Aftermarket sketchcards - do your homework

There are a ton of sets that feature sketchcards these days. There are a ton of artists that produce those cards. And there are a ton of blanks available for any price range.

I came across a couple of fantastic cards on eBay that were being sold directly by the artists themselves. This usually means they are Artist Proofs, Returns, or whatever the nomenclature is for that particular manufacturer. I believe both of these showed up in the bottom of other listings, one of those "related items". Both caught my eye, and not having much time right then I just added them to my watchlist and moved on.

The first is this one:

This is the "love you" girl in Indy's classroom at the beginning on Raiders of the Lost Ark. It's one of those blink-and-you'll-miss-it-moments from cinema (pun intended). Anyway, a phenomenal sketchcard. It is done by Javier Gonzalez. I am familiar with Javier's work as I have a couple of commissioned cards of his in my own collection. I saw this and wanted it immediately. I actually had a snipe set on it (lower than the final bid, obviously).

In the description, Javier clearly states the following (font and caps his emphasis):

"This is what is commonly referred to as an Aftermarket Sketch Card. This piece is done on OFFICIAL Topps Stock by a non-set artist."

No harm, no foul. Javier was clear, but to the unsuspecting bidder who may be just skimming the listing, would they care? I didn't at the end of the day. This is one card that would go in my collection and stay there. But there is definitely some differences in realized prices if this were an official pack-inserted card.

The second card is this one:

Without even looking at the seller name I knew this was a Charles Hall card. I have a few of his cards in my collection, too. Charles does not have the disclaimer in his listing that this is an aftermarket, but any smart collector should know a few basic things about this.

• Charles Hall was not on the artist listing for this Star Wars Evolution set (though there can be some errors on those)
• Charles typically puts the year on the front, and is from 2021
• this particular Evolution set came out in 2016
• Topps does not give blanks to artists for their Returns/Proofs (like Rittenhouse, for example)

Ergo, this was originally a blank card that Charles painted on. It is not an "official" Star Wars sketchcard. I don't know if he purchased it blank, if another collector purchased it for Charles as a commission that fell through, or what. Doesn't matter. Not an "official" Star Wars sketchcard.

I am not implying that Charles was being deceitful--much like the Gonzalez above, I had a snipe in on this one, too. And I imagine that if this were an official card it would have ended higher as well.

So to some collectors, it just doesn't matter. A great sketch is a great sketch, right? But do a little homework before you start bidding, especially if you ever plan on selling or even flipping the cards. If you don't disclose it, that's on you...

Economics of ePack and COMC

For anyone who is into non-sports, particularly Upper Deck products, they know about UD's ePack platform. For anyone into non-sports OR sports cards, they know about COMC. They are tied together at the hip, as COMC does the fulfillment for ePack. That means that when you open any physical product for ePack, those cards are actually at a COMC facility. This also means when you transfer from ePack to COMC, really all they are doing is taking it from your ePack account and switching it over--it's ostensibly a database update with no need for physical shipping or anything like that.

Unfortunately that is a one-way street. You can transfer from ePack to COMC, but you can't go the other way. I'm not exactly sure why, as it would be just another database update (there is more behind the scenes, probably, so I am oversimplifying things). A big part of ePack is the achievements, and once you redeem a card for an achievement, you can't redeem it again. The ePack platform flags it as redeemed, though it is still a perfectly viable physical card. Once you transfer that same redeemed card to COMC, it doesn't matter. There is no flag there to say if a card was redeemed or not, because it doesn't matter.

This prevents you from buying cards cheaply on COMC, transferring them back "upstream" to ePack, and doing achievements. This also puts a divide in the different markets.

Another feature of the ePack platform is combining base cards. Right now there is an X-Men Metal set live on ePack. It has a low and a high series. The low series is not a physical card, meaning you cannot transfer a low series card to COMC. You can, however, combine 10 base cards to get an ePack-exclusive Blue parallel which is physical. If you are industrious enough with pack breaks or trading, you can do this multiple times and get 10 Blue parallels, then combine those for a Black parallel. So in essence, 100 base for one Black. Let me rephrase that: 100 non-physical, relatively worthless, low-series base for a physical Black ePack exclusive parallel.

