decided to make a series of it – highlighting one player per installment.

This time around we’re shining the spotlight on the man that is blowing up the hobby right now with some downright stunning recently completed rookie and prospect card sales. That player is none other than Mike Trout. In an early May 2018 sale that was eye-popping to the card industry, Trout’s 2009 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospect Superfractor Autographed 1/1 sold for $400,000 to famous collector ‘Vegas’ Dave Oancea. That sale, coupled with the fact that Trout is having what many consider to be his best season to date, has sent prices skyrocketing due to strong demand and future speculation.

Trout is just 26 years old, and questions have already been raised if his eight year career in the majors is HOF worthy if he were to retire today. He owns a career Wins Above Replacement (WAR) of over 60 games. Babe Ruth sits atop this list with 182.5 games over his 22 year career.  Are we witnessing the greatest player to ever play the game of baseball ? That answer lies in the future, so in the meantime lets turn to the past for some laughs.

2009 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects – Prospects Chrome – Refractor Autograph #BDPP89 – Mike Trout /500

We showed you this card in the first installment of the series, but as it is the most skewed historical sales data of any Trout card ever on COMC, it’s worth repeating. The most recent comparable sales data shows that  BGS 10 Pristine copy of this very card sold for $22,527 on June 3rd. That’s right – nearly 1000x what this card sold for back in March of 2010.

2009 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects – Prospects Chrome #BDPP89 – Mike Trout 

One of these things is not like the other. This BGS 9.5 Gem Mint Trout base auto sold back in October of 2013 for a paltry $464.99. The most recent completed sale of this card saw it fetch $7800.00 at auction. At this point in his career, Trout had won Rookie of the Year honors and was a 2x All Star.

2009 Donruss Elite Extra Edition – [Base] – Status Signatures [Autographed] #57 Mike Trout

While not nearly as coveted as his 2009 Bowman, 2009 Donruss Elite Trout autographs do garner their fair share of attention in the market. This die-cut beauty sold for $166.27 in June of 2012 in the midst of what would be Trout’s Rookie of the Year season. He smashed 30 bombs that year while posting a career high 49 stolen bases. Recent completed sales of this card have seen it sell for around $1200.00

2010 Topps Pro Debut – [Base] – Gold #181 Mike Trout

Admittedly, Topps Pro Debut does not get the love that it rightfully deserves. Prospectors who closely follow minor league players generally gravitate towards a player’s first Bowman card when prospecting a future star. When that player starts to make a name for themselves in the major league, casual collectors often seek that player’s first Topps rookie card. Pro Debut cards fall somewhere in between that range.

This beautiful Gold /50 parallel from 2010 was first put up for sale in March of 2017, where it promptly sold for $31 to one savvy COMC flipper. That opportunistic individual scored a nice pay day just four days later when they sold it to the tune of $438.25. While over 14x profit is an amazing COMC flip, that seller left plenty of money on the table as the most recent completed sale of this card was $1200.00.

2011 Topps Update Series – [Base] – Hope Diamond Anniversary #US175 Mike Trout

Beautiful set design? Check. Great photography? Check. Unique parallels? Check. Stellar crop of rookies? Check! This is just a small fraction of what makes 2011 Topps Update such a great set. Trout headlines a rookie crop that also includes other notable stars such as Jose Altuve, Paul Goldschmidt, JD. Martinez, Anthony Rizzo, and Charlie Blackmon.

We’ve seen two of these gorgeous Hope Diamond parallels numbered to 60 copies sell on COMC. The first sold in June of 2012 for an even then steal of $50. The second copy sold just two months later to a certain COMC employee for $200, who promptly sold the card for the price that they paid for it just a week later. Sorry G, can’t win ’em all!

There haven’t been any recently completed sales of the Hope Diamond parallel, but a raw Black parallel also numbered to 60 copies sold earlier this month for $12,401 at auction.

