Illusions Basketball

[MGoBlue]

Originally Posted by lietuvalabas

Hah if Matt's a flipper he does a pretty $hitty job of it....for God sakes the guy collects nik stauskas. One of the sincerest collectors around.

You got a problem with Stauskas!? I'm gonna make bank on that pc, baby! BANK! Just like Illusions. I turned that $2500 of Illusions blasters into maybe $400 of cards last week in a matter of hours! I'm killing the flip game!

[MGoBlue]

Originally Posted by shondamon

I like illusions and trying to collect the whole set including all inserts. As for the acetates, willing to take any color. Here’s what I need if anyone can help me out. I have a lot of stuff for trade and also can buy too..

Let me see what I have and can part with. I'm kinda doing what you're doing as well, so we can definitely trade with one another. I think I'm going to skip the non-acetate sets though, so I'll have a ton for you. I got tons of dupes out of the 50 blasters I opened last week as well. I'll look at your list and get in touch with you and we can do some old school trading!

[chelseafc11]

Originally Posted by ThatGuyPal

It’s almost as if the people who have a ton of this stuff have a vested interest in keeping it alive. Strange

Gonna have to check you there bud. There are some people with ulterior motives, but MGoBlue is not one of them.

He is a passionate collector and when he gets into a set or collection, he goes all in. It is sheer excitement that fuels his posts.

It is also a fact that this product is heavily slept on while people continue to go insane for boring products like Prizm, Optic, and Spectra because that is what makes people the most money. The fact that there is really no market pulse for Illusions at the moment and you find the need to make that statement is telling about your judgment. It is just a nice product and some people are starting to become aware of the quality of cards like Revolution basketball a few years ago.

[TimBuckTwo]

Just a sleeper set until Zion/Ja become NBA Championship winning studs.

Then to the moon >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

[MGoBlue]

Originally Posted by chelseafc11

Gonna have to check you there bud. There are some people with ulterior motives, but MGoBlue is not one of them.

He is a passionate collector and when he gets into a set or collection, he goes all in. It is sheer excitement that fuels his posts.

It is also a fact that this product is heavily slept on while people continue to go insane for boring products like Prizm, Optic, and Spectra because that is what makes people the most money. The fact that there is really no market pulse for Illusions at the moment and you find the need to make that statement is telling about your judgment. It is just a nice product and some people are starting to become aware of the quality of cards like Revolution basketball a few years ago.

Man, I contemplated whether or not to even revive this thread because I've quite enjoyed having very little competition for the cards. Part of me hopes the product never takes off so I can continue to collect it. What drove me to post and keep posting is twofold: 1. Hopefully get people ripping some more product/digging through their inventory so more singles will surface (Ebay has dried up on a lot of the cards I want). 2. I do get excited when I find something I like and it's hard to resist (especially when the thread already exists) communicating with fellow enthusiasts.

It's no surprise though regarding the negativity. As money has become the sole driver of the hobby these days, everyone is constantly on a witch hunt calling out/questioning the motives of everyone else. It's so polarizing anymore. It's sad when a genuine enthusiast posts about a "crap" product with no market to speak of and gets shade thrown and motives questioned.

Regardless, I don't have any issues with the flipping side of the hobby from the standpoint of making money. It's not what I do with the hobby, but far be it from me to blast someone for making money buying/selling cards. So long as it's honest and not deceitful/manipulative, make all the money you can! lietuva_labas is a legendary flipper (who also has some pretty incredible player pcs)! He's made money hand over fist in this hobby, but no one has any issues with him because he's honest and transparent about it.

[Pacmeyer]

Originally Posted by ThatGuyPal

It’s almost as if the people who have a ton of this stuff have a vested interest in keeping it alive. Strange

Any stranger than Chronicles which came out right before this getting hyped to the moon before disappearing off a cliff? At least Illusions was easy to find and cheap if you avoided hobby.

