The Erling Haaland Thread

[orion9578]

After my morning I've had some time to reflect on my babbling posts from 2am. I made my point but man did I go around a few unneeded corners to get there. My takes from this thread so far.

1. He is good, love to watch him play and I'm looking forward to this thread as time passes.

2. The NOW would be nice to have, but that ship has sailed. I can see it being the either the "it" card or people moving on from it because of how it was obtained/how rare it is. Seems weird to say that last part and I think it'll always be worth good money, just how much(in the future) I think remains to be seen.

3. The Sapphire(RC!) WILL be one of his best cards.

4. I'd love to have a Bundesliga refractor+ in PSA 10 but I'm not willing to pay what they're going for now. It'd be my preferred mass produced card to own(over Finest/TC Sapphire).

[Mitch]

Originally Posted by mwheeler27

Mantle rookies were dumped in the river.

Wagner cards had to be removed because they were cigarette cards, and Honus didn't want his likeness on the cards promoting smoking.

Thank you

[dream34]

I’ll break down my honest advice on this one. I do have skin the game as I always do. I also have a decent track record with this stuff.

For me it comes down to the simple fact that UCL Chrome seems the most likely to be the standard product every year. It already has a nice lineage with Mbappe & TAA in 2017, Felix & Sancho in 2018, our boy & Fati in 2019, likely Bellingham & Moukoko in future releases. It’s already a well established (maybe THE established) go to RC card in so many other sports.

When UCL Chrome came out this year there were a lot who were still wondering if it would eventually trump the Bundy Chrome, myself included. Sapphire tacked on Topps ultra high end line and made it his only Topps card to feature the RC Logo.

If/when new collectors come in (because let’s face it no one here is changing their minds/positions) they will most likely gravitate to his Chrome. Only one will have the RC logo and it will also be in the highest end product. We’ve already seen what this has done elsewhere and it will most likely happen here also. “Not too late to get on board”. I said this when Acuna Sapphires were readily available for $300 ��

[orion9578]

Originally Posted by dream34

I’ll break down my honest advice on this one. I do have skin the game as I always do. I also have a decent track record with this stuff.

For me it comes down to the simple fact that UCL Chrome seems the most likely to be the standard product every year. It already has a nice lineage with Mbappe & TAA in 2017, Felix & Sancho in 2018, our boy & Fati in 2019, likely Bellingham & Moukoko in future releases. It’s already a well established (maybe THE established) go to RC card in so many other sports.

When UCL Chrome came out this year there were a lot who were still wondering if it would eventually trump the Bundy Chrome, myself included. Sapphire tacked on Topps ultra high end line and made it his only Topps card to feature the RC Logo.

If/when new collectors come in (because let’s face it no one here is changing their minds/positions) they will most likely gravitate to his Chrome. Only one will have the RC logo and it will also be in the highest end product. We’ve already seen what this has done elsewhere and it will most likely happen here also. “Not too late to get on board”. I said this when Acuna Sapphires were readily available for $300 ��

Agree with all of this. His most recent PSA 10 sales tend to agree with you as well:

Base Finest PSA 10 - $1,625
Base Bundesliga PSA 10 - $1,500
Base Chrome PSA 10 - $650
Base Sapphire PSA 10 - $1,850

Guess now we just wait and see where they all settle as more and more are graded. But for now, Sapphire looks to be the "it" base RC.

[fadster]

Originally Posted by orion9578

Agree with all of this. His most recent PSA 10 sales tend to agree with you as well:

Base Finest PSA 10 - $1,625
Base Bundesliga PSA 10 - $1,500
Base Chrome PSA 10 - $650
Base Sapphire PSA 10 - $1,850

Guess now we just wait and see where they all settle as more and more are graded. But for now, Sapphire looks to be the "it" base RC.

You've left out the most valuable common base, the Panini Fussball #32 has several. $2000 sales and there is currently one over $2400 with 3 days to go. That one has 60 years of lineage add in the variations and drama with Beckett it also has a good story and some contraversy. If the market is saying anything, that is the go-to base. Interestingly the Finest has closed the gap on the chrome releases, it was lagging them by quite some margin.

The "old timers" want the best of what they see as the "right" release and gravitate towards the Salzburg releases, the newer part of the market want the best of the best, which means numbered Sapphire and chrome colour. It's great to see the market is able to support all the various releases.
.

