This is a snapshot of today’s (April – May 2012) prices. While the price of boxes may have been higher/lower during the course of the NFL season – the profit/loss displayed below gives you an idea on what collectors are willing to pay after all the hype of the season has wore off. It also shows that without good solid sales and inventory management – you might be left with inventory you have to sell at a loss.The sets are sorted below loosely by release date.
Prices Are Based On Recent Auction Sales (Shipping Charges NOT Included)
Keep In Mind With eBay, PayPal and/or other fees – your income is lower than the sales price.
I couldn’t find wholesale prices for: Adrenalyn, Score and Topps Rising Rookies.
Panini Topps 2011 Prestige
No Cam Newton Autograph Cards
Original Release Date: May 25, 2011
2011 Topps
Not As Profitable As The Baseball Version
Original Release Date: July 27, 2011
Current Box Price On eBay$55 – $65Current Box Price On eBay$40 – $50Original Wholesale Cost$69.00Original Wholesale Cost$43.50
2011 Donruss Elite
Features 200 Different RC Autographs
Original Release Date: June 22, 2011
2011 Inception
Some Of The 1st On Card RC Autos
Original Release Date: August 10, 2011
Current Box Price On eBay$65 – $75
Current Box Price On eBay$85 – $100
Original Wholesale Cost$86.00
Original Wholesale Cost$72.25
2011 Rookies & Stars
Features RC Signatures On Fabric Patch
Original Release Date: July 27, 2011
2011 Finest
Several ‘RC’ Card Versions In This Set
Original Release Date: August 31, 2011
Current Box Price On eBay$60 – $70Current Box Price On eBay$120 – $135Original Wholesale Cost$69.00Original Wholesale Cost$79.50
2011 Threads
Features RC Signatures On Letterman Patch
Original Release Date: August 24, 2011
2011 Platinum
The Bowman Brand Lives In Football
Original Release Date: Sept. 9, 2011
Current Box Price On eBay$67 – $75Current Box Price On eBay$105 – $115Original Wholesale Cost$73.50Original Wholesale Cost$76.00
2011 Timeless Treasures
Features RC Signatures On Leather
Original Release Date: Sept. 21, 2011
2011 Prime
Wide Range Of RC’s and Parallels
Original Release Date: Sept. 28, 2011
Current Box Price On eBay$49 – $82Current Box Price On eBay$86 – $100Original Wholesale Cost$76.50Original Wholesale Cost$72.25
2011 Absolute Memorabilia
Top RC’s Sign RPM On-Card
Original Release Date: October 16, 2011
2011 Gridiron Legends
This set might not make it back in 2012
Original Release Date: October 11, 2011
Current Box Price On eBay$96 – $108Current Box Price On eBay$50 – $60Original Wholesale Cost$122.00Original Wholesale Cost65.00
2011 Crown Royale
Signed Silhouette RC’s Were Popular
Original Release Date: November 2, 2011
2011 Chrome
Seemed To Be Very Popular Set This Year
Original Release Date: October 26, 2011
Current Box Price On eBay$69 – $78Current Box Price On eBay$120 – $130Original Wholesale Cost$75.00Original Wholesale Cost$54.75
2011 Certified
Freshman Fabric RC’s Don’t Stand Out
Original Release Date: November 21, 2011
2011 Triple Threads
Always A Tough Sell At That Cost
Original Release Date: Nov. 30, 2011
Current Box Price On eBay$81 – $95Current Box Price On eBay$140 – $160Original Wholesale Cost$75.00Original Wholesale Cost$155.25
2011 Gold Standard
The Gold Themed Set Debuts
Original Release Date: December 6, 2011
2011 Bowman Sterling
The Premium Bowman Brand In Football
Original Release Date: Dec. 14, 2011
Current Box Price On eBay$142 – $155Current Box Price On eBay$200 – $240Original Wholesale Cost$150.00Original Wholesale Cost$217.00
2011 Gridiron Gear
Top Rookies Feel Like An Insert Set
Original Release Date: December 6, 2011
2011 Supreme
An NFL Only Product For Now
Original Release Date: January 11, 2012
Current Box Price On eBay$69 – $80Current Box Price On eBay$70 – $80Original Wholesale Cost$81.00Original Wholesale Cost$75.50
2011 Limited
Solid Looking Autograph RC’s
Original Release Date: January 15, 2012
2011 Precision
Dual Auto Julio Jones Cards, But No RC?
