The long awaited Bowman Chrome wrapper redemption program has finally delivered to the collector, and boy is it a little confusing.  For starters, the base cards in the packs are bowman stock, which I guess was noted on the program info.  That’s more of a gripe than an issue, but it’s still a little ridiculous.  The next part that has some really confused are the inserted Bowman Chrome USA autographs and Refractor autographs.

The Refractor autos have black borders and are numbered to 25 copies.  Those are unmistakable and actually a nice addition.  It would have been nice to see some varied photos for the 18U team, but the collegiate team features some nice action photography.

The Base chrome autographs are a really head scratcher, and overall just confusing to the regular buyer on the market.  Not only do these cards look exactly the same as the pack pulled base card, but they also have the same photos.  The only difference is the serial number on the back that is out of 99 copies (which is also the same as blue refractors).

Also included are USA chrome buybacks of the 2009 18U and collegiate teams, which features Jameson Taillon, Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, and others.  Not every player from the sets were selected for the program, but most of the important names made it as on-card autos.  It’s yet to be determined how well they’ll sell, but I’m sure Harper will be a hot commodity. The autos might be hard to see on some, but they do feature serial numbering to 100 on the backs.

Given the points mentioned as I pick apart the product a bit, they seem to be selling like hotcakes.  Some of them are featured below, along with a small photo gallery of various singles.

Bryce Harper Buyback Auto #1
Bryce Harper Buyback Auto #2
Bryce Harper Buyback Auto #3

Manny Machado Buyback Auto

Drew Pomeranz Buyback Auto

Bryce Brentz Buyback Auto

Henry Owens Chrome Wrapper Redemption Auto /99

Henry Owens Chrome Refractor Wrapper Redemption Auto /25

Lance McCullers Chrome Refractor Wrapper Redemption Auto /25

Phillip Pfeifer Chrome Wrapper Redemption Auto /99

Officially, 2010 Bowman Chrome Baseball goes live tomorrow in hobby shops.  The ebay market has steadily been filling with singles, but the USA Buyback autographs have yet to be seen.  We should see some hit the market (hopfeully?) when the masses start opening boxes.

It was stated officially by Topps that the cards will have the following quailities:

– Cards will be sequentially numbered with foil stamping to 100.

– These on-card autographs will be available via redemption.

Bummer, but I guess it was expected for an on-card release.  It has yet to be determined if the cards will be in sealed uncirculated cases like past buybacks, but it would seem like a good idea to prevent forgeries.

The checklist, as we know it, is as follows:

Bryce Harper
James Taillon
Yasmani Grandal
Drew Pomeranz
Michael Choice
Christian Colon
Manny Machado
Bryce Brentz

What do you think the Bryce Harper will fetch on eBay in the first sales?  Can it go above $1,000 per?

While we all wait for 2010 Bowman Chrome to release this week and the new USA Chrome autographs (18U team) to hit the market, some other USA sales have been quite interesting.  It’s always been a down time for USA cards with new prospect sets coming out of the same players.  Ever since Topps took over the license and the plans were up in the air, the past Upper Deck cards have started to rise again and sell for solid prices.

Below are some of the intruiging sales from the past two weeks, with a few steals that made it through the cracks.

2009 Upper Deck USA Q & A Stephen Strasburg Auto /20

It’s quite shocking to see Strasburg stuff still sell well, even with the injury.  He has alot of Topps cards on the market now (with many more coming), yet the USA stuff has not slowed too much.  To see this card get $200+ is a great sign for Bryce Harper cards in my eyes.

2009 Upper Deck Signature Stars Manny Machado USA Patch/Auto /25

Manny Machado is on fire right now and not because of his stats.  He’s yet to take a professional at-bat, but that hasn’t stopped collectors from going after his autographs.  His 2010 Elite Extra Autos were strong out of the gate, even as a redemption, and now his USA cards have seen interest.  This card was $60 right before the draft, and now it’s seen almost 300% gain.  That’s a great trend for future sales!