[orion9578]

Originally Posted by fadster

You've left out the most valuable common base, the Panini Fussball #32 has several. $2000 sales and there is currently one over $2400 with 3 days to go. That one has 60 years of lineage add in the variations and drama with Beckett it also has a good story and some contraversy. If the market is saying anything, that is the go-to base. Interestingly the Finest has closed the gap on the chrome releases, it was lagging them by quite some margin.

The "old timers" want the best of what they see as the "right" release and gravitate towards the Salzburg releases, the newer part of the market want the best of the best, which means numbered Sapphire and chrome colour. It's great to see the market is able to support all the various releases.
.

For sure. Was sticking with Chrome type releases when comparing. Fussball is a condition sensitive set. Think when you compare say 9 to 9, sapphire outsells it by a little(not sure about the rest...finest, chrome, bund). So comparing a Sapphire 10 and a Fussball 10 isn't apples to apples IMO.

Great card though too, just not one I'm overall interested in personally.

[FarmchairQB]

Originally Posted by orion9578

Agree with all of this. His most recent PSA 10 sales tend to agree with you as well:

Base Finest PSA 10 - $1,625
Base Bundesliga PSA 10 - $1,500
Base Chrome PSA 10 - $650
Base Sapphire PSA 10 - $1,850

Guess now we just wait and see where they all settle as more and more are graded. But for now, Sapphire looks to be the "it" base RC.

That's a pretty exciting race It will definitely be fun to see how these track in the coming months and years. Agree with Fadster that there's also a good chance that the market will be able to support multiple cards on the high end, much like the market for basketball stars. I certainly hope so!

Question for those who know soccer cards better than I do: does a player's performance in a particular event disproportionately affect the card prices related to that event? So, for example, if Dortmund pulls off a miracle and wins the Champions League this year, would the TC UEFA CL cards benefit disproportionately? Or does it not work that way? I guess the clearer example of that is Mbappe's World Cup card...

[fadster]

Originally Posted by orion9578

For sure. Was sticking with Chrome type releases when comparing. Fussball is a condition sensitive set. Think when you compare say 9 to 9, sapphire outsells it by a little(not sure about the rest...finest, chrome, bund). So comparing a Sapphire 10 and a Fussball 10 isn't apples to apples IMO.

Great card though too, just not one I'm overall interested in personally.

Honestly I think it's only happened because of the Salzburg / Dortmund split fracturing the market (I think Finest at around Chrome levels is further evidence of this), usually this wouldn't happen unless the sticker has a unique selling point (eg earlier season like Mbappe or club like Haaland). The Fati and Joao Felix heirachy order are far more typical with the sticker going for a respectable but much smaller fraction of the top base cards.

[dabearsv2]

This thread hurts my head. Maybe if I come back tomorrow there will be a consensus on Haaland's true RC

PS I will buy whichever ones you don't want

[orion9578]

Originally Posted by dabearsv2

This thread hurts my head. Maybe if I come back tomorrow there will be a consensus on Haaland's true RC

PS I will buy whichever ones you don't want

You'll never get people to agree. I wouldn't bother waiting for that or you'll miss the boat(assuming it sails...).

Anything that the grading companies and the producers(Topps/Panini) call a 2019 card is a RC. Anyone who says different is likely either protecting what they hoarded or being stubborn.

Lastly, buy what you like. If you pick up any 2019 card and he does well, it'll do well, no matter the set.

[orion9578]

Originally Posted by fadster

Honestly I think it's only happened because of the Salzburg / Dortmund split fracturing the market (I think Finest at around Chrome levels is further evidence of this), usually this wouldn't happen unless the sticker has a unique selling point (eg earlier season like Mbappe or club like Haaland). The Fati and Joao Felix heirachy order are far more typical with the sticker going for a respectable but much smaller fraction of the top base cards.

Agreed, the split muddied the waters for people who have been doing this for a long time and know the difference. A large percentage of buyers though, if he keeps doing what he's doing...the "flippers" etc., will go by whatever PSA/BGS/Topps/Panini says. If it's marked 2019, it'll be a RC.

[mwheeler27]

Originally Posted by orion9578

Agree with all of this. His most recent PSA 10 sales tend to agree with you as well:

Base Finest PSA 10 - $1,625
Base Bundesliga PSA 10 - $1,500
Base Chrome PSA 10 - $650
Base Sapphire PSA 10 - $1,850

Guess now we just wait and see where they all settle as more and more are graded. But for now, Sapphire looks to be the "it" base RC.