[detroitbball]

Originally Posted by MGoBlue

Man, I contemplated whether or not to even revive this thread because I've quite enjoyed having very little competition for the cards. Part of me hopes the product never takes off so I can continue to collect it. What drove me to post and keep posting is twofold: 1. Hopefully get people ripping some more product/digging through their inventory so more singles will surface (Ebay has dried up on a lot of the cards I want). 2. I do get excited when I find something I like and it's hard to resist (especially when the thread already exists) communicating with fellow enthusiasts.

It's no surprise though regarding the negativity. As money has become the sole driver of the hobby these days, everyone is constantly on a witch hunt calling out/questioning the motives of everyone else. It's so polarizing anymore. It's sad when a genuine enthusiast posts about a "crap" product with no market to speak of and gets shade thrown and motives questioned.

Regardless, I don't have any issues with the flipping side of the hobby from the standpoint of making money. It's not what I do with the hobby, but far be it from me to blast someone for making money buying/selling cards. So long as it's honest and not deceitful/manipulative, make all the money you can! lietuva_labas is a legendary flipper (who also has some pretty incredible player pcs)! He's made money hand over fist in this hobby, but no one has any issues with him because he's honest and transparent about it.

My goodness, exactly! If anyone gets excited about a player or a product or anything on these boards, they get immediately hammered with a deluge of "pumper!!" posts, as if somehow one person posting on a message board can move a market for any length of time. I've learned you just have to tune all that out if you want to get any use out of these boards. Same with those who post that something is "trash" or "hot trash" or whatever, and don't explain why. Find what you like and collect it. All the negatives out there, ignore it.

[detroitbball]

I bought a handful of the 20 pack retail boxes a while back. My son buys one off me every now and then and we open it. He's gotten some nice cards including a Doncic /49 and a Zion Instant Impact /25, plus a lot of other pink inserts and parallels. We like it. It's one of the few affordable options out there to rip.

[byronscott4ever]

I’m a sucker for acetate stuff but it seems Matt’s pumping has made me too late to the show to buy now—just kidding about the pumping stuff. It’s a shame more product wasn’t dispersed wider in retail outlets due to the cleaner-outers out there who wiped it out.

[MGoBlue]

Originally Posted by detroitbball

I bought a handful of the 20 pack retail boxes a while back. My son buys one off me every now and then and we open it. He's gotten some nice cards including a Doncic /49 and a Zion Instant Impact /25, plus a lot of other pink inserts and parallels. We like it. It's one of the few affordable options out there to rip.

That's awesome! Two daughters for me.....zero interest in sports despite my best efforts. So cool that you and your son can enjoy the hobby together. Even better that this product is actual affordable and you guys have pulled some awesome cards! Show em off!

[MGoBlue]

Originally Posted by byronscott4ever

I’m a sucker for acetate stuff but it seems Matt’s pumping has made me too late to the show to buy now—just kidding about the pumping stuff. It’s a shame more product wasn’t dispersed wider in retail outlets due to the cleaner-outers out there who wiped it out.

Nice, Paul! lol Seriously though, the acetates in this product are great. All colors. Emeralds are ubiquitous and really cheap. Start there and pick some up to see them in hand!

[MGoBlue]

Ever since landing the Zion last week I have been obsessed with these cards. I'm gonna try to land as many as I can. Today's haul plus a few that came in last week:

2019-20 Illusions by Matthew Buckley, on Flickr

2019-20 Illusions by Matthew Buckley, on Flickr

2019-20 Illusions by Matthew Buckley, on Flickr

2019-20 Illusions by Matthew Buckley, on Flickr

2019-20 Illusions by Matthew Buckley, on Flickr

2019-20 Illusions by Matthew Buckley, on Flickr

2019-20 Illusions by Matthew Buckley, on Flickr

2019-20 Illusions by Matthew Buckley, on Flickr

2019-20 Illusions by Matthew Buckley, on Flickr

2019-20 Illusions by Matthew Buckley, on Flickr

[cowboyzqna]

Man those /8 are sauce bows status.