2009 Upper Deck USA Yasmani Grandal Red Ink Auto /25 (w/ inscription)

Sure, it could have been the inscription that sold this card, but would that really make it more than double the last copy?  Grandal seems to be an overall concensus sleeper pick in the 1st round (if that’s even possible) and people love his switch-hitting power ability. He’ll be another Bowman Chrome Draft autograph, as well as a USA buyback auto.

2005 Upper Deck USA Drew Stubbs Jersey/Auto Green ink 2/2

I’m bringing back old school USA brand with this one.  Drew Stubbs was a favorite back when the 2005 set came out, nipping on the heals of Troy Tulowitzki, Ryan Zimmerman, and Alex Gordon.  It was widely believe that he would have trouble hitting to his full potential at the MLB level, due to his high K rate.  Well, looking back now, it seems that Stubbs has done just fine with Cincinatti in centerfield.  He’s slowly becoming a fan favorite but his MLB rookie cards aren’t selling for this much.  Interesting sale to say the least!

2010 Topps Chrome USA Jackie Bradley Jr. Auto

This card has been out for almost a month now and he is the lone player in the set seeing stable increases and sale prices.  They started out at ~$50 per and now have hit a high of $75.  They seem to average around $65 per and that’s pretty amazing, considering George Springer and Gerrit Cole project higher on draft boards than Bradley.  Either way, he’ll have more autos this year, so it will be fun to watch the market react.

2008 Upper Deck USA Eric Hosmer Jersey/Auto Red Ink /25

This was the biggest steal I’ve seen in a while for a big name prospect with very little autographs on the market.  Hosmer was a Razor guy and Topps has not been able to make any autographs of him yet.  He has some USA autos, like the one above, but there are still a limited amount available to collectors.  This all equals a player who should see some great market gains in the next year, after coming off a very strong USA Pan-Am tournament and MILB season.  The previous sale for this card was $80 a few months back.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you about Hosmer!

Panini 2010 Elite Extra Edition has been out about a week now and the best selling cards have been of former USA and AFLAC All-American prospects.  The market as a whole has been fairly bare and low overall, but some stuff seems to be listed in slow waves.  Below are some highlights of the beginning sales, which also includes some of the rarest cards.

Jonathan Singleton Gold Status Auto /5

This is the highest selling single so far, which is shocking considering some of the 1/1′s pulled.  The former AFLAC All-American was a huge climber in the Phillies system and scouts raved about his hitting ability and athleticism.  Even the base autograhs are selling in the $20 range.

Reggie Golden Black Status Auto 1/1

Another former AFLAC All-American, Golden is a true 5-tool talent that was pried away from football as a 2nd round pick.  The Cubs were able to get him signed and hie draws rave reviews for his speed and huge raw powe, despite being under 6 feet tall.  This card is the highest selling 1/1 from EEE so far, but I’m not too shocked with the limited market.

Bryce Brentz Black Status Auto 1/1

The first big sale of a former USA collegiate player has showed up and it’s the highest selling so far.  An early pick by the Boston Red Sox, Brentz has gained a slowly growing fan base for his polish and power.  Again, it’s hard to believe this is one of the top selling black 1/1 autos, but he market is still on the low side.

Manny Machado….well, Everything!

Arguably the top dog in the set, Machado has been selling very well, considering all of his cards are redemptions.  He is scheduled to be an autograph in Bowman Chrome Draft later this year, but for now these are the only autographed cards to buy that aren’t USA issues.  The prices were expected, but the redemptions are a bummer.

Jameson Taillon Autos

The #2 pick overall in the 2010 MLB draft is also selling quite well, but really not up to the level expected.  His USA autographs were so hot after the draft and then dropped for no apparent reason.  His EEE autos have been fairly steady around $20 per base, but the parallels have been pretty much on the lower end.  He will also have a Bowman Chrome Draft autograph, so this could be a factor.  It’s nice that he wasn’t a redemption though.

Who are you buying?