Looks to me like the last #11 sale, (raw), was $1985:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2019-Topps-...p2047675.l2557

So Haaland’s first true rookie card, that is more significant in terms of aesthetics, outsold all those PSA10 examples while it wasn’t even graded?

Say it can’t be so.

Edit: Posted the wrong card number.

[orion9578]

Originally Posted by mwheeler27

Looks to me like the last #178 sale, (raw), was $1985:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2019-Topps-...p2047675.l2557

So Haaland’s first true rookie card, that is more significant in terms of aesthetics, outsold all those PSA10 examples while it wasn’t even graded?

Say it can’t be so.

Haha. I said the Now will likely be the most expensive card of his. How many people are going to shell out that much for 1 card though? I think someone else gave a good example using Lebron. Now = LBJ Exquisite(just not nearly as big a difference) and the Chrome stuff = LBJ TC. SPA might be a better example than the exquisite, but you get the picture.

I'm not pumping any particular card and I also am agreeing that the NOW will likely be "it". But the masses will flock to the Chrome stuff. Book it .

[mwheeler27]

Originally Posted by orion9578

Haha. I said the Now will likely be the most expensive card of his. How many people are going to shell out that much for 1 card though? I think someone else gave a good example using Lebron. Now = LBJ Exquisite(just not nearly as big a difference) and the Chrome stuff = LBJ TC. SPA might be a better example than the exquisite, but you get the picture.

I'm not pumping any particular card and I also am agreeing that the NOW will likely be "it". But the masses will flock to the Chrome stuff. Book it .

The masses won’t have a choice.

Only a maximum of 178 people can own #11. And at the moment, only a max of 159.

[reddragonthe]

Here are all the arguments you all can use going forward to threads that pop up like this or with questions related to this. Just pick the ones you want for why a certain card isn't the "go-to" rookie for Haaland:

Fussball - "Regional specific stickers aren't even cards let alone something you can consider a mainstream rookie. Plus, they probably STILL haven't stopped printing them. All the versions. All those sticker heads can chase after it. Not for me."

Crystal - "Crystal? What's that. Never heard of it. Oh - those plastic cards with rounded corners? Are they designed for people who open cards in humid environments or poolside? Plus there aren't even any parallels in that product. They could have printed a zillion cards. If it's not cardboard it's not a card."

Now - "Topps Now? That thing where you an go online and get as many cards as you want and the exact card you want? Nope. If it didn't come from a pack it isn't a RC. Plus Topps can just print 18 different cards for a player in a given year and call them all RCs. Cute diversion but not the true go-to rookie."

Living - "Those kids drawings? Ha. Not actual cards. 10 people in the world collect those. Also, like Topps Now, you could have had infinity of them. It's only valuable now because no one wanted those cards back then. What changed? FOMO."

Finest Salzburg - "Finest was supposed to be released in May of 2020... for a tournament that was ending the week after it came out. And they put in a card of a guy who hadn't played for that team in 5 months and not at all in calendar year 2020. It's a Topps gimmick to sell more cards. He wasn't on the team anywhere near when it was supposed to come out let alone a month later when it actually released. AND they were able to get the same player in the release with a current team." or "Finest is a lesser cousin of Chrome. The Salzburg thing is interesting, but Chrome is king."

Finest Dortmund - "SPs can't be the preferred RC when there's a regular version in the set that's from an earlier team."

Chrome Bundesliga - "It is a German league release... that wasn't released in Germany. Can't count. Plus there is no history of a Chrome Bundesliga being more popular than the UCL version in the limited history of both releases."

Chrome UCL - "Card came out in December 2020. That's BARELY 2020. Plus it was after the next season started. And it was MONTHS after Bundesliga was already out. And the picture sucks. And the colors. Blah!"

Sapphire - "Sapphire isn't a different release - it's just a parallel of UCL. That's like saying his go-to rookie is the "gold refractor"... plus it came out even AFTER UCL chrome. Which we've already established was essentially 2021." "Sapphire was an online exclusive sold to baseball collectors. It's only valuable because those vultures are hoarding it."


Happy arguing!

[Ianhatcher]

Or maybe the masses don't care about it.

The buzz is Sapphire, Chrome and Finest cards. I have seen dozens of posts in the FB soccer groups looking for Haaland cards the past few months. I've never seen anyone ask for the Topps Now card.