You can do the same with high series as well, but those are already physical cards (meaning you can transfer to COMC if desired). Some people are offering $1.50 for a high-series. So that means if they are going for the Black parallel, that's roughly $150 in perceived value for that collector for the Black version of the high series card. That's more than many of the Red PMGs are that are /100, and more than the Pinks which are /75. That's strange to me.

Getting 100 of any card is a challenge because ePack trading can be... difficult. There is a chat feature on the site, and you may get some trades for exactly what you are looking for. Most times, it is lopsided. Few people seem to be ok with base-for-base trades.

With Metal, for example, I am collecting the Firestar cards. She has a low series and a high series base (along with some others, but we'll focus on the base). Same as above, I can collect 10 of each to get the Blue parallel, then 10 Blues to get the Black. Since I am a completionist, technically I need 110 of each, since I gotta keep a Blue one, too.

This is where that one-way street breaks down.

If I could buy 10 of the Blues on COMC, it would cost me roughly $6.50 (they're not all $.65, but you get the idea). I could then transfer them BACK to ePack, combine them, and be done. That is much cheaper than the $27, which is currently the cheapest Black version.

I've read some collectors say they keep things on ePack because they are worth more there. I can see some arguments for that.

The other odd part of ePack and COMC is this. We know they don't produce the base low series, again, using X-Men Metal as an example. This is also true for most of the non-premium sets. But that means that UD created the Blue and Black parallels specifically for combining base on ePack. OK, fine. But let's say that no one wants a Black parallel. People want Blues and that's it. That means that UD has to account for that (admittedly far-fetched) idea and print the maximum number of Blues that could possibly be made from however many low series cards are distributed via ePack pack, boxes, and cases.

In this example, what happens with all those Black parallels that were made and are sitting in COMC warehouses somewhere? Do they purge those at some point? Is there an expiration for ePack exclusive parallels, or will they sit there for an eternity? Maybe three-years from now someone on ePack decides they want to combine 10 of those Blues for a Black. So they have to keep them all, right?

Then think about what happens for the combined cards. You can combine 10 Blues for one Black. You no longer have those Blues in your account, but they are physical, so they are... somewhere. Do they physically destroy Blues when combined into a Black?

Just some of the weird things I think about.

The Alpha and the Omega

Card collecting can be an odd hobby. I have collected cards in one arena or another since I was a kid, and my uncle gave me a rubber-banded stack of 1987 Topps baseball. You know, the wooden borders. In the mid-90s I picked up hockey, then eventually some non-sports. So I've seen it all. From a time when jersey cards were rare hits to them being so common you can't give some players away. From a time when cards were hard-signed to when they are all nearly stickers. From before sketchcards to them being readily available in nearly every non-sport release, oftentimes as a box hit.

So while I consider myself a veteran of card collecting, I was a little shocked when someone mentioned the terms "alpha" and "omega" in a Star Wars collector group on Facebook. In the context of the post, it was obvious they were talking about the first and last stamped card. By that, I mean if a card is stamped out of 99, the "alpha" is stamped 1/99. The "omega" wold be the 99/99.

Because card collectors are a strange breed, some will actually pay a little more for one of these. I personally do not, but I also have to wonder if collectors would attach any premium to these stamped cards if they knew that the "alpha" card, stamped 1/99 in this example, is usually the LAST card stamped. Most manufacturers will, essentially, have a setting on their stamping machine that represents the total print run of any given card.

So, again using this example, they would set the stamping machine to 99. The first card gets it's 99/99 stamp, then it goes to 98/99, 97/99 and so on until the "alpha" card of 1/99 is actually the last card. In a sense, the alpha IS the omega, the omega IS the alpha.

It's only worth what someone will pay for it. Kind of.

Ever been on a forum or in a Facebook group and someone asks the "What's this worth?" question? Of course you have. Oftentimes someone will post the simple answer of "It's only worth what someone will pay for it."

While this is, on the surface, a factually logical statement, it is greatly oversimplified.