Original Release Date: February 1, 2012
Current Box Price On eBay$65 – $72Current Box Price On eBay$90 – $100Original Wholesale Cost$75.00Original Wholesale Cost$148.75
2011 Plates & Patches
Deep Checklist In This Set
Original Release Date: January 25, 2012
2011 Five Star
Topps’ Super Premium Product
Original Release Date: February 22, 2012
Current Box Price On eBay$90 – $105Current Box Price On eBay$285 – $305Original Wholesale Cost$112.50Original Wholesale Cost$372.00
2011 Contenders
Make Sure You Check The Riddell Logo!
Original Release Date: February 17, 2012
Current Box Price On eBay$91 – $107Original Wholesale Cost$108.00
2011 Totally Certified
Reminds Me Of Limited More Than Certified
Original Release Date: March 23, 2012
Current Box Price On eBay$87 – $97Original Wholesale Cost$90.00
2011 Prime Signatures
Cards Looked Similar To Gridiron Legends
Original Release Date: March 28, 2012
Current Box Price On eBay$45 – $50Original Wholesale Cost$45.00
2011 National Treasures
Parnini’s Premium Product
Original Release Date: April 4, 2012
Current Box Price On eBay$400 – $435Original Wholesale Cost$300.00
2011 Playbook
Interesting Late Season Product
Original Release Date: April 6, 2012
Current Box Price On eBay$149 – $160 Original Wholesale Cost$150.00
Back in December, we analyzed what 2011 Topps Baseball Cases were selling for on the open market vrs. the original wholesale price for the box. Now we take a look at 2011 Football Product from Panini & Topps. 2011 was a great year for football card collectors, as several rookies had Pro-Bowl seasons and made a huge impact on the NFL and the hobby. With the 2012 NFL draft (and subsequent product lines coming soon) this should give you an idea on what kind of profit is possible.
Just based on Panini’s re-sale prices, I’d say you should think about your selling strategy. Given that this was a pretty hot year with Cam Newton, AJ Green, Andy Dalton and others – most of the product is ‘worth’ about what you paid for it originally, and that’s before any fees in selling it. While you could have probably made more money selling the boxes during the release window, having inventory that is going down in value after you buy it is a very risky business to get into without experience.
What I found interesting here is that Panini really had quite a few products (about 6) that came out in 2012 … when most people’s favorite teams are out of it & it’s after the Christmas buying season. Not sure if this is by plan or because of product delays, but more product during the regular season might help hobby store owners sell more. Panini also stacked 2 premium products at the end of the year – Playbook & National Treasures. As a dealer, you’d be forking over some big bucks for these launches in the same week during the NFL off-season. Also, as a buyer – in this economy, not many can pay hundreds of dollars for products in the same week. In 2012 Panini needs to move more of its products into the September – December window, and not wait until 2013 to sell almost half of its 2012 NFL Football cards.
Seems like Topps had about 4 or 5 less products than Panini, which again, not sure if this is by accident, contractual obligations … ect – but maybe the ‘less is more’ approach is what they are shooting for. Most of Topps’ sets didn’t stray too far away from what they’ve done in the past. It’s evident that after going through all the set checklists that Topps doesn’t work harder than Panini designing cards, packaging and developing sub-sets and insert sets. In fact, I think they spend less time on this because they usually have ‘refractor’ type parallels that are simply a color change and many of their products only have a handful of insert sets. Collectors seem to enjoy it most of the time, so I’d imagine 2012 will be business as usual for Topps. One set I’d like to see them use again is Bowman Chrome. They use Bowman Platinum and Bowman Sterling (the two weakest Bowman ‘brands’) but not Bowman or Bowman Chrome? Seems strange to me, you use the Bowman brand, but not the best selling property within that brand. Most of Topps’ products held up in value pretty well, with only Precision & Five Star being huge losers. Topps Chrome had an epic year.
That’s it for 2011, we’ll see if Andrew Luck, RG III and others can elevate box prices in 2012.