2013 Topps Heritage – Chrome – Gold Refractors #HC10 Mike Trout

2013 Topps Heritage borrows it’s set design from the 1964 Topps set and is easily one of the better designed Heritage sets in recent memory. While not a rookie card, 2013 Topps Heritage Mike Trout and Bryce Harper cards often command a premium as the stellar design and photography make them favorites among collectors.

This gold refractor numbered to five copies belonged to a COMC employee who nearly managed to put together the entire 2013 Topps Heritage Mike Trout rainbow:

When that employee decided to piece out and sell their stash, the cornerstone gold refractor numbered to just five copies was sold on COMC for $503.25 in December of 2013. At that point in his career, Trout had been named Rookie of the Year, won two Silver Slugger awards, was elected to two All Star Teams and had finished runner up in MVP voting in back-to-back years.

There have been no recently completed sales of this ultra rare gold refractor. A PSA 10 Gem Mint black refractor numbered to 64 copies recently sold for $1,077. Sorry, Ghumbs. 🙁

Now we want to hear from you! What Trout cards have you reeled in but let slip through your hands? Share your best “What was I thinking?” stories with us!

Over the course of our 11 plus year existence, we’ve seen A LOT of cards. When we say a lot of cards, we mean somewhere in the neighborhood of 52 million and climbing at the time of writing. As you can imagine, we’ve seen our fair share of iconic cards, especially cards that didn’t gain notoriety until many years after we first saw them. This can lend itself to some pretty hilarious historical pricing data when some of these cards sell years or even a decade before they peak in value.

That being said, we’ve scoured some historical sales to find some of the best “It Sold for WHAT?!” examples in COMC’s history:

2009 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects – Prospects Chrome – Refractor Autograph #BDPP89 – Mike Trout /500

As the legend of Mike Trout continues to grow, so do the value of his 2009 Bowman cards. This particular card was listed for sale on February 19^th, 2010 and sold almost two weeks later for a fraction of what it’s worth today. These cards are so desirable that we’ve never seen a copy of this card consigned since. BGS 9 versions of this same card have recently sold for $7000.00.

2000 Playoff Contenders – [Base] Rookie Autograph #144 – Tom Brady [BGS MINT 9]

We have seen our fair share of this coveted Tom Brady rookie card over the years. This BGS 9 version was sold back in June of 2013 for a paltry $1254.00. Recent sales of this card with an equal grade have recently sold in excess of $10,000.

2013-14 Panini Prizm – Autographs – Target Red Prizms #33 – Giannis Antetokounmpo /49 [BGS 9.5 GEM MINT] 

Before earning his nickname ‘The Greek Freak’ and becoming the NBA mega star that he is today, Giannis  Antetokounmpo’s rookie cards could be had for a fraction of what they’re worth now. This beautiful Red Prizm RC autograph sold for just $256 back in October of 2016. A Non-graded version of this card recently sold for over $1,700.

1986-87 Fleer – [Base] #57 – Michael Jordan [BGS 9.5 GEM MINT] 

We’ve seen just two BGS 9.5 graded copies of perhaps the most iconic basketball card ever printed sold on the COMC Marketplace. The most recent took place in 2016 and sold for over $11,000, but it is the first sale that makes this card earn a spot on our list.  In the summer of 2013, a BGS 9.5 Michael Jordan RC was had by a buyer for just over $4,000.00. Talk about a good return-on-investment!

2013 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects – Draft Picks Chrome – Gold Refractor #BDPP19 – Aaron Judge /50

In hindsight, a 6’7″ power-hitting Yankees prospect flying under the radar just seems silly, but it’s safe to say that Aaron Judge cards sold at pedestrian prices until #AllRise took baseball by storm last year.  Not one, but TWO of these gorgeous gold refractors sold for right around $30 in 2014. This card can’t be had for under $1,000 just four years later.

If you happen to have sold one of these cards, just remember time heals all wounds. It also increased the value of your card exponentially. If you’ve sold a card on COMC that you’ve regretted years later when a player’s stock rose significantly, we want to hear about it! Share your best “What was I thinking?” stories with us!