The real answer, when applied to any sold item, is far less elegant:

That exact card is only worth what that exact seller sold it for, to that exact buyer, at that exact time, on the exact site, and under those exact circumstances.

Why the difference? Numerous reasons. Let's assume it is an item on eBay:

• -perhaps it was a card listed on just the ebay.ca site as opposed to the ebay.com, hence limiting the audience
• -perhaps the seller did not ship to certain countries
• -perhaps two interested bidders happened to see it and bid it up
• -perhaps the winner needed that single card to finish off a set they have been working on for months, and were willing to pay whatever it took to cross it off the list
• -perhaps it was a specific serial numbered card (some collectors collect jersey numbered, 1/x, x/x, or some other specific numbering)
• -perhaps there was shill bidding
• -perhaps it was a seller with low feedback
• -perhaps it ended at an odd time
• -perhaps a player got hot and the cards are rising
• -perhaps a player is on a cold streak and the cards are dropping
• -perhaps a player got traded and people are dumping cards from the old team
• -perhaps there were two of the same card that ended around the same time
• -perhaps that one bidder who really wanted the card just flat out forgot to place a bid or set a snipe on it
• -perhaps the seller just didn't know what they had, listed it for a low BIN, and it was quickly snatched up
• -perhaps the seller charges a lot for shipping, so buyers have to factor that into total costs

The list goes on. But you can see, there is no magical formula for what a card is worth. So in the future, when you see someone asking, feel free to use my more accurate answer above.

Can't find comps?

Yes, you can. You just have to know how to do it.

In trading cards, there is a huge variety of, well, everything. Serial numbering, autographs, memorabilia, 1/1 cards, printing plates, die-cut parallels. If you can imagine it on a trading card, it has probably been done.

I am a member of a number of Facebook groups ranging from hockey to Star Wars card to Marvel cards. Due to the high prices being realized all across the board, people are spilling in still at an alarming rate without really knowing what they are doing. These are groups that are well-established, so you can always tell who the new member is. It's not a problem per se--heck, we all want the hobby to grow! But inevitably someone will post "I just [pulled this from a box||won this in a break], and I can't find any comps. What is this worth?"

First of all, the general answer is always to check two sources:
-*sold* eBay auctions
-130point.com

Of course, 130point covers sold items on eBay, so there is a lot of overlap. However 130point shows Best Offer amounts, so there is a little more value using that site.

Anyway, people seem to expect there to be established values immediately on a product THAT JUST RELEASED! Spoiler alert, cards don't always end up on eBay right away. Especially in the case of breakers where cards need to be mailed to their owners. But this brings me to my point.

What is a "comp"?

Most seem to be under the impression it is an evaluation on the exact card they are asking about. Sure, sometimes that may be possible. In that case, you should have found it already on eBay/130point. However, for those lower print-run cards, oftentimes there won't be one of those on the market yet.

It's short for "comparable", as in "what would a comparable card be worth".

This is where you have to know what you're doing. For hockey, for example, you need to know who the top Young Guns are, or that there are more desirable parallels each year. Or just understanding the hobby in general. Your average Cup patch auto /25 is going to be more than an SP Game Used patch auto /25 of that same player. A McDavid will sell better than a Kopitar. A multi-color patch will sell better than a single color.

Veteran collectors probably know that Beckett used to have a listing of players they grouped into Unlisted Stars and Semi-Stars. This means they were roughly equivalent in value. They've done this for years.

Groupings are important for Star Wars and Marvel as well. Rey is more popular than a random Clone Trooper, but pretty close to Leia; Wolverine is more popular than Bishop, but pretty close to Venom.

As far as comps, do your homework. Use eBay. Figure out what that player/character sells for with, say, the same serial number. Or what those equivalent people sell for.

You pulled a base Qui-Gon parallel out of 10? Fine, find the /15 or /20 and... add a little more.

You pulled that Sebastian Aho SPGU Patch Auto? Cool, look at values form last year. They'll be about the same. Add a tad more since it's the new shiny product, but they'll approach the same value in short time.

