Advice on Topps Chrome, PC in general

[MeetJSquared]

Thought I could get some input here. I apologize in advance for the long intro, but I figure it gives you all some insight into my collecting vision.

***TL;DR at the bottom***

I've been all over the place since I got back into the hobby in January, and had trouble focusing on what I wanted to collect/keep. It started with everything Chargers along with Ronnie Hillman, and not much of the 2012 class. Then I realized this class is pretty strong, and 2013 is gonna be pretty harsh in comparison as far as value of cards.

To get more funds, I've thinned out my Chargers PC to just autos of the HOF and soon-to-be HOF players. I've just recently cut out Ryan Mathews, and I'm giving Rivers one more shot at going back to be a top-level QB with the new regime.

Then I started picking up a lot of the 2012 guys, about the top 8 of each the QBs and RBs. That spread me out too thin, so I've finally limited it to Luck, RG3, Wilson, Tannehill, Martin, and Richardson. I've left out Alfred Morris as Five Star is the only product with a true rookie on-card auto (I have one).

As far as products, I've always like the on-card autos so I've limited myself so far to Black, Contenders, Limited, and Five Star, and I've decided to pick up their 'true rookies' in those sets. National Treasures is too much for me, but I've been debating about Prime Sigs, Absolute, and Crown Royale. I chose the other sets (Black, Limited, and Five Star) because they are high-end ($100+/pack), look nice, and have on-card autos. Contenders always seems to be a good set as well. The other three I just mentioned are more mid-end ($25-50/pack) and I'm not sure about those yet. The reason being is I'm stuck on what to do with Chrome.

I've always liked Chrome, but now with my focus on the 'true rookie' cards, I am torn with what to do as far as picking up these players in the set. I sold everything I had from before, so I'm almost starting over again with the exception of a few I picked up recently. Getting all their base cards is simple, but now I'm not sure if getting the colors is worth it. I'm one of those people that will want to get the rainbow if I start getting colors, so I figured I'd limit myself to the base, refractor, x-fractor, and any autos. It'll be a pretty costly venture to go past those, as autos already command a good sum. I figure I'd want to get any graded, but I'm not sure about getting raw ones to grade myself or already graded ones (9.5+), and this only relates to the non-autos. Beckett is supposed to come to my LCS in July so I have a chance there to get the raw card review first. I'm not really in it to invest, but at the same time, I'd like cards that have a better chance to keep value.



tl;dr

Players: Luck, RG3, Wilson, Tannehill, Martin, Richardson

1. Opinion on True Rookie cards (listed RC in the book/Beckett)
2. Do you like the Rookie cards in Black (RPA), Limited (Phenom), Five Star (RPA)?
3. Thoughts on Rookie cards in Prime Signatures (Base Auto), Absolute (RPM Auto), Crown Royale (Silhouette)
4. Chrome
---a. Base, Refractor, X-Fractor only - is that enough/are colors worth the chase?
---b. Should I get autos too?
---c. Buy already Graded (non-autos), or Grade myself?

[HTTR]

I am going to give you my best answer and it might not hit all of the points but hopefully it helps.

1. I am a huge fan of true rookie cards and I only collect autos.
2. I think you already know my stance on the Panini Black RPA but I will say it again. To me it will be the most valuable ON CARD ONLY RPA set from 2012. I also like the fact that the true rookie cards /349 already demand a premium over the /49 cards. Collectors are starting to realize that the /349 is the true rookie and the others are just inserts. Also the Phenom has some stickers but that will be the next set I go for. I have about 7 of them so far.
3. I like the Prime signatures but not a huge fan of the absolte or the Royale.
4. Chrome graded is the route I am taking. 9.5+ and just grabbing any that I can.

Keep in mind that I do not have much money to spend each month on cards. I am in the US Army and despite what you hear in the news, we don't make much money. So my opinion is that of a guy who only looks to spend about $100 a month on cards but sometimes gets in trouble with the wife for going way overboard.

[ManInTheMirror]

My opinion is short- you are giving it too much thought.

[56LightsOut56]

My opinion is short- you are giving it too much thought.

Collect what appeals to you, in the end it's all that matters.

[TheFrenzy]

I can completely understand where you're coming from. Here are a few points i've made in my collection:

- My collection focuses on chromium on-card autos and refractors. That's pretty much it. Other than a few regular Topps singles, the only thing I'm buying this year are Leaf Metal Draft and Topps Chrome. (Last year it was Chrome and Press Pass Fanfare.)

- I don't do Panini. They don't have the history Topps does. They do way too many sticker autos. They jumped into the market and bought up some of my favorite brands while I was on my 10 year collecting hiatus and so yeah, I don't really like their products. Plus, it narrows my collecting focus to only have Chrome and one other similar product a year.

- Picking up a high-grade Chrome base and refractor rc of a guy is the cheapest way to build a very respectable collection. I wish I had been doing this back in 2004, but 2011 was a great year to start too! I usually bust some Chrome (as opposed to usually buying only singles) and I'll see which guys my breaks give me a headstart on their rainbow. If I pull a low number of any interesting guy, I may chase his, but usually I just let my breaks decide which colored refractors I end up with.

- For the most part, you can get good deals on already graded cards if you shop around long enough.

- "narrowing" yourself to Luck, RG3, and Wilson, will still spread you out pretty thin pretty fast! It's really hard to chase top draft picks because, unless they hit a sophomore slump, their prices may not come down. I usually aim for getting a Chrome base and refractor of every rookie, picking out 3 "second-tier" prospects to PC pretty hard for their rookie year, and letting my breaks decide if I get to have a nice card of a top pick. Then I repeat the process the next year.