Matt Barnes – SP
Born: June 17, 1990
Drafted: 1st Round #19 Boston Red Sox 2011
Position: Starting Pitcher
Card Tracked:
2011 Bowman Chrome Draft Gold Ref. Autograph #/50
I first became familiar with Red Sox #8 prospect, as rated by Baseball America, Matt Barnes when I purchased a portfolio of cards on Check Out My Cards. One of the cards in the lot was a 2011 Bowman Chrome Draft Gold Refractor Autograph of Barnes, serial numbered to #/50. I ended up paying $73.02 for the card in early February and I felt like I got a good deal. Barnes had yet to make his debut in the minor leagues, but he was a 1st Round Pick by one of the most popular teams in baseball so I knew it would sell if he pitched half way decent. The Beckett Book value on the card when I got it was $150.00. You can see the Beckett B.V. of a card on Check out My Cards for free.
Patiently I sat on the card and priced it on COMC much higher then what they were selling for on eBay (on eBay they were around $100). The reason why I did that was because I was hoping that Barnes would be placed at a very low level in the Red Sox minor league organization to begin his career, and he would then dominate his first few minor league starts because he is a guy who pitched at a high level in college. By golly that is exactly what happened as Barnes was placed on the Low-A Greenville Drive of the South Atlantic League. Barnes did more then just dominate, in his first three starts he allowed 0 earned runs, and struck out 25 batters in just 16 innings. Wow. Offers from many different buyers on COMC started to roll in right after his third start. Most were offering up to $100, but I knew I could get $110-120 out of it. Besides, he could have another good start and I might be able to get closer to $130-140. On April 20, 2012 though I got a $112.00 offer and decided to take it. Works out to a $38.98 win by just holding the card for two months.
Buying cards like this can be a gamble unless you get them for the right price. Because I purchased the card as part of a lot of other cards, I was able to get a good deal for the Barnes with my initial price of $73.02. Still, Barnes could have gotten out of the gate by getting roughed up, or even worse, get hurt and the value of that card might have plummeted into the $30-50 range. The Gold Refractor Autographs from Bowman and Bowman Chrome products are very desirable and cards of key players can sell for tons of money. For example, a Bryce Harper Gold Refractor Autograph #/50 can sell for upwards of $2,000.
2011 Bowman Chrome Draft
Matt Barnes Auto Gold #/50
- Purchased for: $73.02 – February 2012 on COMC
- Sold For: $112.00 – April 20, 2012 on COMC
eBay Sale Prices March 1 – April 12, 2012:
- Sold For: $125.00 + Free S/H – 4-12-2012
- Sold For: $95.00 + Free S/H – 3-24-2012
- Sold For: $100.00 + $1.95 S/H – 3-5-2012
Matt Barnes Red Sox Cards on eBay