Bottom line, there are plenty of ways to figure out evaluations. No one wants to see a lazy collector. Do your homework.

How do you price a sketch card?

In short, it takes a lot of experience and homework. I've mentioned this before, and it still holds true: There is no magical formula for determining what something is worth, or will sell for. You have to make some concessions for some of what follows. Imagine the exact same artist draws the exact same sketch for different products; or imagine two artists of "similar collectibility" draw the same character for the same release. Among the many criteria:

• The artist. Probably the most obvious, but some artists are simply more desirable than others. Some have a huge following and their cards will routinely sell over $500 USD minimum. They are usually rarer artists, for a number of reasons--not involved in too many sets; don't produce a lot of cards in any given release; some may have gained popularity after they exited the sketch card world and became more involved in the comic industry. There are a ton of reasons, but if an artist has a distinct style and consistently produces good work, chances are someone somewhere collects that artist.
• The character. Probably the second most important. This is one criteria with a ton of exceptions. But in general, a Wolverine will sell better than, say, Urthona. Jean Grey will sell better than Shanga the Star-Dancer. Indiana Jones will sell better than a generic Thuggee guard. This can be highly variable, especially when a collector collects specific characters (like I do with Rhino and Firestar).
• Male versus female. In general, a female character will sell better than a male character. I have my suspicions why...
• Costume. It's no secret that characters, especially in comics, can have a ton of costumes over the years. There are different universes, different artists, different story lines, different movies. Some costumes are simply more popular with some collectors. (I'm thinking of you, Savage Land Rogue and Slave Leia!).
• The property. Marvel or Star Wars is likely going to sell better than, say, Nosferatu.
• Does the character "belong" in the release? This one is a bit odd, so an example probably works best. I collect Rhino sketchcards, among other things. I am more likely to pay more for a card from Masterpieces or Premier or Metal than from, say, Guardians of the Galaxy. The Guardians was tied to the film release, and Rhino was nowhere near that movie. I commissioned several Rhino vs. Irom Man APs for the Iron Man 2 release and still feel weird about it.

  

• The method of distribution. This dovetails somewhat into the property one above. A set released in box or pack form that can be bought in a store (brick and morter or online) is likely to be more popular on the secondary market than a set released through a Kickstarter or GoFundMe campaign. Would you rather have something from Empire Strikes Back or Old Man Like Ron? Conversely, something like an ePack achievement can go for more as there is a difficulty factor in obtaining one.
• Is it an AP/Artist Proof, Artist Return, Artist Exclusive, 6-back, etc.? These are, ostensibly, cards provided to artists as part of their payment. Depending on the manufacturer, artists can sell them as commissioned blanks, and others will draw whatever is relevant to the release and sell them that way. For Topps, as in the case of the 6-backs, these were cards that an artist would designate to be returned back to them that they could sell themselves. Regardless of how we refer to these special cards, artists typically spend more time on them than a card inserted into packs. They are also able to sell at their usual going rate, so APs can oftentimes cost more than a pack-inserted card on the secondary market. Rittenhouse also provided larger uncut cards to artists, so they had a larger area to work with.
• Is it a case incentive? A few manufacturers have released case incentives to entice buyers into buying whole cases. I tend to think more about Rittenhouse when it comes to this one, though they are not the only one. Rittenhouse had specific artists produce case incentive sketches for people buying 3- or even 9-cases at a time. These are all well done and usually sell quite well (especially if in their original Rittenhouse holder with the sticker). Many Rittenhouse case incentives were also uncut as well.
• Price of a box or pack. Marvel Premier sketch prices will typically be higher than, say, Marvel Annual.
• Color vs gray-scale or b&w. Generally, color sketches are expected from collectors these days, and I think mandated from card companies on most sets. There are some exceptions, like the three Star Wars Black & White sets, or the earliest sketch sets where cards were done in pencil or inks only. But for modern sets, collectors are usually going to pay more for a full-color sketch.
• One character versus many. Is it just Cyclops, or a team sketch of the original X-Men? Composition and arrangement of characters is a big aesthetic point in this one, but it can be a factor.
• What's the background look like? Is it some simple clouds, a detailed cityscape, or nothing? All things similar, a detailed background will usually win out.
• Photorealistic versus cartoony. Collectors and most manufacturers have expectations these days around having photo-realistic sketches. I think some artists do fantastic cartoony work. I'll put up a Locoduck or Agnes Garbowska against anyone. But some collectors do prefer one over the other, and it can sway costs.