I'm not poopooing on your card. You like it and are obviously working hard to promote it and let us all know of your marketshare but from what I have seen, people don't really care about that card. It will continue to have value as a SP Haaland niche card but it shouldn't be a card that you would compare price to the other base Haalands.

[mwheeler27]

Originally Posted by Ianhatcher

Or maybe the masses don't care about it.

The buzz is Sapphire, Chrome and Finest cards. I have seen dozens of posts in the FB soccer groups looking for Haaland cards the past few months. I've never seen anyone ask for the Topps Now card.

I'm not poopooing on your card. You like it and are obviously working hard to promote it and let us all know of your marketshare but from what I have seen, people don't really care about that card. It will continue to have value as a SP Haaland niche card but it shouldn't be a card that you would compare price to the other base Haalands.

Obviously people want it if it’s currently the most expensive Harland “base” card that exists that I know of. You should see all the PMs I’ve gotten just today regarding this card.

Why not compare it? It’s a Harland rookie card...his first Topps card, it’s quite valuable, and it looks fantastic representing a significant moment in time in Haaland’s early career.

[orion9578]

Originally Posted by mwheeler27

The masses won’t have a choice.

Only a maximum of 178 people can own #11. And at the moment, only a max of 159.

Exactly. 178 people will own them and likely a few hundred more will care enough to try and chase them down. They'll likely be expensive. But again, if you can't own one because there are so few and expensive...the masses will buy other cards. You made my point for me.

Originally Posted by reddragonthe

Happy arguing!

Exactly.

Originally Posted by Ianhatcher

Or maybe the masses don't care about it.

The buzz is Sapphire, Chrome and Finest cards. I have seen dozens of posts in the FB soccer groups looking for Haaland cards the past few months. I've never seen anyone ask for the Topps Now card.

I'm not poopooing on your card. You like it and are obviously working hard to promote it and let us all know of your marketshare but from what I have seen, people don't really care about that card. It will continue to have value as a SP Haaland niche card but it shouldn't be a card that you would compare price to the other base Haalands.

Tend to agree. Perfect example of that would be Exquisite LBJ(Though not niche, really SP'ed /99). His RPA in the past few years is up by what, 10x? Something like that. Correct me if Im wrong. His TC has gone up like in the same time period like 30x-35x. I know that ones pretty spot on because I sold a TC PSA 10 for 1k before they started to move up...slowly, then exploded.

I also want to point out that I'm only comparing the NOW to Exquisite because of the SP. Obviously the NOW isn't even close to the value of an Exquisite.

[mwheeler27]

Originally Posted by orion9578

Tend to agree. Perfect example of that would be Exquisite LBJ(Though not niche, really SP'ed /99). His RPA in the past few years is up by what, 10x? Something like that. Correct me if Im wrong. His TC has gone up like in the same time period like 30x-35x. I know that ones pretty spot on because I sold a TC PSA 10 for 1k before they started to move up...slowly, then exploded.

I also want to point out that I'm only comparing the NOW to Exquisite because of the SP. Obviously the NOW isn't even close to the value of an Exquisite.

I hadn’t put much thought into the increased value of card #11 over what I paid, (anyone could have paid), direct from Topps.

I paid $4 in mid-September, 2019. Recent sale states it “was” worth ~$2,000. 500x increase in 1.5 years?

Have any of the other Haaland rookie cards increased that much? Did ANY LBJ cards increase that much in just 1.5 years???

My argument isn’t so much this specific card, but Topps NOW in general. People have been missing the boat. Some out of not knowing enough about the cards/product, and some out of stubbornness.

Maybe if people understand the value some of these cards have, they will be less likely to miss out on future great cards. Knowledge is good.

[orion9578]

Originally Posted by mwheeler27

I hadn’t put much thought into the increased value of card #11 over what I paid, (anyone could have paid), direct from Topps.

I paid $4 in mid-September, 2019. Recent sale states it “was” worth ~$2,000. 500x increase in 1.5 years?

Have any of the other Haaland rookie cards increased that much? Did ANY LBJ cards increase that much in just 1.5 years???

My argument isn’t so much this specific card, but Topps NOW in general. People have been missing the boat. Some out of not knowing enough about the cards/product, and some out of stubbornness.

Maybe if people understand the value some of these cards have, they will be less likely to miss out on future great cards. Knowledge is good.

Haha. You're just stuck on making the point that you made a good investment my friend . I've agreed like 5 times that it is a good card. You did it. You got a good card, at a great price and made out like a bandit.