[bigjbasketball]

I think Illusions is just one of those awesome looking products that will never get the love it deserves. It doesn’t look like they’ll be running it back again this year, so it will probably get lost in the shuffle with all the other sets out there. I ripped a ton of retail and put the full base set together, and probably the best single card I pulled was a Luka Starlight that looked to be in incredible condition. I compared it to all my other Illusions base cards and the Luka didn’t have any of the usual edge chipping or corner dings that almost every other card had. It’s been sitting in a Card Saver for months with the hopes that eventually PSA will open up some cheaper grading options. I’d love to get that in a Gem Mint 10 slab.

[sotexcollector]

Originally Posted by MGoBlue

Ever since landing the Zion last week I have been obsessed with these cards. I'm gonna try to land as many as I can. Today's haul plus a few that came in last week:

2019-20 Illusions by Matthew Buckley, on Flickr

2019-20 Illusions by Matthew Buckley, on Flickr

2019-20 Illusions by Matthew Buckley, on Flickr

2019-20 Illusions by Matthew Buckley, on Flickr

2019-20 Illusions by Matthew Buckley, on Flickr

2019-20 Illusions by Matthew Buckley, on Flickr

2019-20 Illusions by Matthew Buckley, on Flickr

2019-20 Illusions by Matthew Buckley, on Flickr

2019-20 Illusions by Matthew Buckley, on Flickr

2019-20 Illusions by Matthew Buckley, on Flickr

Wow, those really stand out with the red background and gold lettering. How far are you with the set?

[MGoBlue]

Cowboy - Agreed! I hadn't even seen a copy (no clue how I missed them) until I saw the Zion, and I was immediately all about them. lol

Bigj - Sad to hear that it's not gonna have a year 2. I personally would have loved to see it evolve and chase more cards. Oh well. I'll just continue to go after all the 19-20 cards. Congrats on the Luka starlight. Even 9s are tough with this set! If yours gets a 10, that would be epic. There's 3 on ebay right now, so there's a few out there.

sotex- Ha!!! Would definitely be a fun/infuriating 10+yr chase......I might be crazy enough to try it!

[byronscott4ever]

Originally Posted by MGoBlue

You got a problem with Stauskas!? I'm gonna make bank on that pc, baby! BANK! Just like Illusions. I turned that $2500 of Illusions blasters into maybe $400 of cards last week in a matter of hours! I'm killing the flip game!

Going in reverse makes you a flopper, not a flipper

[lietuvalabas]

Originally Posted by MGoBlue

That's awesome! Two daughters for me.....zero interest in sports despite my best efforts. So cool that you and your son can enjoy the hobby together. Even better that this product is actual affordable and you guys have pulled some awesome cards! Show em off!

Untrue...when I was down at your house last month, Kendall said she was starting a Dana Barros collection. I told her oh wow that's fun.

[Mahomie]

^Those red lucky envelopes are awesome.

[regularp]

I've officially dipped my toes in the Illusions potential.





Any reason why Zions are such tougher grades than Morant?

[detroitbball]

Originally Posted by regularp

I've officially dipped my toes in the Illusions potential.





Any reason why Zions are such tougher grades than Morant?

I love that pink. They are fairly rare to begin with, and then to have one graded Gem is awesome.

[regularp]

Originally Posted by detroitbball

I love that pink. They are fairly rare to begin with, and then to have one graded Gem is awesome.

Thanks. I generally like the look of pink parallels even though they don't get nearly the same love as other colors. I got this one for not much more than what the base gems have been going for.

Every Zion parallel is between 0-5 total gems with PSA. They're all brutal grades.

[sotexcollector]

That pink looks nice really nice. Can't wait for the two I just picked up. But for now, here is another gold to share in this awesome thread.

[MGoBlue]

Originally Posted by regularp

I've officially dipped my toes in the Illusions potential.

Any reason why Zions are such tougher grades than Morant?

Nice!! Welcome to the party! I love this stuff!

[MGoBlue]

Originally Posted by sotexcollector

That pink looks nice really nice. Can't wait for the two I just picked up. But for now, here is another gold to share in this awesome thread.

Golds are so nice! I don't have any, so I'm gonna need to get into the game!