  

• Characters versus scenes. Characters are 99% of the sketches we see. However, there are some artists that excel in landscapes and scenes. I think back to some of the fantastic Hoth battles, or some of the Lord of the Rings battle scenes I have seen in the past.
• Characters versus vehicles or weapons. This one is tricky, and maybe seen more in Star Wars or Star Trek sets. I know some collectors who collect only vehicles, and some artists who do a fantastic job with them. Similarly, some will do a run of, say, just light sabers.

  

• Single or multi-panel cards. Multi-panel cards give more real estate for artists, and they are typically more rare in a given release than single-card sketch cards. That may automatically make you think panel cards are more collectible, but some collectors find it more challenging to store or display them. So there is a balance to take into account. This is also applicable to cards larger than standard-size, like uncut cards or even the 5x7 cards from some Marvel sets.
• Single versus puzzles. This used to be more of an issue in past years where manufacturers would split up puzzle sketches for pack insertion. Lately we have seen more and more where all pieces were packed together. Years back it was a feat to track down two- or three-piece puzzles, and could be expensive (especially if someone knew you needed that third piece to finish it off!). But much like the multi-panel cards mentioned above, there is simply more room to work with on puzzles so they can be sought after.

  

• Themes within a release. I remember for 2009's Spider-Man Archives from Rittenhouse, Sonny Strait did a handful of cards with characters in a variety of themes. He did some in space, some in a bobble-head style, and some with an off-card "thwip" to the face of the subject. If collectors are interested in the theme, they will be willing to pay more to add to the collection.
• Timing of real-world releases. This one is a bit abstract. In short, we saw an up-tick in interest in the Scarlet Witch when WandaVision came out on Disney+. Similarly, when the Avengers: Age of Ultron came out, more people seemed to be looking for Ultron sketches. These sorts of things tend to die down over time, but the reality is that seeing a character on the screen can increase interest in sketch cards.
• Is the character on the "banned list"? Sometimes characters are not licensed to be included in some sets. We see this in Marvel sets more than other properties. It is typically because the manufacturer or distributor do not have the licensing rights to produce cards with those charactrs on them. However, those characters sometimes slip through the cracks and make it into packs. Because of the perceived rarity, these can sell quite well.
• Uniqueness - Part 1 He tends to be a punchline, but look up Ryan Waterhouse sketches. He did a ton of repeat sketches for some Indiana Jones releases several years back. And Lord of the Rings. And Halo. But he is sort of the extreme end of it.

  

• Uniqueness - Part 2 Be aware that sometimes companies will give artists a restricted list to draw from. It can vary from company to company, but Topps may offer limited screenshots to use as references (like some of the pre-release Star Wars film sets); yet other releases have characters pre-determined for the artists. This creates a large number of, say, Magneto sketches from a particular set, or the same likeness of Lando sketched a lot.

  

• Is it from an "official" set? By this I mean does the card come from a manufacturer (regardless of how it was distributed--boxes, KickStarter, etc.) or is it on the artist's own cardstock, also known as PSCs, ACEOs, and probably some other names. If the exact same artwork is done for an official set versus the artist's own blanks, the official one will sell better.

If you read the above, you'll see I use the words "typically" or "generally" a lot. That's because there are always exceptions to all of these rules. All it takes is two people interested in a particular artist, or someone needing that final sketch for a master set, to drive prices past expectations.

Note I tried to stay away from listing "how good a sketch is" as a point above. As cliched as it is, art is very subjective. One of my favorite Lando cards is done in construction paper (OK, so technically not a sketch, I suppose). Likewise, there are some very popular artists I'm just not into. That's fine. As I always say, collect what you like.

I'm sure I missed several other factors. Let me know, and I'm happy to include them!