But... there aren't going to be thousands of people owning a NOW. There aren't enough and it'll price a lot of people out(probably). Will people want one? Sure, though I'm not one of them. Will they be able to buy one? Not very many will because it'll be expensive and there aren't many of them. Same goes for the LBJ Exq. Everyone wants one but hardly anyone can afford one and they can't be found very easy.

So everyone else, the masses, will be buying all the other cards.

[mwheeler27]

Originally Posted by orion9578

Haha. You're just stuck on making the point that you made a good investment my friend . I've agreed like 5 times that it is a good card. You did it. You got a good card, at a great price and made out like a bandit.

But... there aren't going to be thousands of people owning a NOW. There aren't enough and it'll price a lot of people out(probably). Will people want one? Sure, though I'm not one of them. Will they be able to buy one? Not very many will because it'll be expensive and there aren't many of them. Same goes for the LBJ Exq. Everyone wants one but hardly anyone can afford one and they can't be found very easy.

So everyone else, the masses, will be buying all the other cards.

Yes, of course. I’ve never disagreed with that statement.

People get priced out of ALL popular cards all the time. It doesn’t matter who you are, there are limits to what people will spend. Some collectors with the deepest pockets will buy what others can’t, so they can claim they have the best collection. It’s why registries are popular.

Some of these collectors will likely want to add Red Bull #11 to their collection to set theirs apart from so many others.

[orion9578]

Originally Posted by mwheeler27

Yes, of course. I’ve never disagreed with that statement.

People get priced out of ALL popular cards all the time. It doesn’t matter who you are, there are limits to what people will spend. Some collectors with the deepest pockets will buy what others can’t, so they can claim they have the best collection. It’s why registries are popular.

Some of these collectors will likely want to add Red Bull #11 to their collection to set theirs apart from so many others.

Yup, my opinion is that they will too. I also have the opinion that it's a very niche card though, so I'm not sure that it'll have the aura of say an Exquisite. But I do see a market for it(and hopefully anyone who doubts that can see that there is by looking on eBay).

Should be interesting to see, going forward, which of the mass produced cards comes out on top. If the market blows up with new buyers, I have a strong feeling it'll be Sapphire. If it stays calm and the same collectors who have been collecting forever are the majority of buyers, it'll like being something with a longer/stronger history.

[kaka]

A card/sticker that I think a lot of people are overlooking (Let it be known that I do own a decent amount) is the 2019 FIFA 365 Haaland/Kang in Lee/Lunin Triple Sticker. IMO a really cool looking sticker with two really exciting young prospects (and Haaland's only card in the Norway kit).

Also it commemorates his crazy 9 goal game vs Honduras at the U-20 World Cup.

[Dizz86]

Sapphire is at the top (when compared to Finest, Chrome) only for now. I would say. It is latest release so it is hot, after 1 year it might be chrome again.

But , I remember that Topps CL license is expiring this summer. I tried to google who got it for the next years and haven't found the info yet.
It is like 50/50, that Topps will loose its CL license and so no CL Chrome releases for next 3-5 years. That wont help Haland's Chrome rookies, as continuity matters for many collectors.

[Archangel1775]

A couple people have already brought up good points. I'll speak from the USA perspective. There is a clash of collecting cultures here. When there is no alternative, stickers and oddball cards seemed to have been recognized as the go to "Rookie Card". That's clear with athletes like Messi, Ronaldo boxer Mike Tyson and WWE/Actor Dwayne Johnson.

However, when a player is a professional "Rookie" and the set is licensed, planned, created and produced for those specific years,2019/20 in this case, the market will decide what the go to rookie card is with their wallets and trading volume. The latter being the most important today. The more that get auctioned on eBay, PWCC and sold on sites like StockX/Star Stock, the more "eyes on" the card becomes. Compare to 2003 Lebron Rookies...there are many cards serial numbered BUT look at what the go to base rookie card is today? Yes, Topps Chrome. This brings up the next point....Brand legacy...bottom line "Chrome is King" Although you have cards that may have "less produced" in greats such as LeBron and Tom Brady.....their Topps Chrome and Bowman Chrome are the premiere non-serial numbered "base rookies" and iconic cards in their respective hobbies. The "which was released first by date" isn't a thing in the hobby from an American perspective. It ultimately goes by the year(s) the set was licensed for and what the hobby determines with their wallet...Topps Chrome Sapphire is that card in baseball and I don't see that changing with soccer. All you can do is collect what you like.