Part 2: Boo COMC, and Boo Hobby Insider!

So earlier today someone updated an existing thread on Hobby Insider about COMC shipping times. Apparently that is all that can be discussed. Someone commented sonething that could be construed as negative, so I replied something along the lines of "Watch out, we're not allowed to speak ill of COMC on here."

Later in the day I discovered I was banned:

No communication from an admin, much less the owner.

Meh, September will be here before we know it.

Boo COMC, and Boo Hobby Insider!

It's amusing and sad at the same time. I have had several posts in recent months deleted from Hobby Insider.

The topic?

The terrible service with COMC.

My story is no different from any other's. I placed a shipment request back in early January for a little over 100 cards. They were supposed to ship in mid-April. That sort of three-month delay is laughable, but at least they told me up front.

Then April came and went. Emails to COMC went unanswered. The president (or CEO?) of COMC goes on Sportscards Live and answers some softball questions. You know, the answers that don't really answer anything. People praised him for being transparent with their problems.

All I heard were excuses. I had been pretty critical on Hobby Insider about COMC. Others were, too. I'm pretty sure I had a couple of thread replies removed, but never thought much about it. There are weekly complaint threads about COMC, so I'd have another chance soon.

Eventually I resort to Twitter DMs to try and get an update on my shipment. This is in June. Why Twitter? Because I still don't have my cards and get no responses to emails. Twitter must have been the way to go, because I get a response to one of the previously unanswered emails.

They can't tell me when my cards will be mailed, but they were kind enough to refund my shipping costs. Thanks. I'd rather have my cards, though.

Just this past week COMC sent an email out saying they are essentially focusing on the two fastest shipping methods. So screw those of us who have been waiting months, I guess. I'd pull all of my cards out of COMC if I knew I would get them in a reasonable time frame. Oh, and great news, they are increasing their Customer Service team from 4 to 20. Why would they need to do that? Because people are complaining. Why are they complaining? You got it, the abhorrent delays. What happened to the 50 people they proudly claimed they hired back in the January timeframe?

Meanwhile I have cards sitting on ePack for my personal collection, too. Who knows when (or if) things will return to normal for me to send them home.

COMC use to be an integral part of the hobby. Now they are a joke. Go check their Better Business Bureau profile (link). I am far from the only person who thinks so. My how they have fallen. They blame staffing, blame Covid, blame moving warehouses.

I blame inadequate planning. I blame them for implementing eBay auctions. Despite what was said on the first Sportscards Live interview, yes, yes you could suspend your eBay auctions. Even for just a few months. Want to know how great the service is on their eBay auctions? Go check out their feedback.

Perhaps most importantly, though, I blame collectors for not having other options.

I have said this before, though some of the veteran HI members disagreed--aside from their relationship with ePack and Upper Deck, there is nothing proprietary in what COMC does. I have done web development for 2-decades and could sketch something pretty close to COMC functionality on the back of a napkin using off-the-shelf software for inventory control. And make some improvements along the way, too (ever try and search sketchcards by character names?).

Am I just impatient? Maybe. But is it reasonable to expect your customers to wait months for a shipment? Is it reasonable to let that date pass with no updates? I am now almost 12-weeks past my expected ship date, and if I am lucky enough to get an email response, there is no useful information in it. They told me they cannot tell me when amything will ship. Why don't they know? Maybe that says more than anything.

In the meantime, COMC is going on Sportscards Live again this weekend. I'm not going to listen because I can predict what will be said. Meanwhile, I am still waiting. And I'm sure my posts on Hobby Insider will continue to be removed. And I know exactly why (and probably by whom). For those who happen to see them before they are deleted, let me ask you: Am I wrong?

Maybe if I had my own podcast COMC would be able to give me an update on my shipment. But then I don't think I could publicly complain, either.

So I have left the Hobby Insider group on Facebook, as well as the Sportscards Live group. I'll unsubscribe from the podcast and delete the ones I have yet to listen to. Eventually I'll probably leave the HI forums, too. I know no one cares about one person, and that's fine. But seriously, removing my entirely factual posts because I speak ill toward COMC is childish.